Book Review--Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: Scripture, Ritual and Iconographic Exchange in Medieval China

In Mollier’s book Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face, there is a telling picture of the eighth-century Sichuan Taoist Marvelous Mystery Temple (Xuanmiao guan 玄妙觀) where Śākyamuni and Laozi sit next to each other on the altar. Mollier reminds us of another similar scene on the Mountain of the King of Medicine (Yaowang shan 藥王山) in Shānxi 陜西 Province, dating back to the Six Dynasties. Worshipping Buddhist and Taoist gods together in the same temple is, indeed, a common phenomenon in China especially at the village level. Fieldworkers in a Chinese village might have also encountered hanging ritual portraits of the pantheon showing Śākyamuni sitting on the top of the Three Purities (Sanqing 三清) or the other way round, belonging to some village ritual specialists.