Abstract
This paper focuses on Miaoyinsi, a Buddhist temple in Yongdeng County, Gansu province, at the Sino-Tibetan frontier. Miaoyinsi was constructed by the Mongolian Lu family, who governed this region beginning in the fifteenth century under the hereditary title tusi. Miaoyinsi's main hall is unusual architecturally because while it is primarily a traditional Chinese structure, a narrow corridor wraps around three sides of the building, a feature more commonly associated with the architecture of Tibet. This hybrid building type exists in several other temples within this border-land region and can be considered a local architectural response to Tibetan Buddhist ritual practices.
Lu family, Tusi, Yongdeng County, Chinese architecture, Tibetan architecture, Ming dynasty, Miaoyin Temple (Miaoyinsi), Tibetan Buddhism, Emperor Yongle, Emperor Xuande, Sino-Tibetan, frontier
The text of this article is only available as a PDF.
Copyright © Asia Society
2015
Issue Section:
Articles
You do not currently have access to this content.