![]() | Empire of Emptiness: Buddhist Art and Political Authority in Qing China Subjects: Art Buddhist -- China; Buddhist art and symbolism -- China; Art Chinese -- Qing dynasty 1644–1912; Art and state -- China -- History -- Qing dynasty 1644–1912; Buddhism -- China -- Tibet -- Influence; Imperial Manchu support and patronage of Buddhism, particularly in Mongolia and Tibet, has often been dismissed as cynical political manipulation. Empire of Emptiness questions this generalization by taking a fresh look at the huge outpouring of Buddhist painting, sculpture, and decorative arts Qing court artists produced for distribution throughout the empire. It examines some of the Buddhist underpinnings of the Qing view of rulership and shows just how central images were in the carefully reasoned rhetoric the court directed toward its Buddhist allies in inner Asia. |
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