Virtual Pilgrimage and Virtual Geography: Power of Liao Miniature Pagodas (907-1125)

Abstract

This paper examines the role of the miniature in Buddhist ritual, through analyses of miniature pagodas from middle-period China. Due to the otherworldly sensations they evoked and their theatrical nature, miniatures were often endowed with magical and performative power in funerary and religious contexts. The miniature pagodas from the Liao empire (907-1125) were replicas of the stupa monuments (the prototype of the pagoda) at the Eight Great Sacred Places in India. Adopting ritual theories and a comparative approach, this paper illuminates how the Liao miniature pagodas were devised to symbolically transfer the sacred places to the Liao empire in northeast China, allowing Liao Buddhists to make a virtual pilgrimage to the Buddha’s homeland by circumambulating the pagoda. The ways in which they functioned in the Buddhist ritual were similar to the small-scale copies of the Holy Sepulcher in medieval Europe. Their power-contrary to common sense-originated from their miniature size and intentional rejection of their sacred prototype. Through these miniatures, the banal ritual of pagoda circumambulation was transformed into an imaginary journey to the distant holy land, which was believed to be more efficacious and meritorious than an actual pilgrimage, and the prairie of northeast China was turned into the most sacred place in the Buddhist world.

Full text

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Religions2017,8,206;doi:10.3390/rel8100206www.mdpi.com/journal/religions
Article
VirtualPilgrimageandVirtualGeography:
PowerofLiaoMiniaturePagodas(907‐1125)
Youn‐miKim
HistoryofArt,EwhaWomansUniversity,Ewhayeodeagil52,Seodaemun‐gu,Seoul03760,Korea;
ymkim24@ewha.ac.kr
Received:7August2017;Accepted:15September2017;Published:26September2017
Abstract:ThispaperexaminestheroleoftheminiatureinBuddhistritual,throughanalysesof
miniaturepagodasfrommiddle‐periodChina.Duetotheotherworldlysensationstheyevoked
andtheirtheatricalnature,miniatureswereoftenendowedwithmagicalandperformativepower
infuneraryandreligiouscontexts.TheminiaturepagodasfromtheLiaoempire(907–1125)were
replicasofthestupamonuments(theprototypeofthepagoda)attheEightGreatSacredPlacesin
India.Adoptingritualtheoriesandacomparativeapproach,thispaperilluminateshowtheLiao
miniaturepagodasweredevisedtosymbolicallytransferthesacredplacestotheLiaoempirein
northeastChina,allowingLiaoBuddhiststomakeavirtualpilgrimagetotheBuddha’shomeland
bycircumambulatingthepagoda.ThewaysinwhichtheyfunctionedintheBuddhistritualwere
similartothesmall‐scalecopiesoftheHolySepulcherinmedievalEurope.Theirpower—contrary
tocommonsense—originatedfromtheirminiaturesizeandintentionalrejectionoftheirsacred
prototype.Throughtheseminiatures,thebanalritualofpagodacircumambulationwas
transformedintoanimaginaryjourneytothedistantholyland,whichwasbelievedtobemore
efficaciousandmeritoriousthananactualpilgrimage,andtheprairieofnortheastChinawas
turnedintothemostsacredplaceintheBuddhistworld.
Keywords:Buddhism;virtualpilgrimage;sacredplace;ritual;miniature;pagoda;stupa;Liao
empire;HolySepulcher

1.Introduction
Aminiatureisastrangething.Throughadistortionofscale,miniatureselicitotherworldly
feelingsthateverydayobjectscannot.
1
Duetotheirdistinctivephenomenologicalandvisualeffects,
miniatureswereoftenendowedwithmagicalandperformativepowerinfuneraryandreligious
contexts.WhileJonathanZ.Smith’sinfluentialtheoryhasilluminatedtheroleoftheminiatureinthe
West,theminiatureinBuddhistritualpracticehasreceivedlittlescholarlyattention.Itismy
conviction,however,thatclosestudyoftheminiatureinBuddhistpracticecanalsodeepenour
understandingofthenatureoftheminiatureinreligiouspracticemoregenerally.
TheLiaoempire(907–1125),foundedbythenomadicpeopleknownastheKitansintoday’s
northeastChinaandMongolia,erectednumerouspagodasadornedwithminiaturepagodas.As
toweringarchitecturalmonumentsthatenshrinedtheBuddha’srelicsintheirinnerdeposit,pagodas
hadbecomethemostsacredandhighlyveneratedarchitecturalmonumentsinEastAsiasince
BuddhismwasfirsttransmittedfromIndiaaroundthestartoftheCommonEra.TheLiaoempire’s
1
 Fortheoreticalstudiesoftheminiature,see(Stewart1993;Lévi‐Strauss1966).Forstudiesofminiaturesin
thematerialcultureoftheMediterranean,seearticlesincludedin(SmithandBergeron2011).

Religions2017,8,206 2of29
brickpagodas(Figure1)werepeculiarinthatreliefsofminiaturepagodas(Figure2)weredisplayed
ontheouterwallsoftheirgroundstory.2
Theritualfunctionoftheseminiatureshasyettobeilluminated.Throughaninvestigationinto
theirritualfunction,thispaperhopestoofferanopportunitytorethinkthepowerandfunctionof
miniaturesinreligiouspractice.Thispaperbringstolightthewaysinwhichtheseminiatures
effectivelyoffereda‘virtualpilgrimage,’ 3andpowerfullyshiftedthelandofLiaofromthe
peripherytothecenteroftheBuddhistsacredgeography.Throughthepoweroftheminiatures,the
banalritualofpagodacircumambulationwastransformedintoanimaginaryjourneytothedistant
holylandoftheBuddha,therebyenablinganimaginedpilgrimageforLiaoBuddhists,mostof
whomcouldnotaffordsuchtraveltoIndia.Moreover,theminiatureshelpedconceptuallyreshape
theprairieofnortheastChinaintothemostsacredplaceintheBuddhistworld,creatingavirtual
sacredgeography.ThelogicoftheLiaominiaturesinreligiouspracticeoftendefiedcommonsense.
TheirpoweroriginatedfromtheirminiaturesizeandintentionalrejectionoftheirIndianprototype.
ObservationsinthispapercomplicateandsupplementJonathanZ.Smith’stheory’sinfluential
theoryonthetendencytowardsminiaturizationinritual.WhileSmith’stheorythrowsmuchlight
ontheworkingsoftheLiaominiaturepagodas,theminiaturesandrelatedBuddhistpracticesreveal
thatthevirtualpilgrimageandvirtualgeographyenabledbythemwere,countertoSmith’stheory,
morethanmere“displacements”orreplacements—theywereregardedasevenmorepowerfuland
efficaciousthantheirrealcounterparts.Inotherwords,theminiaturesbroughtintoexistencea
virtualritualthatwasmoremeritoriousthantherealpilgrimage,andavirtualholylandmore
sacredthantherealone.
2.PagodasonthePagoda
BeforewebegintoexplorethecomplexritualfunctionsofminiaturepagodasfromtheLiao
empire,abriefintroductionisinorder.TheLiaoempiregenerouslypatronizedBuddhism,resulting
inthedevelopmentofnewtypesofBuddhistarchitecturethatprofoundlyimpactedtheritualand
visualcultureofChineseBuddhisminthesubsequentcenturies.4Indeed,northeastChinaandInner
Mongoliaarestilldottedwithhigh‐risebrickpagodasfromtheLiao.Nootherdynastieshaveleftso
manypagodasintheseregions.AsevidencedbytheLiaobrickpagodasthatstillremain,the
practiceofdecoratingtheexteriorwallswithminiaturepagodaswaswidespreadthroughoutthe
Liaoterritory—fromHebeiProvincetoBeijingandInnerMongolia.EvenafterthefalloftheLiao
empirein1125,miniaturepagodascontinuouslyappearedonthepagodasoftheJindynasty(1115–
1234).5
TheminiaturepagodaswiththemostdetailediconographyarethoseonChaoyangNorth
Pagoda’sexteriorwalls(Figures1and2).Eightminiaturepagodas—twooneachside—surround
thegroundstory.6Thesearealsotheoldestsurvivingexamplesoftheeightminiaturepagodas.
Thankstothedatedinscriptionsexcavatedfromthepagoda’srelicdeposits,weknowthatthe
imageriesonthegroundstorywerecreatedbefore1044.7Thispracticeofadorningapagoda’souter
2 TheLiaohadakeeninterestinminiaturearchitecture.Forminiaturebuildingsthatwereusedascontainers
inLiao,suchascoffinsandreliquariesmadeintheshapesofarchitecture,see(Chen2011).
3 Aswillbeexplainedlater,virtualpilgrimagewaspracticedbydivergentreligioustraditionsacrossthe
globe.IamgratefultoProfessorJeffreyHamburgerforbringingmyattentiontothestudiesofvirtual
pilgrimageintheWest.ForagoodmonographonvirtualpilgrimageinmedievalEurope,see(Rudy2011).
4 FortheLiaoempire,see(DiCosimo2006;WittfogelandFêng1949).
5 Forexample,theYinshanPagodaForest(銀山塔林)inPingchang 昌平districtinthenortheastofdowntown
BeijinghasseveralJin‐dynastypagodasadornedwithminiaturepagodas.
6 ThenumberofminiaturepagodasplacedonaLiaopagodawastypicallyeight.SomelaterLiaopagodas
showmodifications.OnesuchexampleisBalengguanPagoda八棱觀塔,whichhasasmanyas48miniature
pagodareliefsattachedtoitspedestalandgroundstorywalls
7 Thearchaeologicalexcavationwasconductedfrom1984to1996.Forthemostextensivereportonthis
excavation,see(Liaoning‐shengwenwukaoguyanjiusuoandChaoyang‐shiBeitabowuguan2007).

