BIANXIANG (TRANSFORMATION TABLEAUX)

It is commonly assumed that bianxiang (transformation tableaux) are the matching illustrations for bianwen (transformation texts), a genre of popular Buddhist narratives that was discovered at Dunhuang. There are, indeed, many similarities. For example, bianxiang are also associated with the cave temples of Dunhuang, both genres flourished during the medieval period, both were intended for the portrayal of Buddhist themes, and, above all, the bian of both genre names means "transformation" or "transformational manifestation." There are, however, significant differences. Whereas bianwen sometimes dealt with secular subjects, bianxiang are exclusively religious in nature. Furthermore, while bianwen are folkish in nature, bianxiang are often the products of high culture. Finally, whereas evidence for bianwen is restricted almost exclusively to the manuscripts from Dunhuang, evidence (largely textual) for bianxiang is related to localities spread over the length and breadth of China.

Bianxiang are also frequently confused with maṆḌala. Here, too, there are similarities and differences, but the situation is more complex than with bianwen, despite the fact that bianxiang and maṇḍala are both artistic genres, since bianxiang may share features of maṇḍala and vice versa. Basically, whereas bianxiang connotes a narrative moment, event, place, or sequence of moments, events, or places pictorially or sculpturally represented, a mandala is an object or icon, usually having a circular arrangement, intended to serve as the focus of worship or meditation.

The chief subjects of bianxiang are paradise scenes (especially the Western Pure Land), depictions of the contents of famous sūtras (particularly the Lotus sŪtra), incidents from the life of the Buddha (especially his nirvĀṆa), deeds of various bodhisattvas (particularly Avalokiteśvara) and arhats (e.g., ŚĀriputra), and so forth. Bianxiang were favored by the adherents of the Chan school, and the tradition of painting bianxiang was transmitted to Japan, where it became an integral part of Buddhist popular culture. Vivid records of the commissioning and actual painting ofbianxiang have been preserved, and they afford valuable insights into the motivation and organization of Buddhist devotees in medieval China.

See also:Hells, Images of; Pure Land Art; Sūtra Illustrations

Bibliography

Mair, Victor H. "Records of Transformation Tableaux (pienhsiang)." T'oung Pao 72, no. 3 (1986): 3–43.

Wu Hung. "What Is Bianxiang ?—On the Relationship between Dunhuang Art and Dunhuang Literature." Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 52, no. 1 (1992): 111–192.

Victor H. Mair