Category: Fieldwork

Long-term research stay of GCBS researcher Laurent Van Cutsem in China, August 2024 – February 2025

In February 2025, our postdoctoral researcher Dr. Laurent Van Cutsem returned from an enriching six-month stay as a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Research on Ancient Books 古籍研究所 at Zhejiang University 浙江大學 in Hangzhou 杭州. His host was Prof. Feng Guodong 馮國棟, a leading expert on the Jingde chuandeng lu 景德傳燈錄, a landmark Chan historiographical text originally compiled in 1004 by the monk Daoyuan 道源 (d.u.).

During his time in China, Dr. Van Cutsem presented papers at three international conferences. The first was International Conference “Canonical, Non-Canonical and Extra-Canonical: Interdisciplinary and Multi-media Studies of the Formation, Translation and Transmission of Buddhist Texts 佛教典籍的成立與傳譯視閾下的佛教中國化,” co-organized by The Wutai Shan Institute of Buddhism and Eastern Asian Culture 五臺山東方佛教文化研究院, the FROGBEAR project at the Univ. of British Columbia, and the Institute for Ethics and Religions Studies 道德與宗教研究院 at Tsinghua Univ. 清華大學 and held at Great Bamboo Grove Monastery 大聖竹林 on Mt. Wutai 五臺山 (August 11–15, 2024). Dr. Van Cutsem’s paper focused on focused on the role of Ānanda in Tang-Song Chan hagiography.

The second was International Conference “Cross-Regional and Cross-Cultural Interaction and Integration between Buddhism and Other Asian Religions 佛教與亞洲宗教跨地域與跨文化的互鑒與共融” (August 16–19, 2024), organized by the Center for Buddhist Culture Studies 佛教文化研究中心 at Zhejiang University 浙江大學, in collaboration with the Glorisun Global Network of Buddhist Studies, with administration support from the FROGBEAR project at the Univ. of British Columbia. Dr. Van Cutsem’s paper explored quotations from the influential Baolin zhuan 寶林傳 preserved in the little-studied 14th-century Keitoku dentō shōroku 景德傳燈鈔錄.

At the third conference—“Buddhist Civilization and Manuscript Culture along the Silk Road” 絲綢之路上的佛教文明與寫本文化 (Zhejiang University, November 15–18, 2024), organized by Prof. Hou Haoran 侯浩然—he presented research on the Shengzhou ji 聖冑集 and the Dunhuang manuscript Or.8210/S.4478. In addition to his presentation, he also served as a discussant for Prof. Kirill Solonin’s paper on Tangut-language Chan texts from the Western Xia 西夏 empire.

While at Zhejiang University, Dr. Van Cutsem attended select classes by Imre Galambos and Zhang Yongquan 張湧泉, both renowned specialists in Dunhuang studies and manuscript culture. He also did archival research and exchanged ideas about his ongoing projects with several professors, including Feng Guodong, Imre Galambos, Dou Huaiyong 竇懷永, and Chen Ruifeng 陳瑞峰.

He returned to Ghent with a rich collection of photographs documenting sites associated with the Zutang ji 祖堂集, another key Chan historiographical text compiled in Quanzhou 泉州 in the mid-10th century and the central focus of his Ph.D. dissertation, and from his visits of several museums and special exhibitions in Hangzhou.

Research Institute for Ancient Books 古籍研究所, Zhejiang University
Building of the School of Literature 文學院, School of History 歷史學院, and School of Philosophy 哲學學院, Zhejiang University
Library of the Research Institute for Ancient Books 古籍研究所圖書館, Zhejiang University
Part of the Zijingang 紫金港 campus, Zhejiang University. View on the main library
International Conference “Canonical, Non-Canonical and Extra-Canonical: Interdisciplinary and Multi-media Studies of the Formation, Translation and Transmission of Buddhist Texts,” Mount Wutai 五臺山, August 11–15, 2024.
International Conference “Cross-Regional and Cross-Cultural Interaction and Integration between Buddhism and Other Asian Religions ,” Zhejiang University, August 16–19, 2024
International Workshop “Buddhist Civilization and Manuscript Culture along the Silk Road,” Zhejiang University, Nov. 15–18, 2024

Fieldwork of GCBS researcher Mariia Lepneva in China, March 15 – April 6, 2025

Dr. Mariia Lepneva conducted fieldwork in China from March 16 to April 5, 2025, as part of her FWO-funded postdoctoral project, “Vinaya Revival on Baohua Mountain in Ming–Qing China.” The primary objectives of this research trip were threefold: to strengthen academic ties with colleagues in Chinese institutions, to visit monasteries associated with the Vinaya (monastic discipline and rituals) tradition during the seventeenth century, and to collect both primary and secondary sources for ongoing research. Further details can be found in Dr. Lepneva’s report below.

Tianning Nunnery in Beijing

The first stop on my journey was Beijing, where I stayed from March 16 to 23. During this time, I was able to visit all six monasteries that conducted monastic ordinations during the late Ming and early Qing periods: Fayuan 法源寺, Guangji 广济寺, Guanghua 广化寺, Tanzhe 潭柘寺, Jietai 戒台寺, and Tianning 天宁寺. Fayuan and Guangji Monasteries experienced a relatively swift revival following the implementation of the Reform and Opening-Up policy in the late 1970s. These sites played important roles in fostering unofficial ties with Buddhist countries across Asia, as the People’s Republic of China sought broader international recognition. As a result, both monasteries became repositories of cultural artifacts. Guanghua Monastery is usually closed to the public; however, I had the rare opportunity to enter during a religious festival celebrating the birthday of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. As for Tianning Monastery, only the pagoda courtyard remains, now reduced to about one-tenth of its original size. Interestingly, the site once functioned as a factory for producing gramophone records, but it has since been repurposed as a nunnery.

