Certificate of Attainment

CHINA; Northern Song dynasty

Written when he was 62 years old, Yuanwu Keqin bestowed this certificate upon his disciple, Huqiu Shaolong, in recognition of his assiduous practice of the Dharma. Listed as a National Treasure of Japan in 1951, what is surviving of the work is the first 19 lines, as the following 37 lines have been lost. Neatly ordered in dense, straight lines, the small characters display fine structure and exhibit stylistic influences from Mi Fu. The exceptional brushwork and uncontrived air of the work are worthy of praise.
Yuanwu Keqin had an original family name of Luo and was also known as Wuzhu. A highly regarded monk of the Linji school during the Song dynasty (960–1279), he was reputed alongside Fojian Huiqin and Foyan Qingyuan as one of the Three Masters of Chan. His work in compiling Xuedou Zhongxian’s A Hundred Verses on Old Cases, together with his own introductions, annotations, and commentaries, was culminated in the Blue Cliff Record, also known as the First Book of the Chan school.