Layout of Buddhist temples in Chang'an city during the Tang dynasty. 618-907
Authors:   Institute of Mongolology, Buddhology and Tibetology, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulan-Ude, Russia, Markhanova Tatiana F. 
Published: October 2024

The article is devoted to the study of Buddhist temples in Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty. The author relies on a limited number of reference works, as well as on his own study of such primary sources as “Ju Tangshu” (“Old History of Tang”), “Zizhi tongjian” (“Universal Mirror, Helping Management”), “Xu Gaosen zhuan” (“Continuation of the Life of Worthy Monks”), “Chang'an zhi” (“Chang'an Records”). It is shown that the Tang dynasty was a period of prosperity of Chinese Buddhism, and also a period of flourishing construction of Buddhist monasteries in China. In Chang'an City, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, there were many famous and majestic Buddhist temples. They were mainly located in the west and east of the city and in the southeast and northeast corners. This article is the first to examine the historical formation of the monastery in its physical and spatial dimension of a specific period. As a result, it is shown that the Tang period witnessed changes in the composition of the temples, when the influence of Buddhist religion on China's official circles becomes particularly evident. Thus, the central place in the temple ensemble began to occupy the main temple with statues of Buddha. Pagodas were built on the side of the temple, behind the temple, in other courtyards or even the courtyard did without them at all. The article notes that the ban on the construction of pagodas in the main courtyard of Buddhist temples began in the early years of the reign of Emperor Gao Zong of the Tang dynasty. By the end of his reign, the new arrangement of pagodas in other courtyards had become a widespread rule. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that, for the first time, two main types of Buddhist temples of the Tang period are shown on the basis of translated research materials: Buddhist temples with one courtyard (danyuanshi fosi) and Buddhist temples with several courtyards (doyuanshi fosi). It is revealed that all of them were concentrated in the center of the Buddha Hall. Changes in architecture and layout were defined, which influenced the future architecture of temple complexes in China. Since that time, the principle of building a Buddhist ensemble brought from India is replaced by the indigenous Chinese architectural tradition. The central place, and consequently the place of sacred object, in temple complexes and monasteries is occupied not by a pagoda, but by a temple with an altar. This layout was an important turning point in Chinese Buddhist temple architecture and had a far-reaching influence not only on Chinese Buddhist temples, but also on the layout of the Buddhist temple in Shangjing near Bohai Bay, the Buddhist temple in Silla, the Fujiwara House, and the Buddhist temples in Heian-kyo. Overall, the paper demonstrates that the Tang Dynasty was the most powerful dynasty in Chinese history, and its Buddhist architectural planning also reflected a high degree of prosperity, strong creativity and self-confidence. Above all, the scale, multi-functionality and height of the buildings reflected the prosperity of the society, and with it the Buddhism of the period.