The seven frontispieces in the He Zizhi edition of the Lotus Sutra made in the fourth year of the Qingli reign (1044) of the Northern Song dynasty are divided between two collections in Jimo and Jiaozhou. Exquisitely illuminated with gold and silver on blue paper, they are one of the most intricate illustrations of the Lotus Sutra that have survived from the Tang and Song dynasties. These precious works differ significantly from the traditional form of pictorial representation of the Lotus Sutra as mural painting. Although the contents of each of the frontispieces vary, the composition patterns of the depiction are highly consistent. Made of three pieces of paper, each frontispiece has four types of imagery and is divided into five sections. The five sections of the pictorial composition from right to left include the guardian deities, chapter illustrations, donor images painted on the first piece, the Buddha preaching on the second; chapter illustrations on the third. This article focuses on the origin and development of these four types of imagery in the Buddhist frontispieces of the Tang and Song in order to demonstrate the unique features manifested in the He Zizhi edition. In addition, the frontispiece in the first volume of He Zizhi edition consists of paintings from both the Song and Ming dynasties. The painting of the Ming section centers on the tablet inscribed with Long Live the Emperor, emphasizing the close relationship between Buddhism and the imperial power, an aspect rarely seen in the sutra illustrations of the Northern Song dynasty.
