Sectarian and Secular: Lay Perspectives in Stūpa Burials at Mount Zhongnan During the Tang Dynasty (AD 618–906)

Abstract

The canonical limitations on stūpa burial for ordinary monks and prohibitions on non-Buddhist stūpas underwent significant changes in medieval China. A key question emerges when considering how the use of stūpas expanded beyond honoring the Buddha and saints to include lay individuals. People’s interpretation of stūpas—whether they were clergy or lay followers—varied based on their distinct social contexts, living circumstances, and religious beliefs. This article examines lay participation in the stūpa forest at Mount Zhongnan in Chang’an during the seventh and eighth centuries, drawing primarily on inscriptions evidence. By reassessing funerary stūpas erected for laypeople at Mount Zhongnan, this article calls for a reconsideration of the traditional sectarian view of lay-oriented funeral rituals. Even within the laity, motivations for constructing funerary stūpas differed. For some lay Buddhists, the Three Stages teachings influenced their burial practices, while for others without a direct connection to this community, stūpa burials were often more personal, centered on family commemoration. This study highlights the interplay between religious rituals and social structures, as evidenced by the historical and cultural significance of specific material culture.

1. Introduction

According to the archaeological reports made by the Research Institute for the Preservation of Ancient Architecture of Henan Province in the 1990s, there are 153 niches in stūpa form in relief in the vicinity of the Lingquan Monastery 靈泉寺 (most of them are located at Mount Bao 寳山), accounting for seventy percent of the whole cave–temple complex (Henan Research Institute for the Preservation of Ancient Architecture 1991, pp. 5 & 21). The archaeological findings in the Longmen 龍門 area report that ninety-four niches erected for depositing cremated ashes (zanghui yixue 葬灰瘞穴) have been found. Among these niches, three were carved with stūpas in relief at the top of them. These niches are perceived as a kind of funerary stūpas by archaeologists (Li and Yang 1995). However, unlike the funerary stūpas found in the forests of stūpas in the vicinity of the Lingquan Monastery, there are no inscriptions on these niches in the Longmen area. Be that as it may, speculation made based on other niches built in the Longmen area reveals that niches cast in the form of stūpas in relief at the top were mostly executed in the early Tang period. The Baita Monastery 百塔寺 at Mount Zhongnan 終南 is another place consisting of plenty of funerary stūpas, though the stūpa yard (tayuan 塔院) for Xinxing 信行 (540–594), who is regarded as the patriarch of the Three Stages School/Sect (Sanjiejiao 三階教),1 was constructed during the Dali period (766–779) after the formation of the stūpa forest (Luo 2006, p. 136). Mount Wutai 五臺 became a Buddhist pilgrimage center in Northern China during the Tang dynasty. In the vicinity of Foguang Monastery 佛光寺 at Mount Wutai, five funerary stūpas have survived to the present day (Bo 1986; R. Li 2014).2

In Southern China, similar to the architectural structure of funerary stūpas at Mount Bao, another cave–temple complex located in the northeast of Sichuan Province is much less noted by scholars. Nine grottos contain 419 (out of 566) niches built during the Sui and Tang dynasties located in Bazhong 巴中 city, which is designated as Bazhong Grottos (He 2011). The South Grotto, located in the south of Bazhong city, is the biggest and the most well-preserved one. Funerary stūpas (No. 154–172) in the South Grotto are located on the south cliff of the mountain (Lei 2005, pp. 12–34). All these cultural relics strongly support the notion that funerary stūpa construction gained widespread acceptance in China by the seventh century.

Inscriptions found on stūpas serve as epigraphic evidence confirming such construction during the Tang dynasty. Geographical distribution of stūpa inscriptions can at the same time reveal the temporal dimension of the development of Buddhism. The majority of stūpa inscriptions found in the Lingquan Monastery in the Anyang 安陽 area appeared in the Early Tang period. Afterward, the two capital regions, Chang’an 長安 and Luoyang 洛陽, became new centers. Later than the emergence of the stūpa erection in Anyang, another stūpa forest at Mount Zhongnan in Chang’an centered on the stūpa for master Xinxing began to form in the seventh century in the northwest portion. As John Jorgensen has put it, “the fortunes of Buddhism generally coincided with political, economic, and social changes, all of which can be expressed geographically” (Jorgensen 2005, p. 474). Exploring the connection between religion and geography provides a significant way to track the rise, development, and interactions between particular religious traditions within a precisely delineated time and space. One fundamental insight to view such a topic is the general premise that space/place is not static but a dynamic entity. Hence, this paper aims to study the stūpa burial from the vantage point of its regional history, further bringing this work into the context of broader historical and religious issues.

