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Paradise on Earth

East Asia



While the concept of an earthly paradise as a reflection of a heavenly paradise permeates much art in cultures under the influence of Christianity and Islam, a somewhat similar concept of a heavenly presence on earth—not specifically derived from the west Asian firdaus—can also be seen in other cultures, notably those influenced directly or indirectly by Buddhism. A final example of a constructed heaven on earth may be seen in the succession of Chinese capital cities and royal palaces built in Beijing by the Jin, Yuan (Mongol), Ming, and Qing dynasties. The elevation of the emperor in China to semi-divine status encouraged the creation of a quasi-celestial abode for the emperor on earth. The hierarchical organization of the Forbidden City, with its succession of courts and gateways, each leading to a more rarified and exclusive precinct, also represents an attempt to create a heavenly city on earth, if not embodying direct metaphors for a scriptural paradise such as those found in the Christian and Islamic West. This in turn led to reflections of an earthly paradise in the palace architecture (and, in Japan especially, in the construction of palace gardens as places of aesthetic as well as religious contemplation) in other cultures of East Asia.



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Blair, Sheila S., and Jonathan M. Bloom, eds. Images of Paradise in Islamic Art. Hanover, N.H.: Hood Museum of Art, 1991.

Gardet, L. "Djanna." In Encyclopedia of Islam. Vol. 2. Leiden: Brill, 1965.

Lehrmann, Jonas. Earthly Paradise: Garden and Courtyard in Islam. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980.

Moynihan, Elisabeth B. Paradise as a Garden in Persia and Mughal India. New York: Braziller, 1979.

Psaki, Regina, and Charles Hindley, eds. The Earthly Paradise: The Garden of Eden from Antiquity to Modernity. Binghamton, N.Y.: Global Publications, Binghamton University, 2002.

Walter B. Denny

Additional topics

Science EncyclopediaScience & Philosophy: Overdamped to PeatParadise on Earth - Religious Conceptions Of Paradise, Representations In Western Culture, Islamic Art And Literature, East Asia