Study on Futon Patterns in Mural of Buddhist Temple in Wutai Mountain under Digital Vision

Dao Xuan’s Gantonglu records:“About fifteen kilometers down from the southeast of the Wutai Mountain,there is the ancient Dafu Lingjiu Temple,and there are two Taoist temples in the east and west,where Buddhist matters are fulfilled.According to ancient legend,it was made by Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty”(Daoxuan,Tang Dynasty,p.257).It can be seen that Buddhism has been introduced into Wutai Mountain since the Eastern Han Dynasty,and Buddhist temple murals have been painted on the walls of temples with the introduction of Buddhism,playing the role of spreading scriptures and decorating the walls.The pattern of Buddha’s futon base in the murals reflects the worship and rank differences of Buddhist monks in different periods.As a medium of meditation and worship,futuan is also a ritual instrument in Buddhist legend,which is of great significance.The research on the style of futon from the perspective of the frescoes in the temple of Wutai Mountain mainly focuses on the historical evolution of the frescoes and futon,the research and analysis of the base shape,pattern,composition and color of the futon in the frescoes of the temple.Explore the religious significance and historical and cultural value behind the futon style.

Late Quaternary Activity and Paleoearthquakes along the Nanyukou Segment of the Northern Piedmont Fault of Wutai Mountain

The northern piedmont fault of Wutai Mountain is located at the north of the Shanxi Graben system, which is the dominating fault of the south boundary of the Fanshi-Daixian depression. This paper discusses the fault activity and paleoearthquakes around the Nanyukou segment of the northern piedmont fault of Wutai Mountain during the late Quaternary through field investigation along the fault, measuring geomorphic deformation and excavating trenches at some important sites. From Nanyukou to the southwest of Shanhui, we find obviously dislocated alluvial fans, with strong neotectonic movement at these sites. Since nearly 20ka, the vertical average slip rate is 1.55mm/a to 2.0mm/a. However,since nearly 6ka,it has reached as high as 2.3mm/a, which is twice that on other segments. 2 trenches were excavated around Nanyukou with 6 events discovered. The referenced ages of the events are before 7600a, 6700a - 7600a, 5321a - 5575a, 4400a - 5400a,420Oa-4400a and after 1600a B.P. with approximate recurrence interval 1400a. The latest event is likely to be the earthquake occurring at 512 A. D. ,so it is necessary to do further work to verify this in the future.

Wutai Mountain

LOCATED in central China＇s Shanxi Province, Wutai Mountain is seen as the global center for Buddhist Manjusri worship, and one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China. Its five main peaks, positioned east, south, west, north, and in the middle, embrace one another with broad and plain terraces rather than forests on their peaks. That is why it bears the name Wutai Mountain, which literally means Mountain of Five Terraces.

A Study of the Three Buddhist Copper Hall Projects, 1602-1607

The copper hall was a special type of building in Chinese architectural history. It imitates traditional Chinese timber architecture in terms of structure, but with all its components cast out of copper alloys and then assembled. During the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty, three such Buddhist copper halls were constructed from 1602 to 1607, and set up at Emei Mountain, Baohua Mountain, and Wutai Mountain. The present article makes several points. First, the three copper halls were from the same design, as determined through historical texts and on-site investigation. In conception, they may have been inspired by Taoist copper halls, but did not follow those particular designs. Furthermore, the author has created a statistical database of all the inscriptions from Wutai Copper Hall and loaded the data into the GIS platform, which was keyed to a historical map of 1582. The data suggest that the patrons of Wutai Copper Hall lived in areas along the Grand Canal, the Sanggan River, and the Fen River; and that the patrons were numerous. The Chan Master Miaofeng was not only an organizer but also an experienced project manager who preferred brick, stone and metal to timber. Under his organizing and management, people from different social classes and communities willingly contributed. Finally, this paper contextualizes the Buddhist building projects of the late Wanli period. The inscriptions in Wutai Copper Hall reliably record a vivid landscape of Ming society. The donation initiated by Miaofeng was not merely a personal action but also an influential event the effect of which lasted for years. The numerous patrons were organized not by the power afforded by any state representative, but by networks of monks, nuns, merchants, local religious communities, and pilgrim associations. Copper halls, especially Wutai Copper Hall, are excellent evidence for how religious monumental projects were organized, managed, and implemented in late Ming society.