Book Review: The Nepalese Caitya: 1500 Years of Buddhist Votive Architecture in the Kathmandu Valley By Niels Gutschow, Bijay Basukala and David Gellner
佛塔=Stupa=Pagoda; Monuments in Nepal; Buddhist Architecture in Nepal; Slusser, Mary Shepherd
摘要
A review of The Nepalese Caitya：1500 Years of Buddhist Votive Architecture in the Kathmandu Valley，a study by Niels Gutschow. This magisterial volume，the fruit of a decade of groundbreaking research, is the first comprehensive account of the caitya or stupa, Buddhism's most sacred physical object，as it exists in some 1,800 examples in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. The dense but lucid text，which is supported by superb photographs, exquisite drawings by Bijay Basukala, site plans, and an authoritative introductory essay on Newar Buddhism，follows the architectural development of the Nepalese votive caitya from about the 6th century to the present. The author also gives a full account of the monumental caityas and opens rewarding vistas in many other fields, including art history，Buddhist doctrine，and iconography. Despite some shortcomings, such as a woefully inadequate index，the work is undoubtedly an extraordinary contribution to Nepalese studies.
