Donors of Longmen

The Longmen Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Luoyang, China, contain over 10,000 ancient cave chapels and shrines with Buddhist sculptures and dedicatory inscriptions from the 5th to 8th centuries. A comprehensive analysis of these inscriptions reveals that donors spanned emperors, aristocrats, eunuchs, artisans, monks, nuns, lay societies, palace officials, civil and military officials, and ordinary believers. This study, the first in a Western language to reconstruct Longmen's history, uses epigraphy, architecture, and iconography to explore the interplay of faith, politics, and patronage from its inception in 493 to the last major project in 730. It provides a nuanced perspective on medieval believers, often marginalized in historical accounts.

McNair, A. (2017). Donors of Longmen. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824862251