Painting Faith

Drawing from previously untapped Buddhist sources, this book contextualizes Li Gonglin’s Buddhist faith and art through the Chan environment in his hometown (Longmian) and the prevailing Tiantai, Pure Land, Huayan and Chan schools of the Northern Song Dynasty.

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Despite Li Gonglin’s (ca. 1049-1106) deep faith in Buddhism and the large number of recorded and extant Buddhist paintings associated with or ascribed to this great painter, twentieth century scholarship on Li Gonglin has focused primarily on his literatus identity and Confucian art oeuvres. This book departs from this traditional view to establish Li Gonglin’s importance in Chinese Buddhist art history through both the local Longmian Chan and the larger Northern Song religious contexts. It offers a fresh understanding of the impact the intermingling of Tiantai, Pure Land, Huayan and Chan philosophies and practices had on Li Gonglin’s faith and art. Painting Buddhist subjects to Li Gonglin was an expression of faith.