Emperor, Empress, and the Divine in San Vitale and the Binyang Central Cave

IF 0.1 0 RELIGION

Buddhist-Christian Studies Pub Date : 2020-12-15 DOI:10.1353/bcs.2020.0020

Junhyoung Michael Shin

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Abstract

abstract:This essay compares historically unrelated religiopolitical iconographic programs executed in Byzantine Empire and Northern Wei China of the sixth century, and points out the common mechanism, through which these two cultures made use of religious imagery to promote imperial authority. They deployed different religious topoi befitting their respective Orthodox Christian and Buddhist-Confucian statecrafts, but arrived at surprisingly similar visual experiences. The key to the visual tactic employed in both sites, I would argue, lies in the trinity and multiplicity of the divine. The apse of San Vitale in Ravenna, completed in the years 547, suggests a double parallelism between Emperor Justinian and Christ that is further mirrored in the relationship between Christ and God the Father. The Binyang Central Cave in Longmen, completed in 523, implies a parallelism between Emperor Xuanwu's succession to his late father, Emperor Xiaowen, and the successive salvific endeavors of the Buddhas of the Three Ages. The religiopolitical theories of Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea (260–340) and the Pure Land patriarch Tanluan (曇鸞, 476–542) provide significant clues to understand these similarities.

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圣维塔莱和宾阳中央洞的皇帝、皇后和神

本文比较了公元6世纪拜占庭帝国和中国北魏两国在历史上毫不相关的宗教政治形象计划，指出了这两种文化利用宗教形象来提升帝国权威的共同机制。他们采用了适合各自的东正教和佛教-儒家治国方略的不同宗教主题，但却获得了惊人的相似的视觉体验。我认为，这两个地方所采用的视觉策略的关键在于神的三位一体和多重性。拉文纳圣维塔莱的后殿，完成于547年，暗示了查士丁尼皇帝和基督之间的双重平行关系，这进一步反映了基督和天父上帝之间的关系。龙门宾阳中央洞，完成于523年，暗示了玄武帝继承其已故父亲孝文帝和三个时代的佛连续的拯救努力之间的平行关系。凯撒利亚的优西比乌主教(260-340)和净土宗主教坦鸾(，476-542)的宗教政治理论为理解这些相似性提供了重要的线索。

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来源期刊

Buddhist-Christian Studies RELIGION-

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0.10

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期刊介绍： Buddhist-Christian Studies is a scholarly journal devoted to Buddhism and Christianity and their historical and contemporary interrelationships. The journal presents thoughtful articles, conference reports, and book reviews and includes sections on comparative methodology and historical comparisons, as well as ongoing discussions from two dialogue conferences: the Theological Encounter with Buddhism, and the Japan Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies. Subscription is also available through membership in the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies .