Williams, CrispinAghdaie, Taraneh2018-01-302018-01-302017-05-312017http://dissertations.umi.com/ku:15306https://hdl.handle.net/1808/25793In this thesis, I examine an encomium written by Wang Wei in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE). I explain how the term bianxiang 變相, which was used to refer to a certain type of Buddhist painting popular at the time, is treated by Wang Wei using references to pre-Buddhist Chinese concepts. I argue that despite previous theories which define bianxiang using theological arguments, the term means “sutra illustration.” I discuss references made by Wang Wei in the encomium to early texts, and how the encomium relates to pre-Buddhist inscriptions for the deceased. I also provide the first full translation of the encomium, and an art historical examination of the type of painting for which it was made.99 pagesenCopyright held by the author.Asian studiesArt historyReligionBianxiangBuddhismEncomiumTang DynastyWang WeiThesisopenAccess