Zhao Anren

CHINA, Henan, Luoyang; Northern Song dynasty

Zhao Anren was a calligrapher and politician also known as Ledao. Clever and intelligent, he became an Imperial Scholar after passing the imperial examination in 985, and subsequently served various prominent government posts. He was posthumously bestowed the name Wending. In despite of being a high ranking dignitary, he was honest, sincere, and lenient, leading a thrifty and simple life. He authored Records of Conciliation While Bearing Fight.
Alongside Yang Yi, he compiled and edited the Catalogue of the Dharma Treasure, a 413-fascicle collection of 222 sutras that were translated between 982 and 1011. It also recorded 11 sutras in 160 fascicles which were originally composed in China.
Zhao was adept in calligraphy, particularly in regular and clerical scripts. He was requested to write the Correct Meanings of the Five Classics by the imperial academy. In addition, among the over 200 stele engravings stored in the Tianqing Temple Pagoda in Henan, Zhao wrote the Diamond Sutra, engraved on the east wall stele, and Excerpt from the Sutra on the Ten Wholesome Ways of Action and Second Chapter of the Devata Sutra, engraved on the west wall stele.