Bailushan: Stele of Master Huiju at Xuanji Temple

CHINA, Henan, Huixian; Northern Qi dynasty

This stele was discovered at Bailushan in Henan. Only one rubbing from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) existed according to Luo Shuyan’s Catalog of Epigraphic Inscriptions. This stele was created by villagers in honor of Master Huiju who for 30 years, practiced asceticism, built stone sutras, and erected Buddha statues at the temple. Huiju was not mentioned in any historical records, and this stele inscription supplements the lack of information.
It was common during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (386–589), to see both clerical and regular scripts in use at the same time, partly because regular script was not yet widely established. Han clerical script was regarded as a formal style of writing during this time, which explains its prevalence. Concerted effort can be seen in this work where every stroke and nuance is focused on perfecting the clerical script.