Surviving Nirvana – Death of the Buddha in Chinese Visual Culture

Sonya Lee is assistant professor of art history an East Asian languages and cultures at the University of Southern California.

Sonya Lee has crafted an excellent, carefully nuanced, and comprehensive study of the powerful symbolism embodied in images of the Buddha's 'death' from the sixth through the twelfth centuries. Lee's work makes a significant contribution to the ongoing discourse re-assessing the evolution of Chinese Buddhism, now no longer perceived as a mere redaction or adaptation of its Indian antecedent. This important, beautifully illustrated, and thoroughly documented book will certainly become a 'must' for serious students of Chinese Buddhism. -- Annette Juliano, Rutgers University A very thorough, wide-ranging study of nirvana...Recommended. Choice