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"In this extraordinary work of scholarship, Victor Mair traces the global development over a thousand years of a genre of popular Buddhist folk literature from China known as pien-wen, pointing out its origins in India as a form of oral storytelling using paintings as an aid, and showing how that form has influenced performance and literary traditions in India, Indonesia, Japan, Central Asia, the Near East, Italy, France, and Germany. Pien-wen, which date from the T'ang period (618-906), are extremely important in the history of Chinese literate--especially fiction and drama--because they are the first extended vernacular narratives in China. Since they were discovered at Tun-huang in the early years of this century, however, they have been the subject of considerable confusion and controversy. Examination of contemporary historical writings suggest that they derived from a type of storytelling with pictures, but the evidence from Chinese sources is meager. In searching for the origins of the oral antecedents of pien-wen, Mair discovered numerous parallel traditions in other countries that were much better documented. Going beyond Chinese linguistic and cultural borders, he was able not only to corroborate his thesis that pien-wen have an Indian genesis but to resurrect the entire tradition of Chinese storytelling with pictures that has hitherto been virtually unnoticed by scholars. Perhaps the single most significant characteristic of Painting and Performance is that it crosses so many disciplinary boundaries. The broad cultural and geographic sweep of Mair's investigation and the depth of the originality of his research make this a unique work that is sure to stimulate new scholarship in a wide variety of fields. It has important implications for students and scholars of literature, folklore, painting, religion, history, art, and theater and the performing arts, not to mention Chinese popular culture and Indian civilization. It will serve as a marvelous guide for scholars who would like to explore beyond their own territories." -- Publisher's description