“To Comply with Her Last Words”: Buddhist Women and Their Funerary Practices in Luoyang during the Tang Dynasty

What are the last words of Buddhist women who resided and were interred in Luoyang, one capital of the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE)? Why did they hold an unconventional attitude toward the burials of their bodies, in which they prioritized Buddhist identities above their roles in Confucian society? To address these inquiries, this study examines three primary sources: epigraphical materials, encompassing donative inscriptions that convey their viewpoints and epitaphs capturing their final words; Buddhist caves and images patronized by these women; and archaeological evidence from their burial sites, offering insights into the actual execution of their funerary choices. This paper aims to reconstruct the funerary practices of these Buddhist women and reveal their Buddhist thoughts, practices, as well as the religious networks they were involved with,  while also addressing the dilemma faced by their executors and their eventual resolutions when Buddhist ideas conflicted with Confucian norms.