Religions2017,8,206 3of29
wallswitheightminiaturesseemstohaveoriginatedintheChaoyangregion.8Miniaturepagodas
appearontheexteriorofasmanyassevenpagodasinthisregion,fourofwhichhaveasquareplan.9
Thesesquarepagodasshowthatthepracticeofattachingeightminiaturepagodastoanactual
pagodabodywasfirstdevelopedintheChaoyangregion.10AspointedoutbyNancySteinhartand
ChinesescholarLiYufeng,thesquarepagodasexhibitatransitionalarchitecturalstylethatsignals
theinceptionoftheearlyLiaopagodastyle,astheirsquaregroundplancomesfromtheprevious
Tangdynasty(618–907)(Steinhardt1997;Li1997).SquareLiaopagodaswereuniquetoChaoyang,
asthetypicalformofpagodathroughouttheLiaoterritorysoonbecametheoctagonalmulti‐eaved
pagoda.Therefore,onecaninferthattheminiaturepagodasonthesesquareLiaopagodasin
ChaoyangpredatethoseontheoctagonalLiaopagodas.Amongthesesquarepagodaswhose
ground‐storyimageryhassurvived,11ChaoyangNorthPagodaseemstohaveservedasthemodel
fortheothersquarepagodas.Iconographicdetailsandstylisticfeaturesoftheimagery—suchas
realisticrenderingofspatialdepthusinglowrelief,suggestthattheypredatethoseonother
pagodas.AssimilariconographicrepertoiresfrequentlyappearonlateroctagonalLiaopagodas,the
imageryonChaoyangNorthPagodaisparticularlyimportantasaprototypeformanyLiao
pagodas.
Throughseveralvisualdevices,theimageryofChaoyangNorthPagodaindicatesthatthe
miniaturepagodasareoneoftheprincipalelementsofitsiconography.Atfirstglance,theminiature
pagodas,placedonthefarleftandrightofeachgroundstorywall,mightseemratherinsignificant
comparedtothecentralBuddha(Figure3).TheseatedBuddhaimmediatelydrawstheviewer’s
attentionduetohiscentralpositionandrelativelylargesize,aswellasrichdetailing.Threelayersof
concentrichalosencirclehisbody,markinghissacredstatus.Arobeelegantlycovershisshoulders
andbodybutexposespartofhischest.Thepartiallyexposedchestisadornedwithanexquisite
necklace,andtheheadiscrownedwithahighornatecrownfeaturingsmallimagesoffiveBuddhas;
bothareiconiccharacteristicsofBuddhasinEsotericBuddhism,whichwaswidelypracticedin
Liao.12TheBuddhaissupportedbyalotuspedestal,underwhichareanimalsrepresentingthe
vāhana(animalmount)typicalofEsotericBuddhas.Besideshiscentralpositionandexquisitedetails,
thevisualdevicesignifyingtheBuddha’simportanceisthesplendidcanopythathoversabovehim.
Representationofacanopy,somethingthathadactuallybeenusedinancientIndiatoprotect
aristocratsandroyaltyfromthesun,wasintroducedtoserveasavisualmarkerofsacredfiguresin
theBuddhistvisualtradition.13Oneithersideofthecanopyemanatesacelestialdancerstanding
8 Chaoyangisoneoffourteenshi市(prefectural‐levelcities)thatcompriseLiaoningProvince.A
prefectural‐levelcityisanadministrativedivisionofthePeople’sRepublicofChinathatranksbelowa
provinceandaboveacounty.
9 Twoarelocatedinthedowntownarea(ChaoyangNorthPagodaandChaoyangSouthPagoda朝陽南塔);
twoareonMountFenghuang鳳凰nearthedowntownarea(YunjiesiPagoda雲接寺塔[alsoknownas
MoyunPagoda摩雲塔]andDabaoPagoda大寶塔);andthreeareinsuburbanareas(QingfengPagoda靑
峰塔[alsoknownasthePagodaatWushijiaziVillage五十家子塔],BalengguanPagoda八棱觀塔,andthe
southernpagodaofShuangtasi雙塔寺).Exceptforthelattertwo,allhaveasquareplan.
10AlthoughthesculpturesattachedtoChaoyangSouthPagoda’sgroundstoryhavenotsurvived,theeight
cartouchesremainingonthegroundstoryindicatetheoriginalpresenceofeightminiaturepagodas.
11TheimageryonChaoyangSouthPagoda’sgroundstorydidnotsurvive,andthispagodaisdifficulttodate.
theSomescholarshavesuggestedthatChaoyangSouthPagodamaypredateChaoyangNorthPagoda,
becauseastonestelethatdatesto984(thesecondyearoftheTonghe統和reignperiod)wasdiscoveredin
2004fromanearbyundergroundrelicdepository.Itis,however,unclearwhetherthisrelicdepositorywas
relatedtoChaoyangSouthPagodabecausethedepositorywaslocatedroughlyfiftymeterstothenorthof
thispagoda.Arelicdepositoryisusuallyfoundbeloworinsideapagoda.Acompleteexcavationreport
regardingthisrelicdepository,whichwasreferredtoasa‘stonepalace’(shigong石宮)inthestele
inscriptionfoundinthedepository,hasyettobepublished.Arubbingoftheexcavatedstonestelewas
publishedinapamphletfromtheNorthPagodaMuseum,entitledChaoyangfosheli朝陽佛舍利.
12ForLiaoBuddhism,see(Wakiya1912,1913;Sørensen2011).
13Earlyexamplesareseeninthecanopies(largeumbrellas)inthenarrativepanels(1stcenturyBCE–1st
centuryCE)fromtheGreatStupaatSanciinIndia.

Religions2017,8,206 4of29
insideatrailingcloud.TheBuddhaunderthecanopyisflankedbytwobodhisattvaskneelingon
lotuspedestalsatopaMount‐Sumerupedestal;theyeachfacetheBuddhapiously,withanoffering
intheirhands.ThebodhisattvasaremuchsmallerthantheBuddhas,theysitonlowerpedestals,
theyhaveonlytwohalosaroundtheirheads,andnocanopyispositionedabovethem.Collectively,
thesevisualcuesworktogethertoimplythatthebodhisattvasareoflesserimportancethanthe
Buddhatheyvenerate.

Figure1.ChaoyangNorthPagoda.Liaodynasty,1043–1044.Chaoyang,LiaoningProvince,China
[©Youn‐miKimPhotograph,2007].

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
Figure2.Miniaturepagoda,westsideofthesouthwallofChaoyangNorthPagoda.Liaodynast,
1043–1044.Chaoyang,LiaoningProvince,China[©PhotographbyYoun‐miKim,2014].

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
Figure3.ThecentralBuddhaandattendingbodhisattvas,eastwallofChaoyangNorthPagoda,
Chaoyang,LiaoningProvince,China.Liaodynasty,1043–1044[©PhotographbyYoun‐miKim,
2014].
Miniaturepagodas,ontheotherhand,weregivenasmuchvisualemphasisasthecentral
Buddha.EachissurmountedbyacanopyjustliketheBuddha(Figure2).Fromeithersideofthe
canopy,acelestialdeity(feitian飛天)fliesdown,trailedbynuminouscloudthatfurtheremphasizes
thesignificanceoftheminiaturepagodas.Theflyingcelestialdeitiespiouslyholdofferings.Inother
words,thethreecanopiesintheimageryareusedtoclearlyhighlightthemainiconographies—the
centralBuddhaandminiaturepagodas.GiventhatacanopyinBuddhistartusuallyappearsabove
animportantBuddhistdeity,typicallyaBuddha,itissignificantthattheseminiaturepagodasare
alsomarkedbycanopies,asiftheminiaturesareanimateholybeings.Moreover,amongthese
reliefs,onlythesepagodashavecartouches(locatedbetweenthepagodasandthekneeling
bodhisattvas),thecontentsofwhichwillbediscussedinthefollowingsection.
3.MiniaturizingPilgrimagethroughMiniatures
Theminiaturepagodas,whichwerevisuallyemphasizedinthedesignofLiaobrickpagodas,
playedasignificantroleinreshapingandinnovatingtheritualpracticespertainingtopagoda
venerationinEastAsianBuddhism.Forthepagoda’svenerators,theyenabledvirtualpilgrimageto
theBuddhistholyland.Aswillbeexplainedbelow,thevirtualpilgrimagereflectsthetendency
towardsminiaturizationthatwasobservedbyJonathanZ.Smithtocreatea“ritualofritual.”14Atthe
sametime,suchavirtualpilgrimagewasnotmerelya“displacement”15ofarealpilgrimage,but
enabledamoreidealized,distilledandefficaciousformofpilgrimage.
Cartouchesinscribedwiththenamesoftheeightminiaturepagodasprovideagoodstarting
pointforourexplorationofthemultifacetednatureoftheLiaominiaturepagodas(Figures3and
12).AlmostidenticalcartoucheinscriptionsappearonfiveLiaopagodas:threeintheChaoyang
region(ChaoyangNorthPagoda;SouthChaoyangPagoda;YunjiesiPagoda),oneinNingcheng寧
城,InnerMongolia(DamingPagoda 大名塔)(Figures4and5),16andoneinXingcheng興城,
LiaoningProvince(BaitayuPagoda白塔峪塔)(Figures6and7).17
14Forthenotionof“ritualofaritual,”see(Smith1980,p.29).
15DisplacementisakeyconceptinJonathanZ.Smith’stheoryontheminiaturizationofritual.
16ThispagodaisalsoknownastheGreatPagodaoftheMiddleCapital(中京大塔).
17ForachartlistingthecartoucheinscriptionsfromtheseLiaopagodas,seeTable3inJooKyeongmi’spaper
(Chu2009).

