This book has its origins in research which I began in Autumn 1982 in an attempt to understand the nature of an obscure Buddhist building called “celestial hall” or “heavenly mansion” (tiantang). This building was erected in the palatine city of Luoyang in the year 689 A.D. As sometimes happens, when you look for one thing, you find other things which are even more interesting; at a certain point my research, I thus found myself pursuing a path which I never would have predicted…
Antonino Forte
This book has its origins in research which I began in Autumn 1982 in an attempt to understand the nature of an obscure Buddhist building called “celestial hall” or “heavenly mansion” (tiantang). This building was erected in the palatine city of Luoyang in the year 689 A.D. As sometimes happens, when you look for one thing, you find other things which are even more interesting; at a certain point my research, I thus found myself pursuing a path which I never would have predicted…
Antonino Forte
