Built around three sacred springs, the Jin Shrines complex (Jinci),
near Taiyuan in Shanxi province, contains a wealth of ancient art
and architecture dating back to the Northern Song dynasty
(960-1127). The complex's 1,500-year-long textual record allows us
to compare physical and written evidence to understand how the
built environment was manipulated to communicate ideas about
divinity, identity, and status. Jinci's significance varied over
time according to both its patrons' needs and changes in the
political and physical landscape. The impact of these changes can
be read in the physical development of the site.
Using an interdisciplinary approach drawing on the research of
archaeologists, anthropologists, and religious, social, and art
historians, this book seeks to recover the motivations behind the
creation of religious art, including temple buildings, sculpture,
and wall paintings. Through an examination of building style and
site organization, the author illuminates the multiplicity of
meanings projected by buildings within a sacred landscape and the
ability of competing patronage groups to modify those meanings with
text and context, thereby affecting the identity of the deities
housed within them. This study of the art and architecture of Jinci
is thus about divine creations and their power to create
divinity.
General
Imprint: |
Harvard University Asia Center
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series |
Release date: |
June 2007 |
First published: |
June 2007 |
Authors: |
Tracy Miller
|
Dimensions: |
279 x 216 x 20mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
265 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-674-02513-4 |
Categories: |
Books >
Arts & Architecture >
Architecture >
General
|
LSN: |
0-674-02513-X |
Barcode: |
9780674025134 |
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