Struggle on the Axis: The Advance and Retreat of Buddhist Influences in the Political Axis of Capitals in Medieval China (220–907)
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This is an extremely interesting article that offers a new way to look at the imperial axis of a Chinese capital. The author asks important questions and answers them.
Places I suggest the author revise:
l. 21 I would never call urban planning abnormal. Author should change both normal and abnormal
l. 39 Liang Sicheng doesn't need an explanation, but if the author gives one, a Chinese architectural historian is inadequate.
l. 84-90 unclear
l. 328 Some now believe Zhao Pencheng Monastery is Great Tongchi Monastery
l. 711-712 reader does not understand why nine cauldrons and twelve zodiac gods are "more characteristic of Chinese political and cultural traditions" This is an example of the need for more documentation.
l. 768 What does author mean by "a more representative building?"
l. 897 How would reader know about the Ashoka Pillars?
l. 1070-1073, l. 1098 The middle period is not the ancient period. If authors uses these terms, they have to be defined
Author should read and cite Su Bai "Suidai Fosi buju", Kaogu yu Wenwu, no. 2 (1997): 29-33, 28
Author should read 2006 issue of Tohoku Gakuin Daigaku ronshu
Author Response
For the first reviewer:
- 21 I would never call urban planning abnormal. Author should change both normal and abnormal
I have already used typical and atypical in the revised version, to change both normal and abnormal.
- 39 Liang Sicheng doesn't need an explanation, but if the author gives one, a Chinese architectural historian is inadequate.
I have already deleted this explanation.
- 84-90 unclear
For the unclear part in this paragraph, I have already rewrote it. Actually, I prefer to revise the entire introduction.
- 328 Some now believe Zhao Pencheng Monastery is Great Tongchi Monastery
I have already point out that Zhao Pencheng Monastery is Great Tongchi Monastery and offered references.
- 711-712 reader does not understand why nine cauldrons and twelve zodiac gods are "more characteristic of Chinese political and cultural traditions" This is an example of the need for more documentation.
I have already changed the “twelve zodiac gods” to the “Chinese Zodiac Signs to correspond to the twelve earth branches”, to highlight its Chinese political and cultural characteristics. On the legend of nine cauldrons and its more characteristic of Chinese political and cultural traditions, I prefer to cite Wu Hung’s researches in the introduction of his book (1995). See Wu, Hung. 1995. Monumentality in Early Chinese Art and Architecture. Stanford, Calif. : Stanford University Press.
- 768 What does author mean by "a more representative building?"
I have already rewrote this sentence and make it clear.
- 897 How would reader know about the Ashoka Pillars?
I have already cited some researches to help readers to know about the Ashoka Pillars.
- 1070-1073, l. 1098 The middle period is not the ancient period. If authors uses these terms, they have to be defined
I have already used the other concept, Medieval China, and clearly stated the beginning and ending of its era, 220-907 in the title of this paper. In the introduction, I also use this concept and clearly define it.
Author should read and cite Su Bai "Suidai Fosi buju", Kaogu yu Wenwu, no. 2 (1997): 29-33, 28
I have already read and cited this paper.
Author should read 2006 issue of Tohoku Gakuin Daigaku ronshu
It is a little bit difficult for me to find this book in the library and database of my university. I checked the contents of this book in the Hollis system at Harvard Library. But until now, I cannot find a way to cite this book in my paper correctly because I cannot see the whole book.
Reviewer 2 Report
- The authors fail to clarify the concept of the "middle period" in Chinese history. There are multiple ways to define the "middle period." No matter which definition the authors want to adopt, it seems that "the middle period" of Chinese history usually covers the 10th to 14th century. Without further clarification, a reader would expect more coverage in this article on Song, Liao, Jin, or even Yuan dynasties. Unfortunately, there is only one paragraph in section 5 that briefly talks about the capital cities of Song, Liao, and Jin. Unless the authors want to change the title and the general scope of this paper, I would highly suggest discussing Song, Liao, and Jin more.
- Line 49-51 Not sure about which Heaven Altar and Taiji Palace do the authors refer to? Those in Yecheng? I can't find a Taiji Palace at Yecheng.
- "altar" is misspelled in many places.
- The illustrations need to be improved in terms of quality and clarity. Figure 3 is especially blurring, and a lot of the labels are hard to read. It would be more helpful if the authors could provide more original and high-quality illustrations to support their arguments.
