484 henrik h. sørensen
general knowledge of the transmission of cultural practices in North-
east Asia.^28
Esoteric Buddhist Cults
Mahāvairocana, the chief divinity of mature Esoteric Buddhism, enjoyed
considerable popularity under the Jin. Excavation of the foundation of
a twelfth-century pagoda outside Beijing has revealed an almost intact
stone-carved image of Vairocana that is iconographically similar to the
images associated with the Zhenyan tradition of the mid-Tang, com-
plete with crown, adornments, and displaying the vajramusṭ̣ī-mudrā.^29
Likewise, the five buddha families (Skr. pañcakula) as known from
the Vajradhātu Mandala are also reflected in the sculptural arrange-
ment in the main hall of Shanhua Temple in Datong, a for-
mer Jin capital. An image of the six-armed Avalokiteśvara, possibly
Amoghapāśa, can also be found in this temple.^30
Other examples of Esoteric Buddhist deities worshipped under
the Jin include the group of eight vidyārājas (ba mingwang ),
which were painted on the wall of the main hall of Yanchang Temple
in Huayuan under the direction of the monk Fahui
(n.d.).^31 The cult of the goddess Cundī, an emanation of Avalokiteśvara,
appears to have enjoyed considerable popularity under the Jin as well.^32
Evidence of this can be found on many stone pillars, as well as among
the engraved stone scriptures at Fangshan.
(^28) See Sørensen 2006a.
(^29) See “Beijing shi Daxingqu Liao Jin shidai talin kaogu faju gaikuang (A Sum-
mary of the Discovery of a Stūpa Forest of Artifacts from the Liao and Jin Periods
at Daxingqu in Beijing),” Beijing wenwu yanjiu 23 (2009). Cf. http://www.bjww.gov
.cn/2009/4-28/1240906304640.html, pl. 5.
(^30) Jin, ed. 2004, 16–17, 26ab. The Avalokiteśvara image is here incorrectly identified
as a “Moon Divinity.”
(^31) Cf. Yanchang si ji (Record of Yanchang Temple) from 1188 C.E. The stūpa
stele of this monk can still be seen on the grounds of the now ruined Yanchang Temple
. Cf. “Yanchang si yizhi ji ta (The Ruins of Yanchang Temple and Its Pagoda),”
http://tongchuan.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/gaikuang/200609/20060903068346.html.
(^32) For a discussion of the cult of this important goddess, see Sørensen, “Central
Divinities in the Esoteric Buddhist Pantheon in China,” in this volume.