XIONG Wenbin & LIAO Yang: “A Preliminary Study on the Date, Iconography, and Style of the Frescoe... more XIONG Wenbin & LIAO Yang: “A Preliminary Study on the Date, Iconography, and Style of the Frescoes in the Circumambulation Corridor of Tsomchen Hall, Drepung Monastery, Lhasa,” China Tibetology 2017, no. 3, pp. 150-165.
Tsomchen (Great Assembly Hall) is one of the earliest buildings of Drepung Monastery built in Lhasa since 1416. The remains of its Inner Corridor of Circumambulation (Tib. skor lam) are important because they reflect the original architectural layout. At the end of the 15th century or the beginning of the 16th century, due to the addition of a Maitreya statue on the eastern side of the temple (i.e. Miwang lhakhang), the eastern section of the Inner Corridor was abandoned, while parts of the western and the northern sections were reserved more or less, now in a better condition after conservation and restoration in recent years. The wall paintings include:
- There are three panels painted on the western wall of the eastern section, representing Mārīcī, Jñanasattva Mañjuśrī, and Thousand-armed Sitātapatrā respectively;
- On the north wall of the northern section Amitāyus, Śākyamuni and Akṣobhya were painted, each surrounded by the repeated representations of the same Buddhas, similar but much smaller;
- On the opposite wall there is Bhaiṣajyaguru maṇḍala. It’s worthy to pay special attention to the composition: the eight Medicine Buddhas and the attendants are separately placed inside the Eight Great Caityas.
Among them, the thousand-armed Sitātapatrā Maṇḍala and the Eight Great Caityas are relatively rare in the medieval Tibet. Apparently, its style inherited from the Yuan Dynasty art. Innovations are also visible; for example, there are several Chinese-style boy figures. Besides, a special technique was applied, i.e., “Lifen Duijin” or adhering golden foil onto the fine lines molded by means of squeezing plaster. These motifs and techniques are popular in Tibetan art dated to early Ming Dynasty. Compared with the related visual materials between late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, these wall paintings are important artistic heritage of the Tibetan art at the turn of the Yuan-Ming period.
XIONG Wenbin & LIAO Yang: “A Preliminary Study on the Date, Iconography, and Style of the Frescoe... more XIONG Wenbin & LIAO Yang: “A Preliminary Study on the Date, Iconography, and Style of the Frescoes in the Circumambulation Corridor of Tsomchen Hall, Drepung Monastery, Lhasa,” China Tibetology 2017, no. 3, pp. 150-165.
Tsomchen (Great Assembly Hall) is one of the earliest buildings of Drepung Monastery built in Lhasa since 1416. The remains of its Inner Corridor of Circumambulation (Tib. skor lam) are important because they reflect the original architectural layout. At the end of the 15th century or the beginning of the 16th century, due to the addition of a Maitreya statue on the eastern side of the temple (i.e. Miwang lhakhang), the eastern section of the Inner Corridor was abandoned, while parts of the western and the northern sections were reserved more or less, now in a better condition after conservation and restoration in recent years. The wall paintings include:
- There are three panels painted on the western wall of the eastern section, representing Mārīcī, Jñanasattva Mañjuśrī, and Thousand-armed Sitātapatrā respectively;
- On the north wall of the northern section Amitāyus, Śākyamuni and Akṣobhya were painted, each surrounded by the repeated representations of the same Buddhas, similar but much smaller;
- On the opposite wall there is Bhaiṣajyaguru maṇḍala. It’s worthy to pay special attention to the composition: the eight Medicine Buddhas and the attendants are separately placed inside the Eight Great Caityas.
Among them, the thousand-armed Sitātapatrā Maṇḍala and the Eight Great Caityas are relatively rare in the medieval Tibet. Apparently, its style inherited from the Yuan Dynasty art. Innovations are also visible; for example, there are several Chinese-style boy figures. Besides, a special technique was applied, i.e., “Lifen Duijin” or adhering golden foil onto the fine lines molded by means of squeezing plaster. These motifs and techniques are popular in Tibetan art dated to early Ming Dynasty. Compared with the related visual materials between late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, these wall paintings are important artistic heritage of the Tibetan art at the turn of the Yuan-Ming period.
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Tsomchen (Great Assembly Hall) is one of the earliest buildings of Drepung Monastery built in Lhasa since 1416. The remains of its Inner Corridor of Circumambulation (Tib. skor lam) are important because they reflect the original architectural layout. At the end of the 15th century or the beginning of the 16th century, due to the addition of a Maitreya statue on the eastern side of the temple (i.e. Miwang lhakhang), the eastern section of the Inner Corridor was abandoned, while parts of the western and the northern sections were reserved more or less, now in a better condition after conservation and restoration in recent years. The wall paintings include:
- There are three panels painted on the western wall of the eastern section, representing Mārīcī, Jñanasattva Mañjuśrī, and Thousand-armed Sitātapatrā respectively;
- On the north wall of the northern section Amitāyus, Śākyamuni and Akṣobhya were painted, each surrounded by the repeated representations of the same Buddhas, similar but much smaller;
- On the opposite wall there is Bhaiṣajyaguru maṇḍala. It’s worthy to pay special attention to the composition: the eight Medicine Buddhas and the attendants are separately placed inside the Eight Great Caityas.
Among them, the thousand-armed Sitātapatrā Maṇḍala and the Eight Great Caityas are relatively rare in the medieval Tibet. Apparently, its style inherited from the Yuan Dynasty art. Innovations are also visible; for example, there are several Chinese-style boy figures. Besides, a special technique was applied, i.e., “Lifen Duijin” or adhering golden foil onto the fine lines molded by means of squeezing plaster. These motifs and techniques are popular in Tibetan art dated to early Ming Dynasty. Compared with the related visual materials between late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, these wall paintings are important artistic heritage of the Tibetan art at the turn of the Yuan-Ming period.
Tsomchen (Great Assembly Hall) is one of the earliest buildings of Drepung Monastery built in Lhasa since 1416. The remains of its Inner Corridor of Circumambulation (Tib. skor lam) are important because they reflect the original architectural layout. At the end of the 15th century or the beginning of the 16th century, due to the addition of a Maitreya statue on the eastern side of the temple (i.e. Miwang lhakhang), the eastern section of the Inner Corridor was abandoned, while parts of the western and the northern sections were reserved more or less, now in a better condition after conservation and restoration in recent years. The wall paintings include:
- There are three panels painted on the western wall of the eastern section, representing Mārīcī, Jñanasattva Mañjuśrī, and Thousand-armed Sitātapatrā respectively;
- On the north wall of the northern section Amitāyus, Śākyamuni and Akṣobhya were painted, each surrounded by the repeated representations of the same Buddhas, similar but much smaller;
- On the opposite wall there is Bhaiṣajyaguru maṇḍala. It’s worthy to pay special attention to the composition: the eight Medicine Buddhas and the attendants are separately placed inside the Eight Great Caityas.
Among them, the thousand-armed Sitātapatrā Maṇḍala and the Eight Great Caityas are relatively rare in the medieval Tibet. Apparently, its style inherited from the Yuan Dynasty art. Innovations are also visible; for example, there are several Chinese-style boy figures. Besides, a special technique was applied, i.e., “Lifen Duijin” or adhering golden foil onto the fine lines molded by means of squeezing plaster. These motifs and techniques are popular in Tibetan art dated to early Ming Dynasty. Compared with the related visual materials between late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, these wall paintings are important artistic heritage of the Tibetan art at the turn of the Yuan-Ming period.