Sutra of Wisdom and Quiescence

CHINA; Song dynasty

This manuscript, handwritten by Mi Fu, was from Fascicle 9 of Shaoxing Manuscripts of Mi Fu’s Calligraphy. A verified and complete rubbing of this sutra manuscript is kept in the Shanghai Library. Despite being titled as the Sutra of Wisdom and Quiescence, the content is similar to the Heart Sutra translated by the Tripitaka Master Xuanzang. The Preface to Sagely Teachings in Wang Xizhi’s Calligraphy, a manuscript of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy that was widely copied by various calligraphers, popularized the Heart Sutra.
Mi Fu, among the Four Calligraphy Masters of the Song dynasty, was considered the best in emulating past styles. His writings were therefore reputed to be a “compilation of ancient calligraphy.” There are, however, limited to the running script style that prevailed during the Wei and Jin dynasties. This is largely due to the influence of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, and because Mi did not study the Qin seal or Han clerical scripts. It can be observed that the clerical style that Mi adopted was of Tang influence, as exhibited in the emboldened strokes of this manuscript. Mi implemented an interesting sense of randomness in the arrangement of the characters, a sequencing usually applied in running scripts.