Anchoring the Sacred in the Mundane

Abstract Baodingshan is a famous religious complex constructed primarily in the Southern Song period (1127–1270). The Great Buddha Bend (Dafowan), where a magnificent continuum of high-relief carvings was constructed along the cliff face, is a major site of the Baodingshan complex and the focus of this study. This paper takes a phenomenological approach to examine the experiential aspect of viewing these carvings. As a viewer encounters the carvings through his perceiving body rather than reading them as a flat, iconographic plan on the computer monitor, the spatial organization of the carvings, and their sizes and materiality are significant in affecting the viewer's perception of and psychological response to the divine. By analyzing the unconventional design tactics adopted at the Great Buddha Bend and their effects on the perceived relationship between the carved transcendent realm and the world of the earthly activities, this paper argues that the Great Buddha Bend reflects an intentional blurring of the boundaries between the sacred and the mundane. While pre-Song Buddhist settings exuded a detached, dignified solemnity separate from ordinary existence, the design philosophy at the Great Buddha Bend aimed to create a Buddhist environment that felt grounded in earthly experiences. This novel development is likely connected to the growing theatrical culture of the Song, but also reflects an understudied conceptual development during the Tang-Song transition. Probing into this transition provides a more nuanced understanding of the medieval people's envisioned relationship with the divine and offers fresh insights to the secularizing development of Buddhism during the Song dynasty.