Religions2017,8,206 7of29

Figure4.DamingPagoda,NingchengCounty,Chifeng,InnerMongolia.Liaodynasty,latterhalfof
the11thtotheearly12thcentury[©PhotographbyYoun‐miKim,2009].

Religions2017,8,206 8of29

Figure5.OneoftheinscriptionsofDamingPagoda,NingchengCounty,Chifeng,InnerMongolia.
Liaodynasty,latterhalfofthe11thtotheearly12thcentury[©PhotographbyYoun‐miKim,2009].

Religions2017,8,206 9of29

Figure6.BaitayuPagoda,Xingcheng,LiaoningProvince.Liaodynasty,1092[©Photographby
Youn‐miKim,2014].

Religions2017,8,206 10of29

Figure7.Thenameoftheeighthpagodainscribedonthepillarbetweenthesouthwalland
southwesternwall,BaitayuPagoda.Liaodynasty,1092.Xingcheng,LiaoningProvince.
[©PhotographbyYoun‐miKim,2014].

Religions2017,8,206 11of29
Thesecartoucheinscriptionsconnecttheeightminiaturepagodaswithspecificlocalitiesthat
servedasthebackdropformajoreventsinthelifeofthehistoricalBuddhaŚākyamuni,whowas
bornintheareaoftoday’sNepalandactiveinUttarPradeshandBiharinIndiasometimebetween
the6thandthe4thcenturiesBCE.18TheprogressionoftheBuddha’seightlifeevents,asdescribed
inthecartouches,informsusthattheminiaturepagodasarephysicallyarrangedtoreflectthe
sequenceofeventsfromtheBuddha’sbirthtohisdeath.Beginningwiththeoneplacedontheright
sideofthesouthwall,theyarearrangedinaclockwisefashion.Eachcartoucheinscriptionis
composedofsevenChinesecharactersandendswiththesameta塔(pagoda),thusformingaverse
throughrhyme.Theinscriptionsreadasfollows:19
SouthWall
1ThepagodaatthepalaceofKingŚuddhodana,where[theBuddha]wasborn20
2Thepagoda[attheplacewheretheBuddha]gainedawakeningundertheWisdomTree21
WestWall
3ThepagodaatDeerGarden,where[theBuddhafirstturned]theWheeloftheLaw22
4ThepagodaattheJetavanaGarden,[wheretheBuddhagained]fame23
NorthWall
5ThepagodaattheouteredgeofKanyākubja,[wheretheBuddhadescendedfrom]thetreasury
stairs24
6ThepagodaatVulturePeak,[wheretheBuddhaexpounded]prajñāwisdom25
EastWall
7ThepagodaattheMangoGroveGarden,whereVimalakīrti[hadadebatewithMañjuśrī
Bodhisattva]26
8ThepagodaattheGroveofŚālaTrees,[wheretheBuddha]enteredthegreatextinction
(parinirvāṇa)27
18IfirstpresentedontherelationshipbetweenChaoyangNorthPagoda’seightminiaturepagodasandthe
EightGreatSacredPlaces,andthevirtualpilgrimageofferedbyminiaturepagodas,inmypaper“Buddhist
Cosmology,RitualsandMinglingoftheBuddhaBodies:ChaoyangNorthPagoda”inTheFirstInternational
HeidelbergColloquyonEastAsianArtHistoryheldatUniversityofHeidelberginSeptember2006.The
colloquypaperwasbasedonmytermpaperforEugeneWang’sgraduateseminar“SketchConceptualism”
in2005.ThepapersIpresentedatTheMapandtheWorld:RepresentingRealmsofBuddhistThoughtconference
atUniversityofCalifornia(2007)andChina’sNorthernFrontier:OnsiteSeminar,hostedbytheSilkRoad
FoundationinJuly2009,alsodiscussedthistopic.
19ThefollowingcartoucheinscriptionsarefromChaoyangNorthPagoda.Thetranscriptionofthese
inscriptionswasfirstpublishedin(Takeshima1944).Thesecartoucheareidentical—differingonlybyafew
sinographs—tocartouchesfoundintheotherfourLiaopagodas.
20淨飯王宮生處塔.
21菩提樹下成佛塔.
22鹿野苑中法輪塔.
23給孤獨園名稱塔.
24曲女城邊寶堦塔.
25耆闍崛山般若塔.
26菴羅衛林維摩塔.Vimalakīrti,awiseBuddhistlaymanmentionedintheVimalakīrti‐nirdeśa‐sūtrawhohad
becomeanespeciallyadmiredfigureintheChinesetradition,doesnotreallymarkaneventinthelifeofthe
Buddha.Aswillbeexplainedlater,theLiaominiaturepagodas’cartoucheinscriptionsarecitationsfrom
Dashengbenshengxindiguanjing大乘本生心地觀經(T.3,no.159).ThisisaBuddhistsutracomposed,partly
orentirely,inChina.BecausethisapocryphalsutrareflectedChinesemodificationoftheeventsrelatedto
theEightGreatSacredPlaceswherethemajorlifeeventsoftheBuddhatookplace,theLiaominiature
pagodasthatfollowedthisapocryphalsutracametomentionthisfigure.Formoreonthis,see(Chu2009,
pp.146–51;Kim2010,pp.32–33).
27娑羅林中圓寂塔.Thetermyuanji圓寂inthisinscription,literallymeaning‘perfectextinction,’denotesthe
Buddha’sdemise,whichwasthemomentheenteredparinirvāṇa(greatnirvāṇa).

