Wan Shouqi

CHINA, Jiangsu, Xuzhou; Ming to Qing dynasty

Wan Shouqi, also known as Wan Daoren or Nianshao, was a calligrapher, painter, seal engraver, and a monk with the Dharma name Huishou. He was well-versed in classical literature, poetry, Buddhism, and Chan, in addition to excelling in various other art forms. His landscape paintings were elegant, graceful, and full despite consisting of little more than a few light brushstrokes and an ink wash. He authored Essay on Seals and Collection of Seals by Master Huishou.
Wan’s calligraphy specialized in semi-cursive and regular scripts and inherited the immense style of Yan Zhenqing. His calligraphic transcription of the Diamond Sutra, the 11th copy among those he had scripted, is now kept at the Nanjing Museum in Jiangsu. His vast collection of sutra calligraphy work, especially his scripting of the Diamond Sutra, demonstrates his honorable devotion to Buddhism. His extant seals include Spring Mountains, Calligraphy, Paintings, Green Willows, Boat.