Past Life as the Golden Grain Tathagata

CHINA; Qing dynasty

Vimalakirti is said to be the reincarnation of a past Buddha who was known as the Golden Grain Tathagata. The phrase “Past Life as the Golden Grain Tathagata” was taken from the poem Response to Huzhou Sima’s Question: Who is Bai? by the poet Li Bai, in which he compares himself to Vimalakirti: “The Green Lotus Sage is a demoted heavenly being, in hiding for 30 years. Huzhou Sima did not need to ask: was the Golden Grain Tathagata reborn as he?”
Wu Shijie was a seal engraver and calligrapher of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) from Shexian, Anhui. He was also known by the names of Junqian and Mangong. Specializing in both large and small seal scripts, he was also skilled in emulating the bronze inscription styles of the ancient Shang (1600–1046 BCE) and Zhou (1046–256 BCE) dynasties. Wu was known to have a very generous demeanor, and although he would use most of the money he earned from his art to purchase more materials for creation, he would easily give away all that he had. His carving method was elegant and contradictory to the trends of his time, earning him much recognition from his contemporaries.
The harmonious layout of this red character square seal is attributed to the deliberate rounding of the seal script characters, in addition to the consistency in style where the strokes are slightly curved and endowed with a full-bodied structure. Edges are smoothed with the knife, leaving no trace of carving and further allowing the entire seal to be a steady and balanced work of art.