Sacred
Landscapes in Asia: Shared Traditions,
Multiple Histories
By-
Himanshu Prabha Ray
Throughout
history the peoples of Asia have been known for their mobility and
interactions. The notion of territorially defined nations is historically
recent. There was a continuing
dialogue between Asian cultures which functioned at both the spatial and the temporal
level, propelled by the movement of the great religions of Asia across continents via trading communities, clergies, Buddhist and Sufi scholars and communities of artisans.
dialogue between Asian cultures which functioned at both the spatial and the temporal
level, propelled by the movement of the great religions of Asia across continents via trading communities, clergies, Buddhist and Sufi scholars and communities of artisans.
The
present volume explores the aesthetic theories underlying many genres of the
Asian arts. These characterize the dialogue between and amongst different Asian
regions. The same Asian notions of space and time are manifested in
architectural form as also in a wide variety of visual arts. The contributors
in this volume identify the multi-layered discourse comprising the nature of
monuments, as also the movement of motifs and symbols though sculptured and
picturised representation. Some essays focus on fundamental notions such as Sunyata
as common to the Indian, Korean and other Asian countries. Also, the papers
bear testimony to the phenomena of dialogue and distinctiveness, continuity and
change. This is evident in architectural structures, sculptural forms,
particularly in iconography, and of course in the performing arts.
The
IIC-Asia Project in its second phase has, with purpose, traced the trajectory
of transmission systems in Asian civilization in different domains and at
different levels, be it the vertical transmission from generation to generation
in education, or the artistic transmission and diffusion through the arts. It
is hoped that this volume will add to the meager literature that exists on the
subject and will stimulate further research and study.
Himanshu
Prabha Ray
is at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New
Delhi.
ISBN 81-7304-726-X 2007 408p. Rs.995/ Pounds 85
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