Universität Wien

080030 PS Case Study II/III: The Yungang Cave Temples in Context (2019S)

Buddhist Art and Intercultural Exchange in the Northern Wei Period

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 8 - Kunstgeschichte und Europäische Ethnologie
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 23 participants
Language: German

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

No seminar on the 27th of June.

  • Thursday 07.03. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum 2 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-20
  • Thursday 14.03. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum 2 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-20
  • Thursday 21.03. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum 2 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-20
  • Thursday 28.03. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum 2 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-20
  • Thursday 04.04. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum 2 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-20
  • Thursday 11.04. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum 2 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-20
  • Thursday 02.05. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum 2 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-20
  • Thursday 09.05. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum 2 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-20
  • Thursday 16.05. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum 2 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-20
  • Thursday 23.05. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum 2 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-20
  • Thursday 06.06. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum 2 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-20
  • Thursday 13.06. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum 2 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-20
  • Thursday 27.06. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum 2 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-20

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The Yungang Cave Temples are a major monument of early Buddhist art in China, and a testament to the importance of Buddhism as a political tool for the Northern Wei emperors. This course aims will attempt a “close reading” of the richly decorated Yungang caves, as well as explore how recent archaeological discoveries and developments in the historiography of the region can help us re-evaluate this site. Attention will be paid to the place of Yungang in the transfer of Buddhist motifs from South and Central Asia, as well as the presence of motifs hailing from the nomadic context in Yungang’s decorative repertoire. Secondary literature on the site will be read critically, with an eye to how interpretations of the cave are grounded in deeper assumptions on the nature of northern Chinese identity in the medieval period.

Objectives: By the end oft he course, students should be able to:
1. The ability to identify elements of Buddhist iconography, including figures, narratives and motifs, characteristic for the medieval Chinese period.
2. A sophisticated understanding of the iconography, stylistic development, architecture and social history of the Yungang Cave Temples, as well as later related cave-temple complexes.
3. Comprehension and proper use of relevant art historical terminology.
4. The critical use of visual, archaeological and written sources for medieval Chinese art history, as well as the secondary literature in the field.
Contents and Methods:
Seminar discussion, identification exercises, group exercises, presentations with peer-feedback sessions, essay.

Assessment and permitted materials

Unexplained absence on three dates will result in a negative mark for this course.
The course grade consists of three components:
1. Homework (10%) and participation in the seminar discussions and exercises (10%).
2. A presentation, 15-20 minutes long, with handout. (20%)
3. Essay (60%)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

See above

Examination topics

Keine Prüfung.

Reading list

Abe, Stanley K. 2002. Ordinary images. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Wong, Dorothy C. 2004. Chinese steles: pre-Buddhist and Buddhist use of a symbolic form. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Rhie, Marylin M. 1999. Early Buddhist art of China and Central Asia. Leiden: Brill.
Mizuno, Seiichi, and Toshio Nagahiro. 1951. Yün-käng, the Buddhist cave-temples of the fifth century A.D. in North China: detailed report of the archaeological survey carried out by the mission of the Tōbōbunka Kenkyūsho 1938-45. [Kyoto]: Jimbunkagaku Kenkyusho, Kyoto University.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:31