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Theeightplacesmentionedintheseinscriptionswerenotrandomlychosen.Theycloselymatch
thelocalitiesoftheEightGreatSacredPlaces(badashengdi八大聖地,Sk.aṣṭamahāsthāna)located
inpresent‐dayIndiaandNepal(Figure8).ThepalaceofKingŚuddhodana,whowasthefatherof
ŚākyamuniBuddhamentionedinthefirstcartouche,islocatednearLumbinīinNepal,wherethe
Buddhawasborn.28 TheplacewheretheBuddhagainedawakeningundertheWisdomTree,
mentionedinthesecondcartouche,isBodhgayāinBihar,India.Itisreveredasthemostimportant
sacredplaceinBuddhism.DeerGardeninthethirdcartouche,locatedinSārnāth,istheplacewhere
theBuddhagavehisfirstsermon.Thephrase“turnedtheWheeloftheLaw”inthiscartoucheisa
metaphoroftenusedinBuddhismforthepreachingofBuddhistlaw.Asshowninthelistbelow,
eachoftheplacesmentionedinthesubsequentfivecartouchesisalsofaithfullymatchedwithoneof
theEightGreatSacredPlaces:
SouthWall
1. Lumbinī(nearthepalaceofKingŚuddhodana)
2. Bodhgayā(wheretheBuddhagainedawakening)
WestWall
3. Sārnāth(whereDeerGardenislocated)
4. Śrāvastī(whereJetavanaGardenislocated)
NorthWall
5. Sānkāśya(wheretheBuddhadescendedthetreasurystairsaftergivingasermontohismother
intheTrāyastriṃśaHeaven)
6. Rājgir(whereVulturePeakislocated)
EastWall
7. Vaiśālī(whereMangoGroveGardenislocated)
8. Kuśnagara(wheretheGroveofŚālaTreesislocated)
TheseLiaocartouchesareinfactadirectcitationofeightlinesofverse(Sk.gāthā)fromthe
scriptureentitledMahāyānaSutraofContemplationontheMindGroundandtheBuddha’sPreviousLives
(hereafter,MindGroundSutra).29Thisscripturementionstheeightpagodastwice:first,intheprose
sectionofitsfirstfascicle,wheretheeightpagodasappearinthegoldenlightemittedfromthebody
ofŚākyamuniBuddhaashepreaches;andsecond,inthesubsequentversesectionthatsummarizes
thefascicle’scontents.30Theverseincludeseightlinesenumeratingthenamesoftheeightpagodas.
EachLiaocartoucheborrowsonelinefromthissectionoftheverse,31hencedeconstructingand
28KingŚuddhodana’spalacewaslocatedinKapilavastu,andhiswife,QueenMāyā,gavebirthtoŚākyamuni
inLumbinīonherwayfromthispalacetoherhometown.Atpresent,thelocationofKapilavastuisinferred
tobeeitherpresent‐dayPiprahwaorTilaura‐kot,bothlocatedintheborderareabetweenNepalandIndia.
Tilaura‐kotisapproximately23kmtothenorthwestofLumbinī andPiprahwaistothesouthwestof
Lumbinī.(Yi2009,pp. 314–18).
29Dashengbenshengxindiguanjing,T.3,no.159.ThefirstgroupofscholarswhostudiedtheLiaopagodaswas
JapanesearchaeologistswhoexploredhistoricalmonumentsinManchuriaduringtheJapaneseoccupation
ofnortheastChina.Inthe1930s,ToriiRyūzō,aJapanesearchaeologist,anthropologistandfolklorist,first
foundthistextualsourcefortheLiaominiaturepagodacartouches.Forexample,inhis1937monograph
thatsummarizeshistwofieldtripstoNortheastChinaandMongolia,hebrieflymentionedthatthenames
oftheLiaominiaturepagodascamefromtheMindGroundSutra.See(Torii1937).Thistextualsourcewas
alsomentionedinmorerecentlypublications,including(Shen2001;Sŏng2012;Chu2009,pp.141–67).
30Dashengbenshengxindiguanjing,T.3,no.159:294a24‐b7,296a15‐18.
31TheverselinesfromtheMindGroundSutrareads:淨飯王宮生處塔菩提樹下成佛塔鹿野園中法輪塔給孤獨
園名稱塔曲女城邊寶階塔耆闍崛山般若塔菴羅衛林維摩塔娑羅林中圓寂塔。T.3,no.159:294a‐b,
296a15‐18.TheLiaocartoucheinscriptionsexactlymatchtheseverselines,exceptforafewsinographs.For
example,ChaoyangNorthPagoda’scartouchesuseyuan苑insteadofyuan園initsthirdcartouche,and
jie 堦insteadofjie階initsfifthcartouche.Inbothcases,thesubstitutedsinographhasameaningthatis
basicallyinterchangeablewiththeoriginalsinographinthesutra,andthereforedoesnotproduceany

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thenre‐materializingtheverseinthethree‐dimensionalarchitecturalspace.ArubbingfromaLiao
stonesteleinscriptionof1044,entitledRecordoftheEightGreatSpiritualPagodasatArhatMonastery,32
citestheMindGroundSutra,showingthattherelationshipbetweentheeightpagodasandthesutra
waswidelyknowninLiao.ThisrubbinginformsusthattheeightpagodaswereknownastheEight
GreatSpiritualPagodas(Badalingta八大靈塔)inLiao.Thisname,whichdoesnotappearinthe
MindGroundSutra,probablycamefromtwoshortscriptures,entitledSutraontheNamesoftheEight
GreatSpiritualPagodasPreachedbytheBuddhaandHymnfortheEightGreatSpiritualPagodas,33both
translatedinNorthernSongbytheIndianmonkDharmabhadra(Faxian法賢,?–1001).
Notably,theabovetextualsourcesoffernoindicationofminiaturemodelsofeightpagodasor
instructionsforattachingsuchmodelstoalargerpagoda.Inotherwords,makingminiaturesof
eightpagodasandattachingthemtoanactualpagodawasclearlyacreativeactandartisticdecision
madebyLiaoBuddhistpractitioners.Thepracticeofplacingtheseeightpagodasonanactual
pagodastructurewasunprecedenteduntiltheLiaotime.Whatmotivatedsucharchitectural
innovationinthislandofnomads?

Figure8.EightGreatSacredPlaces(Sk.aṣṭamahāsthāna)inpresent‐dayIndiaandNepal.
PartofthemotivationpertainstothelongtraditionofBuddhistpilgrimageinEastAsia.These
eightIndiansacredplaceswerehighlydesirablepilgrimagedestinationsforEastAsianBuddhists.
AlthoughToniHuberhasrecentlyarguedthattheriseoftheEightGreatSacredPlacesaspopular
pilgrimagedestinationsislargelyamodernphenomenon,34traveloguesandbiographiesbyChinese
differenceintermsofmeaning.OnlythefourthandfifthcartoucheinscriptionsonDamingPagodain
Ningchengshowminorbutrecognizabledeviationfromtheoriginalsutraverse.
32LuohanyuanBadalingtaji羅漢院八大靈塔記。Fortheoriginaltextofthisinscription,see(Chen1982).The
actualsteledoesnotsurvive,butitsrubbingpreservesitsentireinscription.Hsueh‐manShensuggeststhat
theLiaoeightpagodasare“asignoftheBuddhapreachingtheLaw,thusasignofthepresenceofthe
BuddhistLaw,”becausethisinscriptionexplainsthatthesepagodasappearedwhentheBuddha’s
preaching.Shen,“RealizingtheBuddha’sDharmaBody,”291.
33FoshuoBadalingtaminghujing佛說八大靈塔名號經,T.32,no.1685:773a1–773b13;andBadalingtafanzan八
大靈塔梵讚,T.32,no.1684:772b6–772c22.
34ToniHuberhasarguedthattheseeightplacesandtheirstupaswerenottreatedasasetofpilgrimagesites
beforethetwentiethcentury.Accordingtohim,theconceptoftheeightgreatplacesasadistinctivegroupof
pilgrimagedestinationswasgraduallyinventedbyarchaeologistsandarthistoriansbeginningintheearly
twentiethcentury,primarilybasedonanincorrectinterpretationofPalaperiodstonestelesthatrepresented

Religions2017,8,206 14of29
andKoreanmonksshowthatthesesiteshadbeenrecognizedasEastAsianpilgrimagedestinations
sincetheeighthcentury.35Becausethesearenotprescriptivebutdescriptivetexts,theyaffirmthatthe
pilgrimagetotheEightGreatSacredPlaceswaspracticedinpremodernEastAsia.
Forourdiscussion,what’sevenmorenoteworthyisthatChineseandKoreanmonks,fromthe
eighthcenturyonward,specifiedthattheeightpagodas,ratherthantheEightGreatSacredPlacesper
se,weretheirpilgrimagedestinations.36TheseeightIndiansacredplaceshadstupas(Figure9),
knownasta塔(pagoda)inmiddle‐periodChina,whichwererecognizedaspilgrimagegoals
amongEastAsianmonks.37AccordingtothebiographyofMuru無漏(?–758),whichwasincluded
intheSongBiographiesofEminentMonkscompiledin988,38helongedtovisitandveneratetheeight
pagodas.MuruwasbornasaprinceoftheSillakingdomandtravelledtoChinaduringtheTang
dynastytostudyBuddhism.WhilestayinginChina,heplannedtotravelfurtherwestbecausehe
“wantedtotraveltotheFiveIndianKingdomsinordertoveneratetheBuddha’seightpagodas(bata
八塔).”39AfterleavingTangChina,hecrossedtheTaklamakanDesertandtheKhotankingdom
(56–1006)inthepresent‐dayXinjiangUyghurAutonomousRegion.WhenhearrivedatthePamir
MountainsinCentralAsia,however,localmonksrecommendedthathereturntoChina,probably
becausepoliticaltensionintheregionmadeitdifficulttocrossthePamirMountainsatthattime.40
AfterstayinginthePamirMountainsforseveralmonths,Murufinallydecidedtofollowthemonks’
advice.Hisincompletepilgrimageseemstohavetakenplacesometimebefore755,ashisbiography
recordsthattheAnLushanRebellion(755)brokeoutafterhisreturntoChina.Thisshowsthatthe
eightpagodasasagrouphadbecomereveredpilgrimagedestinationsbytheeighthcentury,or,if
wetakeextremecautioninusingthetextualrecord,betweenMuru’slifetimeandthecompilation
dateoftheSongBiographiesofEminentMonks.WhileMurufailedtomakeapilgrimagetotheeight
pagodas,thereweremonkswhovisitedandveneratedthemall,suchastheTang‐dynastymonk
Wukong悟空(732‐?)andthefamouspilgrimHyech’o慧超/惠超(ca.704–787).41
theeightmajoreventsoftheBuddha’slife.Hemaintainsthattheseplacesandpagodaswerenever
recommendedasdestinationsforactualpilgrimageorobjectsfordirectencounterinsurvivingChineseand
Tibetantexts,whichwereprobablytranslationsofIndiantextswrittenduringthePālaperiod.Thesetexts
insteaddescribetheseeightplacesandpagodasasobjectsofcommemorationorgeneralworship(pūja).See
(Huber2008).HubercorrectlyarguesthattheimportanceoftheEightGreatSacredPlacesaspilgrimage
siteshasbeenoveremphasizedinmoderntimes,andthattheywerenotasprominentapilgrimage
destinationinpremoderntimesastoday.TraveloguesofEastAsianmonks,however,suggestthata
completenegationoftheconceptoftheEightGreatSacredPlacesasapilgrimagedestinationinpre‐modern
timeswouldbetooextremeaview.
35ForacomprehensiveandthoroughstudyofEastAsianmonkswhomadeapilgrimagetoIndiafromthe
thirdtoeleventhcenturies,see(Yi2009).
36ForagoodstudyonthedevelopmentoftheeightpagodasaspilgrimagedestinationsinEastAsia,see(Chu
2009,pp.144–51).
37InadditiontothesethreeEastAsianmonks,thefamousIndianmonkVajrabodhi(Jingangzhi金剛智,671–
741),whotransmittedEsotericBuddhismtoTangChina,wasalsorecordedtohave“visitedandvenerated
thepagodasoftheBuddha’seightphasesoflife.”遂辭師龍智卻還中天尋禮如來八相靈塔。Zhenyuan
xindingshijiaomulu貞元新定釋教目錄,T.55,no.2157:875b14.
38ForthebiographyofthemonkMuru,seeSonggaosengzhuan宋高僧傳,T.50,no.2061:846a24‐c12.TheSong
BiographiesofEminentMonkswascompiledbytheSongdynastymonkZanning贊寧(919–1002).Formore
onthismonk,see(Yi2009,p.145).
39欲遊五竺禮佛八塔。Songgaosengzhuan,T.50,no.2061:846a28.
40IamgratefultoJasonNeelisforexplainingtomethepoliticalsituationofthePamirMountainsinthe
mid‐eighthcentury.
41OnlyfragmentsofthemonkWukong’stravelogue(WukongruZhuji悟空入竺記)surviveasquotationsin
theeighth‐centurymonkYuanzhao’s圓照prologuetoScriptureontheTenPowersPreachedbytheBuddha
(Foshuoshilijing佛說十力經)translatedin790bytheKuchanmonkUtpalavīry.FoshuoshilijingT.17,no.
780:715c–717c.Formoreonthistravelogue,see(Yi2009,pp.15–41,passim;Chu2009,p.146;Kim2010,pp.
41‐42).SeveralscholarspointedoutthattheultimategoalofHyech’o’spilgrimage,asimpliedinhis
travelogueWangoCh’ŏnch’ukkukchon往五天竺國傳,wasnoneotherthanthevenerationoftheeight

