A.D. 873, the Tang Dynasty entered the age of its decline when enthusiasm for Buddhism flushed the whole country, led by the religious Emperor Tang Yizong. In April, Yizong held a grand ceremony for receiving the Buddhist Relics of Phalange for public worship, the sacred tour from the Famen Temple to the capital of Chang’an was unimaginably luxurious according to historical record. A thousand years later, a Famen Temple site archeology excavation has brought the rare relics to life again, with the great discovery of a container—an eight-layer treasure case granted by Tang Yizong.
Buddhist Relics, in Sanskrit the “Sarīra,” are the remains of the cremated Buddhist patriarch, Sakyamuni, believed to be sacred by Buddhists. The eight-layer treasure cases oblate to the Buddhist Relics of Phalange demonstrated Buddhist Tang Yizong’s piety, and also introduced refined arts and crafts of the Tang Dynasty to modern society.
Treasure Cases exclusively for the Buddhist Relics were called “Bao Han” in Chinese, regarded as art treasure and Buddhism artwork of Tang Dynasty. The eight-layer treasure cases discovered contain three silver cases, two gold cases, a jade case and a four-door gold pagoda, all in the outermost sandalwood case, which had decayed long before discovery. Every case was locked by a silver lock and wrapped in ribbon or silk. The relic was placed on the silver pillar inside the gold pagoda.
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