What is 'bianxiang'? - on the relationship between Dunhuang art and Dunhuang literature

Article Abstract:

'Bianxiang' paintings from the 5th to twelfth centuries in Dunhuang, China, were thought to be visual aids to accompany 'bianwen' storytelling performances. However, the relationship between 'bianxiang' and 'bianwen' was undoubtedly much more complex. The cave murals were executed for devotional reasons and could not have been used in storytelling performances. Furthermore, examination of a number of murals depicting the 'Subjugation of demons' shows that the visual composition followed its own spatial logic, which later influenced the narrative structure of the 'bianwen' text.

Antiquities, Painting, Painting (Art), Painting, Chinese, Chinese painting, Dunhuang, China

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Japanese perceptions of China: the Sinophilic fiction of Tanizaki Jun'ichiro

Article Abstract:

Twentieth-century Japanese novelist Tanizaki Jun'ichiro took advantage of the ambiguous cultural hierarchy between China and Japan by writing stories of Japanese travelers' observations of life in China. Tanizaki aestheticized the Otherness of Chinese culture. He objectified Chinese women into erotic, exotic muses while lamenting the plainness and domesticity of Japanese women.

Japan, Women, Portrayals, Chinese foreign relations, Japanese foreign relations, 20th century AD, Japanese literature, Tanizaki Jun'ichiro

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