510 henrik h. sørensen
of Buddhism in Tibet; and a third type that reflects a hybrid form
in which Sinitic and Tangut-Tibetan elements are mixed.^28 There is
a tendency that the purely Sinitic variety was dominant in the areas
inhabited by a largely Chinese-speaking population, while areas with a
large concentration of Tanguts and Tibetans followed a Tibetan style.
However, the line of division was never really clear-cut, and sites such
as Dunhuang,^29 Yulin ,^30 and Khara Khoto^31 have yielded exam-
ples of Esoteric Buddhist art of both varieties as well as examples of
syncretic Chinese and Tibetan style.^32
The Chinese-style Esoteric Buddhist art we come across is in many
ways identical to what we know existed in China and other East
Asian states during the tenth–thirteenth centuries. The various cults
of Avalokiteśvara were prominent, especially that of the thousand-
armed form, but Ekādaśamukha can also be found. Usṇ̣īsāvijayā seems
to have been especially important as part of the imperial cult, and
many votive paintings depicting this female divinity have been found.^33
Moreover, the Lord of the Constellations, Buddha Tejaprabha, occurs
prominently as well.^34 Although two-dimensional images in the form
of wall paintings and hanging scrolls dominate the extant material,
some images in wood and clay have also survived, including depic-
tions of the “Double-headed Buddha,” the Crowned Vairocana.
With its predominance of tantric divinities and tantric Buddhist
ritual imagery, Tibetan-style Esoteric Buddhist art is closely related
to the Buddhist art from Central and Southern Tibet current during
the twelfth–thirteenth centuries. It would appear that the Karma-
kagyud’pa school was especially important during the second half of
the Xixia empire, as its prelates occur prominently in the surviving
votive paintings that are actually proper thangkas.^35 Important tantric
(^28) See Dunnell, “Esoteric Buddhism under the Xixia (1038–1234),” in this volume.
(^29) For this material, cf. Duan et al., comp. 1996. See also Dunhuang wenwu yanjiu
yuan, ed. 1998. The slightly later wall paintings from the early Yuan period reflects to
a high degree the earlier Xixia style.
(^30) For a useful introduction to the Xixia material, cf. Zhang 1995. See also Zhong-
guo shiku, comp. 1997.
(^31) For an impressive catalogue featuring the best pieces from the Hermitage
Museum in St. Petersburg, cf. Piotrovsky 1993. See also Sørensen 1994b.
(^32) Cf. Samosyuk 1993.
(^33) Cf. Linrothe 1996; 1998.
(^34) Cf. Piotrovsky 1993, 228–31. See also Sørensen, “Astrology and the Worship of
the Planets in Esoteric Buddhism of the Tang,” in this volume.
(^35) See Dunnell 2001.