Buddhist Monasteries in Southern Mongolia

Overview & Synopsis

At the beginning of the twentieth century, more than a thousand Buddhist monasteries of Tibeto-Mongol tradition were active in Southern Mongolia, now the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region in China. A century later, less than two hundred have survived. If we can only regret the massive destruction, the spared buildings still constitute a significant part of an important architectural tradition that began in the late sixteenth century. The architectural eclecticism of the monasteries shows a blending of various influences and an adaptation of pan-asiatic Tibetan and Chinese models to the local Mongolian communities. This original, remarkably varied and innovative architectural tradition deserves to be studied not only as the cultural heritage of a nomadic people but also for its importance in the history of Far Eastern Buddhist architecture.