Conference Presentations by Dorothy C Wong
Horyuji Reconsidered, 2008
Chinese Steles: Pre-Buddhist and Buddhist Use of a Symbolic Form, 2004
Within the religious phenomenon of making and copying images of deities and saints, it is well-kn... more Within the religious phenomenon of making and copying images of deities and saints, it is well-known that a certain class of images is considered more sacred than others. Such images could perform miracles, namely, they could fly, move about, and possess both healing and protective powers. Alternately, such images could also wound, kill, or even assassinate. In both non-Western and Western religious traditions, a miraculous image was wonderworking, whether it was created by human artifice, the acheiropoieta (image not made by human hands) of a monotheistic god, or crafted by a deity working within a cosmological array of powerful personalities. In this workshop, entitled "Miraculous Images: Buddhist, Muslim, Christian," the organizers bring together an international group of scholars whose research pertains to miracle-based image cults in China, India, Mongolia, France, England, Byzantium, and Italy.
Papers by Dorothy C Wong
Empress Wu 武后 (624-705, r. 684-705) was a devout Buddhist and also came to power through Buddhist... more Empress Wu 武后 (624-705, r. 684-705) was a devout Buddhist and also came to power through Buddhist legitimation, proclaiming herself the Maitreya Incarnate and a Cakravartin, a universal ruler. Among the Tang rulers, she was probably one of the most ardent supporters of Buddhism. 1 Her court sponsored a stellar group of Buddhist translators, including the Indian monk Bodhiruci (Putiliuzhi 菩提流志, d. 722), who arrived in Chang'an in 693; the Khotanese monk Śikṣānanda (Shichanantuo 實 叉難陀, 651-710), who arrived in 695 and retranslated the Avataṃsaka-sūtra (Huayan jing 華嚴經); and the Chinese monk Yijing 義淨 (635-713), who returned to the Tang capitals in 695 after his pilgrimage to India by way of the maritime route. I n B u d d h i s t d o c t r i n e , t h e t w o s c h o o l s m o s t c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o E m p r e s s W u ' s s p o nsorship were the Huayan and the nascent Esoteric school. She sponsored a new translation of the Huayan jing, and Fazang 法藏 (643-712), considered the third patriarch of the Huayan school, was one of her most trusted advisors. In the Huayan cosmology, Vairocana is the absolute, transcendent Buddha presiding over all other Buddhas in the universe. This cosmological concept informed the iconography of the Fengxian Temple 奉先寺 at Longmen 龍門, built in 672-675, with the colossal statue of Roshana (Lushena 盧舍那) or Vairocana (Biluzhena 毗盧遮那) presiding over the pantheon (Figure 1). Spiritual and temporal rulers were identified as one. The cosmic Buddha literally and figuratively towers over all the others in the same way the emperor-in this case Empress Wu-exercises power over the empire. Later, in Japan, the completion of the Tōdaiji 東大寺 under Emperor Shomū 聖武 (r. 724-749) emulated the example of Tang China; its colossal bronze statue of Vairocana was dedicated in 752 (Figure 2). 2 S t u d y o f t h e i c o n o g r a p h y o f b o t h t h e L o n g m e n a n d t h e T ōdaiji colossal statues, however, suggests that the textual source was the Sūtra of Brahmā's Net (Ch. Fanwang jing 梵網經; Jap. Bonmyōkyō) rather than the Avataṃsaka-sūtra. 3 Considered an apocryphal text composed in China, the Sūtra of Brahmā's Net is nonetheless an
Journal of Chinese Religions, May 1, 2021
敦煌學輯刊, 2022
武后朝与圣武天皇、光明皇后朝的华严佛教艺术, Chinese translation of my article, "The Art of Avataṃsaka Buddhism at the ... more 武后朝与圣武天皇、光明皇后朝的华严佛教艺术, Chinese translation of my article, "The Art of Avataṃsaka Buddhism at the Courts of Empress Wu and Emperor Shōmu/Empress Kōmyō."
