Refiguring East Asian Religious Art

Within the realm of Buddhist art, death is often portrayed not as the end but instead as a new beginning. Examining how pre-modern East Asians related to death as a broad concept is often just as impactful in the study of their culture and artwork as is the study of how they lived from day to day. This volume of twelve chapters is divided into four sections titled "Death of the...

Within the realm of Buddhist art, death is often portrayed not as the end but instead as a new beginning. Examining how pre-modern East Asians related to death as a broad concept is often just as impactful in the study of their culture and artwork as is the study of how they lived from day to day. This volume of twelve chapters is divided into four sections titled "Death of the Buddha and Buddhist Icons," "Kinship and Commemoration," "Filial Piety and Politics," and "Constructing Ritual Space." These chapters explore the powerful transformations that took place within ancient Buddhist societies when the life an individual came to an end and took on new life in unique forms of religious art and architecture. Dealing with concrete historical examples, these essays not only delve deep into the tightly woven interpersonal relationships, loyalties, and intense devotion that led to the creation of these religious and societal practices, they also challenge both the modern scholar and general reader to see with fresh eyes and refigure how we experience, conceptualize, and understand East Asian religious art.

Contributions by: Phillip E. Bloom, Madeleine Boucher, Sun-ah Choi, Liu Cong, Youn-mi Kim, Winston Kyan, Seunghye Lee, Sonya S. Lee, Wei-Cheng Lin, Kate Lingley, Kate Lingley, Katherine Tsiang, and Akiko Walley.