 

Ordination platform in Tanzhe Monastery

Located in the Western Hills, about an hour’s drive from central Beijing, Tanzhe and Jietai Monasteries have become popular weekend destinations for residents of the capital. Although managed by tourism companies, both monasteries are still home to active monastic communities. Each site preserves a historical ordination platform, though these are no longer in use. Currently, monastic ordinations in the capital region are only permitted at Baipu Monastery 白瀑寺, located in the Mentougou district, with the next ordination scheduled for June 2025.

 

 

 

Delivering a talk at Peking University

During my stay in Beijing, I engaged in a number of fruitful scholarly exchanges. Most notably, I delivered a lecture at Peking University, hosted by Professor Wang Song 王颂. In my presentation, I discussed the institutional transformation of Guangji Monastery during the early Qing dynasty, highlighting the emergence of a new power structure that elevated the role of Vinaya monks.

In addition, I had the opportunity to meet with several renowned scholars, such as Professor Sheng Kai 圣凯 of Qinghua University and Professor Xuan Fang 宣方 of Renmin University, as well as Professor Ju Xi 鞠熙 of Beijing Normal University, who is co-leading a project on publishing all stele inscriptions within the inner city walls of Beijing.

 

 

 

 

Professor Hu Yonghui hosts my talk at Nanjing University

The second stop on my journey was Nanjing, where I stayed from March 23 to 30, including a one-day visit to Shanghai on March 26. Both Nanjing and Shanghai Universities maintain joint teaching programs with our Department of Languages and Cultures, so I was especially pleased to take this opportunity to strengthen ties with our academic partners in both cities.

At Nanjing University, I delivered a lecture on the conceptualization of the Vinaya tradition of Baohua Mountain by its seventeenth-century abbot. The event was hosted by Professor Hu Yonghui 胡永辉, the coordinator of the university’s cooperation with Ghent. It was also a great pleasure to reconnect with several PhD students from Nanjing University whom I had previously met in Ghent during their exchange year.

In addition to my academic activities at Nanjing University, I also visited Professor Wang Jianguang 王建光 at Nanjing Agricultural University. A leading expert on the history of the Vinaya tradition in China, Professor Wang provided valuable insights relevant to my research and also shared that his new book, Continuation of the General History of Vinaya School in China 中国律宗通史续篇, will soon be published as part of Jiechuang Buddhist Studies Series 戒幢佛学论丛. During my visit to Shanghai, I met with Professor Cheng Qing 成庆 of Shanghai University, who is currently serving as co-promoter of a project focused on publishing rare Buddhist sources from the early seventeenth century.

Entrace of Longchang Monastery on Baohua Mountain

With the kind help of my new and old friends in Nanjing, I was able to visit the major site I am investigating within the framework of my current research project: Baohua Mountain. Longchang Monastery 隆昌寺 it houses is still a well-know Vinaya centre, which hold regular monastic ordinations and supplies staff for similar ceremonies elsewhere in China. I was pleased to learn that the resident monastic community is actively engaged in collecting, preserving, and publishing materials related to the monastery’s history, Vinaya studies, and ordination practices.

 

 
 

 

Pagoda of Guxin Ruxin at the centre of the pagoda yard of Tianlong Monastery

On the same day, I explored the pagoda yard of Tianlong Monastery 天隆寺, where one can see the pagoda of the famous reviver of monastic ordinations in the early seventeenth century, Guxin Ruxin 古心如馨  (1541-1616) (the structure likely dates to a renovation carried out in the early twentieth century). I also visited Jiming Monastery 鸡鸣寺 and Qixia Monastery 栖霞寺, which currently host female and male Buddhist seminaries, respectively. The library of Jiming Monastery is managed by Nanjing Normal University and has a catalogue available online.

 

 
 

 

Lineage genealogy on Dinghu Mountain (with final entries added in 2008)

The final stop of my fieldwork trip was Guangzhou, where I met with two scholars whose work has been particularly relevant to my research. The first was Dr. Li Fubiao 李福标 of the library of Sun Yat-sen University, whose pioneering studies on monastic ordinations in seventeenth-century Guangzhou—and the broader Lingnan (southern China) region—have been invaluable. The second was Professor Zhang Dewei 张德伟, author of the influential monograph Thriving in Crisis: Buddhism and Political Disruption in China, 1522–1620, which has long served as a major source of inspiration for my own work.

Professor Zhang hosted my talk at Jinan University, where I presented an analysis of late Ming and Qing monastic networks. With the generous support of both colleagues, I visited Dinghu Mountain 鼎湖山, a key center of Vinaya studies in southern China during the seventeenth century. I also had the opportunity to visit several historic monasteries within the city of Guangzhou, including Guangxiao Monastery 光孝寺, Wuzhuo Temple 无着庵, and Haichuang Monastery 海幢寺.

 

 

Fieldwork of GCBS researcher Massimiliano Portoghese in India, April 1-18, 2025

From April 1st to 18th, 2025, our PhD student Massimiliano Portoghese undertook a rich and immersive fieldwork journey across India, engaging directly with key sites of Buddhist heritage and scholarship.

His itinerary began in New Delhi, where he visited the Stein Collection at the National Museum, an essential archive for scholars of Buddhist history and archaeology. From there, Massimiliano continued to Sarnath, one of the most revered Buddhist pilgrimage sites and the location of the Buddha’s first sermon.

The next stage of his journey took him to Nalanda, where he explored the archaeological site of the ancient monastery-university, once a vibrant center of Buddhist learning. He also visited the modern Nalanda University campus, where he had the opportunity to connect with Elora Tribedy, Assistant Professor, for a valuable academic exchange.