Ritual enactment appeared and disappeared following the needs of individuals. Laypeople were given stūpa burials during the Tang dynasty. People, the clerics or the laity, would reframe different perceptions and interpretations of the same object on account of their distinct social backgrounds, living circumstances, and religious beliefs. Even among the laity, there were vast differences among members of every social class, from the most elite ones to the ordinary illiterate villagers. What are the main concerns when the laity chose such a Buddhist funeral? This paper also aims to mark off how the laity represented and responded to the originally strictly bounded Buddhist cultic practices by examining funerary stūpas erected at Mount Zhongnan during the Tang dynasty.

2. Funerary Stūpas Erected at Mount Zhongnan

The preeminent monk Daoping 道憑 (487–559) established the Baoshan Monastery 寶山寺 at Mount Bao in the southeast of Shanying Town 善應鎮, thirty kilometers southwest of Anyang in Henan 河南 Province. Funerary stūpas executed in relief and stūpa inscriptions found in Anyang demonstrated the popularity of stūpa construction since the Northern Qi dynasty. These funerary stūpas at Mount Bao significantly indicate the co-existence of funerary stūpas for clerics and laypeople (Henan Research Institute for the Preservation of Ancient Architecture 1991, pp. 1–3). Wendi Adamek states that the funerary stūpas at Mount Bao “did in fact become family tombs, enshrining the merit of Dharma and kinship relations” on the one hand; on the other hand, she admits that the funerary stūpas at Mount Bao, irrespective of the identity of the deceased, “kept their door open” to all (Adamek 2016). Much like the stūpa forest at Mount Bao, the stūpa forest at Mount Zhongnan appears to have a particular connection with the Three Stages community, and the one at Mount Zhongnan also included funerary stūpas for both clerics and the laity.3 The clerics, who were Three Stages practitioners, seemed to show their clear intention for being buried in the environs of their master. However, how to perceive funerary stūpas erected for the laity at Mount Zhongnan? Did they share a similar sectarian resolution in their mortuary practice? Did the laity share similar perspectives in funerary stūpas erected for the laity at Mount Bao?

Mount Zhongnan—situated 9.3 miles to the south of present-day Chang’an District in Xi’an—is a branch of the Qinling Mountains 秦嶺, which denotes a wide geographical scope, consisting of many hills and valleys.4 Mount Zhongnan attracted innumerable hermits since the ancient period. In the Tang dynasty, it continued to enjoy its popularity among the people, not only among the Buddhists or Daoists. On the one hand, the quiet retreats in the mountains and in the forests far away from the noise and bustle of cities were proper places for religious practice; on the other hand, the assembly of religious people and religious activities would enhance the sacrality of the sites. Mount Zhongnan was perceived as the place replete with an ethereal or mysterious atmosphere.5 Facing the imperial palace from a distance, Mount Zhongnan also assumed the natural defense of Chang’an without being segregated from the imperial power. The representative space refigured between the imperial palace and Mount Zhongnan even became the metaphor for imperial power, representative of the jurisdiction of Chang’an in the Tang dynasty.6 Considering the unique cultural significance and geomantic features of Mount Zhongnan, this area was also an ideal burial site during the Tang dynasty.7 Surviving stele inscriptions for both clerics and laypeople reveal that Mount Zhongnan became a frequent burial site, alongside other locations such as Shenhe Plateau 神禾原 and Shaoling Plateau 少陵原, home to monasteries like Huayuan 華嚴, Xiangji 香積, and Xingjiao 興教 (see Figure 1). Nevertheless, only in the vicinity of Baita Monastery at Mount Zhongnan did a stūpa forest, containing funerary stūpas for both clerics and the laity, emerge around Xinxing’s stūpa. The integration of traditional funerary rites into stūpa burial is evident in the stūpa burials for the laity within this stūpa forest.

The stūpa erected for Xinxing served as the widely accepted patriarchal stūpa (zuta 祖塔) in the stūpa forest. Xinxing was born in the latter half of the sixth century and no doubt was influenced by the constant war and social upheaval of his times. He began his spiritual quest at a young age when Emperor Wu (r. 560–578) began his wholesale persecution of Buddhism, and Huisi 慧思 (515–577) composed the Nanyue Si da chanshi lishi yuanwen 南嶽思大禪師立誓願文 (Text on the vow of the great meditation master Si of Nanyue), claiming that the age of decline arrived. In the fourteenth year of the Kaihuang 開皇 period in the Sui dynasty (594), Xinxing died in the Zhenji Monastery 真寂寺, which was designated as Huadu Monastery 化度寺 in the third year of the Wude 武德 period (620). After Xinxing died, his disciples and lay followers performed the forest burial for him at Chiming Hill 鴟鳴阜 and then collected his bones and erected a stūpa in front of the north of the Zhixiang Monastery 至相寺 (T 2060, 50: 559c18). The funerary stūpa erected for Xinxing was located in Pianzi Valley 楩梓谷 (present-day Tianzi Valley 天子峪),9 which has been regarded as an ideal place for practicing dharma since the Sui dynasty, and many eminent monks learned and practiced Buddhism there.10

