Thirteenth International Conference on The Arts in Society

Abstract

This paper attempts to discuss one of the overlooked Buddhist stelae at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which can be dated to the Northern Wei Dynasty (CE 386-534) in China. Beginning in the late fifth century, a new type of stelae appeared among indigenous communities serving for religious purposes. Lay patrons made figures for religious worshipping, practicing liturgy, praying for the deceased and the emperor. But most importantly, these stelae were crucial means for them to accumulate merits for obtaining an ideal afterlife in the heavenly realms before returning to earth through rebirth. Nevertheless, though this wish was frequently recorded in inscriptions, only a small number of the stelae virtually depicted this scene. It is within this context that the stele kept in the museum is nonetheless invaluable since it depicted the scene of a heavenly world. In short, this paper begins with a textual examination of the epigraphical sources on the stele in order to present a basic overview of its background. Built on which, by scanning through the visual images on the stele, this paper further exemplifies the various realms depicted on the stele. It will try to show the scene of the heavenly world where the deceased people were expected to enter after death. By studying this stele, a general picture of the laity’s faith devotion should be revealed.