Continuing on the trail of Buddhist heritage, Massimiliano made his way to Bodh Gaya, the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment, to study the Mahabodhi Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a living center of devotion and study.

His fieldwork concluded in Kolkata with a visit to the Bharut Gallery at the National Museum, where he examined early Buddhist art and iconography critical to his research.

Massimiliano’s fieldwork in India provided an invaluable firsthand encounter with key sites, objects, and scholars, deepening his engagement with the historical and material cultures of Buddhism.

Ruins of ancient Nalanda: the world’s first great monastery-university
Massimiliano Portoghese and Elora Tribedy, Assistant Professor, Nalanda University
Chinese painting of Avalokiteshvara from Dunhuang (Stein collection of the National Museum of New Delhi)
Dhamek Stupa of Sarnath
Mulagandha Kuti Vihara at Sarnath

Fieldwork of GCBS researcher Ven. Hui Wen

Venerable Hui Wen, a Phd student at GCBS, has just completed a field trip to the Mogao 莫高 caves in Dunhuang 敦煌, Gansu Province, in the framework of her research on the iconography and symbolic representations found at the center parts of the ceilings of Mogao caves. She also met the researchers of Dunhuang Academy, including her co-supervisor Prof. Neil Schmid, and worked in the academy’s library.

Hui Wen with researchers from Dunhuang, including her co-supervisor Prof. Neil Schmid (Professor at the Dunhuang Academy)
At the entrance to the Mogao cave complex (consisting of more than 500 caves with wall paintings)
Work in the Library of the Dunhuang Academy

Fieldwork of GCBS researcher Wen Xueyu in China, January 1-13, 2025

GCBS researcher Wen Xueyu conducted her field investigation from January 1st to 13th, 2025, in the framework of her project on the development of apsara (feitian 飛天) iconography.

During this period, she visited several caves, temples, and museums along the Hexi Corridor (河西走廊, Héxī Zǒuláng), including:

Additionally, on January 21st, she visited the Qingzhou Museum (青州博物館, Qīngzhōu Bówùguǎn).

The Longmen cave complex as seen from the Yangtze River.
GCBS PhD researcher Xueyu Wen.

 

Main statue in Yungang Cave 13 (Maitreya).
The Southern wall of Yungang Cave 13.
The photo was taken inside Cave 13 of the, which was built between 471 and 494 CE. Between the window on the south wall and the entrance, in a large house-shaped niche, there are seven standing Buddha statues (the seven Buddhas of the past?).

 

Fieldwork concluding session (Cluster 3.4 of the FROGBEAR project), April 20, 2024

In April, final meetings of the various Research Clusters of the FROGBEAR project hosts the final meetings of its various Research Clusters under the general title “From the Ground to the Cloud: Insights from Seven Years of Fieldwork, Training, and Data Collection”. Among these is the concluding session of the Cluster 3.4 “Typologies of Text-Image Relations”, led by GCBS’s Prof. Christoph Anderl, which will convene on April 20th. If you are interested to participate, please register as soon as possible.

Time: 6:00-8:00am Vancouver | 9:00am-11:00am New York | 3:00pm-5:00pm Brussels | 9:00pm-11:00pm Beijing

Among else, the session includes presentations by three GCBS members:

Prof. Christof Anderl’s introductory talk “From the virtual to the physical, and back to the digital: Redefining fieldwork during and after the epidemic” will sum up the activities and research results of Cluster 3.4 during a period characterized by unpredictability and severe restrictions on physical mobility. The emphasis will be on the experiences made during the “virtual fieldwork” which was organized as response to severe travel restrictions during the lock-down periods. This will be contrasted to our “physical” presence in Bangkok when the research objects could be experienced with all our senses, rather than being projected on a two-dimensional screen. Both types of fieldworks naturally necessitated different approaches, as well as modifications in the scholarly and pedagogical methodologies applied in radically different contexts. However, both approaches eventually merged in the form of the digital data produced during and after the fieldwork activities, eventually being integrated in the Frogbear Database of Religious Sites in East Asia housed at the UBC Library.

Anna Sokolova and Massimiliano Portoghese will share their impressions from conducting fieldwork in Bangkok. In this presentation, actual “fieldworkers” will share their manifold experiences during their 10-day stay in Bangkok and – on a more objective level – reflect more generally on the status quo and future of Chinese temples in contemporary Thailand. We will discuss how Chinese temples are integrated into the urban landscape of contemporary Bangkok, how the temples link the interests of multiple social groupings in the area (such as between local residents and administrative units), how the temples have developed multiple extra-religious functions (such as turning into social gatherings/festivities/commemorative spots), and how the temples have engaged highly syncretic repertoires of the lore of deities and of their related ritual practices. Based on our field work experience, we will reflect on how the data that we have collected during our visits to the Chinese temples in Bangkok on the ground can be used to present the evolution of certain religious traditions in Thailand in a diachronically perspectives: in particular, we can trace how certain traditions commonly thought of as “authentically Chinese” have declined in certain areas over the last few decades, while other such traditions have flourished and/or merged with diverse popular believes and practices.

Fieldwork of GCBS researchers Anna Sokolova and Massimiliano Portoghese in Taiwan, November 7-23, 2023

Between 7 and 23 November 2023, our researchers Dr. Anna Sokolova and Massimiliano Portoghese conducted a period of academic fieldwork and scholarly engagement in Taiwan.

