Materializing the Buddha Land in Medieval China (3rd–10th Centuries): Liuli Qinglou and the Eurasian Circulation of Jeweled Paradise Motifs

This article investigates liuli qinglou (琉璃青樓, blue–green glazed pavilions) of medieval China as architectural manifestations of the trans-Eurasian jeweled paradise ideal. Tracing developments from the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589 CE) through the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE), it outlines an evolutionary trajectory in representing sacred space: from the use of genuine gemstones in West Asian traditions, through their imitation in glass and glazed ceramics, with applications before the Tang remaining selective and elite, to the ultimate abstraction into symbolic blue–green palettes in the cave murals of Kucha and Dunhuang, where chromatic choices may at times reflect pictorial convention. Integrating textual, archeological, and visual evidence, the study shows how Chinese rulers appropriated imported glazing technologies, together with painted or coated blue–green finishes that simulated liuli effects, not merely for ornamentation but to materially embody Buddhist cosmology and to legitimize imperial authority by creating a terrestrial Buddha land. The pervasive use of qing (青, blue–green) in religious art thus reflects a profound sensory-theological translation, illustrating how Eurasian flows of materials, techniques, and ideas were adapted to shape localized visions of paradise through innovative processes of material and visual transformation.