[Online Lecture] The Influence of the Concept of Buddha on the Making of Buddhism Texts and Images

UMAG Lecture Series: Reconsidering Chinese Art (2022/23) 
The Influence of the Concept of Buddha on the Making of Buddhism Texts and Images 

Date: Friday, 28 October 2022
Time: 3:00-4:00pm (HKT)
Venue: Zoom online, registration required 
Language: Conducted in Putonghua 

Please click here to register. 

Abstract
Jetavana (Jetavana-vihāra) monastery garden at Śrāvastī (Shravasti), the capital of the ancient Indian Kingdom of Kosala, is an important sacred pilgrimage site because the Buddha delivered the majority of sermons. During the construction of the garden, the Buddha’s disciples achieved triumph over a group of waidao, or heretics, in a battle of supernormal conjuration. The depiction of the battle scene varies in Buddhist texts and pictorial illustrations in different eras. To understand how the stories about the Jetavana battle have changed over time, the speaker unveils the making of Buddhist texts and images by studying Buddhist ideas and the history of Buddhism in Early Buddhism, Sectarian Buddhism and Mahāyāna Buddhism. 

Speaker 
Dr. Jianpeng Wei 
Jianpeng Wei is a Postdoc Teaching Fellow at the Department of Chinese History, School of History and Civilization, Shaanxi Normal University, China. He received a BA in history and an MA in Dunhuang studies from Lanzhou University and a PhD in archaeology from Sichuan University. His research interests are Buddhist art archaeology, art archaeology and Dunhuang studies. His publications have appeared in the Journal of Dunhuang Studies, Journal of Tibetan Studies, Art and Design Research, Journal of Silk Road Studies, and Tibetan Studies.  

Discussant 
Prof. Wutian Sha
Professor, School of History and Civilization, Shaanxi Normal University