During this time, they were invited to present their research at the 2023 DRGPA Conference (Documenting and Researching Gravesites in Pacific Asia), held at National Kaohsiung University (國立高雄大學). The invitation was extended by Professor Oliver Streiter. Massimiliano’s presentation, entitled “How to Treat a Dead Body: The Introduction of Buddhist Funerary Practices in Six Dynasties (220–589) China”, explored early Buddhist mortuary rituals in China and the cultural tensions surrounding the treatment of the body after death during the Six Dynasties period. Anna’s talk, titled “Stone Epigraphy as a Historical Source of Material on Death Rituals in Tang Dynasty China”, highlighted how inscribed stone stelae provide insight into funerary practices and cultural attitudes toward death in Medieval China.

In conjunction with the conference, Anna and Massimiliano also participated in a four-day fieldwork training session on Kinmen Island (金門). This practical component of the DRGPA program provided valuable hands-on experience in grave documentation and analysis, offering new methodological insights.

In addition to the conference and field training, Massimiliano was honored to be invited by Professor Lin Peiying to deliver a guest lecture at National Chengchi University (政治大學). The lecture, titled “Etiquette of Bodily Postures in Ancient and Early Medieval China: Debates on Sitting Positions,” was presented as part of the MA course “Buddhism and Society.” The session was well attended and stimulated a lively discussion on the ritual and symbolic dimensions of bodily comportment in premodern Chinese religious and philosophical traditions.

This trip provided Anna and Massimiliano with an invaluable opportunity to share their research with a broader academic audience, receive constructive feedback, and develop interdisciplinary connections. Moreover, the fieldwork in Kinmen significantly enhanced their practical understanding of burial contexts and material evidence.

International research workshop and fieldwork “Chinese Religious Spaces in Thailand”, May 24–June 2, 2023

Within the framework of 2023 FROGBEAR Phase 2 Cluster Activities, the leaders of Cluster 3.4 Typologies of Text-Image Relations organized International Research Workshop and Fieldwork “Chinese Religious Spaces in Thailand”.

Dates: May 24–June 2, 2023.

Cluster leaders: Christoph Anderl, in collaboration with Marcus Bingenheimer, Oliver Streiter, Tzu-Lung Melody Chiu, and Ngar-sze Lau.

Site(s): Chinese temples in Bangkok, Thailand.

Language(s): English; knowledge of Chinese is desirable; language support for Thai will be provided.

Summary:

Chinese temples in Thailand (and many other locations in South and Southeast Asia) give witness to the complex history of the spread of Chinese Buddhism, and the co-existence of various forms of Buddhism in that area. In the context of Thailand – although characterized by a dominance of Theravada Buddhism – there is a large number of Chinese temples especially in the Bangkok area, most of them clustering in and around Chinatown. Despite their Chinese heritage, many agents associated with the temples (monastics and laypeople) have fully integrated in Thai society and do not speak Chinese anymore (this seems to be a feature quite different from Chinese religious institutions in other countries where even after several generations the Chinese linguistic heritage is preserved). The temples still play a significant role for the religious and cultural life, as well as the identity, of communities with Chinese ancestors. Naturally, most of the temples cluster in and around Chinatown of Bangkok. This contemporary function of these religious institutions will be one focus of the fieldtrip, and we aim to document as many temples as possible with photographic (including 3D survey images) and video materials.

In addition, we will focus on a specific aspect of material culture extant in many of these temples, concretely, inscriptional / epigraphic materials. Chinese immigration to Southeastern locations started several hundred years ago, and the earliest inscriptions date back to the 17th century. In our work, we will focus on inscriptions predating the 19th century. Here, we build on the monumental work of Wolfgang Franke who in 1998 published a survey of epigraphic materials in Thailand. In our fieldwork, we aim to both trace Franke’s documented materials in the contemporary temples, document them with high-resolution images, in addition to complementing the records of Franke.

This will also enable us to gain an impression of the current condition of these materials, and their significance for religious practices and for the heritage / touristic activities of the individual temples. We will not only document materials in Chinese but also in Thai (or other languages such as Pali).

Participants and collaborators 

The field trip is organized by Christoph Anderl (Ghent University), in collaboration with Marcus Bingenheimer, Oliver Streiter, Yoann Goudin, Elsa Ngar-sze Lau, and Chiu (Melody) Tzu-Lung. Without the immense preparatory work of and their vast experience in documenting Chinese temples in Taiwan and South and Southeast Asia of Bingenheimer, Streiter and Goudin, this fieldwork would not be possible. In addition to these specialists, we will be accompanied by ca. fifteen graduate students and PhD researchers from various universities, working in five groups. Each group will also include one local translator.

We are also in the fortunate situation to be supported by the Bangkok based Thammasat University who will help with the logistics and provide expertise for the training sessions and the fieldwork. Thammasat representatives will also accompany some of the fieldwork groups. We are especially indebted to Thomas Bruce, Paul McBain, John Johnston, and Ornthicha Duangratana for their support.

Schedule

May 23
Arrival of the participants

May 24 (Thammasat)
10:00-10:20 Christoph Anderl: “Welcome and brief introduction” / Welcome by Thammasat representative
10:20-10:50 Marcus Bingenheimer: “Chinese temples Bangkok – a survey” (lecture)
10:50-11:30 Paul Mcbain: “Introduction to reality scan, reality capture, 360 cameras, matterport” (training)
14:00-14:40 Oliver Streiter: “Following the Traces of Wolfgang Franke in Thailand: Impressions, insights and questions from out fieldwork in 2019 and 2023” (lecture)
14:40-15:20 Elsa Ngar-sze Lau: “Doing ethnographic research at religious site: observation and interview” (lecture)
15:40-17:00 Marcus Bingenheimer / Oliver Streiter: “Introduction to temple documentation, data collection, data input” (training / discussions)

