Materiality, Rituality, and Artistic Expression: The Religious Practices Surrounding Sutra Cloth in Medieval Chinese Buddhism and Daoism

This study presents a comprehensive examination of the sutra cloth, a protective and dignifying covering for sutra scrolls, which was first documented in a donation register for Yüquan Temple in Jingzhou by the Prince of Jin (later Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty). Despite this early record, the evolution of sutra cloth usage in religious offerings and practices during medieval China remains largely unexplored. Drawing upon transmitted Buddhist and Daoist texts, Dunhuang manuscripts, visual sources, archaeological artifacts, and foreign collections, the study clarifies the origins, materials, forms, functions, and usage of the sutra cloth. It emphasizes that sutra cloths were used in both Buddhist and Daoist religious practices, highlighting three primary types: those used to wrap sutras stored in chests, those placed on altar tables to support scrolls, and those covering sutras to form a combination with the cloths laid beneath them. In addition to its material and textual analysis, the study integrates sources such as biographies of eminent monks, Daoist ritual texts, donation registers, Buddhist prayers from Dunhuang manuscripts, and archaeological findings from the Library Cave at the Mogao Grottoes and the Ruiguang Pagoda in Suzhou. The inclusion of objects from the Nara period Hōryūji Temple further enhances the exploration of sutra cloths’ material structure, role in book culture, and functional significance in offerings.