Commoditization of the sacred: production and transaction of Buddhist statues in fifth- to tenth-century China
This article investigates the relationship between two seemingly opposite aspects of Buddhist statues: being both a sacred object and a commodity. By looking at their production and transaction processes, it examines how these medieval Buddhist statues were ‘singularized’ and ‘commoditized,’ as well...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
2019
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| In: |
Studies in Chinese Religions
Year: 2019, Volume: 5, Issue: 2, Pages: 105-121 |
| Further subjects: | B
Monastic
B commodity B artisan B Production B Buddhist statue B Market B sacred object |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article investigates the relationship between two seemingly opposite aspects of Buddhist statues: being both a sacred object and a commodity. By looking at their production and transaction processes, it examines how these medieval Buddhist statues were ‘singularized’ and ‘commoditized,’ as well as the activities of different social groups in relation to them. This article intends to shed some new light on the roles played by ‘sacred objects’ in medieval Chinese society, through studying how people actually perceived and interacted with them in diverse ways. It is suggested that the ambiguity of the nature of these statues - being both singular and common, sacred and commercial - entailed a host of new religious and economic practices which contributed to the wide spread of the religion in medieval China. |
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| ISSN: | 2372-9996 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Studies in Chinese Religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/23729988.2019.1639454 |