★ Why were so many Buddhist caves carved across China? What insights can they offer into the history of Chinese art?
★ This book traces the origins of this unique art form, from its emergence on the Indian subcontinent to its flourishing across Asia and especially in China.
★ It brings together cutting-edge research by leading international scholars, examining major Buddhist cave sites and lesser-known regional grottoes throughout China. It explores the distinctive historical, folk, political and cultural exchange values of China’s Buddhist caves, as well as their historical evolution.

Why were so many Buddhist grottoes carved across China, and what do they tell us about the history of Chinese art?

Grotto Art of China: A Sourcebook traces the origins of this unique art form from the Indian subcontinent to its monumental flowering across Asia and into China.

This volume brings together contributions from leading international scholars, providing systematic studies of major grotto complexes—including Mogao, Yungang, Longmen, Gongxian, Xiangtangshan, and Tianlongshan—alongside crucial, lesser-known regional sites in Gansu, Shandong, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Tibet, and Xinjiang.

Organized geographically, the book explores these sacred sites as mediums of devotion, political expression, and cultural exchange, covering topics such as imperial patronage, distinctive artistic styles, and the ways these resilient sites preserve vital information otherwise lost to history.

An essential reference for students, scholars, and informed travelers, it offers deep insight into the spiritual and artistic traditions that connected cultures across Asia.

Wu Hung
Harrie A. Vanderstappen Distinguished Service Professor of Art History at The University of Chicago. Wu Hung has received many awards for his publications and academic services, including the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing on Art from the College Art Association (2022), and the Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching at The University of Chicago (2007). He has published widely on both traditional and contemporary Chinese art, including Chinese Art and Dynastic Time, Spatial Dunhuang: Experiencing the Mogao Caves, and The Full- Length Mirror: A Global Visual History.
Katherine Renhe Tsiang
Until her recent retirement, she was the Associate Director of the Center for the Art of East Asia at The University of Chicago and now serves as a senior consultant. Her research concentrates on the fields of Chinese Buddhist art, Chinese ceramics and material culture, and cultural interactions and political rhetoric in the production of art in medieval China. She is the author of Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan, and co-editor, together with Martin Powers, of A Companion to Chinese Art (Blackwell Companions to Art History).