Religions2017,8,206 15of29

Figure9.DhamekhStupaatSārnāth,India.Ca.fifthcentury(restoredandmodifiedinthetwentieth
century.[©RobLinrothe,NorthwesternUniversity].
AsdemonstratedbythefailedpilgrimageattemptbythemonkMuru,travelingtoBuddhist
pilgrimagesiteswasnoeasytask.Asamatteroffact,thepilgrimagejourneybetweenChinaand
Indiawasextremelydangerouswhetherbylandorsea.Onthelandroute,supplicantsencountered
thesizzlingTaklamakanDesertandthesoaringPamirMountains.Onthesearoute,they
encounteredturbulentwavesandunpredictableweather.BeforetheLiaodynasty,countless
Chinesemonkslosttheirlivesontheirpilgrimage.42ThefollowingpassagesfromRecordsofthe
BuddhistKingdoms,theautographicaltraveloguebyFaxian 法顯(ca.337–422),whotraveledtoIndia
between339and412,clearlydescribesthedangersofthispilgrimage:43
Therearemanyevilandmonstrousgustsofhotwindinthisdesert.Meeting[thesegusts],
allshalldieandnoonecansurvive.Nobirdsflyingabove,andnoanimalsrunningbelow.
Lookingeverywhereone’seyescanreach,searchingforaroute,onecannotknowhowto
findadirection.Onlyoldskeletonsserveassignsoftheroute.44
pagodas.IamgratefultoProfessorNamDongsinforbringingHyech’o’scasetomyattention.(Nam2010;
Kim2007).
42TheTaishōBuddhistcanonincludesmanybiographiesofChinesemonkswhodiedontheirwaytoIndia.
43RecordsoftheBuddhistKingdoms(Foguoji 佛國記)isalsoknownasBiographyoftheEminentMonkFaxian
(GaosengFaxianzhuan 高僧法顯傳).Fortheoriginaltext,seeGaosengFaxianzhuan,T.51,no.2085:857a‐866c.
44GaosengFaxianzhuan,T.51,no.2085:857a16–18.

Religions2017,8,206 16of29
ThePamirMountainshavesnowbothinwinterandsummer.Also,therearepoisonous
dragons.Ifonecrossestheirwill,theygushoutpoisonouswindwithrainorsnowaswell
asflyingsandandpebbles.Meetingthiscatastrophicsituation,notevenonepersonoutof
tenthousandcansurvive.Localsthereforecall[thisarea]‘SnowMountains’.45
Forpeoplelivingineleventh‐centuryLiao,thepilgrimagetoIndiawasevenmorearduous.
LivinginnortheastChina,whichwasgeographicallyfartherfromtheBuddha’shomelandthan
previousHanChinesedynastieshadbeen,practitionershadtocrossneighboringcountrieslikeSong
andXixia,whoserelationshipwithLiaowascomplicatedatbestandoftenoutrighthostile.
NowletusreturntotheissueoftheLiaominiaturepagodasandexamineinastep‐by‐step
mannerhowtheyenabledavirtualpilgrimage.Allminiaturesare,aspointedoutbyliterarycritic
SusanStewart,essentiallytheatricalinnatureduetotheirrepresentationalquality(astheycannever
betheoriginal).46Miniatures,suchasamapoftheworld,alsotransformacomplexmacrocosminto
aseeminglymanipulablemicrocosmicworld.Asmicrocosmsofthemacrocosm,miniatureswere
oftenbelievedtohavemagicalpowertomanipulatethemacrocosmtheyencapsulate.47Probably
duetotheirperformativeandthaumaturgicnature,miniatureswerefrequentlyusedforvirtual
pilgrimageinreligioustraditionsacrosstheglobe.Varioustypesofminiatures—including
paintings,maps,andarchitecturalcopies—wereusedtoperformvirtualpilgrimagesinmedieval
timesacrosstheglobe.InEastAsianreligioustraditions,representationsofsacredplaces—suchas
mapsofsacredmountainsandpaintingsofimportantshrines(Chou2007)—wereadoptedfor
virtualpilgrimages.InmedievalEurope,suchvirtualpilgrimageswereespeciallybeneficialtonuns,
forwhomleavingtheconventonalongjourneywasrelativelymoredifficult.48
Althoughsometimesmisguidedlytermeda‘mentalpilgrimage’inmodernscholarship,most
virtualreligiouspilgrimageswerenotsimplymentalactivity.Theyinvolvedbodilymovementand
corporealactionofthedevotee,suchasthefoldingandunfoldingofapilgrimagemap(Connolly
1999),orweeksofintensewalkinginsideaconventtosimulatethearduouslongjourneytotheHoly
Land(Rudy2011).AsD.MaxMoermanpointedout,fromitsearlyinception,Buddhistpilgrimage
wasanactivityofbothmindandbody(Moerman2010),thusmakingvirtualpilgrimage,which
requiredintensementalconcentration,anaturalpartofBuddhistpractice.Moermanoffersaspecific
caseofavirtualpilgrimageinEastAsia,enactedbyvisualartandritualaction,whichiswell
recordedinGyokuyō 玉葉,thediaryofFujiwaranoKanezane藤原兼実(1149–1207),apowerful
statesmanofthelateHeianandearlyKamakuraperiodinJapan.In1184,afterreceivingfromhis
brotherapaintingofKasugaShrineinNara,whichwasanimportantpilgrimageplaceforhis
Fujiwarafamily,hepracticedanelaboratevirtualpilgrimageritualtoKasugaShrineforsevendays.
Duringthisintensiveperiod,hepurifiedhimself,recitedtheHeartSutraasmanyastenthousand
times,andmadeofferingstoeachhalloftheshrinedepictedinthepainting.49
Consideringthatvirtualpilgrimageswereoftenperformedthroughasetofritualorritualistic
bodilymovementsthatinteractedwithartworkorarchitecture,letusbeginbyconsideringasimple
ritualactionmosttypicallyperformedtovenerateapagoda.Pagodaswerealwaysalocusofritual
action—thatis,circumambulation.Fromancienttimestothepresent,clockwisecircumambulation
ofapagoda,aswithastupa,hasservedasthemostbasicandcommonritualworshipofthissacred
monumentanditsrelicsacrossAsia(Figure10).Becausetheeightpagodaswerehighlydesired
pilgrimagedestinations,thecircumambulationoftheLiaopagodasandtheireightminiature
pagodascaneasily,andnaturally,bethoughtofasavirtualpilgrimagetotheeightpagodasthat
marktheEightGreatSacredPlaces.Withthehelpoftheeightminiaturepagodas,thesimpleritual
actionofpagodacircumambulationistransformedintoavirtualpilgrimagethatallowsanyoneto
45GaosengFaxianzhuan,T.51,no.2085:857c26–28.
46(Stewart1993,p.48).
47Agoodexampleisdhāraṇī,ashortenedversionofaBuddhistsutra.Asadhāraṇīisaminiatureofasacred
text,theywerelaterbelievedtobepowerfulincantation.
48Formoreonthis,see(Rudy2000).
49FormoreonKanezane’svirtualpilgrimage,see(Moerman2005);and(Moerman2010,p.7).

