Texts, Images And Rituals

The appearance of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statues and the changing of its styles largely reflect the process of the spread and acceptance of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva belief, which is more concrete and historical than the Sutra. Based on the philology and iconography, by interpreting the manuscript of S.3092Dao Ming having once died and returned to life and field trips, this paper attempts to find why the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statues of the Dunhuang Grottoes has changed from "Uncovered Head" to Crowned during the late Tang to early Song Dynasty, and tries to figure out the reasons of its emergence with the combination of the Ten Kings, Dao Ming and lions. Through the texts of Buddhism, Dunhuang Manuscripts, art history, literature and images, the thesis aims to build a bridge between the images and literature, and to represent the propagation and acceptance of the Kshitigarbha Bodhisattva belief in the specific period.