Interview with Wang Yarong (Chinese Textile Archaeologist)

Synopsis: Wang Yarong has been deeply involved in the front lines of textile archaeology for over forty years. With her skilled hands, she successfully rescued and perfectly restored countless rare silks, such as the Mawangdui plain silk gauze garment and the Mashan Chu tomb embroidery, bringing thousand-year-old magnificent attire back to life. As a steadfast guardian and successor of Shen Congwen’s research on ancient clothing, she not only deciphered and passed on top-tier weaving and embroidery techniques that had been lost for a millennium but also laid the foundational cornerstone for the establishment and development of the discipline of Chinese textile archaeology.

Interview Chief Writer: Fa Ning

July 19, 2026

Wang Yarong:

Namo Amituofo, today I have the opportunity to give a report to everyone here at the Western Land of Dharma Nature of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre.

I was guided up from the archaeological space by Practitioner Su; I was saved by Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su. These two Buddhas are now before my eyes, infinitely dignified and infinitely compassionate.

I have been in the Western Land of Dharma Nature for nearly two months; I did not expect time to pass so quickly. In the past, whenever I arrived at a new place, I always liked to explore it, but the Western Land of Dharma Nature is different. My feelings here are truly different from when I arrived at new places in the past. Now, my heart is much more settled; I no longer have the personality and feelings I had in the human world, and I am completely immersed in the six-character name of Namo Amituofo. This is the portrait of my new life today.

Today, Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su called my name. After I died, I entered an archaeological space. To be honest, this is truly a complex and intricate space! Because what this space carries is not merely the size of the space as seen by the physical eyes of people.

So-called archaeology is about connecting with the ancestors who have left their footprints on this land throughout the past and present. Their relics or remains are either buried in the earth or located within various different buildings. In these places, archaeological spaces may exist. China is a great ancient civilisation; it can be said that almost every province, city, and county has the history and traces of people's past activities. We call these worlds hidden deep underground archaeological spaces.

I was not an archaeologist by training, and the major I studied was not archaeology; I am an archaeologist who learned the craft later in life. For me, archaeology has not only been my profession for decades but also my life, as well as an important responsibility—a responsibility I hold towards my country and my people. Throughout my life, I have travelled across the length and breadth of China, leaving my footprints in many provinces, and in many places, I had to stay for several months, or even more than half a year.

Archaeology is a job that tests one's patience, and I happen to be a very patient person. I have no messy thoughts in my heart, only archaeology and textiles. This is the deepest attachment I have had throughout my life; everything else is not very important to me. Sometimes I feel that my life truly came into being for the sake of textile archaeology. So-called textile archaeology is the study of the clothing worn by ancient people; all clothing and textiles are the objects of my research and efforts.

My life's journey has also been very wondrous. Initially, I did not come for archaeology, but in the latter half of my life, I entered the field of archaeology. I originally studied in the Fine Arts Department, which was related to textiles, but later I was forced to drop out due to family reasons. After dropping out, I became a designer at a toy store, but I was not satisfied with that. To me, modern design did not mean much; I was still more interested in ancient artefacts.

So, after working hard day and night, I finally welcomed a turning point in my life—I had the opportunity to follow the then-famous historian Mr. Shen Congwen and became his assistant. Thus, I began my archaeological career in the field of textile archaeology. He taught me a great deal of knowledge related to history and culture and led me into the hall of archaeology, especially regarding textiles. It can be said that this gentleman treated me with the warmth and kindness of a daughter.

I also followed closely in my teacher's footsteps, wanting to repay him with my life's work and use my abilities to perform these textile archaeology restoration tasks, so that future generations and people today can have a more precise understanding of ancient clothing.

Today, my status has transformed, and I have come to the Western Land of Dharma Nature at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre. What surprises me greatly is that in this place, the various Chinese celebrities guided up by Practitioner Su have many different fields, different professions, and different attachments. It is evident that everyone has a very deep obsession with their own field. This is why many people, after death, either fall into the hells due to their negative karma or enter the spaces of the fields they were familiar with and loved.

All of this looks so ordinary. It is evident how many souls from generation after generation are contained within the various spaces surrounding people in the world. Everyone has attachments, and everyone has places and things they are familiar with and love; naturally, under the guidance of their mental notes, they will enter the space that belongs to them. The Buddha’s teachings call all of this the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way, and I think this name is very fitting.

I had never heard such an explanation or teaching before, because I had never met a true awakened being who could explain all of this so thoroughly in the world. Today, I met this awakened being, named Practitioner Su.

It is a pity that I did not know him while I was alive, and only had the opportunity to know Practitioner Su after I died. But it does not matter; perhaps this is because I was too focused on the field of archaeology in the past and neglected the world outside of archaeology.

