The Chinese-Italian archaeological mission to Luoyang (1997-2004) as an example of Giuseppe Tucci’s legacy: A reflection on the future of Buddhist archaeology in China

One of the greatest achievements of the Roman school in the field of art history and archaeology is certainly connected to the figure of Giuseppe Tucci. It was the institute he cofounded in Rome in 1933, the IsMEO, that set the stage for Buddhist art and archaeology research in general, but also in the Far East. The Chinese-Italian Archaeological Mission to Luoyang (of which I was a member) lasted for ten years (1994-2003) and can be seen as a part of Giuseppe Tucci’s legacy and the long tradition of pioneering archaeological work in Asia he established. The excavation of the Fengxiansi Buddhist monastery in Longmen (Luoyang, China), carried out through a series of campaigns in the years 1997-2003, raised many – still unanswered – questions and laid the foundations for further investigation of the many sites associated with that temple, as well as Buddhist art and architecture. The project was intended to be continued by new archaeological research on the Longmen area and its numerous monasteries (the so-called “ten monasteries of Longmen”, of which the Fengxiansi was just one) mentioned by many literary sources of the Tang period. However, in the past two decades, the funding for archaeological research has drastically decreased in both China and Italy. In this paper, I intend to suggest possible avenues of research to advance the work initiated by the Sino-Italian Archaeological Mission in Luoyang, paving the way for possible future joint archaeological activities in the area.