Compared with the material evidence relatively well preserved at Mount Bao, most of the funerary stūpas at Mount Zhongnan suffered destruction, and only a few remained. However, the elaborated textual evidence provides clues to demonstrate the actual practice of the funerary stūpa erection in this area. Unlike the relatively unrefined style employed at Mount Bao, the stūpa inscriptions found at Mount Zhongnan exhibit a more sophisticated literary form, owing to the active participation of the official classes and the cultured elite in Chang’an. Most of the surviving texts related to clerics appeared before the end of the seventh century when the suppression of the Three Stages Movement occurred in 694 and 699 in the reign of Empress Wu. Only stūpa inscriptions for the meditation master Siyan 思言, the meditation master Fazang 法藏, and the Buddhist nun Jianxing 堅行 appeared in the eighth century during the Kaiyuan 開元 period (713–741) (Wang 2009, p. 132; QTW, juan 328, 1472; Zhou and Zhao 1992, p. 1410). Zhang Zong suggests that before the middle of the seventh century, the deceased that were buried in the vicinity of Xinxing’s stūpa were almost all clerics, and the stūpa forest that encompassed both the clerics and the laity came into being only after the middle of the seventh century (Z. Zhang 2013, pp. 188–98). Although a great variety of actions were taken against the texts, practices, and institutional organization of the Three Stages community, the community continued its popularity during the time of suppression and even after the attack implemented under the reign of Xuanzong 玄宗 (r. 712–756) (Hubbard 2001, pp. 217–18). Mortuary inscriptions for the laity also demonstrate the popularity of the Three Stages teachings after the seventh century.

The notion of Three Stages (sanjie 三階) mainly refers to Xinxing’s division of sentient beings into three levels according to their capacity for practice and realization: the wise, the stupid, and those in-between (the ordinary), which is associated with the notion of decline but is phrased in terms of the corrupted capacity of sentient beings. Among the three levels, the ordinary was the primary part, who was said to be incapable of achieving a correct understanding of the Buddha dharma due to their distorted perceptions and views. The universality of Buddha-nature continued to be proclaimed, and the ordinary could get to the right path by practicing in cities and towns instead of at mountains and in forests (Hubbard 2001, pp. 76–94). Although the emphasis on dhutaṅga practices (asceticism) and forest burials played significant roles in shaping the stūpa forest known as the cool grove (shituolin 屍陀林), the forest burial was not exclusively affiliated with the Three Stages community, and the forest burial emerged before the founding of the teachings advocated by Xinxing. Then, the deep reasons why these funerary stūpas emerged in a certain area should be answered.

The focus on communal life, viz., seeking kalyāṇamitra (shan zhishi 善知識) and fellow practitioners (tongxing zhe 同行者), was a recurring theme in Xinxing’s writing. Especially sentient beings of the third level that occupied the overwhelming majority in Xinxing’s conceptual framework needed a supportive community to eliminate their inability to discern truth from falsity (Hubbard 2001, pp. 173–76). Accordingly, in many stūpa inscriptions for followers of the Three Stages teachings, the portrayal of seeking kalyāṇamitra became constant refrains. Although Xinxing was not the only one to emphasize the benefits of collective practice, the assent to the benefits of community enhanced the partiality for the communal life. The funerary stūpas surrounding Xingxin’s stūpa embodied the significance of communal life and the potential for universal Buddha-nature, extending their relationship to be continued in the afterlife. The boundary of stūpas erected for Buddhist monks and Buddhist nuns, laymen, and laywomen disappeared in the stūpa forest, explicitly corresponding with the doctrine of the universal dharma (pufa 普法) and universal veneration (pujing 普敬) advocated by Xinxing (Shengkai 2001).

Moreover, the Inexhaustible Storehouse (wujinzang 無盡藏)—“a combination of the Mahayana bodhisattva ideal, institutional elements from the Vinaya of the nikāya orders, and the changing economic institutions of sixth-century sangha”—established in Huadu Monastery had attracted members of the great families and noble clans to participate in the practice of dāna since its inception (Hubbard 2001, p. 154).11 Empress Wu, who twice launched the suppression of the Three Stages Movement, was also a patron of the Inexhaustible Storehouse.12 Regardless of the negative impacts brought about by the Inexhaustible Storehouse, it served as the mechanism whereby ordinary people could participate in the practice of dāna.13 Practitioners who participated in the charity of the Inexhaustible Storehouse would eliminate their karmic debts; accordingly, their parents, brothers, spouses, and children would all be immediately freed from the three evil paths. The power of communal practice would guarantee the attainment of fellow practitioners. By contributing to the Inexhaustible Storehouse, individuals who do not possess the same qualities as those of bodhisattvas can participate in the dharma-realm established by master Xinxing, rooted in the idea of merit-sharing (Hubbard 2001, p. 173). The institutional operation of wujinzang as a Buddhist charitable institution integrated all social classes into such practice, which, in turn, enhanced the psychological mechanism of donors’ aspiration for the accumulation of religious merit. Therefore, after the demise of individuals who actively engaged in the practice during their lifetime, their family members endeavored to find suitable ways to continue their merit-producing actions. Being interred alongside fellow practitioners near Xinxing’s stūpa allowed both the deceased to collectively share and receive equivalent benefits from their accumulated merit.

