Vision and Site: Revisiting a Pure Land Cave of Dunhuang

A transformative viewing experience was crafted through the spatial construct of Buddhist paradise in Mogao Cave 172, a high Tang period (710–780 CE) Pure Land cave in Dunhuang, Gansu, China. The study reveals that architectural images and spaces, along with strategies like spatial layering, self-symmetry, scaling, and multimedia practices of cave-making, enhanced the situatedness of utopian vision. By analyzing visual contents, compositions, painting mediums, cave spaces, and cliff sites, the research illustrates how Pure Land imageries were integrated with architectural spaces to convey an invitation to the Pure Land.

Zhou, Z., & Li, L. (2024). Vision and Site: Revisiting a Pure Land Cave of Dunhuang. Religions, 15(3), 329. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030329