Religions2017,8,206 17of29
traveltofarawayIndiaandveneratetheoriginaleightsacredsites.Wemustnotforgetthat,even
withoutthegeographicandpoliticalobstaclesdiscussedabove,yearsoftravelabroadinmedieval
timeswereinfeasibleforthegreatmajorityofpeople.InLiao,pilgrimagestoIndiawereprobably
difficultformostwomen(althoughKitanwomenwererelativelypowerfulinsociety),slaves,aswell
asmanyordinarymenofhumblemeanswhohadtotakecareoftheirfamiliesthroughfarmingor
herding.Peoplewithbothpowerandfortune,suchascourtofficials,werealsousuallyboundby
administrativedutiesthatpreventedthemfromtravelingabroadforpersonalandreligiousreasons.

Figure10.PeoplecircumambulatingChaoyangNorthPagodaatnight[©PhotographbyYoun‐mi
Kim,2014].
Onthetheoreticallevel,thevirtualpilgrimageenactedbyritualcircumambulationoftheLiao
pagodasreflectsatendencytowardsminiaturizationthatisobservedinvariousreligiousrituals.
JonathanZ.Smithobservesthisimpulsetowardsminiaturizationintheritualsoflateantiquity
recordedintheGreekmagicalpapyri.Astherecordsshow,theactofwritingaboutpurificationand
sacrificialritualsgraduallydisplacedtheactualperformanceofthoserituals,justasritualspeech
displacedtheactofsacrificeinearlyChristiantraditions.Inotherwords,ritualpracticeisdisplaced
bytheactofwriting,whichisbelievedtohaveefficacyitself.50 Likewise,virtualpilgrimage
involvingtheLiaopagodas,inwhichtheritualcircumambulationofthepagodadisplacestheritual
ofactualpilgrimage,isalsoaminiaturizedpilgrimageritual.(AsexplainedbyClaudeLévi‐Strauss,
miniaturizationdoesnotsimplymeanareductionofsize.Itcanalsoentailreductionofother
sensorialortemporaldimensions.)51TheritualcircumambulationofLiaopagodasislikewisea
miniaturizedpilgrimageritualandthus,inthatsense,a“ritualofaritual.”52ThecaseoftheLiao
ritualisevenmorenotableinthatitsminiaturizationwasclearlymediatedthroughanactual
50FormoreonthedisplacementofritualpracticeintowritingasobservedintheGreekMagicalPapyri,see
(Smith1980,pp.28–29).
51Evenlife‐sizesculpture,inthissense,canbeunderstoodasaminiature,sinceithaslostthesensory
dimensionsoftheoriginal,includingsmell,sound,texture,color,aswellasthetemporaldimension.See
(Lévi‐Strauss1966,pp.23–25).
52(Smith1980,p.29).

Religions2017,8,206 18of29
miniaturedevice.Inotherwords,theLiaovirtualpilgrimagewasaritualminiaturizedby
miniatures.
ThevirtualpilgrimagepracticedintheBuddhisttraditionshowsthattheminiaturizedritual
didnotmerely“displace”theoriginal.Throughavirtualpilgrimage,onecanexperienceamore
idealizedandfocusedformofpilgrimagejourney.Inotherwords,avirtualritualcanofferthe
distilledessenceofthepilgrimageexperience.CircumambulationoftheLiaominiaturepagodas,for
example,enablesonetovisitIndia’sEightGreatSacredPlacesfollowingthesequenceofthe
Buddha’slife,startingfromtheplaceofhisbirthandendingattheplaceofhisgreatextinction.Inan
actualpilgrimage,followingthissequencewouldbeinfeasiblesinceitwouldcomplicatethe
itineraryandrequiremuchmoretime.Moreover,theparticipantinavirtualritualisfreedfromthe
distractionofactivitiesnotdirectlyrelatedtothespiritualjourney,suchashavingmealsandfinding
accommodations.Inaddition,duetotheeaseofrepetitionandmultiplication,suchavirtual
pilgrimagecouldtheoreticallyproduceevenmoremeritandgenerateevenstrongersoteriological
andworldlybenefitsforpractitionersthananactualpilgrimage.Ritualvenerationofapagoda
usuallyinvolvesmorethanoneroundofcircumambulation.Apractitionerusuallycircumambulates
thepagodaasmanytimesasshewants,chantingBuddhistsutrasorprayingsilently.Asone
circumambulatesthepagodamultipletimes,onetherebycompletesmultipleroundsofacomplete
pilgrimagetotheEightGreatSacredPlacesofIndia.Themeritofmakingthepilgrimage
accumulatesaccordingly,whereasinreality,onecouldrarelyperformsuchanarduouspilgrimage
morethanonceinalifetime.
ThiscircumambulationoftheLiaominiaturepagodasmayhavealsoservedtore‐enactthe
Buddha’slifeinthemindofpractitioners.Asimpliedintheircartouches,whichnamedeachIndian
locationandtherelatedeventfromtheBuddha’slife,theminiaturepagodasmarkednotonlythe
placesbutalsothemajortemporaleventsinthelifeoftheBuddha.Thus,theeightminiature
pagodasarenotonlyacondensationoftheEightGreatSacredPlacesofBuddhismbutalsoan
encapsulationoftheBuddha’slifefrombirthtohisgreatextinction(parinirvana).Althoughitis
difficulttoknow,duetothelackoftextualrecordsofLiaoritualpractices,thereisagoodpossibility
thatcontemporaneousBuddhistpractitionersinteractedwiththeminiaturepagodaswhile
circumambulatingthestructure.Circumambulatinginaclockwisedirection,startingfromthemain
southernfaçadeofthemonument,veneratorscouldviewtheeightminiaturepagodasasnarrative
markersrecountingthestoryofthehistoricalBuddha’slife.Asmentionedabove,allminiaturesare
essentiallytheatricalduetotheirrepresentativequality.53Thisisperhapsoneofthereasonswhy
miniaturereplicasoftheHolySepulcherinmedievalEuropeservedasappropriatesettingsfor
Christianritualsthattheatricallyre‐enactedtheburialandresurrectionofChrist,sometimeseven
usingpuppetswithjointsoperatedbymechanicaldevices.54Giventhetheatricalnatureofthe
miniature,theLiaominiaturereplicas,asopposedtolargearchitecturalreplicas,55mayhavecreated
abettersettingfor“atheatreofthemind”56inwhichtheBuddha’slifestoriesweresequentially
re‐enactedintheimaginationsofBuddhistpractitioners.
4.VirtualGeography
AllowingavirtualpilgrimagewasjustonelayeroftheLiaominiaturepagodas’function;as
shownbelow,theminiaturesservedtotransformthelandofKitanintothecenteroftheBuddhist
53(Stewart1993,p.48).
54MiniaturereplicasoftheHolySepulcherservedasthesettingforacomplexnewChristianritualinWestern
Europe.Theritualwascomposedoffourparts:theimitationandre‐enactmentofChrist’sBurial,theEaster
Vigil,theResurrection,andtheVisittotheTomb.Also,itinvolvedthehighlytheatricalentombmentand
retrievalofsymbolsofChrist,suchasthecrossorthewafer,andthen,atalaterdate,sometimesastatueof
thedeadChrist.Formoreonthisritual,see(Smith1980,p.23;Sheingorn1987).Fortheaterhistorians’
studiesoftheminiaturereplicaoftheHolySepulcherastheprecursortotheEuropeanstage,see(Young
1933;Hardison1965).
55TibetanBuddhistsconstructedarchitecturalreplicasoftheIndianeightstupas.(Bentor1994).
56(Smith1980,p.24).

