Investigation Of Ming Dynasty Murals Illustrating The Life Of The Buddha

This dissertation focuses on the Ming Dynasty murals illustrating the life of the Buddha. Through examination of scene selections, artistic styles, as well as social and political environments, this study attempts to search for a commonality of style in the Ming Dynasty murals in the genre of the life of the Buddha. Six existing murals, one printed picture-story book, as well as the relationship between the printed illustrations and murals are examined thoroughly. The study is divided into five chapters: 1) Investigation of the history of the paintings illustrating the life of the Buddha; 2) Analysis of the picture-story book, the Origin of Buddha and Buddhism, as a study of the particular style and character in Ming Dynasty murals; 3) Research on the murals in the Jueyuan Temple (Jiange, Sichun) and the Nansan Temple (Wutaisan, Sanxi) to demonstrate the influence of the prints in the Origin of Buddha and Buddhism; 4) Examination of the murals in the Chongshan Temple (Taiyuan, Sanxi), Qutan Temple (Lidu, Qinghai), and Duofu Temple (Taiyuan, Sanxi) in order to review how these murals deviated from the formal sketches when the status of the temple changed; 5) Considerations of the religious, social and artistic influences behind the stylistic changes in the Ming Dynasty murals along with a survey of the continuous secularization of Buddhist art in Ming Dynasty.