Doctrinal concepts such as universal dharma, universal veneration, virtuous companions, the practice of dāna, and the influence of the Inexhaustible Storehouse guided people to embrace the benefits of burial within the stūpa forest. However, although the Three Stages teachings claimed the efficacy of giving for the laity, Buddhist devotional activities such as copying sūtras, sculpting Buddha statues, and donating to monasteries were mainly family concerns for them. For the laity showing partiality for Buddhism, the bonds of kinship maintained an essential role in their life. Even for those converting to Buddhism but practicing at home, families served as the basic units in their life compared with other clerics’ communal life in monasteries. Ordinary followers at Mount Bao were often portrayed as jushi 居士, qingxinshi 清信士, qingxinnü 清信女, upāsakas, or upāsikās, whereas laypeople interred in the stūpa forest at Mount Zhongnan had no Buddhist titles. While ordinary followers at Mount Bao had a closer relationship with Buddhist concerns, laypeople at Mount Zhongnan might have held different priorities. Inscriptions for lay individuals at Mount Zhongnan indicate that many came from distinguished clans, and the stūpa forest was, to some extent, regarded as a family-like graveyard. Family members played a central role in the funerary practices. In Radcliffe-Brown’s early study of ritual mechanisms within groups, funerals were shown to reconnect the relationships between the deceased and the living, thereby achieving functional integration (Radcliffe-Brown 1964, pp. 244–45). Since the influence of Confucian values in lay burials is obvious, the use of stūpa burials to confirm family relations merits further examination. The subsequent sections delve into the symbolic meanings of stūpa burials for the laity and the associated social relations by examining two typical examples from the Pei clan 裴氏 and the Liang clan 梁氏 found in the stūpa forest at Mount Zhongnan. Such examples are crucial for understanding the interplay between religious rituals and social structures, as evidenced by the historical and cultural significance of stūpa architecture.

3. Funerary Stūpas for the Laity from the Pei Clan at Mount Zhongnan

Since the influence of Confucian values in lay burials is obvious, the use of stūpa burials to confirm family relations merits further examination. The subsequent sections delve into the symbolic meanings of stūpa burials for the laity and the associated social relations by examining two typical examples from the Pei clan 裴氏 and the Liang clan 梁氏 found in the stūpa forest at Mount Zhongnan. Such examples are crucial for understanding the interplay between religious rituals and social structures, as evidenced by the historical and cultural significance of stūpa architecture.

The enduring lineage distinctively manifested its importance within distinguished clans since the Six Dynasties when the great aristocratic families began to prosper (Mao 2002, pp. 3–54 & 70–108; Grafflin 1981). These great families valued their family traditions and attempted to stabilize their credentials in society. The long-established, distinguished Pei clan of Hedong 河東裴氏 continued to maintain its preeminent status and its Buddhist predilections in the Tang dynasty (XTS, juan 71, 57). The Buddhist belief was widely accepted in every branch of the Pei clan. Pei Xiu 裴休 (797–870) and Pei Du 裴度 (765–839) from the dongjuan 東眷 (eastern branch) of the Pei clan both participated in inscription composition for clerics (QTW, juan 743, 3408–3409; QTW, juan 538, 2419). The biography of Pei Xiu records that his family had revered Buddhism for generations, and he was especially adept at expounding Buddhist scriptures (JTS, juan 177, 1437). The Prime Minister Pei Mian 裴冕 (703–770) was also from the same branch, and his daughter was a Buddhist nun named Shiran 釋然 (L. Zhao 2014, p. 355). It is interesting to note that, although Shiran died at the Zijing Monastery 資敬寺, where she received the full ordination, she was finally interred in Bi Plateau 畢原, where her father was buried.14 According to the entombed epitaphs for Pei Mian’s brother Pei Xu 裴冔 and Pei Mian’s nephew Pei Jiang 裴匠, they were both buried in the Bi Plateau (M. Wu 2014, p. 482; Jia 2014). It can be seen that Shiran was actually buried in her family cemetery after her death. Guizang 歸葬 (returning to family cemeteries for burial) was frequently observed in aristocratic clans since the Han dynasty and became the main tendency of burial ritual during the Tang dynasty (Chen 1995). Before Shiran died, the Buddhist nun Zhengxing 正性, a member of the zhongjuan 中眷 branch of the Pei clan, to which Pei Kuan 裴寬 (679–754) also belonged, was interred in their family cemetery (Zhou and Zhao 1992, p. 1858). Despite the clan’s profound affinity for Buddhism, the Pei family maintained a strong adherence to their family traditions (jiafa 家法), which were deeply entrenched within the household during the Tang dynasty. For instance, Pei Kuan’s siblings and their offspring held prestigious positions in Luoyang and cohabited within the same compound, albeit in separate courtyards. They engaged in a solemn drumming ritual before having meals (JTS, juan 100, 950). The Pei family’s social structure reveals the coexistence of Buddhist teachings with Confucian values. Buddhist teachings could function in a mutually complementary way within the family structure, suggesting a broader trend of merging Buddhist awareness with Confucian values among the elite in the Tang dynasty (G. Zhang 2004, pp. 48–70; 2014, pp. 265–76).

