BuddhistRoadPaper 5.2 “The Buddhist Temples in Dunhuang: Mid–8th to Early 11th Centuries"

Abstract

This presentation is a guide to the Buddhist temples and hermitages that existed in Dunhuang during the periods of the Tibetan and Guiyijun rule (851–1036?, 歸義軍, Return-to-Allegiance Army), and covers a timespan of roughly two hundred and fifty years, from the late 8th to mid-11th centuries. I provide as much primary data as possible on local Buddhist institutions, organised for easy reference. There is an entry for each temple that features a historical overview, monastic sustenance, including landholdings, buildings, libraries, scriptures, practices and rituals, important clerics, connections to the construction of caves at Mogao, and notes on location when available. Since previous presentations and documentation of Dunhuang’s temples and their activities in secondary literature are partial, fragmentary, and scattered, this is an attempt to bring together as much data as possible, in order to provide scholars with up-to-date access to the most important material. However, given the vast number of primary sources, not all of the relevant information is included here. Nonetheless, this is an easy-to-use tool to enable further studies.

Dash Kasan; an imperial architecture in the Mongol capital of Sultaniyya

“…The lack of such a space at Dash Kasan raises questions. Furthermore, architectural remains in Dash Kasan do not contain the basic architectural arrangement including large halls, dormitories, libraries, drums, and bell towers which have special religious functions and are essential for the running of a monastery (Xiao 2003b: 70;Gildow 2014;Xu 2020;Sørensen 2021). Considering the essential requisites of a Buddhist monastery, a more complicated question to ask is: where were the residence rooms for monks and pilgrims?…”