The Sui Dynasty Landscapes and Their Use of Perspective at Dunhuang

Narrative paintings of the Sui Dynasty not only followed the Northern Dynasty form,which presented stories in long bands,but also employed perspective in landscapes and architecture.Large-sized sutra illustrations first appeared in the Sui dynasty,owing to the need to promote Pure Land Buddhism and to the maturity in representing landscapes,which made it possible to create such large illustrations.The landscapes,architecture,and large sutra compositions of the Sui Dynasty laid a firm foundation for the popularity of sutra illustrations in the Tang Dynasty.