Chou Wen-shing, Mount Wutai. Visions of a Sacred Mountain

Mount Wutai, a pivotal Buddhist pilgrimage site in Asia, underwent significant transformation during the Qing dynasty (18th–19th centuries) under the patronage of Emperor Qianlong and his religious mentor, Changkya Khutugtu Rölpé Dorjé. Chou Wen-shing's study reveals how Tibetan Buddhism reshaped Wutai Shan’s sacred imagery through material culture—statues, temples, paintings, and pilgrimage guides—integrating it into the Qing empire’s polyglot, multimedia religious landscape. The research builds on a 2007 colloquium and leverages Patricia Berger’s concept of imperial artistic patronage to demonstrate how Wutai Shan became a symbol of Qing religious and political cosmopolitanism.

Charleux, I. (2020). Chou Wen-shing, Mount Wutai. Visions of a Sacred Mountain. Études Mongoles et Sibériennes, Centrasiatiques et Tibétaines, 51. https://doi.org/10.4000/emscat.4762