Zhixian

CHINA, Anhui; Ming dynasty

Zhixian was a monk and artist born with the family name Zhou and also known as Huanye, among several other nicknames. He renounced at the age of 17 under Chan Master Qianjiang of the Caodong school at Jinming Temple in Zhejiang, and later built Qiushui Temple, also in Zhejiang. He followed a strict discipline and was held in great esteem by the scholars who would visit him often. In his old age, he returned to Jinming Temple to restore it and to promote Chan Buddhism.
Adept in both poetry and calligraphy, Zhixian’s poem, Ascension to Stalagmite Peak, describes the grandiose and rugged region surrounding Huangshan in Anhui with bold and vigorous running-cursive script brushstrokes. His poems were later compiled into Collection of Huanye. Zhixian’s calligraphic works include Five-Character Poem, part of the collection at Ho’s Calligraphy Foundation in Taipei, Taiwan; and Seven-Character Poem, which is carved onto the Stele Wall of Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.