Zhuchan

CHINA, Sichuan, Chongqing; Qing dynasty

Born to the Wang family in Liangshan (present day Liangping, Chongqing), Zhuchan was a monk, calligrapher, and painter. He was renounced at Baoguo Temple in Sichuan, and was fully ordained at Shuanggui Temple in Sichuan, where he eventually became the 10th abbot.
He was skilled in poetry, writing, calligraphy, painting, and seal carving, with notable achievements in calligraphy and painting. He specialized in depicting figures, bamboos, rocks, Arhats, and Buddhas. His calligraphic style followed that of Huaisu’s and specialized in cursive script. Based on the eight-point script, Zhuchan created the nine-point script, which later developed into a new school of cursive. Of his design, he once said, “The one part I added is Chan taste.” Preface to the Avatamsaka Sutra, considered to be one of his calligraphic masterpieces, measures 33 sq m and exhibits steady and powerful strokes. Another work, Avatamsaka Sutra Preface Stele in Jiufen Chan Style, is an excellent representation of his nine-point script.
His Buddhist paintings, Sand Offering to the Buddha and Four Great Bodhisattvas, are now kept at Baoguang Temple in Sichuan. Amitabha Buddha and Eighteen Arhats were transcribed into several stone carvings and are now kept at Tiantong Temple in Zhejiang.