Existing studies on Chang’an temples have mostly been categorized as historical research, whereas this study—entitled “Chang’an Temples Portrayed in Tang Dynasty Novels”—aimed to make up for the lack of literary research on Chang’an temples. The text of Tang dynasty novels was used in this study to explore the images displayed by the Chang’an temples as well as their social function and meaning. First, the origins and geographical distribution of Chang’an temples were found to closely reflect the phenomenon of the imperial family and high-ranking officials dedicating their residences as temples. The gesture of dedicating residences as temples rendered the geographical distribution of Chang’an temples compliant with the then residential characteristics of the upper class. That is, the majority of both temples and upper-class residences were located in the center of downtown Chang’an during the Tang dynasty. Chang’an temples thus exuded a strong political vibe and characteristics of private residences, contributed to the integration and exchange between politics and religion, manifested garden aesthetics, and constituted a space for appreciating calligraphy and paintings. Second, according to description of Tang dynasty novels about the interaction between the space of Chang’an temples and people during the Tang dynasty, Chang’an temples have four major functions: holding activities, providing accommodation, accommodating collections, and providing shelter. In addition to religious activities of Buddhism, other activities held at Chang’an temples include divination, prophecy, and entertainment. In terms of the accommodation function, temples served as temporary residences or resting spots for scholars and literati visiting Chang’an. Finally, Chang’an temples had enough space for storage (i.e., the function of accommodating collections) and safeguarding people’s lives (i.e., the function of providing shelter). These novels enable readers to observe the roles Chang’an temples played during the prosperous and turbulent times of the Tang dynasty. In summary, this study explored the spatial characteristics and functions of Chang’an temples as well as the interaction between the space of Chang’an temples and people during the Tang dynasty by reviewing the Tang dynasty novels.
