The Connection between Buddhist Temples, the Landscape, and Monarchical Power: A Comparison between Tuoba Hong (471–499) from the Northern Wei Dynasty and Li Shimin (626–649) from the Tang Dynasty

Since the Western Jin period, Buddhism has confronted bureaucratic power within the architectural landscape. In this study, historical records and archaeological reports of two Buddhist temples—the Siyuan Temple 思遠佛寺 built during the reign of Tuoba Hong 拓跋宏 and Emperor Xiaowen 孝文帝 of the Northern We...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religions
Authors: Zhao, Yi (Author) ; Xu, Chaoran (Author) ; Liu, Tingfeng (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: MDPI 2022
In: Religions
Further subjects:B Landscape architecture
B landscape and power
B Buddhist temple
B landscape history
B Northern Wei Dynasty
B Tang Dynasty
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Summary:Since the Western Jin period, Buddhism has confronted bureaucratic power within the architectural landscape. In this study, historical records and archaeological reports of two Buddhist temples—the Siyuan Temple 思遠佛寺 built during the reign of Tuoba Hong 拓跋宏 and Emperor Xiaowen 孝文帝 of the Northern Wei dynasty, and the Zhaoren Temple 昭仁寺, built during the reign of Li Shimin 李世民 and Emperor Taizong 唐太宗 of the Tang dynasty—were examined. A comparison was made of the two temples’ geographic locations in relation to cities while considering period-specific phenomena. This study also considers mountains, water, and topographical features. The geographic information reflects differences in the ideas of the ruling class and monarchs of the two historical periods. The findings are that both Buddhist temples were close to the capital and both emperors demonstrated the supremacy of their power by building them. Therefore, the religious landscape owes its formation, development, and underlying significance to emperors and social groups.
ISSN:2077-1444
Contains:Enthalten in: Religions
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.3390/rel13090833