If I could have heard that such a Buddha existed in the world earlier, I think I might have made different life decisions. Just like when I first entered the archaeological profession, because I liked it and felt it was important, I threw myself into it, and stayed for forty or fifty years. If I had encountered the Buddha’s teachings back then, perhaps things would have taken a different turn.

Sigh, saying all this seems to be of no help to my spiritual growth or that of others. It would be better for me to share with you some of the realisations I have had from what I have seen and heard in the Western Land of Dharma Nature. To me, and to all the spirit realm beings here, the Western Land of Dharma Nature is a place that truly saves lives. This was our initial assumption, because everyone was almost entirely guided to this place from various different, relatively dark or terrifying spaces.

Although the archaeological space I entered was not extremely painful, it was still a dark space without light, and a space where I lived together with many other spirits. In such a crowded space, it actually made me feel very uncomfortable. Staying in it for a long time, my spirit was constantly suppressed and suffered from various negative influences.

The Western Land of Dharma Nature is a Buddha-land, a place I had never thought of when I had no religious faith. I thought that after I died, there might be nothing left, because I spent my days in the world of archaeology, looking at the things left behind by those who had already departed and their own appearances, which made me feel that this was my future destination—yellow soil, that was my home.

I never thought that the spirit of a person could be unborn and undying; I had never thought I would learn the truth of such a fact.

After I died, my spirit left my body and entered the space I was most familiar with. This space seemed to be very far away from the space where my body was at the time; the place where I died and the place where my mental note guided me were truly different. My spirit arrived at an ancient tomb space in Xinjiang that I had once excavated; it was indeed very far from the place where I died, but in the spiritual world, there is no such thing as distance. Therefore, I arrived at the ancient tomb space in Xinjiang in an instant and stayed there for nearly two years. In that space, I saw many changes in the spirit realm and gained a deeper understanding and feeling for the spirit realm.

Previously, I entered the archaeological world as a human, so everything I saw was just ancient objects and ancient people, and I could not see the spirit realm beings that filled the spirit realm. But when I truly entered this space again as a spirit, I could feel the densely packed spirit realm beings existing within it. And I was just a very small one among them; whether there was one more or one less of me did not seem to make much difference.

Only then did I know that when a person dies and loses this body, they really have nothing left, and there is no point in talking about exerting any influence. I could not help but realise: everything that people struggle and attach themselves to in the world is, in the end, nothing left.

So what is perfection? Where can one truly attain ultimate perfection?

I once thought about this question. Since the spirit is unborn and undying, why was I staying in such a space? Is this eternal? Is there no place where one can attain eternal joy and eternal happiness?

Now that I am in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I have finally obtained the answer I once wanted day and night, and that is—yes, this world is called the Buddha’s world.

Buddha is an awakened being, one who has penetrated the truth of the universe and knows everything clearly. Whether it is the past, present, or future, whether it is this world or other regions, any planet, or any space, the Buddha can know everything clearly in an instant.

This matter surprised me too much! I thought, such profound science, I had never even come into contact with it, nor had I ever truly understood that the Buddha’s skills could reach such a height. For example, as a spirit with a very small existence in the archaeological space, I could still be known by Namo Amituofo. Namo Amituofo can indeed know of my existence.

At that time, people at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia presented our names before the Buddha and asked the Buddha: "Where are these people now? From where should they be guided up?" The Buddha naturally knew that I was in an archaeological space. Therefore, the Buddha is truly amazing! Namo Amituofo can not only establish the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss and lead immeasurable and boundless beings there to practise and become Buddhas, but can also know the Causal Conditions of every being and when their Buddhist affinity will ripen so they can come to the Buddha-land. All of this is clearly known in the eyes of the Buddha.

It is evident that I must have been a person with Buddhist affinity in the past, which is why I had such a magnificent opportunity this time to be guided by Practitioner Su of the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia to the Western Land of Dharma Nature. In this Buddha-land, I am also practising very diligently and purifying myself very diligently. I finally know the benefits of practice, which is that one can learn the same skills as the Buddha and find one's own innate ability.

In the vast regions of China in the past, there was no lack of practitioners, but I never looked up to them, nor did I think they could bring any help to society. But now, this Practitioner Su before my eyes, who still has a human body and is now at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, this Buddha-land, is truly very different from other practitioners!

From the perspective of the spirit, very few ordinary practitioners carry light. As for the practitioners of today, many still carry dark light, which proves that these practitioners do not have true cultivation and may even have created great negative karma under the guise of being a practitioner.

But Practitioner Su is very different. The golden light radiating from Practitioner Su is exactly the same as the golden light of Namo Amituofo, infinitely broad and bright. This represents that Practitioner Su is a great practitioner with true cultivation, a person who has truly realised their true nature and attained Buddhahood.

