A Study on the Stupas in Xinjiang Uyghur Area - Focused on Da Tang Xi-Yu-Ji(大唐西域記) and Stupa Remains -

신장(新疆) 위구르자치구 지역의 불탑형식 - 『대당서역기(大唐西域記)』의 기록과 현존 유구를 중심으로 -

This study examines the process of the introduction of stupa, which has originated in India, to the Xinjiang Uyghur region and the features of the stupas in the Xinjiang Uyghur region in detail. This study examines the layout of the buildings in temple compounds and the types, structural elements, and construction methods of the stupas in the Xinjiang Uyghur region in particular by looking into the content of the Da Tang Xi Yu Ji and remaining stupas, which provide examples of stupas at the time. This study finds that due to the characteristics of dry deserts, stupas in Xinjiang Uyghur region, where assimilation between Eastern and Western cultures is seen, were mostly made by pressing clay into a mold and had no interior spaces. Also, construction materials and techniques had been developed and improved in a way that enabled stupas to combat the challenging desert conditions. However, the stupas in this region differed significantly from the wooden tower-like stupas discovered in central China(zhongyuan 中原). The shape of the dome of most stupas in Xinjiang Uyghur region was chosen under the influence of the Gandharan style. Some of the stupas in the region have taken the general forms of the wooden stupas and the others have taken many forms, from cylindrical drums to towers. Also, there have been forests of stupas and stupas similar in form to chaityas and stupas of Vajrayana. Such different forms were transformed and modified through regional history and it was related to the peoples and cultures that produced and used stupas. Stupas evolved into distinct forms in Xinjiang Uyghur region in this way.