Religions2017,8,206 19of29
sacredgeography.Inotherwords,theyhadthepowertosymbolicallytransfertheIndianEight
GreatSacredPlacestothelocalgeography,andsuchsymbolictransferencewasmademoreeffective
bytheirminiaturizedscale.Throughthepoweroftheminiaturecopies,thesiteoftheLiaopagoda
wastransformedintoavirtualholylandthatincorporatesallEightGreatSacredPlaces.
AgoodpointofdepartureisalinefromthediaryofFujiwaranoKanezane,whoasdescribed
aboveperformedaseven‐dayvirtualpilgrimageusingthepaintingofKasugaShrine.Inhisdiary,
wefindanaccountfromtheemicperspectiveoftheconceptualtransferenceofasacredplace.Asa
matteroffact,KanezanehadbeentotheactualKasugaShrinemanytimes;astheheadofthe
influentialFujiwaraclan,hecouldvisittheshrinewhenhewanted.Thefactthatheperformeda
seven‐dayvirtualpilgrimageinadditionsuggeststhatavirtualpilgrimagehadcertainspiritual
functionandbenefitsthatcouldnotbeobtainedthroughanactualpilgrimage.ForKanezane’s
virtualpilgrimage,oneofthebenefitswastransforminghisownresidenceintoasacredplace.After
performinghisvirtualpilgrimage,Kanezaneandothershaddreamswhichconfirmedthatthe
sacredKasugaShrine“hadcometo”hishome,thelocusofhisvirtualpilgrimageperformance.57
WhileKanezanemadetheshrine“cometo”hishomethroughtheritualofavirtualpilgrimage,
amorecommonwayoftransferringasacredplacewasbycreatingamaterialreplica.The
conceptualtranspositionofsacredsitesthroughreplicationwasoneofthestrategiesadoptedby
BuddhistpractitionersacrossAsiawhentheylackedprivilegedaccesstotheactualsites.58Thecopy
oftheshadowcavecreatedonMountLuinsoutheastChinain412isonerenownedcase.The
originalcave,locatedinNagaraharainpresent‐dayAfghanistan,wasfamousfortheshadowonits
wallleftbytheBuddha.Startingwiththeabove‐mentionedpilgrimFaxian,manyChinesepilgrims
visitedthiscavetoseetheshadowthatwasbelievedtoreflecttheBuddha’strueform.Accordingto
theBiographiesofEminentMonks,theeruditemonkHuiyuan 慧遠(334–416)ofMountLualways
wishedtoseethis“shadowimageoftheBuddha(foying 佛影)”thathadbeenleftbytheBuddhaafter
edifyingapoisonousdragon(Sk.naga).59Thenoneday,hehadtheopportunitytoheardetailsabout
thisshadowcavefromareligiouspractitionerfromthe“westernregions”(present‐dayIndiaand
CentralAsia).Basedonwhatheheard,Huiyuancreatedanimaginedcopyofthiscavebybuildinga
stonechamberandhiringapaintertocreatetheBuddha’sshadowfromdilutedink.60
LiaoBuddhists,asseenintheircreationofanewMountWutai,werefamiliarwithsymbolic
transferenceofsacredplace.MountWutai,perhapsthemostimportantBuddhistpilgrimage
destinationonChinesesoil,hadbeenbelievedtobetheabodeofMañjuśrī bodhisattvasincethe
Tangdynasty.Duringthetenthcentury,thissacredmountaininnortheasternShanxiProvincewas
mostlyunderthecontroloftheKitanrulers.AfterlosingthisscaredmountaintotheSongempire,
theLiaoBuddhistscreatedtheirownMountWutaiinpresent‐dayYuCounty蔚縣inHebei
Province.Inmoderntimes,themountainisknownasSmallMountWutai(Gimello1994).However,
forLiaoBuddhistsintheeleventhandearlytwelfthcenturies,theoneintheirempirewascounted
asthe“real”MountWutai.ThefamousLiaomonkDaozhen道㲀(alsopronouncedDaoshen,ca.
1056–114),forexample,calledhimself“monkofWutai.”AsRobertGimellopointedout,Wutaihere
meanttheLiaoMountWutaiinHebeiProvince.TheXixiaKingdom,Korea,Japan,andTibeteach
hadtheirownMountWutaiaswell.61
Alsonotableinourdiscussion,althoughseveralcenturieslaterthantheLiaominiatures,arethe
TibetanarchitecturalreproductionsoftheeightstupaslocatedattheEightGreatSacredPlacesin
57(Moerman2010,p.7).
58Foranexcellentstudyofthistopic,see(Ibid.,pp.5–9).
59Gaosengzhuan.T.50,no.2059:358b.
60Gaosengzhuan.T2059,50:358b8‐14.Compilationofthesebiographieswascompletedin519bythemonk
Huijiao慧皎(497–554).
61Meanwhile,theXixiakingdom,afterlosingtheiraccesstoMountWutaiinthe1040sduetotheirestranged
politicalrelationshipwithSong,hadcopiesofMountWutai’sfamousBuddhistmonasteriesbuiltonMount
Helan賀蘭intheirkingdomsoastocreateanewsacredmountain.(Shi1988),156:requotedfromGimello,
“Wu‐tʹaiShan五臺山duringtheEarlyChinDynasty,”507.Andthesacredmountainwasalsorecreated
throughcavetemplemuralsandmaps(Lin2014).

Religions2017,8,206 20of29
India.AsYaelBentorpointedout,thesereplicapagodastransferredIndiansacredplacestothe
TibetanlandandallowedTibetanBuddhistpractitionerstoveneratethem.62
IftheLiaominiaturepagodasalsohadasimilarfunction—transposingtheIndiansacredplaces
andre‐mappingthemontotheLiaoland—theirmodestphysicalityraisesaquestion.Comparedto
theLiaoMountWutaiortheeightTibetanstupas,theeightminiaturepagodasarehumbleinsize.
ManyLiaopagodasreceivedpatronagefromtheKitanimperialfamily,membersofwhichhadthe
meanstoconstructgrandioseandmonumentalarchitecturalcopiesoftheeightpagodas,asdidlater
TibetanBuddhists.63 ButLiaopatronsclearlyoptedforminiaturecopies.Moreover,theLiao
miniaturepagodasarenotevenfreestandingmodelsbutmodesttwo‐dimensionalsculptures.
WhydidKitanpatronsmakeminiaturecopies,insteadofmoremonumentalarchitectural
copies,iftheirchoicewasclearlynotdrivenbyfinancialconcerns?Answeringthisquestionrequires
deeperunderstandingofthenatureoftheminiature.Furthermore,theoreticalcomparisonoftheLiao
miniatureswithmedievalEuropeanreplicasoftheHolySepulcher,64thetombofChrist,helpsus
answerthisquestioninastepwisemanner.JustliketheeightIndianstupasattheBuddhistsacred
places,theChurchoftheHolySepulcherintheChristiantraditionwasboundtoaspecific
locus—thepurportedsiteofthedeathandresurrectionofChrist.Sincethissacredlocusguaranteed
itspowerandreligiousfunction,theHolySepulchercouldnothavebeenbuiltanywhereelse.
ChristiansinEurope,however,hadbeguntobuildarchitecturalcopiesoftheHolySepulcherinthe
fifthcentury.Thefollowingpassagefromamedievalmanuscriptvividlydemonstrateshowsuch
architecturalcopiesofsacredmonumentswereunderstoodbypractitioners:
Rub:YoushouldknowthatnotallpeoplecanvisittheHolySepulcherofOurDearLordin
Jerusalem,althoughmanygoodpeoplewanttodothat,andthereforemanypopes,
cardinals,archbishopswiththewholecouncilhaveconsentedandconfirmedthatin
churchesandconventsinallcitiesthereshallbemadeareplicaofthesepulcherofOurLord.
GoodpeopleshouldvisititdailyinordertohonortheHolySepulcher,asiftheywereinJerusalem.65
BesidesbuildingarchitecturalcopiesoftheHolySepulcher,ChristiansinEuropealsocreated
miniaturereplicasfromtheeleventhcenturyonward.66JonathanZ.Smith’stheoreticalstudyof
thesesmall‐scalecopiesoftheHolySepulcherprovidesinsightsrelevanttoourdiscussion.67These
miniatureschallengedthenormativeritualsystemandgaverisetonewritualactivitiesand
concepts.68SmithdividesreplicasoftheHolySepulcherintofivetypes:typesIandIIarelarge‐scale
replicasthatservedastombs,chapels,orchurchesandwereusedtohousetheChristiandeador
relicsfrompilgrimagestotheHolyLand;typesIIItoVaresmall‐scalereplicasthatwerenot
independentarchitecturalstructuresbutwereincorporatedintoachurch.69Itisthesesmall‐scale
replicasthatrepresent“amajorshiftinrituallogic,”70somethingalsoseenintheLiaominiature
pagodas.FromtypesIIItoV,thesizeofthereplicasdiminishesandthedegreeofabstraction
increases.Duetotheirreducedsize,typeIIIminiaturecopiesresembleasmallplayhouseinsidea
churchbuilding.71Thus,asPamelaSheingornhaswritten,“itsarchitecturalformlosesitsfunctional
62(Bentor1994,p.24).
63FormoreonLiaoimperialpatronageofBuddhism,see(WittfogelandFêng1949,pp.291–306).
64PreviousscholarshiponreplicasoftheHolySepulcherbyanumberofscholars,includingarchitectural
historianRichardKrautheimer,haverevealedthewaysinwhichthesereplicassucceededintransplanting
andreproducingaholyplace.Forexample,see(Krautheimer1942;Crossley1988).Iamgratefulto
ProfessorsJeffreyHamburgerandKarlWhittingtonforintroducingmetothisscholarship.
65Brussels,KoninklijkeBibliotheekAlbertI,II6907,manuscriptcopiedafter1503.Translationfrom(Rudy
2011,p.229).Italicsmine.
66OnthedevelopmentofthecopiesoftheHolySepulcher,see(Sheingorn1987,pp.6–25).
67(Smith1987; Smith1980,pp.18–31).
68(Smith1980,pp.23–24).
69ForthefivetypesofreplicasoftheChurchoftheHolySepulcher,see(Smith1980,pp.20–24).Forthe
small‐scalereplicasoftheHolySepulcher,see(Sheingorn1987,pp.33–42).
70(Smith1980,p.19).
71(Smith1980,p.21).

