Abstract

Perfect Enlightenment (Yuanjue), or complete enlightenment, greatly influenced East Asian art and literature from the 11th to the 15th century. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Zen master Xuedou used the imagery of a bright moon in his poetry to convey the idea of solace for wandering monks. Similarly, Yang Jie illustrated the concept of perfect enlightenment with a bright moon in his painting. Su Shi’s Ci and Fu on the Red Cliff are all based on the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, which is one of the four essential Buddhist texts for scholar-officials. The Southern Song Dynasty saw the publication of the Perfect Enlightenment Canon, which named its Tripitaka after the concept of the same name. Emperor Xiaozong designated Jingshan Temple as the central site for its practice, establishing it as a core aspect of state religion and leading to the construction of four cave temples in Sichuan and Chongqing. In Japan’s Kamakura period, Regent Hojo Tokimune built a Perfect Enlightenment Zen Temple. At the same time, King Sejo of the Joseon Dynasty and King Shō Shin from the Ryukyu Kingdom also established temples dedicated to this belief. Throughout history, East Asian monarchies drew inspiration from the concept of the Perfect Enlightenment, resulting in numerous masterpieces in poetry, painting, sculpture, and architecture.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Haifeng Shang is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Literature and Cultural Studies at The Education University of Hong Kong, and a Visiting Scholar at Harvard FAS CAMLab for 2025-26. His research interests focus on “East Asian Classics,” especially the historical development of artistic and literary thought rooted in religion.

Event Information

• Free and open to the public
• October 24th (Friday)
• 12:00 – 2:00 PM ET
• This is an in-person event.

Please note

Advanced RSVP required.
The event will be conducted in Mandarin Chinese.