Secular Dimensions of the Aśoka Stūpa from the Changgan Monastery of the Song Dynasty

In 2008, in the course of excavating the site of the pagoda foundations of the former Nanjing Da Bao’en Monastery 南京大報恩寺, archaeologists discovered Buddhist relics enshrined in nested reliquaries along with some two hundred offering objects. The most impressive finding was a specially designed, rich...

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Autor principal:	Yue Dai
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	Changgan Monastery Aśoka Stūpa Wuyue Kingdom Nanjing Buddhist reliquary Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/4118d41c6de8409e9bab2f8439916a47
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:4118d41c6de8409e9bab2f8439916a47
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:4118d41c6de8409e9bab2f8439916a472021-11-25T18:52:27ZSecular Dimensions of the Aśoka Stūpa from the Changgan Monastery of the Song Dynasty10.3390/rel121109092077-1444https://doaj.org/article/4118d41c6de8409e9bab2f8439916a472021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/11/909https://doaj.org/toc/2077-1444In 2008, in the course of excavating the site of the pagoda foundations of the former Nanjing Da Bao’en Monastery 南京大報恩寺, archaeologists discovered Buddhist relics enshrined in nested reliquaries along with some two hundred offering objects. The most impressive finding was a specially designed, richly decorated reliquary stūpa, known as the Seven-Jeweled Aśoka Stūpa 七寶阿育王塔, created in the Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE). This paper begins with the history of the site where a series of famous Buddhist structures had been built since the Wu Kingdom (222–280 CE), and which has long been associated with the cult of King Aśoka and relic worship. It then goes on to examine the form and features of the reliquary stūpas prevalent in the Wuyue period (907–978). Through comparisons between the Aśoka stūpas commissioned by Wuyue King Qian Chu 錢俶 (929–988) and those by laypeople around the same time, I will demonstrate that the Seven-Jeweled Aśoka Stūpa is distinct in its secular features. It is not a Buddhist reliquary that strictly conforms to the conventions of reliquary-making in terms of scale, inscription, and functionality; besides relic worship, it also features a remarkable manifestation of laypeople’s beliefs and expectations, sacred or secular. Viewed in its historical context, in which the Song emperors imposed political control over religious affairs and Buddhism became increasingly secular, the stūpa was a product of negotiation between the political authorities and local Buddhist communities in the Song Dynasty.Yue DaiMDPI AGarticleChanggan MonasteryAśoka StūpaWuyue KingdomNanjingBuddhist reliquaryReligions. Mythology. RationalismBL1-2790ENReligions, Vol 12, Iss 909, p 909 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Changgan Monastery Aśoka Stūpa Wuyue Kingdom Nanjing Buddhist reliquary Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790
spellingShingle	Changgan Monastery Aśoka Stūpa Wuyue Kingdom Nanjing Buddhist reliquary Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790 Yue Dai Secular Dimensions of the Aśoka Stūpa from the Changgan Monastery of the Song Dynasty
description	In 2008, in the course of excavating the site of the pagoda foundations of the former Nanjing Da Bao’en Monastery 南京大報恩寺, archaeologists discovered Buddhist relics enshrined in nested reliquaries along with some two hundred offering objects. The most impressive finding was a specially designed, richly decorated reliquary stūpa, known as the Seven-Jeweled Aśoka Stūpa 七寶阿育王塔, created in the Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE). This paper begins with the history of the site where a series of famous Buddhist structures had been built since the Wu Kingdom (222–280 CE), and which has long been associated with the cult of King Aśoka and relic worship. It then goes on to examine the form and features of the reliquary stūpas prevalent in the Wuyue period (907–978). Through comparisons between the Aśoka stūpas commissioned by Wuyue King Qian Chu 錢俶 (929–988) and those by laypeople around the same time, I will demonstrate that the Seven-Jeweled Aśoka Stūpa is distinct in its secular features. It is not a Buddhist reliquary that strictly conforms to the conventions of reliquary-making in terms of scale, inscription, and functionality; besides relic worship, it also features a remarkable manifestation of laypeople’s beliefs and expectations, sacred or secular. Viewed in its historical context, in which the Song emperors imposed political control over religious affairs and Buddhism became increasingly secular, the stūpa was a product of negotiation between the political authorities and local Buddhist communities in the Song Dynasty.
format	article
author	Yue Dai
author_facet	Yue Dai
author_sort	Yue Dai
title	Secular Dimensions of the Aśoka Stūpa from the Changgan Monastery of the Song Dynasty
title_short	Secular Dimensions of the Aśoka Stūpa from the Changgan Monastery of the Song Dynasty
title_full	Secular Dimensions of the Aśoka Stūpa from the Changgan Monastery of the Song Dynasty
title_fullStr	Secular Dimensions of the Aśoka Stūpa from the Changgan Monastery of the Song Dynasty
title_full_unstemmed	Secular Dimensions of the Aśoka Stūpa from the Changgan Monastery of the Song Dynasty
title_sort	secular dimensions of the aśoka stūpa from the changgan monastery of the song dynasty
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/4118d41c6de8409e9bab2f8439916a47
work_keys_str_mv	AT yuedai seculardimensionsoftheasokastupafromthechangganmonasteryofthesongdynasty
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Secular Dimensions of the Aśoka Stūpa from the Changgan Monastery of the Song Dynasty

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