Diamond Sutra

CHINA; Southern Song dynasty

This manuscript, comprising 411 characters in 47 lines, is one of the numerous copies of the Diamond Sutra scripted by Zhang Jizhi. Although he did not begin studying Buddhism until his old age, Zhang transcribed an extensive number of sutras. This work was listed as a National Treasure of Japan in 1951.
The elegant characters and forceful brushwork display highly individualistic features in this work. This uniqueness may be observed in the variation in the strength and speed of each stroke comprising the characters, which are neatly arranged in ostensibly even lines. In particular, the strokes display varying degrees of thickness, with an emphasis on the radicals, enhancing the visual contrast between each character and line. Even though the sutra is written in regular script, the writing style resembles running script, achieving a unique rhythmical effect and breathing new life into the traditional practice of sutra transcription.
Also known as Wenfu or Chuliao, Zhang Jizhi was a well-known calligrapher celebrated for his large-scale works in regular script, as well as his unique calligraphic style in which he often incorporated regular script with running script. Several of his works have been listed as National Treasures of Japan.