256 sØrensen
iconography can indeed be found–is nevertheless dominated by representa-
tions done in Chinese style, whether created under Chinese rule or not.16
One feature, which would appear special for Buddhism at Dunhuang dur-
ing the second half of the Tang and up to the advent of the Tanguts in the
first half of the 11th century, is the apparent integration of various cults which
had not been connected previously. Due to the fact that surviving examples
of Buddhist banner paintings and designs are both unique and abundant,
whereas they have not survived elsewhere, we can of course not be entirely
certain that this material is special to the Shazhou region. However, a qualified
guess would be that it probably is. Not because comparable material has not
been found elsewhere, but because of the highly characteristic nature of the
votive art of Dunhuang in which artistic expression, iconography, styles and
imagery reflect the input of several diverse cultures and Buddhist traditions.
Below we shall look at a few examples with which to underscore this aspect of
Buddhism at Dunhuang.
Like elsewhere in Tang China, the cult of Bhaiṣajyaguru, the Buddha of
Medicine, was important among the Buddhist communities at Dunhuang
as can be testified to in numerous manuscripts featuring canonical scriptures as
well as in the votive paintings associated with this cult. The example to inter-
est us here is a representation of the paradise or pure land (Chin. jingtu 淨土)
of this Buddha. Generally such paradise representations, variously categorised
as scriptural tableaux (Chin. jingxiang 經相) or transforming tableaux (Chin.
bianxiang 變相), depending on their function and/or angle of interpretation,
invariably depicts a Central Buddha surrounded by bodhisattvas, devas and
other figures against a backdrop consisting of city-like scene with towers, halls,
walls, moats and ponds rendered in typical, medieval Chinese architecture. As
such there are very few distinctive differences between, say, the Pure Land of
Amitābha, Maitreya or Bhaiṣajyaguru. Often the identifying markers consist
of minor iconographical features or sub-scenes such as the inclusion of special
images or additional illustrative panels directly linking the painting with the
contents of a special scripture.
16 During the 10th century Uyghur influence on Esoteric Buddhist iconography is being felt,
both as regards wall paintings as well as the votive, scroll paintings. For a detailed study
of this development, see Russell-Smith, Lilla, Uygur Patronage in Dunhuang: Regional Art
Centres on the Northern Silk Road in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries (Leiden, Boston: Brill,
2005).