An extremely important publication and a major contribution to Religious Studies, Buddhist Studies, Asian Studies, East Asian History, Art History/Visual Culture, and Cultural Studies. It is precisely the sort of book that many scholars in these fields, and especially those who work across them, have been waiting for. The topic is one of great significance and timeliness, the approach is methodological and theoretically sophisticated, and the authors are sensitive to the cultural and historical specificity of their cases as well as to the wider implications of their work for the comparative analysis of iconoclasm, religion, and violence. -- D. Max Moerman, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures, Barnard College, Columbia University, USA This book offers readers a richly textured history of East Asian visual cultures. But, the authors' semiotic turn also provides us with valuable new ways to approach the study of cultures across historical periods, geographical areas, and academic disciplines. -- Dr Richard Clay, Senior Lecturer in the History of Art at the University of Birmingham, UK This book makes an important contribution to the fields of cultural and religious studies, East Asian history, art history, and semiotics, and will be thoroughly enjoyed by both specialists and senior graduate students. -- Anna Andreeva, Nichibunken/University of Heidelberg, DE * The Medieval History Journal *