Chinese Buddhist Journey

Author: Lin Yanjiao, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-06-01
Features: Comprehensive presentation of famous Buddhist temples and ancient monasteries, cave sculptures, sculptures and paintings, and historical sites in China. The book is richly illustrated, elegant, of high quality, and grand in scale. It uses an interwoven text-and-image approach to recreate the splendid scenery of the Buddhist world and employs a fusion of ancient and modern perspectives to showcase the awe-inspiring power of Buddhism. The book divides China into ten regions, with each region covered in a separate volume. It includes over 2,400 color photographs, distribution maps, route maps, and more, perfectly complementing the text and creating a harmonious whole. It holds historical and cultural significance while also being rich in aesthetic and collectible value. Even without leaving home, readers can explore the vastness of China and the span of millennia through this book, gaining a comprehensive view of famous Buddhist sites across the country. With leisure, readers can look up and down at will. The book also features nearly 300 sub-topics distributed across the volumes, providing an all-encompassing overview of Buddhist knowledge.
The compilation of A Journey Through Chinese Buddhism is primarily organized by geographical distribution (the longitude) and the spread of Buddhism (the latitude), dividing China into ten regions, each covered in a separate volume. Each volume begins with an introduction to give readers a holistic understanding of its content. The book's greatest feature lies in its focus on famous temples and monasteries as central points, with narratives expanding from these focal points to introduce important figures, events, geography, artifacts, and landscapes related to Buddhism. To supplement and deepen the main text, each volume includes special mini-columns that provide in-depth yet accessible introductions to significant deities, figures, sects, scriptures, doctrines, practices, and general knowledge, enhancing the book's educational and cultural appeal. The book showcases the development of Buddhism in China and reflects its cultural characteristics in different regions. The illustrations are primarily color photographs, supplemented by a small number of hand-painted color illustrations. The selected images are exquisite and vivid, embodying historical and cultural significance while also being rich in aesthetic and collectible value.