May 25
09:00-12:30 FIELD WORK 1 in five groups
14:30 Gathering at Thammasat
14:30-15:20 John Johnston: “Contemporary Developments in Thai Buddhist Material Culture.” (lecture)
15:20-16:00 Melody Tzu-Lung Chiu: “Fieldwork practices and experiences in transnational Buddhist temples: Taiwan, Mailand China, Myanmar and Thailand.” (lecture)
16:00-16:40 Oliver Streiter: “How to identify objects (e.g., deities and symbols) in Chinese temples?” (training)
16:40-ca.18:00 Questions and discussion: Our experiences during the first fieldwork day

May 26 / 27 / 28 / 30 / 31 / June 1

09:00-17:00 FIELD WORK in five groups / work on fieldwork data

June 01 18:30-20:00 Lectures at Siam Society Bangkok

 June 02
10:00-11:00 Paul Mcbain: “From a Buddhist utopia to a secular paradise: tracing changing ideals of the city of Bangkok from 1800-the present.” (lecture)
11:00-16:00 Final gathering and group reports / discussion of fieldwork data / Q&A / socializing)

June 03
Departure of the participants

Links 

https://frogbear.org/app/ FROGBEAR Database of Religious Sites in East Asia

https://thesiamsociety.org/th/activity/following-the-footsteps-of-wolfgang-franke/ (Lectures at the Siam Society Bangkok)

For registration, please contact pinthip@thesiamsociety.org

https://www.paulmcbain.com/bangkok-digital-temples-project/ (Paul McBain: “Bangkok Digital Temples Project“)

 

Below is a field report by team member Massimiliano Portoghese, PhD student at the Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies.

Beyond Chinese Epigraphy in Bangkok: Spaces, Cults and Communities

In the English language, a sacred confined space for religious practice may be defined by the general descriptive term “temple.” However, everyday Thai language makes a clear distinction between a Buddhist monastic temple (Th. wat วัด), mostly belonging to Theravada institutions, and an alternative place of worship designed as a temple but not necessarily associated with just one religious tradition (Th. sanchao ศาลเจ้า). The latter often displays very syncretic trends drawing from Daoist, Buddhist, and local tutelary Chinese deities’ background. Moreover, it is always characterized by the absence of a residential monastic community.

Following the considerable flow of migration of several Chinese dialect communities (Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese, and Hokkien) to Siam from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries, a large number of Chinese sanchao were established in the Bangkok metropolitan area. These religious sites were naturally linked to the cult of Chinese deities, and their distribution reveals the geographic development of Chinese merchant communities in Bangkok throughout the years (Ho 1995). Nowadays, these temples still play a significant role in Thailand’s religious and cultural life, as they have gained an established position within Bangkok’s social dynamics. Besides their religious functions, they also play a very important role in developing social connections. The widespread creation of associations (she 社) and charitable foundations linked to these temples have regularly helped local communities by building schools or providing medical support in difficult times. Most of the people engaged in the above-mentioned temple activities are now fully integrated into Thai culture, and they seem to have lost both their oral and reading skills in Chinese.

 

Left, entrance of Wat Pho วัดโพธิ์, a Buddhist monastic temple complex. Right, front entrance of Zhalanshaniweng Bentougong 乍蘭唦尼翁本頭公, a Chinese sanchao. Photos by Massimiliano Portoghese, 2023.

 

Currently, the large number of Chinese sanchao scattered around Bangkok face several threats. Their buildings struggle with issues such as humidity, flooding, dilapidation, and poor conditions. Natural factors combined with weak restoration programs and a lack of support from city planning are gradually leading these places of worship towards extinction. Given this situation, there is an urgent need for digital preservation and documentation of these endangered sites.

Among the few works published on Chinese temples in Bangkok, the key reference is Wolfgang Franke’s survey on Chinese epigraphic materials in Thailand dating back to 1998. Wolfgang Franke, the son of Otto Franke who was one of the most important founders of modern German sinology, dedicated himself to the study and documentation of Chinese epigraphy in Southeast Asia after retiring from his position (Chair of Sinology) at the University of Hamburg. Since Franke’s publication, only a few studies have focused on epigraphy in Thailand, mostly on inscriptions found on temples (City Planning Department Bangkok Metropolitan Area 2016; Duan 1996).

To address these research gaps, Christoph Anderl of Ghent University led a field trip to Bangkok from May 23 to June 3 2023, as part of the FROGBEAR (From the Ground Up: Buddhism and East Asian Religions) project Research Cluster 3.4 “Typologies of Text-Image Relations.” This project benefited from parallel investigations conducted by Marcus Bingenheimer (Temple University) and Paul McBain (Thammasat University), who produced 3D photography and VR modeling of Chinese temples in Bangkok, and by Oliver Streiter (National University of Kaohsiung) and Yoann Goudin’s (Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3) Thakbong Project, which focused on re-documenting and enriching the materials collected by Franke (Streiter, Bingenheimer, Zhan, To, and Shih 2019). Other specialists in fieldwork studies in Chinese Buddhist communities, such as Tzu-Lung Chiu 邱子倫 (National Chengchi University) and Ngar-Sze Lau 劉雅詩 (Chinese University of Hong Kong), joined the project by lending their fieldwork expertise and leading two of the five groups of researchers involved in the task.

When examining Franke’s black-and-white photographs collected twenty-five years ago, several research questions arise: What is beyond epigraphy? What it can tell us about social history and the development of Chinese religious communities in Bangkok? What has been preserved? What has been lost? What has been added? How many sanchao can be counted, and where are they located? Additionally, researchers should question the status of these sacred places: who is responsible for their maintenance? What is their significance for religious practices and why are they located in their respective neighborhoods? How do we identify and classify the wide range of objects found inside the temples? Lastly, how do we approach the concept of “Chineseness” in relation to these temples?