If I could have learned such skills when I had a human body, the number of human beings and spirit realm beings I could have helped would have been even broader and boundless. It is a pity that I no longer have a human body and have lost this opportunity to practise. Now, practising here in a spiritual way is indeed a good thing. I am very grateful in my heart for such Causal Conditions. After all, if it were not for the guidance of Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su, I might have had to spend a very, very long time in this hidden archaeological space, in a dark space where one cannot even see one's own fingers.

This is because I witnessed the spirits in this archaeological space, all of whom are old souls; many, many of them are old souls of thousands of years. They cannot get out of this space, and because their Causal Conditions have not arrived, they are naturally still trapped in their own spaces, not knowing anyone, and not knowing who can save whom. This is one of the Universal Principles, the Truth, and the Right Way.

When I was in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I could not help but sigh that I had really chosen the wrong major back then. If I had studied the Buddha’s teachings at that time, my heart would have been very stable and peaceful when I was young, without too many afflictions. With my characteristics, perhaps it would have been possible for me to walk the path of realising my true nature.

It is a pity that I did not believe in the Buddha at that time; I believed in archaeology, so I could only become a part of the archaeological space. The changes in all these Causal Conditions are very subtle; now that I have come to the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I know that everything experienced in the human world is illusory.

In the past, I worked diligently to restore so many textiles. Whether from archaeological piles or from the bodies of the deceased, I would pick them up one by one, studying their patterns and weaving techniques, hoping to restore the textiles of that time so that future generations could clearly see what the garments of people from hundreds or thousands of years ago looked like. I also hoped to preserve Chinese culture through more scientific methods.

However, looking back, all that I did merely satisfied people's desire for the preservation of cultural relics and gained more knowledge. Beyond that, what more could people truly gain? It seems this did not help with anyone's spiritual growth at all. Moreover, the time and energy invested in these countless tasks, along with my own attachments, only served to cover my own character with a layer of dust. It could be said that because I studied archaeology, I moved further and further away from the path of realising one's true nature and attaining Buddhahood.

Everyone is actually like this. While in the human world, one always has things one likes and spaces one is fond of. After staying in them for a long time, one naturally becomes a part of them, unable to leave or let go, yet mistakenly believing that everything is real.

The preciousness of Buddhist education lies in its teaching of what is illusory and what is real. People in the world cannot distinguish this because we have this body. This body hinders us from seeing the true appearance of things, because this body itself is fundamentally false. However, because people have lived in this body for so long, within this shell that belongs to the "self", they are unable to discern the black-and-white truth of matters. Practitioner Su often mentions in his Dharma talks the concept of "use this "temporary" body to find the "eternal" truth"; I think this phrase is truly profound. We have walked a false path for a lifetime, and only now are we about to embark on the true path.

However, I no longer have this body, nor can I use this false body to cultivate the truth. I can only continue to purify myself here in a spiritual form, waiting for the day when I have the opportunity to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Practitioner Su is very compassionate, allowing us to accumulate a little more merit by accepting interviews, so that we may speak more and share more of what we have seen and heard in the spiritual realms with the people of the world. Especially for those of us who have been reborn in the Western Dharma-Nature Land, our spiritual growth in the Buddha-land is greatly supported by the power of the Buddha, and the growth of our wisdom is very rapid.

Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su are both so compassionate. Because they hope that everyone can attain Buddhahood, they actively use various methods to help everyone embark on the path to Buddhahood. This is the way Buddha and Bodhisattvas compassionately save beings!

I, Wang Yarong, as a devotee who will be led by Practitioner Su to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and as one of the few historians and archaeologists in China, am perhaps the first among them who can be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Therefore, I sincerely hope to use the path I have walked as a reference for everyone.

I have learned that the most important thing is that people in the world must clearly see their current situation: are they moving towards the direction of spiritual growth, or towards the direction of spiritual degradation? We must always maintain a sense of vigilance; to learn Buddhism is to learn the true skills of the Buddha. If one only learns a little superficial knowledge and cannot truly be saved, while still creating negative karma in the world, then the karmic retribution will be truly painful.

Nowadays, because Namo Amituofo resides at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia, the world has gained much more light. It is also because Practitioner Su has attained Buddhahood in the human world that so many human beings and spirit realm beings have been saved.

I hope that the vast Chinese people can let go of everything they love—people, things, events, and scenery—and even the attachments to their own professions. From the perspective of the Buddha's teachings, these are all false; only truly elevating one's spirituality is real. While possessing this precious human body, being able to "use this "temporary" body to find the "eternal" truth" is the only way to help all Chinese people, all people on Earth, and even immeasurable and boundless spirit realm beings. I sincerely appeal: may there be descendants of the Yellow Emperor who will stand up with great courage and strength to walk this path of the truly perfect Buddha's path.

Gratitude to Namo Amituofo, gratitude to Practitioner Su.

Namo Amituofo

Wang Yarong