We are pleased to welcome Chentong Liu as a new doctoral member of the Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies (GCBS). Chentong joined Ghent University in 2025 as a PhD student after an interdisciplinary academic trajectory that combines engineering, art theory, and Buddhist art history. She previously obtained a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Ocean University of China (2021) and a Master’s degree in Art Theory from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (2025).
Chentong’s PhD project focuses on Esoteric Buddhist stone carvings in Anyue (Sichuan) during the Tang and Song dynasties, with particular attention to their ritual, iconographic, and stylistic features. Her research combines traditional art-historical and iconographic analysis with digital methods, aiming to offer a systematic and spatially informed understanding of these important yet understudied monuments.
A key innovation of the project is the use of GIS-based digital analysis, especially ArcGIS, to map and visualize the spatial and temporal distribution of Esoteric Buddhist carvings in the Anyue region. By building a dedicated database that records location, subject matter, iconography, and stylistic traits, the project seeks to clarify patterns of development and regional interaction. Through this approach, Chentong’s research sheds new light on the growth of Esoteric Buddhism in Anyue and its broader connections with religious practices and artistic traditions in other regions of China.