 

Above, an example of comparison between Franke’s publication (left, see Franke 1998, p. 102) and the high-resolution pictures (right) taken during this field trip by Christoph Anderl. The smaller tablet (萬象更新 “the ten-thousand phenomena transform and renew”) situated under the temple name plaque Guanyin gumiao 觀音古廟 (Old Guanyin Temple) at the time of Franke’s fieldwork has been removed.

 

The pantheon of deities featured in the Chinese sanchao is very heterogeneous, including Buddhist deities, tutelary gods, characters from Chinese history and literature, idols from popular religions, Daoist immortals, and even Indian-derived divinities such as Gaṇeśa, Brahmā, and Śiva. However, each temple tends to place special emphasis on one deity. The main god is typically located on the largest altar, while other divinities are scattered throughout the inner and outer spaces of the temple in the form of statues and paintings. Consequently, the researchers participating in the fieldwork were divided into five groups, with each group visiting temples associated with one main god or goddess: Guanyu 關羽/Guandi 關帝; Bentougong 本頭公; Guanyin 觀音; Mazu 媽祖/Tianhou 天后; and Xuan Tian 玄天. Collaborative efforts of the five groups revealed intersecting repertoires of deities and ritual practices within communities affiliated with diverse temples. Rich epigraphic material from the last two centuries still survives within Chinese sanchaos and graveyards in Thailand, particularly in the Bangkok area, and provides valuable insights into how various Chinese dialect immigrants adapted and thrived in the Thai environment.

 

Left, close-up of a Guanyu altar in Xietian shangdi gumiao 協天上帝古廟. Right, close-up of a Xuan Tian altar in Dabentougong miao 大本頭公廟. Photos by Tzu-Lung Chiu (left) and Yoann Goudin (right), 2023.

During the ten days of fieldwork, the FROGBEAR research team documented over fifty temples by collecting high-quality images (including 3D images) and conducting interviews with practitioners and caretakers. The data is publicly accessible in FROGBEAR’s open-access databases to ensure preservation and free access to the documented materials for scholars and the general public alike. This fieldwork shaped the basis for an extensive dynamic archive of religious sites that can be further explored from various angles. However, there is still a great deal of further investigation and survey work to be undertaken. With threats such as pressure for relocation, inadequate funding, and a declining number of caretakers maintaining the temples, these sacred sites face significant risk of becoming lost. More research surveys and support are strongly encouraged to help preserve these Chinese sanchaos, and to ensure that they do not disappear from Bangkok’s diverse social, cultural and religious heritage. If these traditions fade away, their physical spaces will also be at risk of being lost.

 

 

A Hakka graveyard in Bangkok. Photo by Massimiliano Portoghese, 2023.

Bibliography

City Planning Department Bangkok Metropolitan Area. 1996. Chinese Shrines: The Faith of Bangkok. Bangkok: Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Duan Lisheng 段立生. 1996. Taiguo de zhongshi simiao 泰國的中式寺廟. Bangkok: Taiguo Datongshe chuban youxian gongsi 泰國大同社出版有限公司.

Franke, Wolfgang 傅吾康, and Chen Tieh Fan 陳鐵凡. 1982–1987. Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Malaysia 馬來西亞華文銘刻萃編, vols. 1–3. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaysia Press.

Franke, Wolfgang 傅吾康, Xiao Guojian, and Claudine Lombard-Salmon 蘇爾夢. 1988–1997. Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Indonesia 印尼華文銘刻彙編, vols. 1–3. Singapore: South Seas Society 南洋學會.

Franke, Wolfgang 傅吾康, and Porpan Juntaronanont 劉麗芳. 1998. Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Thailand 泰國華文銘刻彙編, vols. 1–2. Taipei: Xinwenfeng chuban gongsi 新文豐出版公司.

Ho, Chuimei. 1995. “Chinese Temples in Bangkok. Sources of Data for 19th-Century Sino-Thai Communities”. Journal of The Siam Society 83, no. 1–2: 25–43.

Streiter, Oliver, Marcus Bingenheimer, Hanna Ya-Qing Zhan, Mandy Manwai To, and Syuan Fei Shih. 2019. “First Steps Towards Reviving Franke’s ‘Chinese Epigraphy in Southeast Asia’: Motivations, Approaches and Data Structures”. In Documenting and Researching Graveyards in Pacific Asia: Migration, Religion and Ethnicity (DRGPA2019): Proceedings, edited by Oliver Streiter, Man Wai To, and James X. Morris, 91–118. Taipei: Academia Sinica.

 

International workshop and fieldwork “Image – Text – Reality in Buddhism: Interrelation & Internegation”, May 23–25, 2022

“Image – Text – Reality in Buddhism: Interrelation & Internegation”

International Workshop, May, 23-25 (online via Zoom)

(3am-9am PDT | 6am-12pm EDT | 12-18 pm CET | 6pm-9pm CST)

Organized by Prof. Dr. Christoph Anderl (Ghent) and Dr. Polina Lukicheva (Zurich)
as part of FROGBEAR 3.4 cluster activities “TYPOLOGIES OF TEXT – IMAGE RELATIONS”

Co-sponsor: Institute for Popular Chinese Culture Studies of Sichuan University, Sichuan University  四川大学中国俗文化研究所

Registration link: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5csf-ypqzksHNftgEEDx1ZpczaF53OW8FlL

View Full Program

Cluster 3.4: Typologies of Text – Image Relations (Cliff/ Caves) 2022

Based on the impact of the pandemic, travel to China with a group of researchers is still impossible in 2022. However, we will go ahead with an adapted cluster program and will experiment with “virtual fieldwork” activities.

In order to offer a varied program, we will approach the interrelation of text and image media in the context of Buddhism from various angles, some more theoretical and others based on concrete case studies. With this we hope to provide a more comprehensive overview of the state-of-art developments in this field. The theoretical part will be further emphasized by the participation of Dr. Polina Lukicheva from the University of Zurich as co-organizer, who is a specialist in research on theoretical, philosophical, and soteriological issues related to visual media in religions.

