Turpan: Bodhisattva Pitaka Sutra

CHINA, Xinjiang, Turpan; Northern Liang Kingdom

This scroll was discovered in Turpan, and has only 60 lines of text. It includes an inscription that describes the work as an offering by the Northern Liang prince, Juqu Anzhou. Fan Ji, his subordinate scribe, was assigned as the calligrapher, and monks were invited to vet the script. The scroll is now an Important Cultural Property of Japan.
The Bodhisattva Pitaka Sutra is about the methods of repenting one’s past sins as explained by the Buddha following Sariputra’s request. The Buddha advised that a person could recite the names of the Buddhas of the Ten Directions, make offerings, and repent one’s mistakes before the Buddhas.
The manuscript is written in regular script with a strong clerical style. Horizontal strokes terminate heavily and are slightly tipped to the left, while “na” (right-falling) strokes end with a soft finish. Brushstrokes are firm and forceful, and characters are square and upright.