Clerics often sought to authenticate their Buddhist credentials within the community by emphasizing the continuity of master–disciple relationships, which traditionally dictated that they be buried near their departed masters or the monasteries where they had pursued dharma. However, the burial practices of the laity, influenced by both Buddhist and Confucian ethics, present a more intricate scenario. The case of Mrs. Kudi’s 庫狄 (?–717) stūpa burial in the stūpa forest at Mount Zhongnan, juxtaposed with the family cemetery interments of Buddhist nuns from the same clan, exemplifies this complexity. This dichotomy raises critical questions about how to interpret the burial choices of the laity, particularly in light of the broader trend of integrating Buddhist consciousness with Confucian values among the elite during the Tang dynasty.

Mrs. Kudi, who was the wife of Pei Xingjian’s 裴行儉 (619–682), was buried near Xinxing’s stūpa in the stūpa forest at Mount Zhongnan. Pei Xingjian from the zhongjuan branch of the Pei clan was a high-ranking military officer during the reign of Emperor Gaozong (r. 649–683). According to the stele inscription for Pei Xingjian, Mrs. Kudi was his second wife and was appointed Censor (yuzheng 禦正) by Empress Wu (r. 690–705). Mrs. Kudi read Xinxing’s works and paid homage to him during her lifetime.15 In the fifth year of the Kaiyuan period (717), she died in Chang’an and then was buried at Mount Zhongnan in the eighth month of that year. It is intriguing to note that Zhang Yue 張說 (667–731) in the stele inscription stated that such kind of funeral arrangement was aimed to guide the soul of Mrs. Kudi to a proper direction since she was not joined with her husband in burial (QTW, juan 228, 1018).

As documented in the newly excavated entombed epitaph for Mrs. Kudi’s son Pei Guangting 裴光庭 (676–733), Pei Xingjian and Pei Guangting were both interred in their family cemetery in Wenxi 聞喜 (in present-day Yuncheng 運城, Shanxi Province), though they died in Chang’an (Z. Zhao 2016). More remarkably, in the third year of the Tianbao period (744), Pei Guangting’s second wife, Mrs. Wu 武, died in Chang’an. Pei Guangting’s first wife’s son, Pei Zhen 裴稹, agreed to bury Mrs. Wu together with Pei Guangting in different coffins (tong xue er yi chen 同穴而異櫬) in their family cemetery (Z. Zhao 2016) (for the relationship between Mrs. Kudi with other memebers in Pei clan, see Figure 2). It is plausible to assume that the lack of mention of Mrs. Kudi’s inclination towards the Three Stages teachings in the entombed epitaph for Pei Guangting could be attributed to the suppression of the Three Stages Movement during the Kaiyuan period (713–741). However, Pei Guangting should have been able to bury his mother in their family cemetery. Why was Mrs. Kudi given a stūpa burial near Xinxing’s stūpa? On one hand, the burial service given to Mrs. Kudi accomplished her desire to show her veneration for Xinxing during her lifetime; on the other hand, being buried in the stūpa forest was regarded as an alternative manner to console the soul of the deceased in accordance with the function of traditional tombs. The funerary stūpa erected for a layperson like Mrs. Kudi did not manifest itself as the Buddha dharma or enlightenment like funerary stūpas erected for clerics.

According to another entombed epitaph for Mrs. Helan 賀蘭 (672–716), she was the concubine of Pei Qingyuan 裴慶遠. Pei Qingyuan—Pei Xingjian’s second son and Pei Guangting’s brother—was the Ceremonial Music Director (xielülang 協律郎), attached to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices (Taichang si 太常寺), the agency for conducting state sacrifices (QTW, juan 228, 1017). Pei Qingyuan thus should have been intimately acquainted with the funerary rites. Specifically, it is noted that Pei Qingyuan and his sons interred Mrs. Helan in proximity to Xinxing’s stūpa, perceiving this burial practice as the proper rite (QTW, juan 228, 1017). Liu Shufen establishes the connection between Helan and the Sanjiejiao on account of Helan’s staying at Jifa Monastery 濟法寺 and states that a forest burial was given to Helan (S. Liu 1998). As indicated in the entombed epitaph for Helan, she took up residence in the Jifa Monastery in an attempt to alleviate a serious illness. Unfortunately, her condition got worse the following day, culminating in her demise in the fourth year of the Kaiyuan period (716) (Epigraphy Department of Beijing Library 1989, ce 21, p. 59). Apart from the Jifa Monastery, no further evidence exists to indicate the relationship between Helan or her family and the Three Stages community.16 Despite this, the Three Stages community’s influence persisted in Chang’an at the onset of the eighth century.