Concretely, the event will be divided into two main parts, a three-day seminar during which theoretical and methodological aspects will be addressed, and field studies presented. The second part will consist of four to five days of virtual field work, focusing on several Buddhist sites in the Anyue district of Sichuan.

Duration of the event:

May 23-25 (3am-9am PDT | 6am-12pm EDT | 12-18 pm CET | 6pm-9pm CST)
May 26 Introduction (time TBD depending on location of participants)
May 27-31 (in at least 3 time-zone groups, TBD depending on location of participants)

Part One – Seminar (the list of participants / lecture titles are tentative):

“Image – Text – Reality in Buddhism: Interrelation & Internegation”

International Workshop, May, 23-25 (online via Zoom)
Organized by Prof. Dr. Christoph Anderl (Ghent) and Dr. Polina Lukicheva (Zurich)
as part of the cluster activities “TYPOLOGIES OF TEXT – IMAGE RELATIONS”

Conference website: http://frogbear.org/image-text-reality-in-buddhism-interrelation-internegation/

Registration link: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5csf-ypqzksHNftgEEDx1ZpczaF53OW8FlL

Outline

Text and image are the major modes by which humans make sense of the world and, more categorically speaking, construct the (meaningful) world.

In the context of a religious teaching, the role of text and image is subordinated to a soteriological goal – a progress towards the fundamental awareness of the ultimate reality or some specific form of salvation (e.g., rebirth in paradise, or in another favourable sphere of existence). While the soteriological goal is often understood to be beyond any form of representation and meaning-making, the essential value of text and image for elucidating the fundamental truth is also often acknowledged. Thus, the following tensions arise regarding functions of text and image within a religious context: How can text and image furnish the progress towards that which transcends any sort of representation and meaning-making? How to reconcile the inevitably conventional status and metaphorical nature of textual and pictorial signs with the ultimate truth they are meant to convey?

Solutions to these tensions offered by different religious traditions range from those that tend to dismiss any or at least some forms of textual and visual representation and meaning-making, to those that assert the fundamental sameness of these forms with the real.

During the workshop, we hope to gain important insights about the topic of text-image relations through studying how Buddhist teachings solved tensions of this kind. That is, we will discuss textual and visual ways of referencing, signification and meaning-making within a larger framework of Buddhist views on relations between the conventional and the real. Ideally, we will be able to reach some conclusions about whether there exist regularities between notion(s) of reality embraced by a teaching, on the one hand, and particular forms of representation and meaning-making this teaching chooses to prioritize or discard, on the other.

The seminar will feature presentations on how sources from Buddhist traditions and other relevant theoretical literature engage with  the complex interrelations between psychological and ontological aspects of meaning-making and representation – both from a broader philosophical perspective, as well as dealing with more specific themes, such as

– differences, congruities or patterns of interaction between textual and visual representational structures and referential
mechanisms;
– exegetical procedures, perceptual mechanisms and, possibly, cognitive transformations that, according to sources, are involved in aligning ordinary semantics and pragmatics of texts and image with the fundamental meaning of a teaching.

1.1 Theoretical, methodological, and philosophical issues related to the interplay of text and image

  • Polina Lukicheva (“Forms of Presentation of Meaning in Buddhist Teachings”)
  • Imre Hamar (“Samantabhadra images in East Asia and their Relation to Mahayana sutras”)
  • Rafael Suter (“Perceiving Doctrine? Visualization and Fazang’s Gold Lion”)
  • Roy Tzohar (“Perspectivism and the Openness of Interpretation: Only in Buddhist Texts?”)
  • Fabio Rambelli (“Text, Image, and Sound: Gagaku between Performance and Metaphysics”)
  • Eric Greene (“Text, Vision, and Ritual in the Scripture on the Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life”)
  • Henry Albery (“Avadāna as Analogy: Tracing the Emergence of a Narrative Mode”)

1.2 Lectures with a focus on case studies

  • Monika Zin (“Textual and Visual Narratives from Kizil”)
  • Satomi Hiyama (“Image-Text Relations in the Case of the Early Sarvāstivāda Monasteries of Kucha”)
  • Wendi Adamek (“Reading the Images and Texts of Mortuary Niches at Baoshan, Henan”)
  • Petra Rösch (“The “Sutra of the Seven Roster Buddhanames” (七階佛名經) revisited”)
  • Sonya Lee (“Buddhist cave temples in Bazhong, Northern Sichuan”)
  • Karil Kucera (“Creation, Consumption, Reception: Reading the Meanings Behind Texts and Images at Baodingshan”)
  • Lindsey De Witt (“Mountain Buddhism in East Asia: Cosmology and Practice in Comparative Perspective”)
  • Sueyling Tsai (“A New Look at Text and Image in the Grove of the Reclining Buddha (Wofo yuan 臥佛院) in Anyue 安岳, Sichuan”)
  • Manuel Sassmann (“Technical Aspects of Field Research at Wofo yuan”)
  • Christoph Anderl (“Techniques of Textual Adaptation to Local Spaces”)

1.3 Project presentations by PhD / master students / round table discussions

 

Part Two – Virtual Field work

With the background of the theoretical part and introduction to key sites in the framework of the seminar, the virtual field studies involve studies directly related to specific sites in Anyue. Since we cannot directly visit the sites, the work will be based on high-resolution images taken during previous field trips and other materials. The researchers will study these materials, extract images, write descriptions and prepare them for input in the FROGBEAR Database of Religious Sites in East Asia.

