Dharani pillar

A dharani pillar (Chinese: 陀羅尼幢; pinyin: tuóluóní chuáng) or dharani sutra pillar (Chinese: 陀羅尼經幢; pinyin: tuóluóníjīng chuáng) or sutra pillar (Chinese: 經幢; pinyin: jīngchuáng) is a type of stone pillar engraved with dhāraṇī-sūtras or simple dhāraṇī incantations that is found in China. Dharani pillars were usually erected outside Buddhist temples, and became popular during the Tang Dynasty (618–907).

The earliest surviving Dharani pillars date to the Tang Dynasty, and they became very popular during the middle of the Tang Dynasty. One of the first recorded mentions of their existence was by the Japanese monk Ennin who visited China from 838 to 847.

Qian Liu (852–932), founder of the Wuyue kingdom (907–978) during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, is recorded as having erected several dharani pillars during his reign, as an act of devotion: one at the Zhaoxian Temple (招賢寺) in 911, two at the Daqian Temple (大錢寺) in 911, one at the Tianzhu Riguan Hermitage (天竺日觀庵) in 913, and two at the Haihui Temple (海會寺) in 924.

A distinctive style of dharani pillar developed in the far south of China, in modern Yunnan, within the non-Chinese kingdoms of Nanzhao (737–902) and Dali (937–1253). The Yunnanese dharani pillars are elaborately sculptured with Buddhist figures, and are very different in style to the dharani pillars of the Tang and Song dynasties to the north.

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