Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: An unprecedented number of multilevel pagodas were built in China from the tenth through the thirteenth century.This growing emphasis on verticality, in contrast to the usual horizontal sprawl of China's building tradition, raises questions about what "height" meant in the history of Chinese architecture.This essay argues that the height of the multilevel pagoda was necessarily performativenot so much because the pagoda served as a means of ascending to that height, but because it drew the attention of the faithful.Its levels, centrality, and indeed, height are architectural components that were key to its performativity, through which its religious significance was revealed and its ritual efficacy enacted.Ultimately, we should see the multilevel pagoda as a structured mechanism, or a performing center in a vertical rise, that prompted the faithful to ascend and to circumambulate around the pagoda, from the periphery to the center, if only conceptually.
Source: Ars Orientalis
Author: Wei-cheng Lin
Language: English
Topic: Indian and Buddhist Studies
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2563648100