The sites selected for “fieldwork” are the following, all situated in Anyue district:

        • Yuanjue dong 圓覺洞
        • Pilu dong 毗盧洞
        • Huayan dong 華嚴洞
        • Da Bore dong 大般若洞
        • Wofo yuan 臥佛院
        • Kongque dong  孔雀洞
        • Qianfo zhai 千佛寨

 

Fieldwork research will be primarily based on the photographic materials, and will also involve specific research questions related to the particular features of the individual sites (more information will be provided later). However, we will try to extend the sources / flow of information, including the following:

– Researchers will work in groups (divided according to time zones), similar to those involved in “real” fieldwork, and also applying a “division of labor” approach;

– Zotero Library (Ghent MA students have prepared a large Zotero web library with many full-text PDFs, which can be used to retrieve information on specific sites during research);

– We will try to involve “eyes in the field”, meaning that local collaborators interact with the researchers, and jointly investigate specific sites (e.g., communicate details about a site, inspect the surrounding, take additional photographs, etc.);

– “Ask the expert” (if possible, we will try to involve local experts who in direct communication can answer specific questions about a motif / site / context/ etc.);

– Throughout Spring 2022, ca. 20 Ghent MA students will closely deal with several aspects of the sites, as well as produce introductory materials; during the field work, the MA students will directly interact with the researchers and try to assist them in their studies;

– In addition, a number of supervisors will also involve in the research process;

– The concrete workflow will be communicated later; all relevant materials and information will be provided via the Ghent Ufora teaching platform;

– Research findings will be communicated every day in very short presentations and gatherings;

– Researchers will use other media of communication in addition to Zoom (and the breakout rooms), such as platforms for jointly working on documents, file sharing, etc.;

– Before the seminars / field work commences, we will provide thorough information and sample records, as well as all relevant forms, through Ufora.

 

Concise background information concerning the “virtual research sites”

The Anyue sites, situated in the Anyue district in Sichuan, and dating mainly between the mid-Tang and the Song period, are among the most interesting regions in China in terms of the integration of and the interplay between text and image at Buddhist sites. As such, a (virtual) field trip to this area is highly significant in the context of the Topologies of Text-image Relations cluster. Earlier field trips conducted by the Ghent Centre of Buddhist Studies have focused on the Dazu area, including the famous Baoding-shan which also has been the subject of intense studies during recent years (Kucera 2001, Kucera 2016, Suchan 2003, Howard 2001, Xu 2010, Lü 2015, Zhao 2018, Zhang 2017, etc.).

As compared to the “central” Dazu area, which is close to Chongqing, many of the Anyue sites are relatively distant and not so easily accessible (some of the sites are also not open to the general public). Furthermore – whereas image material in books, articles, and on the web are relatively plentiful in the case of Dazu – the Anyue sites are both under-studied and under-documented and have received far less scholarly attention (e.g., Sørensen 1998, Ledderose and Sun 2014, Sichuan Cultural Relic Administration 2015, Sun 2018). However, as the Dazu and the Anyue sites are directly related in terms of the temporal and geographical spread of specific motifs, narratives, genres, artistic styles, etc., the Anyue area would provide materials that are indispensable for a reconstruction of the Buddhist textual and visual programs of the entire Sichuan region and will be of great importance for the study of the development of Buddhist image and text production in the form of rock carvings and rock caves in China. Another interesting aspect of the sites consist of their syncretic features, integrating texts and visual motifs of various Buddhist schools (especially Chan and Huayan), esoteric Buddhism, local religious imaginations, as well as Daoism and Confucianism.

As such, research questions during the fieldwork will include the following aspects:

– The temporal layers observed in specific tableaux/sites and the diachronic changes traceable;

– Visualizations of “canons” and texts (e.g., the revolving book pagoda at Kongque dong);

– The integration of sūtra inscriptions at various cave sites (with a focus on Wofo yuan)

– The transformation of Buddhist narratives in text and image as observable at Pilu dong (e.g., the Liu benzun tableau; with comparisons to the Dazu version of the motif);

– Donor activities and their visualization in text and image (e.g., at Pilu dong where the family names of donors are preserved, inscribed on small Buddha/bodhisattva carvings, each of them iconographically “unique”; in the context of the field study, we will try to systematically record all ca. 320 extant combinations of small buddha carvings and inscribed family names)

– The transformation of textual and image material based on the “merging” of Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian motifs (e.g., Da bore dong; Yuanjue dong);

– The integration and identification of so-called “esoteric” elements (e.g., Wofo yuan and Pilu dong);

– The programmatic compositions of large-scale tableaux/sites (with an emphasis on the Nirvana Buddha at Wofo yuan).

For the original post, please click here.

 

Tianzhu Fieldwork Fellowship 2018-2019: Jasper Roctus

Tianzhu Foundation provides funding for one Ghent University graduate student to travel to East Asia to do Buddhism-related fieldwork. We are happy to announce that for the academic year 2018-2019, this award has been given to Jasper Roctus (MA student Chinese Language and Culture).·

Jasper Roctus is a Dutch student at Ghent University’s faculty of Arts and Philosophy. After finishing his bachelor of “Oriental languages and Cultures: China” with summa cum laude honors in 2018, Jasper is currently pursuing his master studies. Jasper has proven himself able to deal with complex and difficult materials including pre-modern Buddhist texts and manuscripts. For his MA course “Buddhism: Text and Material Culture”, Jasper has translated and interpreted some of the Baodingshan 宝顶山 rock carvings, connecting it to a historical framework of the development of filial piety in Chinese Buddhism. Jasper will prepare for his participation in the FROGBEAR “From the Ground Up: Buddhism and East Asian Religions” Dazu 大足 field research of May 2020 and will be going on exchange to the Renmin University (人民大学) in the People’s Republic of China during the fall semester of 2019.