Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Chronology of Chinese dynasties; Chapter One Introduction, 1. Chinese antiquarian documentation, 2. Pioneering Japanese expeditions, 3. Chinese scholarship, 4. Western research, 5. Purpose and organization of the book; Chapter Two The sacred site of Yungang, 1. Making the sacred cave temples of Yungang, 2. Auspicious geographical environment of Yungang, 3. Archaeological excavations and related issues, 4. Art and architecture; Chapter Three Phase one - emperor As Tathāgata, 1. The imperial five Tanyao caves, 2. Dates of excavation of the five Tanyao caves, 3. Emperor as the living Tathāgata in the cave temple, 4. Tanyao and the significance of the translation of sacred books in Yungang, 5. Concluding remarks; Chapter Four Phase two: political struggles and chronicles reconsidered, 1. Dates of caves 11-13 reconsidered, 2. Reconstructing a chronological sequence of the second-phase cave temples, 3. Summary of the chronology of the second-phase cave temples; Chapter Five Considering karmic narratives and liturgical functions, 1. Reading the iconography, 2. Modes of narratives and viewers’ response, 3. Ritual and function in a rock-cut cave sanctuary, 4. Folk faith, karmic practice and the Tiwei Boli jing, 5. Concluding remarks; Chapter Six phase three - the remaining splendour, 1. Architectural structure, 2. Iconographic composition, 3. Telling tales: narrative stories and visual representations, 4. Iconographic style, 5. Classification, dating and chronological sequence, 6. Concluding remarks, 7. One final remark: Buddhist sinicization reconsidered; Postscript, Classification of the caves in the third phase; Groups and periodization of the third-phase caves; Character glossary; Selected bibliography; Index

About the Author

Professor Joy Lidu Yi is a historian of Chinese art at the College of Communication, Architecture and The Arts at Florida International University. Her current research is focused on Buddhist rock-cut cave art and archaeology in medieval China. She is particularly interested in the issues of art, power, politics, patronage, and liturgy of Buddhist sanctuaries.