Helan’s dwelling in the monastery for convalescence can be interpreted as a reflection of the significance placed on charity within compassion-centric teachings of the Three Stages teachings. The compassion-based practice conducted for the impoverished, the aged, and the sick distinctively manifested itself through emphasizing the Field of Compassion (beitian 悲田), which integrated the veneration of the Three Jewels within the Field of Respect (jingtian 敬田)—a domain that demanded equal reverence for all sentient beings (T 2870, 85: 1336a23–b1).17 This compassionate approach, particularly towards the sick or the deceased, was distinctively manifested. It played a motivating role in attracting laypeople to engage in charitable acts, driven more by practical necessities than by adherence to a specific sectarian doctrine.18

Mrs. Helan died at the age of 44 while her husband was still alive, succumbing to a severe illness that could be constructed as an inauspicious fate. It is plausible to assume that Mrs. Helan’s funeral arrangement given by her husband Pei Qingyuan was aimed at bringing inexhaustible good retribution in the afterlife (mingguo 冥果) for her based on the notion of merit-sharing on one side and praying for the blessings for the living on the other. Mrs. Kudi, who was the mother-in-law of Mrs. Helan, died one year later after Mrs. Helan’s death. Their religious beliefs should have affected each other during their lifetime, and their family identity as second wives of their respective husbands may have been another factor accounting for their burial places.19 The symbolic meaning of their funeral rituals revolves around the pursuit of a more favorable afterlife, achieved through a form of religious ritual practice. Moreover, the funeral rituals also serve a pivotal function in harmonizing familial bonds and familial norms.

4. Funerary Stūpas for the Laity from the Liang Clan at Mount Zhongnan

Through the enactment of funeral rituals, the family unit is brought together in a collective endeavor that transcends individual beliefs, fostering unity and reconciliation. Hezang 合葬 (joint burial) performed for husbands and wives appeared in the stūpa forest at Mount Zhongnan. In the fourth year of the Chuigong 垂拱 period (688), the Court Counselor (chaoyi lang 朝議郎) Liang Si 梁寺 and his wife Tang Huier 唐惠兒 were given a joint burial in the stūpa forest formed around Xinxing’s stūpa. The entombed epitaph for Tang Huier shows no clear indication of her and her husband’s relationship with the Three Stages community. Instead, it states that Liang Si and Tang Huier were buried near Liang Si’s grandfather Liang Shu’s 梁殊 tomb. Liang Shu was an Administrative Supervisor (lushi canjun 錄事參軍) in the Sui dynasty (QTW, juan 234, 1055). Liang Shu may have been a layman with a predilection for the Three Stages teachings. After he died, he was buried in the vicinity of the stūpa for Xinxing. The burial place for Liang Si and his wife holds two significant implications. Firstly, the funeral arrangements within the stūpa forest were considered a superb site (shengdi 勝地) by their sons, believed to bring Buddhist blessings to the departed couple in the afterlife. Secondly, the same burial site served as a family cemetery, accomplishing Liang Si’s aspiration to maintain the connection with his late grandfather, complying with the guizang ritual mentioned earlier. Beyond the conventional practice of interment within family cemeteries, the guizang ritual extends to the co-burial with emperors and grandfathers, thereby underscoring the cultural imperative of honoring one’s lineage and roots (H. Li 2023, pp. 6–9). For laypeople, despite enormous changes occurring in their beliefs, ancestor worship was one of the cardinal religious practices that connected the deceased with the living kin. The reverence for ancestors evinces “the sacred character of the family as a locus of value”, indicating the paramount emphasis on filial piety (Gregory and Ebrey 1993, pp. 6–7).

