Of Palaces and Pagodas： Palatial Symbolism in the Buddhist Architecture of Early Medieval China  

作　　者：Tracy Miller 

机构地区：[1]Department of History of Art, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203, USA

出　　处：《Frontiers of History in China》2015年第2期222-263,共42页中国历史学前沿（英文版）

摘　　要：This paper is an inquiry into possible motivations for representing timber-flame architecture in the Buddhist context. By comparing the architectural language of early Buddhist narrative panels and cave temples rendered in stone, I suggest that architectural representation was employed in both masonry and timber to create symbolically charged worship spaces. The replication and multiplication of palace forms on cave walls, in ＂pagodas＂ （futu浮圖,fotu 佛圖, or ta 塔）, and as the crowning element of flee-standing pillars reflect a common desire to express and harness divine power, a desire that resulted in a wide variety of mountainous monuments in China. Finally, I provide evidence to suggest that the towering Buddhist monuments of early medieval China are linked morphologically and symbolically to the towering temples of South Asia through the use of both palace forms and sacred man. d. alas as a means to express the divine power and expansive presence of the Buddha.This paper is an inquiry into possible motivations for representing timber-flame architecture in the Buddhist context. By comparing the architectural language of early Buddhist narrative panels and cave temples rendered in stone, I suggest that architectural representation was employed in both masonry and timber to create symbolically charged worship spaces. The replication and multiplication of palace forms on cave walls, in ＂pagodas＂ （futu浮圖,fotu 佛圖, or ta 塔）, and as the crowning element of flee-standing pillars reflect a common desire to express and harness divine power, a desire that resulted in a wide variety of mountainous monuments in China. Finally, I provide evidence to suggest that the towering Buddhist monuments of early medieval China are linked morphologically and symbolically to the towering temples of South Asia through the use of both palace forms and sacred man. d. alas as a means to express the divine power and expansive presence of the Buddha.

关 键 词：PAGODA TA MANDALA SUMERU Yicihui pillar Yongningsi Songyuesi 

分 类 号：TU252[建筑科学—建筑设计及理论] TU-092