In Praise of Master Zhongfeng Mingben (detail)
Ink on paper
In Praise of Master Zhongfeng Mingben
CHINA; Yuan dynasty
The eminent Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) Chan Master Zhongfeng Mingben built and lived in Huanzhu Temple. Given the poetic nature of the temple name, which means illustrious dwelling, Rao Jie used it as the subject of this verse written about Master Zhongfeng in 1365. This calligraphy, consisting of a total of 191 words within 28 lines, exhibits the free, easy style and personality of the artist.
Rao Jie, also known as Jiezhi or Jiesou, studied calligraphy under Kangli Zishan and was also influenced by Mi Fu. Additionally, there are elements of Zhao Mengfu’s squared characters and cursive script style, which allow for a departure from Kangli’s otherwise uniform and rectangular style. Altogether, there is much artistic value to be discovered in this piece of calligraphy.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Calligraphy, page 102.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Youlu and Pokorski, Stefanie and Mankuang and Edson, Gary,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Calligraphy },
pages = 102,
title = {{In Praise of Master Zhongfeng Mingben}},
volume = 17,
year = {2016}}