Center for the Art of East Asia
New Directions in Longmen Grottoes Art Research
This conference is co-organized by the Center for the Art of East Asia (CAEA) at the University of Chicago and the University of Chicago Center in Beijing, thanks to the generous support of the Cyrus Tang Foundation.
Dates:
Monday-Tuesday, December 9-10, 2024
Location:
The University of Chicago Center in Beijing, 20th floor, Culture Plaza, No. 59A Zhong Guan Cun Street, Haidian District, Beijing, China 100872
Event Description:
For over a century, art historical research related to China’s Longmen Grottoes has developed into a highly regarded field of study, thanks to the continued efforts of scholars based in China and beyond. Foundational research has encompassed topics such as sculpture, stele calligraphy, architecture, Buddhist iconography, histories of cave constructions, imperial patronage, religious practice, and more. Such pioneering studies of the numerous large and small caves and niches spread across the eastern and western hills of Longmen have included surveys of individual caves, comparative studies between multiple caves belonging to the same period, explorations of visual programs and cave function, as well as the analyses of the stylistic evolution and development of carving techniques. Together, they form the foundation for ongoing research and provide a framework for future investigation. In recent years, innovative research methodologies and interdisciplinary initiatives have led to the emergence of new topics, further expanding international scholarly inquiries of the Longmen Grottoes. The application of 3D scanning technologies has accurately documented the current state of the grottoes, while advancements in digital restoration and 3D printing have created immersive virtual grottoes, which offer new research materials and further advance scholarship. Since 2021, the Center for the Art of East Asia at the University of Chicago has been conducting research and digitally restoring the Empress Procession relief in the Binyang Central Cave. This project exemplifies how new technologies compel us to rethink future approaches for researching the art of Longmen Grottoes.
Day 1 Schedule:
Monday, December 9, 2024, 9:30 AM – 17:45 PM (China Standard Time)
9:30 – 9:40 AM Welcome & Opening Remarks
Wu Hung, University of Chicago; CAEA Director
9:40 AM – 12:15 PM Panel 1: Historiography
Ancient Steles Forest: The Transformation of Longmen as a Landmark after the Eighteenth Century (Xue Longchun, Zhejiang University)
The "Gaze" of Art Historians: Teng Gu's Two Investigations of the Longmen Grottoes and the Application of Archaeological and Art Historical Perspectives (Wei Haoyu, Capital Normal University)
10:30 – 10:45 AM Break
On Su Bai’s Theories of Model and Style (Hang Kan, Peking University/Yungang Research Institute)
Early Photography and Ink Rubbings of the Longmen Grottoes (Cao Mengge, University of Chicago)
Discussant: Katherine Tsiang, Peking University; CAEA Associate Director Emerita
12:15 – 13:30 PM Lunch (University of Chicago Beijing Center)
13:30 – 15:30 PM Panel 2: Cave Construction
Convention and the Unconventional: Lady Hou in the Guyang Cave (Kate Lingley, University of Hawai’i)
Unfinished: A Preliminary Study on the Processes and Concepts of Northern Wei Statues at Longmen Grottoes (Wang Qian, Zhengzhou University)
Thinking through the Process: Masons, Scribes, and Monastics in Leigutai Central Grotto (Zhu Pinyan, Emory University)
Climbing Steep Cliffs: The Frame Holes at Longmen Grottoes and Cliffside Landscape (Peng Minghao, Peking University)
Discussant: Zhang Zong, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
15:30 – 15:45 PM Break
15:45 – 17:45 PM Panel 3: Comparative Studies
Connectivity and Diversity: Buddhist Sculptures of Gongyi-Zhengzhou Area in the First Half of the Sixth Century (Zhao Jinchao, Tongji University)
The Northern Wei Medicine Buddha Statue at Longmen Grottoes and the Medicine Buddha Worship in the Northern and Southern Dynasties (Chang Qing, Sichuan University)
Exploring the Origins of Flying Apsaras: Based on the Two Types of Flying Apsaras in the Binyang Central Cave at the Longmen Grottoes (Qi Ziyu, Fudan University)
Protection of Longmen Grottoes from the Perspective of Cultural Landscape (Ma Chaolong, Longmen Grottoes Academy)
Discussant: Hang Kan, Peking University/Yungang Research Institute
18:00 PM Dinner (Reserved for Speakers and Guests)
Day 2 Schedule:
Tuesday, December 10, 2024, 9:30 AM – 17:45 PM (China Standard Time)
9:30 – 9:40 AM Opening
Lin Wei-Cheng, University of Chicago; Dispersed Chinese Art Digitization Project (DCADP) Director
9:40 AM – 12:00 PM Panel 4: Digitization
Practices and Reflection of Digital Preservation for Dispersed Artifacts of the Longmen Grottoes (Gao Junping, Longmen Grottoes Academy)
Shaping Numinous Space: A Digital Reconstruction of Burial Caves and Buddhist Funerary Practices at Longmen in the Tang Dynasty (Li Lan, University of Toronto)
10:30 – 10:45 AM Break
DCADP Platform and Remote Digital Model Reconstruction Plan: Virtual Reverse Restoration of Relief Fragments from the Binyang Central Cave, Longmen Grottoes (Ouyang Zhenyu, Xi’an Jiaotong University)
Virtual Restoration of Damaged Faces in the Empress Procession Relief Based on Gaussian Process Regression (Chen Qiang, Xi’an Jiaotong University)
Discussant: Cao Mengge, University of Chicago; Dispersed Chinese Art Digitization Project (DCADP) Postdoctoral Researcher
12:00 – 13:00 PM Lunch (University of Chicago Beijing Center)
13:00 – 14:45 PM Panel 5: Faith and Images
The Formation of the “Central Plains Style” and the Establishment of the “Five Buddha Family Model” of Grotto Statues (Gao Dongliang, Longmen Grottoes Academy)
An Examination of Tang Dynasty Maitreya Statues in Longmen Grottoes (Wang Delu, Jilin University)
A Study on the Sacred Identities of the Eight-Armed Bodhisattva Statue in the Northern Cave of Leigutai at Longmen Grottoes (Yao Yao, Southeast University)
Discussant: Li Jingjie, Tsinghua University
14:45 – 15:00 PM Break
15:00 – 16:45 PM Panel 6: Overseas Reception
Longmen on the Global Stage: Chinese Sculpture at the Golden Gate International Exposition (Fletcher Coleman, The University of Texas at Arlington)
Blasphemy and Veneration: Destruction and Overseas Circulations of Cave Statues in the Early Twentieth Century (Zhou Mengyuan, Suzhou University)
Charles Lang Freer’s 1910 Visit to Longmen and the Reception of Chinese Buddhist Art in Early-Twentieth-Century America (Daisy Yiyou Wang, Hong Kong Palace Museum)
Discussant: Lin Wei-Cheng, University of Chicago; Dispersed Chinese Art Digitization Project (DCADP) Director
16:45 – 17:45 PM Round Table Discussion
18:00 PM Dinner (Reserved for Speakers and Guests)
Note: each presentation will last for approximately 25 minutes, followed by a 30-minute moderated panel discussion. The conference is conducted in Chinese.