the Illustration of Western Pure Land is a one of the main themes of Chinese Buddhist art. It contains rich content in diversified forms. The illustration first appeared in the middle of the sixth century and became stylized till the early part of the eighth century. Early pure land illustrations mainly depicted a preaching scene. Later in the long process of evolution, the contents of “the Sixteen Meditations” were added. It was at the beginning of the eighth century that the pure land illustration consisting of a central preaching scene with side scenes of “Queen Vaidehi (the Sixteen Meditations)” and of the “story of King Bimbisāra and Ajāta atru” was formed, which became the main composition of the western pure land illustration. This paper presents an investigation and analysis of the composition of western pure land illustrations, which will help understand Buddhist art development.
