Signs of Yuan Dynasty Imperialism in Tibet: Decoding the Fourteenth-Century Painted Representations of Textiles at Shalu Monastery (thesis)

Abstract

Two primary questions guide my thesis. First, why did the Mongols, one of the most powerful empires of Asia ruling Tibet at the time (1279-1368), not establish their own aesthetic or simply import one of the well established Chinese aesthetic systems associated with courtly patronage to Shalu? And second, why do the painted representations of textiles in Shalu’s Kanjur Lhakang, specifically, as opposed to another stylistic element, signal the Yuan-dynasty Mongols’ politically motivated appropriation of the Himalayan aesthetic?