Acta Via Serica, 2019
Beginning in the northwestern region of India, and spreading through Central Asia and the rest of... more Beginning in the northwestern region of India, and spreading through Central Asia and the rest of Asia along the Silk Road, the making of colossal Buddha statues has been a major theme in Buddhist art. The colossal Buddha statues predominantly feature Śākyamuni (the Historical Buddha), Maitreya (the Future Buddha), and Vairocana (the Transcendant Buddha), and they were fashioned out of religious devotion and frequently in conjunction with notions of Buddhist kingship. This paper examines the religious, social and political circumstances under which these colossal statues were made, focusing on examples from Central and East Asia made during the first millennium CE. Beginning in the 1990s, there was a revival of making colossal Buddha statues across China and elsewhere. The paper also briefly compares the current wave of building colossal Buddha statues with historical examples.
The Journal of Japanese Studies, 2016
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
The Journey of Maps and Images on the Silk Road, 2008
Early Medieval China, 2002
The figure of Xuanzang 1:~(600-64), the celebrated Buddhist traveler and translator of early Tang... more The figure of Xuanzang 1:~(600-64), the celebrated Buddhist traveler and translator of early Tang China was revered in many different countries and inspired a variety of visual representations and commemorative objects. One of the most common in East Asian tradition is Xuanzang's portrayal as a pilgrin1 and itinerant, wearing sandals and carrying a backpack of siltra scrolls. We are also familiar with his portrayal in Journey to the West (Xiyou jiĩ Rl~c) by Wu Cheng'en **)~,(ca. 1500-ca. 1582), a novel which fictionalizes Xuanzang's journey to India in the company of the mythical Monkey and other colorful characters. * In the research for this paper, I have relied on many pioneering studies by scholars of the distant past and of more recent times. A number of important sources are acknowledged in the notes but specifics of the arguments will not be repeated here except when pertinent. Early versions of this paper were presented at the
Amoghapasa AvalokiteSvara (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva with the Unfailing Rope; Ch. Bukongjuansuo ... more Amoghapasa AvalokiteSvara (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva with the Unfailing Rope; Ch. Bukongjuansuo Guanyin ::f2 'j'~W -,]. Fukukenjaku Kannon) is one of the popular eso teric forms ofAvalokiteSvara, with widespread worship of this deity in India, the Himalayas, East and Southeast Asia from around the latter part of the eighth century. However, the beginnings of this bodhisattva in East Asia in the seventh and eighth centuries remain unclear, with only a small number of examples dating from this early period. Scholars ofIndian art have been confounded by the lack ofIndian examples predat ing those in the east, assuming that there must have been Indian precedents prior to the East Asian images. I And yet, the earliest extant representation of this bodhisattva-an impos ing statue ofFukLlkenjaku Kannon in the Sangatsuda J1 ¥ (Hall of the Third month) ofTadaiji *7(~, Nara-indicates the significance attached to the rise of the cult of this bodhisat tva (Fig. I). Dating to around...
Ars Orientalis, 2020
In canonical Buddhist texts, light is an important metaphor for enlightenment, meaning awakening ... more In canonical Buddhist texts, light is an important metaphor for enlightenment, meaning awakening or the understanding of truth. The emission of light by Buddhas and bodhisattvas (enlightened beings) is often described, and light is included, in Buddha names, such as the Buddha of Infinite Light (Amitābha). The Buddha’s relics and Buddha images are among the religion’s physical objects of devotion, and some of them are believed to emit light. This essay examines depictions of the Light-Emitting Image from Magadha in Tang Buddhist art.
1400th year Commemoration of the Tang Capital Chang'an International Conference volume, 2019
Art of Golden Light Sutra in China and Japan during the 7th and 8th centuries
Ars Orientalis, 2020
Introduction to edited volume
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Conference Presentations by Dorothy C Wong
Papers by Dorothy C Wong