Cao Fashou

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Northern Wei dynasty

Cao Fashou was a manuscript transcriber who, according to the Fascicle 41 of the Avatamsaka Sutra discovered in Mogao Cave 17 in Dunhuang, transcribed the sutra by hand in 513. This rare manuscript from the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534) is currently part of the collection in the National Palace Museum in Beijing.
Fascicle 14 of the Satyasiddhi Sastra, also found in the Mogao Caves and numbered S1427 by Aurel Stein, contains an inscription that dates the piece to 511 and also attributes the work to Cao. The manuscript is now part of the collection in the British Museum in London, United Kingdom. Cao’s script style in the sutra transcription is calm and steady, with clear pause and transition in strokes. The smooth and natural flow of the entire piece shows slight indications of clerical script.