In the Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1911), many members of the imperial clan were devout followers of Buddhism. The courts in the K'ang-hsi (1662-1722) and Ch'ien-lung (1736-1795) reigns witnessed the transcription and printing of the Kanjur Tripitaka in Tibetan and the Tripitaka in Manchu, while the Yung-cheng Emperor (r. 1723-1735) selected and edited the contents of Record of Imperially Selected Lectures and Imperial Record of a Drop in an Ocean of Sutras. In the imperial palace, many buildings included lecture halls for Buddhist scriptures and places for offerings to Buddhist images, while numerous displays and collections of Buddhist paintings and sutra books were found at other locations. In the past, these beautifully adorned and refined Buddhist texts and paintings were the private treasures of the imperial family stored far from view, but now they are part of the public collection for all to appreciate. For this exhibition, several masterpieces of Buddhist texts and paintings have been specially selected to give the public a glimpse at this great treasure of religious art in the National Palace Museum.

The Buddhist texts on display here include imprints of the Sung (960-1279) and Yüan (1279-1368) dynasties, works by famed calligraphers, and scriptures transcribed by monks. The Diamond Sutra, for example, is concise and pithy in wording yet also fully expresses the idea of "prajna (wisdom)" in popular Mahayana Buddhism, thereby spreading far and wide. Sung and Yüan published imprints are often quite simple in nature, so many calligraphers took it upon themselves to transcribe them in brush and ink as a sign of sincerity and respect. In addition, illustrations of Buddhist figures form an expression of one of the three "bodies" of buddhas and bodhisattvas--that of appearance. The spectacle unfolding before the eyes, especially in colorful Esoteric School scriptures of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), is one of the most refined and dazzling to be found. Another major text, The Hua-yen Sutra, expounds on the origins of the Buddhist world and the idea that all things are interconnected, being the scripture forming the basis and namesake of the Hua-yen School. Although originating in India, it later became one of the most important sects in Chinese Buddhism. The scriptures devoted to Kuan-yin, the bodhisattva of compassion, are intimately related to the development of Kuan-yin belief in the Chin and Sixteen Kingdoms era (265-439). Furthermore, after Dharmaraksa translated The True Dharma of the Lotus Sutra in 286 and Kumarajiva translated The Sublime Dharma of the Lotus Sutra, the image of Kuan-yin as a "savoir from difficulties and suffering" and "incarnation infinitum" became deeply planted in the minds of followers, thereby forming the basis of widespread views about Kuan-yin that are still held today.