Sitaji 寺塔記

Sitaji 寺塔記, also called Jingluo sita ji 京洛寺塔記, is a description of artworks in Buddhist monasteries written during the Tang period 唐 (618-907) by Duan Chengshi 段成式 (803-863), who is better known for his book Youyang zazu 酉陽雜俎.

The "Record of temples and pagodas" is Duan Chengshi's account of his visits to the temples of Chang'an in 843. It preserves valuable information about the murals and Buddhist sculptures during the late Tang period. Many of the Buddhist architectural murals and sculptures were works by renowned painters such as Yan Liben 閻立本 (601-673), Wu Daozi 吳道子 (680-759), Wang Wei 王維 (699-761), Zhou Fang 周昉 (c. 730-c. 800), Han Gan 韓幹 (c. 706-783), Zhang Zao 張璪 (c. 750), Viśa Īrasangä (Ch. Weichi Yiseng 尉遲乙僧, 7th cent.), and Li Xiu 李岫 (mid-8th cent.). Yet with the passage of time, and the near-total disappearance of Tang wooden architecture, the splendid works of these artistic masters have almost entirely vanished.

Duan Chengshi completed the Sitaji in 845, just two years before Emperor Wuzong's 唐武宗 (r. 840-846) great suppression of Buddhism. As a result, this book offers rare documentation of the state of temple architecture and mural painting in the flourishing Tang capital. Through its written records, later generations can glimpse the scale and character of Chang'an's temple murals of the period, which can be compared with the extant Tang cave paintings of Dunhuang 敦煌 and with Tang-dynasty mural paintings recently excavated from tombs in Chang'an.

This book was written slightly earlier than Zhang Yanyuan's 張彦遠 (815-877) Ji liangjing waizhou siguan bihua 記兩京外州寺觀壁畫, which is the third fascicle of his Lidai minghua ji 歷代名畫記. Its accounts are more detailed and specific than Zhang's. However, since it provides almost no descriptions of the temples and pagodas in Chang'an's western districts, the total number of temples it records is less comprehensive than that found in Zhang's work.

The prose of the book is vivid and elegant, characterised by a free and unrestrained style. In terms of content, it preserves valuable information for future generations about architectural culture, especially the ancient Chinese practice of building wards alongside temples.

The text is found in the series Jindai mishu 津逮秘書, Shuofu 說郛, the Taishō Tripitaka and Zhongguo meishu lunzhu congkan 中國美術論著叢刊.