Abstract/Sommario: The remains of the Buddhist monastery Fengxiansi lie southwest of the celebrated Longmen caves, 12 Km south of the present town of Luoyang, in the Chinese province of Henan. The archaeological survey and stratigraphic excavation of the site were carried out thanks to the agreement signed in 1997 between the Istituto Universitario Orientale (Naples), the IsIAO (Rome), the Italian School of East Asian Studies (Kyoto), the Longmen Grottoes Academy and the Bureau for Cultural Relics of Lu ...; [Leggi tutto...]
The remains of the Buddhist monastery Fengxiansi lie southwest of the celebrated Longmen caves, 12 Km south of the present town of Luoyang, in the Chinese province of Henan. The archaeological survey and stratigraphic excavation of the site were carried out thanks to the agreement signed in 1997 between the Istituto Universitario Orientale (Naples), the IsIAO (Rome), the Italian School of East Asian Studies (Kyoto), the Longmen Grottoes Academy and the Bureau for Cultural Relics of Luoyang. From 1997 to 2004, the Chinese-Italian Mission conducted seven excavation campaigns. The Fengxiansi complex is one of the few Chinese Buddhist monasteries to have been extensively excavated. The study concentrates mainly on the finds. In the first part its stratigraphy, and the building structures brought to light are briefly described. The second part is dedicated to the finds. Besides the pottery corpus and the sculptures and inscriptions, the study focuses mainly on architectural materials and decorations, especially those from the monastery