Mogao Cave 17: Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish - Fascicle 2

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Western Wei dynasty

This sutra was discovered in Mogao Cave 17 in Dunhuang. The Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish is a collection of vividly narrated past life stories and Buddhist parables. Numerous excerpts were later portrayed as illustrated scenes on wall murals, expanding the many ways in which Buddhism was propagated to the masses.
Handwritten sutra manuscripts vary little in format, but the quality and style of the works can be widely diverse. This sutra scroll is considered a high quality piece due to its rich variety of character strokes and captivating nuances. While the character structure may be considered short of ideal, its variation in the brush application from the tip to the sides gives the piece a precise and natural appearance. This distinct feature was first employed in the Thousand Character Classic in Regular and Cursive Script, by Chan Master Zhiyong. From an artistic perspective, this sutra calligraphy can be considered a work of remarkable value as it is technically superior to sutra manuscripts of a similar nature.