The National Ancestral Temple (Between the Sacred and Profane of the Tang and Song Empires)

Author: Duan Yuming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: As one of the most influential temples in ancient China, the Xiangguo Temple played a significant role in the religious and social life of the Tang and Song dynasties due to its unique status. This paper, based on historical methods, extensively employs theories and methods from religious studies, sociology, anthropology, and postmodern cultural studies. It conducts a systematic, comprehensive, and in-depth examination of the Tang and Song Xiangguo Temple from various aspects, including its construction, successive repairs and expansions, sculptures and murals, miraculous manifestations, eminent monks, its relationship with imperial political life, its connection with the capital's economic life, and its position in the cultural and entertainment life of scholars and commoners in the capital. In the coexistence and interaction of multiple forces—religious, secular, and imperial—the characteristics of the Tang and Song Xiangguo Temple provide a new perspective for understanding certain aspects of Chinese religion, belief, and even Chinese culture.