In the second year of the Tongtian 通天 period (697), another man named Liang Shiliang 梁師亮 was buried to the east of the stūpa yard dedicated to Xinxing. An intriguing aspect of his burial lies in the fact that although Liang Shiliang died in Yi Prefecture 益州 (present-day Sichuan Province), his final resting place was the stūpa forest at Mount Zhongnan. Liu Shufen posits that the Liang family were all disciples of the Sanjiejiao so that their family cemetery was located in the Sanjiejiao’s stūpa forest (S. Liu 1998, p. 24). However, similar to the entombed epitaph of Tang Huier, Liang Shiliang’s entombed epitaph does not provide evidence of his connection to the Three Stages community. The epitaph documents a protracted journey of Liang Shiliang’s coffin, revealing that he was interred at the ancestral tomb (pei xian ying ye 陪先塋也) (Epigraphy Department of Xi’an Beilin Museum 1999, p. 2275). It commences with the mention of his grandfather, Shu, who held the position of lushi 錄事 (Epigraphy Department of Xi’an Beilin Museum 1999, p. 2275), which raises the possibility that the tomb adjacent to Liang Shiliang’s resting place might be associated with those of Liang Si and his wife. Moreover, the entombed epitaph for Liang Shiliang indicates his affiliation with the prestigious Wu clan from Anding 安定烏氏, whereas Liang Si hailed from Yong Prefecture 雍州. However, Liang Si’s epitaph states that his lineage initially served the imperial family and subsequently migrated from Anding (present-day Gansu Province) to Jingzhao 京兆.20 For Liang Shiliang, the long distance of reburial seems to primarily fulfill his desire to preserve familial ties with his grandfather, rather than signifying an affiliation with the Three Stages community. This case underscores the burial’s role as a means to reinforce family bonds across geographical distances, rather than as an expression of sectarian allegiance.

Earlier in the first year of the Linde 麟德 period (664), a woman named Cheng Shu 成淑 died in her private residence and was finally buried at Pianzi Valley at Mount Zhongnan. Although the title of the entombed epitaph presents this woman as the wife of a man from the Liang clan, it is unable to make a clear statement about her relationship with the Liang clan inasmuch as there is no other information concerning her husband in the text (Zhou and Zhao 1992, pp. 414–15). The success of the Three Stages Movement established Xinxing’s credentials as a revered master, turning the site of his burial into sacred grounds revered by his disciples and followers. Given the young age when Cheng Shu died (22 sui), the prevalent practice of stūpa burial, linked to Buddhist doctrines of merit transference and the aspiration for a superior rebirth, likely motivated individuals unaffiliated with the Three Stages community to pray for Buddhist blessings on a practical level. The integration of traditional burial rituals, such as guizang, hezang, and qianzang 遷葬 (reburial), with Buddhist funeral practices further suggests that these individuals were drawn to stūpa burials to fulfill both their religious aspirations and familial obligations.

5. Other Funerary Stūpas for the Laity at Mount Zhongnan

In the Baita Monastery, the funerary stūpas, modest in form as small stone structures, contrast sharply with the splendid stūpas erected for eminent monks under the patronage of the elite and the emperors. The stūpa burials for the laity were typically integrated with traditional funerary rites and the conventional deposition of entombed epitaphs within the coffin pit. Among the epitaphs of ordinary people interred in the stūpa forest, only a few distinctly mention the erection of funerary stūpas. A notable instance is provided by the inscriptions for the Guan 管 family. Although being designated as muzhiming 墓志銘 (entombed epitaph), these epitaphs confirm the construction of funerary stūpas. On a single day in the first year of the Tiaolu 調露 period (679), three funerary stūpas were erected, though their occupants had passed away in different years. It is plausible to assume that the memorial function of these stūpas prompted their relative Sitai 嗣泰, an adherent of the Three Stages teachings from Hongfu Monastery, to construct them near Xinxing’s stūpa (Zhou 1999, pp. 14411 & 14413). The inscriptions for lay Buddhists (see

Table 1. Surviving stūpa inscriptions for lay Buddhists in Baita Monastery.

Stūpa Inscriptions	Dates of Stūpa Erection	Sources
Datang Wang jushi zhuanta zhi ming 大唐王居士磚塔之銘	658	Jinshi cuibian 金石萃編, juan 51, in SKSLXB, ji 1, ce 1, 365–366; QTW, juan 168, 757–758.
Dazhou gu jushi Luzhou Chao xianling xi Shangjun zhi ming 大周故居士蘆州巢縣令息尚君之銘	703	Ba qingshi jinshi buzheng 八瓊室金石補正, juan 49, in SKSLXB, ji 1, ce 7, 4787–4788.
Youpoyi Zhang Changqiu taming 優婆夷張常求塔銘	722	(Zhou and Zhao 1992, p. 1257).
Youpoyi Duan Changxing taming 優婆夷段常省塔銘	753	Jinshi cuibian bulüe 金石萃編補略, juan 2, in SKSLXB, ji 1, ce 5, 3598.

), who were jushi, upāsakas, or upāsikās, were mostly designated as stūpa inscriptions rather than entombed epitaphs. These inscriptions signify the erection of funerary stūpas and underscore the deceased’s pronounced inclination towards the Three Stages teachings, manifesting a preference to be interred in proximity to Xinxing upon their demise.

