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Authentic Replicas: Buddhist Art in Medieval China by Hsueh-man Shen (review)

Authentic Replicas: Buddhist Art in Medieval China by Hsueh-man Shen (review) 336 China Review International: Vol. 24, No. 4, 2017 Hsueh-man Shen. Authentic Replicas: Buddhist Art in Medieval China. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2019. xi, 334 pp. Hardback: $72.00, ISBN 978-0-8248-6705-8. When Walter Benjamin wrote on the issue of original and replicas in 1935,he demonstrated how premodern replicas are able to retain “the unique value of an ‘authentic’ work of art” with their basis in the fabric of tradition. Hsueh- man Shen’s Authentic Replicas is the first real attempt to systematically examine Buddhist material practice in Medieval China through the lens of his theories. Having traced the duplication of scriptures, images, and relics between the seventh and eleventh centuries, this book demonstrates the Buddhist concept of the replica as an extension of the source imbuing with the innate authenticity of the original, and the act of replication as a means of achieving spiritual fulfillment. It is these perceptions, argued by the author, that allow the copies to retain their authenticity as much efficacy as the originals, sustaining the aura of the artwork in Buddhist large-scale material production. The strength of Shen’s Authentic Replicas is in its presentation of a broad range of materials combined with an erudite understanding of http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png China Review International University of Hawai'I Press

Authentic Replicas: Buddhist Art in Medieval China by Hsueh-man Shen (review)

Yang, Xiao
China Review International , Volume 24 (4) – Dec 12, 2019
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Publisher
University of Hawai'I Press
Copyright
Copyright © University of Hawai'i Press.
ISSN
1527-9367

Abstract

336 China Review International: Vol. 24, No. 4, 2017 Hsueh-man Shen. Authentic Replicas: Buddhist Art in Medieval China. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2019. xi, 334 pp. Hardback: $72.00, ISBN 978-0-8248-6705-8. When Walter Benjamin wrote on the issue of original and replicas in 1935,he demonstrated how premodern replicas are able to retain “the unique value of an ‘authentic’ work of art” with their basis in the fabric of tradition. Hsueh- man Shen’s Authentic Replicas is the first real attempt to systematically examine Buddhist material practice in Medieval China through the lens of his theories. Having traced the duplication of scriptures, images, and relics between the seventh and eleventh centuries, this book demonstrates the Buddhist concept of the replica as an extension of the source imbuing with the innate authenticity of the original, and the act of replication as a means of achieving spiritual fulfillment. It is these perceptions, argued by the author, that allow the copies to retain their authenticity as much efficacy as the originals, sustaining the aura of the artwork in Buddhist large-scale material production. The strength of Shen’s Authentic Replicas is in its presentation of a broad range of materials combined with an erudite understanding of

Journal

China Review International – University of Hawai'I Press

Published: Dec 12, 2019

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