Research On Some Issues Of The Luoyang Buddhist Temple In The Northern Wei Dynasty

The Northern Wei Dynasty Luoyang,as the capital of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty,the Eastern Han Dynasty,Cao Wei,the Western Jin Dynasty and the Northern Wei Dynasty,was the largest capital of China in history.Because of the important role in the development of the ancient Chinese capital city,it has always been the focus of academic research.The spread of Buddhism in Luoyang,through the rise of Han Wei and the development of the Western Jin Dynasty,flourished in the Northern Wei Dynasty.As an important building of Buddhism,the number of Buddhist temples reached a maximum of 1367,which is one of the important subjects in the urban studies of Luoyang in the Northern Wei Dynasty.Combined with the relevant historical books,Epitaph archaeological data and previous research,this article attempts to make a preliminary restoration and study of the various physiognomy of Luoyang Buddhist temple in the Northern Wei Dynasty.The contents of this article are the followings:The first and second chapters are the first part.This part mainly discusses the background of the flourishing of Buddhist temple and the construction time of many Buddhist temples in the record of Story of Luoyang temple,in order to form a clear venation of the development of Luoyang Buddhist temple in Northern Wei Dynasty.It is the theoretical basis for carrying out this research.The third chapter is the second part.Among the many Buddhist temples built in Luoyang during the Northern Wei Dynasty,the phenomenon that the imperial families,the officials,the rich and civilians gave up their houses for temples existed widely,which became an important feature of the development of Buddhism in this period.From the perspective of "Giving up their house for a temple",this article analyzes the deeds and motives,explores the role of religious factors in the political and social changes at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty,and attempts to enlighten and contribute to the study of the temporal and spatial distribution,structure and layout of the Buddhist temples in Luoyang during the Northern Wei Dynasty.The fourth and fifth chapters are the third part.This part focuses on the temporal and spatial distribution and structural layout of the Buddhist temples in Luoyang during the Northern Wei Dynasty and expounds the space distribution and structure layout of Buddhist temples in different historical periods.Moreover,based on the background of that time,this article makes an in-depth and detailed analysis of its evolution characteristics.In the light of the above discussion,this article draws the following conclusions:Firstly,the prosperity of Luoyang Buddhist temple in Northern Wei Dynasty was not only the result of the long-term development of history,but also inseparable from the strong support of emperors.That is,these temples had a strong characteristic of secular politics.This political character had certain influence on the contributed to the construction of temples,the motive of the believers to "giving up their house to a temple",spatial-temporal distribution and structure layout,etc.Secondly,the main way to increase the number of Buddhist temples in Luoyang during the Northern Wei Dynasty was to "giving up their house to a temple".75 Buddhist temples in the record of Story of Luoyang temple were far from the historical fact that there were 1,367temples,which made it difficult to fully reconstruct the Buddhist temples in Luoyang during the Northern Wei Dynasty.In the absence of historical information of the objective situation,75 temples provided a relatively reliable basis for the exploration of this study,which had certain representativeness and feasibility.Thirdly,the increase of Buddhist temples meant the expansion of public space for residents' activities.By studying year of establishment and space-time dynamic distribution of many Buddhist temples,it was found that the construction of these temples not only showed the trend of continuous growth,but also widely distributed in inner and outer cities,which had led to an ever-expanding range of activities and showed the characteristic of social publicity.Fourthly,there were some signs of the localization in the evolution of the structure and layout of the Buddhist temples in Luoyang during the Northern Wei Dynasty.In the course of further research,we should strengthen the use of history,archaeology and other disciplines for reference.We should not only discuss the process of its evolution,but also analyze the reasons.It is helpful to the study of Sui and Tang Buddhist temples.Buddhist temple is an important Buddhist facility.The gathering of Buddhist temples was a special geographical phenomenon at that time.They not only deduced and constructed the Northern Wei Luoyang residents' common spiritual and cultural symbols,but also recognized and used the public space in Luoyang,which were the trigger for the different motivations of Luoyang residents.Furthermore,it was the origin and basis of the structure and layout of Buddhist temples in Sui and Tang dynasties.