According to the stūpa inscription shown in the table, the inscription for layman Wang records that he was given a forest burial before the stūpa was erected. The stūpa inscriptions for upāsikā Zhang Changqiu and upāsikā Duan Changxing state that they learned the universal dharma (pufa 普法) and universal veneration (pujing 普敬) advocated by the Three Stages teachings. More remarkably, the inscription for layman Shang Zhi 尚直 suggests that the funerary stūpa erected for him in the stūpa forest aimed to illustrate his solidarity with fellow practitioners during his lifetime and establish a connection with the surpassingly virtuous place after his death. Consequently, these funerary stūpas can thereby be interpreted as responses to their preference for the Three Stages teachings throughout their lifetime.

Funerary stūpas, rooted in relic worship and stūpa cults, were emblematic of the deceased’s affinity with Buddhism and their predilection for a superior afterlife. Buddhist ideology provides clues about how to perceive funerary stūpas and why they appeared to be different from traditional tombs. The Buddhist concepts of karma and transmigration introduced a radically new way of thinking about the relationship between the deceased and the living, propounding the conception that the actions of the survivors could influence the fate of the departed souls. Moreover, Buddhism affirmed the potential for achieving personal transformation through spiritual disciplines and devotions (Loewe 1994, p. 16).

During the seventh and eighth centuries, particularly among lay Buddhists interred in the stūpa forest at Mount Zhongnan, this burial method was perceived as an alternative measure to access the efficacious power of universal dharma, universal veneration, virtuous companions, and the virtues of giving—tenets advocated in the Three Stages teachings on the doctrinal level. However, for the majority of ordinary individuals, establishing a Buddhist affiliation or obtaining acknowledgment from the Buddhist community held little significance. Instead, they treated stūpa burials as family affairs, driven by kinship concerns and the practical need for a favorable afterlife. It is significant to note the consistent use of the term fen 墳 in inscriptions to denote funerary stūpas for the laity in this region.

The inscription for layman Shang Zhi specifies the construction of a zhuanfen 磚墳 (brick tomb), while that for upāsikā Zhang Changqiu documents the erection of a fangfen 方墳 (square tomb). An epitaph for Zhang, a woman, explicitly mentions the construction of a funerary stūpa in the second year of the Yonglong 永隆 period (681), employing the term fangfen (G. Wu 2007, ji 3, p. 86). This term is also found in the stūpa inscription for Mr. Su 蘇 (Zhou 1999, p. 15350). The analogy between funerary stūpas and tombs facilitated the acceptance of stūpa burials among the laity. As early as the Shang and Western Zhou periods, tombs (mu 墓) and temples (miao 廟) coexisted as dual focal points of ancestral veneration, each serving distinct entities for housing physical body (xing 形) and spirit (shen 神). A temple denoted a family’s clan-heritage, while a tomb represented the deceased’s accomplishments. Temple sacrifices (miaotiao 廟祧) were deemed auspicious for enshrining the soul or the spirit of the deceased, whereas the absence of spirit resulted in the depreciation of tomb sacrifices (muji 墓祭) (Y. Zhao 1953, pp. 675–76). Given the ancient beliefs in ancestral powers, offering sacrifices to family ancestors was intended to bestow blessings upon surviving family members. Therefore, the construction of a funerary stūpa as a place for enshrining the soul of the deceased near their family members, like the Liang clan, parallels the establishment of a shrine or a tomb based on ancestral worship practices.

6. Conclusions

The rise of Buddhism in China reshaped popular conceptions of the afterlife, particularly through the concepts of heaven, hell, and retribution (Yü 1987). These ideas, combined with the Buddhist teachings of saṃsāra and naraka (the realm of underground jails), encouraged individuals to engage in devotional practices during their lifetime, seeking a favorable rebirth (Hou 1999). The Mahāyāna vision of an innumerable array of buddhas and their Pure Lands offered a sense of hope, with the belief that such realms could provide liberation for the deceased (Zürcher 2013, p. 142; Gregory and Ebrey 1993, p. 19). This worldview significantly influenced the Tang dynasty’s flourishing stūpa burial practices, particularly among the laity. With specific regard to the funerary stūpas erected for the laity near Xinxing’s stūpa, the popularity of such monuments in this specific area was influenced by the doctrinal appeal of universal dharma, universal veneration, virtuous companions, the practice of dāna, and the influence of the Inexhaustible Storehouse.

Funerary stūpas placed near revered clerics or sacred sites often materialized the master-disciple relationship, reflecting an ongoing relationship between the departed and the Buddhist community. By the seventh and eighth centuries, the stūpa forest at Baita Monastery served as the final resting place for many laypeople. However, a purely sectarian or doctrinal approach cannot fully explain the formation of the stūpa forest at Mount Zhongnan. For lay Buddhists, the Three Stages teachings played a central role in shaping their funeral practices, while for others, who had no direct or clear connection to the Three Stages community, stūpa burials were often seen as a deeply personal family matter.