Structure Type: Buddhist Monastery 佛寺.
Location: Cloud-Forest Monastery, Longquan Town, Yanggao County, Shanxi Province 山西陽高縣龍泉鎮雲林寺.
Period: Ming dynasty, based on style and the common agreement of everyone there. Most of the monastery steles are still intact and there should be literature on this well-known site; I haven’t gone and looked for it yet.
Artist: Unknown.
Mural Contents: The murals depict the Dharma Feast of Water and Land 水陸法齋, in which all the gods of the Chinese pantheon are called down to receive the teachings. This is possibly the most complete Water and Land assemblage in all of China – none of the other sites I’ve visited have not just the murals but all of the Ming dynasty statues in place as well. The statues lining the hall show the sixteen arhats 羅漢 or disciples of the Buddha.
In the rear of the Buddha thrones 佛龕 there are two south-facing walls showing the Wisdom Kings 十明王 and the various other Buddhas of the inner altar of the Water and Land rite. The northern-facing back of the thrones, meanwhile, has a unique and beautiful “reverse-facing Guanyin” 倒坐觀音 image, showing Guanyin-Avalokiteśvara presiding over a magical spring. The Dragon Kings of the Five Oceans 五海龍王 attend on either side, on one side as dragons and on the other as men. This scene, with its interest in the hidden rear of the altar wall, the goddess presiding over the Five Dragon Kings, and the repeat depiction of those kings once as dragons and once as humans, is actually an important piece of evidence for the early development of Dragon King iconographies in northern China.
Other Notes: The room is huge, dark, and crowded, and thus I was unable to make any kind of composite photos of the whole scene. This murals may have been published, I’m not certain.
Full Gallery