Author Response
For the second reviewer:
The authors fail to clarify the concept of the "middle period" in Chinese history. There are multiple ways to define the "middle period." No matter which definition the authors want to adopt, it seems that "the middle period" of Chinese history usually covers the 10th to 14th century. Without further clarification, a reader would expect more coverage in this article on Song, Liao, Jin, or even Yuan dynasties. Unfortunately, there is only one paragraph in section 5 that briefly talks about the capital cities of Song, Liao, and Jin. Unless the authors want to change the title and the general scope of this paper, I would highly suggest discussing Song, Liao, and Jin more.
I have already used the other concept, Medieval China, and clearly stated the beginning and ending of its era, 220-907 in the title of this paper. In the introduction, I also use this concept and clearly define it. For this reason, I prefer to focus on the period from 220 to 907, to avoid too much discussions on the situations in Song, Liao and Jin.
Line 49-51 Not sure about which Heaven Altar and Taiji Palace do the authors refer to? Those in Yecheng? I can't find a Taiji Palace at Yecheng.
The Taiji Palace of Yecheng refers to the Taiji Palace in the Yecheng of Caowei, not the Yecheng in Northern Qi. To avoid this misunderstanding, I have already change this sentence like this: The Altar of Heaven and the Taiji Palace, which symbolizes the highest imperial power, occupied the north and south ends of this power axis in Luoyang of Caowei.
"altar" is misspelled in many places.
I have already corrected these mistakes.
The illustrations need to be improved in terms of quality and clarity. Figure 3 is especially blurring, and a lot of the labels are hard to read. It would be more helpful if the authors could provide more original and high-quality illustrations to support their arguments.
I have already re-pictured all figures, especially the Fig. 3.
Reviewer 3 Report
The introduction should be rewritten without awkward phraseology. Be specific about time and places to be examined. Middle period means what? Put in a chart all temples and pagodas to be discussed.
Palace architecture or Buddhist palace architecture is not a new concept.
Also invent a new conclusion, not one that simply follows the abstract and introduction.
In addition, I hope the author can revise in including a chart of cited Buddhist monuments and their location. That would be helpful for the reader.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
For the third reviewer:
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
The introduction should be rewritten without awkward phraseology. Be specific about the time and places to be examined. Middle period means what? Put in a chart all temples and pagodas to be discussed.
- I have already rewritten the introduction.
2) I have already used the other concept, Medieval China, and clearly stated the beginning and end of its era, 220-907 in the title of this paper. In the introduction, I also use this concept and clearly define it.
3) I have added a chart of all monasteries in the Appendix. On the pagodas, I had already offered one table on the pagodas in Luoyang of Northern Wei. For other pagodas, such as the nine-story pagoda in Tongtai Monastery, the number is limited and I prefer to point out them in the paper and figures.
Palace architecture or Buddhist palace architecture is not a new concept.
I have already accepted your suggestions to cite more researches. But these scholars paid more attention to the similarities between halls of Buddhist masteries and main halls in the emperors’ palace, even the politics of Chinese architecture history, but not the relations between Buddhist architectures and the political axis. This discussion is as follows:
On the researches of Buddhist architectures, Chinese and western scholars, such as Liang Sicheng (1998), Sickman L. and Soper A.,(1956) Fu Xinian (1998 and 2017) and Nancy S. Steinhardt (1997 and 2019) made many contributions to the building of Buddhist monasteries and pagodas of wood and bricks, and noticed the similarities between halls of Buddhist masteries and main halls in the emperors’ palace, even the politics of Chinese architecture history (See Nancy S. Steinhardt 2004, pp. 228-254). However, up to now, it seems no scholar has systematically studied the connection and interaction between Buddhist architecture or buildings with Buddhist influences in connection with the political axis of the capital. And even sporadic studies are extremely rare.
Also invent a new conclusion, not one that simply follows the abstract and introduction.
I have already rewritten the conclusion.
In addition, I hope the author can revise in including a chart of cited Buddhist monuments and their location. That would be helpful for the reader.
I have already added this chart in the Appendix.
Round 2
Reviewer 3 Report
I have spent the entire day editing this paper. It is now publishable but was still full of all sorts of grammatical errors. The author must, and I emphasize, find an English language editor before submitting any future paper.
Just one last comment. I hope the author respects the edits. There was way too much repetition of names, for example, which either need to be simplified or deleted.
Author Response
Revision for Explanations for the Second Round
I have already corrected the mistakes in my paper and accepted most suggestions and comments of reviewer 3. It is my first time to write such long academic English paper. For this reason, I made many mistakes. I have to thank the very helpful suggestions of three reviewers, especially very careful modifications of reviewer 3. This reviewer helps me to avoid many grammatical errors, refining and simplifying the whole paper. Absolutely, I will improve my academic English writing and find an English language editor before submitting any future paper. Additionally, I also simplified some repetitions of names.
These are interpretations to keep my original contents and words in some issues.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
