Mediating the Divine and the Profane: The Empowerment of the Hungry Ghost "Burning Face" in Chinese Liturgical Paintings

The Ghost King of the Burning Face, an esoteric Buddhist deity introduced to China during the Tang dynasty (618-907), plays a significant role in Buddhist and Daoist salvation rituals. This paper examines the development of the Ghost King’s depiction in Chinese liturgical art from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries, focusing on artworks from Qinglong, Baoning, and White Cloud monasteries. It traces the transformation from early, ambiguous mural depictions, emphasizing the Ghost King's dual roles in summoning and feeding, to distinct representations in hanging scrolls that present its specific functions on that stage. Along with the deity's progressively refined portrayal, this study illuminates the Ghost King's transition from a mere delegate of hungry ghosts to an empowered mediator bridging heaven, humanity, and the netherworld. Overall, through visual and iconographic analysis, paper illuminates the rich tapestry of Chinese religious art and its capacity to articulate complex theological ideas through visual means.