![]() Despite their different spatial and temporal contexts, both the tomb of Lady Poduoluo and Mogao Cave 285 present a similar pictorial formula, featuring the hybridization of cintamani and the Fuxi-Nuwa pair. This paper furthers the discussion on the hybrid image by investigating the mural painting on the ceiling of Mogao Cave 285 in Dunhuang. Through a detailed visual analysis, I explain the multiple meanings embedded in the combination of the Chinese mythological figures with the Buddhist symbol in the funerary space, thus challenging the previous studies that understand cintamani only as a substitute for the sun and moon. In this paper, I focus on the juxtaposition of Fuxi-Nüwa and cintamani, a magic Buddhist jewel, depicted on the ceiling of the corridor in the tomb of Lady Poduoluo, Pingcheng, Shanxi (435 CE). The standard pictorial formula of Fuxi and Nüwa, a pair of indigenous Chinese deities, started to absorb new motifs from Buddhist art during the early medieval period when Buddhism became more prominent in China. Because the prints’ style and iconography blend various Chinese, Tibetan, and Central Asian elements, they will also serve as a base to better understand the cultural exchanges and political relations between Xi Xia and its neighbors, and more specifically the Chinese and Tibetans. This thesis focuses on the Buddhist prints excavated by Kozlov as a preliminary attempt to reconstruct the Xi Xia’s religious practices as well as its socio-cultural and political organizations. Among the most exciting finds was a stupa containing printed manuscripts, statues and Buddhist paintings. This expedition, led by Captain Kozlov, excavated the city of Khara Khoto. Yet, few mentioning of Xi Xia is found in historical records, and its existence would have been largely ignored without, among other archeological discoveries, the Russian expedition of 1907-1909. ![]() As the great neighbor of the Song Chinese, Tibetan, Liao and Jin kingdoms, Xi Xia played a crucial role in the region and had strong economic and political influence. (Images provided further) The Xi Xia kingdom, extending from the Gansu to the Ordos, was established as an independent regime in 1038 and lasted until 1227.
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