Religions2017,8,206 21of29
meaning”andit“strikestheeyemorelikealargepieceofsculpturethanasmallpieceof
architecture.”
72
ThetypeIVreplicawasnolongerafreestandingobjectbutratheraniche,usually
setintothenorthwallofthechancelnearthehighaltar(Figure11),buttheystillcontaineda
selectionofarchitecturaldetailscopyingrealelementsoftheChurchoftheHolySepulcher.Onthe
otherhand,thetypeVminiatures—usuallysmalltemporarystructuresofwoodandfabricplaced
onorinfrontofaltars—exhibitedlittleconcernforverisimilitude.TypesIVandVbecamevery
popularformsofreplicasinEuropeanchurchesinthefourteenththroughsixteenthcenturies.
73

SimilartothetypeIVminiaturereplicasofthetombofChristinEurope,theLiaominiature
copiesoftheeightpagodas(eachaconceptualequivalentofastupa,theBuddha’stomboramarker
ofoneofhislifeevents)arereducedtotwo‐dimensionalsculpturalelementsinextricablyattachedto
anindependentarchitecturalstructure.Also,likethetypeVreplicas,theLiaominiaturecopiesshow
littleinterestindirectlyemulatingtheshapeoftheIndianoriginals:theseminiaturepagodaslack
thehemisphericalshapeofIndianstupas,takinginsteadtheformofaChinesepagodawitha
four‐sidedplanandmultipleeaves.Ratherthanexhibitingaformallikeness,theydependonthe
above‐mentionedtextsinscribedontheircartouchestoproclaimtheirstatusasreplicasoftheeight
stupasthatmarktheEightGreatSacredPlaces.Theshapeofthecartouchesalsocontributestothe
overallsinicizationoftheoriginalIndianmonuments.Themainbodyofthecartouchesistoppedby
alotusleafandsupportedbyalotusflower(Figure12).AtypicalformofBuddhistcartoucheinEast
Asia,thisappearsnotonlyinotherLiaopagodasbutalsoinBuddhistmurals,andlaterspreadto
funeraryartandcommercialsigns.
74


Figure11.EasterSepulchre,St.Peter,Navenby,Lincolnshire,England.Early14thcentury[Source:
Sheingorn,TheEasterSepulchre(1987),Figure36].

72
(Sheingorn1987,p.16).
73
(Smith1980,pp.22–23).
74
IthankKatherineTsiangforpointingoutthatasimilarshapewasalsousedforcommercialsignboardsin
theSongdynasty.ItseemsthiswidespreadmotifinBuddhistartwastransmittedtocommercialsignboards.

Religions2017,8,206 22of29

Figure12.Cartoucheofminiaturepagoda,eastsideofthesouthwallofChaoyangNorthPagoda.
Liaodynast,1043–1044.Chaoyang,LiaoningProvince,China[©PhotographbyYoun‐miKim,2014].
Thisdisinterestinverisimilitudebecomesevenmoreconspicuousintheminiaturepagodas
thatareaffixedtolaterLiaopagodas.AnextremecaseisBaitayuPagoda(1092)inXingcheng,
LiaoningProvince(Figure6).75Onthispagoda,replicasoftheeightIndianstupashavelosttheir
physicalformandbecomepuretext.Insteadofminiaturepagodareliefs,justthenamesoftheeight
pagodasappearonthepillarsoftheeightcornersofthegroundstoryofthispagoda(Figure7).On
closerexamination,wefindthatlotusflowersandleavesframetheinscribednamesofpagodason
75BaitayuPagoda(alsocalled‘JiulongyanPagoda’九龍煙塔),simplymeaning‘thepagodaofthewhite
pagodavalley’isamodernnameofthispagoda.Aninscriptionfoundinsidethepagoda’sunderground
relicdepositin1972recordsthatthepagodawascalledthePagodaatWujiTempleonMountKongtong(空
通山悟寂院舍利塔)andwasbuiltin1092.Formoreonthisinscription,see(Liu1983).

Religions2017,8,206 23of29
thepillars,justlikethecartouchesintheminiaturepagodasofChaoyangNorthPagoda(Figure12).
Theselotusflowersandleavessuggestthatthesepillarsevolvedfromtheearliercartouchesrather
thanfromtheminiaturepagodasthemselves.ThetextualizedminiaturepagodasofBaitayuPagoda
clearlyindicatethatitwasnottheformsoftheminiaturesbutrathertheirconceptualidentityas
establishedthroughtheirtextualinscriptionthatguaranteedtheirconnectiontoIndia.Theseformless
miniaturepagodasarearesultofthecontinuationoftheimpulsetowardabstractionalreadynoted
asshowninthispaper’sfirstsection,intheLiaominiaturepagodasfromearliertimes.
ThisLiaotendencytowardsminiaturizationaswellastherejectionofverisimilitudewith
regardtotheIndianprototypeseemstohaveservedreligiousfunctions,too.AccordingtoClaude
Lévi‐Strauss’sobservation,miniaturecopies“compensatesfortherenunciationofsensible
dimensionsbytheacquisitionofintelligibledimensions.”76Buildingonthisobservation,Smith
pointsoutthatsmall‐scalereplicaswhichpossesslessverisimilitudeactually“produceakindof
claritymissingfromboththeoriginalandthelarge‐scalecopies”:77
Ifthelarge‐scalereplicasrelatetheChristianmythosofdeathandresurrection,the
small‐scaleminiatures,throughtheirsharpfocus,servetomakethismythosmimetically
presentinritualactivity.Insuchaproject,verisimilitudewouldconstituteadistraction,
overemphasizingthe“then”and“there”ofJerusalemattheexpenseoftheEuropean
“now”and“here”.…Themoreminiaturizedand,ultimately,morestylizedreplicasofthe
Sepulchre(typesIII‐V),alongwiththeirattendantritual,soughttosimulatethe
prototypicalexperiencewhichlaybehindthemonument,therebycreatingautopia,a
theatreofthemindandimagination,inwhichtherewasnodistancebecausethespecific
localityinJerusalemwas,intheritualprocess,erased.78
LiketheminiaturereplicasoftheHolySepulcherthatarelessinterestedinmimetic
reproductionoftheiroriginal,thesinicizedminiaturereplicasoftheeightIndianstupascan
suppress—moreeffectivelythanmonumentalreplicaswould—thefixedlocalityandtemporalityof
theIndianmonuments.ThereconfiguredsinicizedshapeoftheseChinesereplicasmoreeasily
erasesthespatialandtemporalgapbetweenthemandtheancientIndianstupas,thereby
transportingthesacredplacesmoresmoothlyfromIndiatothelandofKitans.Throughthedevice
oftheeightminiaturepagodas,aLiaopagodaistransformedintoavirtualmicrocosmofthesacred
geographythatpossessesallEightGreatSacredPlacesofBuddhism.Theseminiaturereplicas
therebyalleviatedtheanxietyofreligiouspractitionersinLiao,wholivedontheperipheryofthe
Buddhistworld.
5.BifoldReplica
WhiletheminiaturepagodasintentionallyrejectedanyphysicalresemblancetotheirIndian
original,theycarefullycopiedtheshapeoftheLiaobrickpagodatowhichtheywereattached.This
makestheLiaominiaturesbifoldreplicas:whiletheyareminiaturecopiesoftheeightIndianstupas,
theyarealsominiaturesoftheLiaobrickpagodaitself.Inthiscomplexinteractionbetweenthe
replicaandthetwooriginals,thereplicasdonotsimplyreplicatebutalsoredefinetheoriginal.As
showninthislastofsectionofthepaper,throughsuchbifoldreplication,theLiaobrickpagodaperse
wastransformedintoacosmicmonumentthataggregatesalloftheIndianstupasthatmarkedthe
EightGreatSacredPlaces.Inotherwords,throughthepoweroftheminiaturepagodas,the
ontologicalmeaningofthemonumentalbrickpagodawascompletelytransformed.
Letusfirstexaminehowtheminiaturepagodascopytheshapeofthebrickpagodaonwhich
theywereplaced.Suchphysicalresemblanceismostclearlyobservedintheoldestextantminiature
pagodas—thoseonthegroundstoryofChaoyangNorthPagoda.Whatsimilaritiescanbeobserved
76(Lévi‐Strauss1966,pp.23–24).
77(Smith1980,pp.20–21).
78(Smith1980,pp.22–24).

Religions2017,8,206 24of29
betweentheminiaturesandtheactualpagoda?First,theyhavefour‐sidedplansinsteadofeight.
Second,theyhaveexactlythirteenstackedeavesrisingabovetheirgroundstory(Figures1and2).
(Thetwolowesteavesoftheminiaturepagodasaremoredetailed,showingbrickcorbelsunderthe
eaves.)Thefinialabovethethirteentheaveoftheseminiaturepagodasissharperandtallerthanthat
ofChaoyangNorthPagoda;butthefinialofthelatter,