Huihong

CHINA, Jiangxi, Yichun; Northern Song dynasty

Huihong was a Chan master of the Linji school of Chan Buddhism, in addition to being a poet and painter. He was a native of Ruizhou (present day Gao’an, Yichun) and stayed at Shimen Temple in Jiangxi. Master Huihong studied under Chan Master Zhenjing of the Huanglong school of Chan Buddhism and was well-versed in a wide range of Buddhist subjects. He was later conferred the title of Baojue Yuanmin.
As a painter, Master Huihong used firm and quick strokes to portray the liveliness and realism of the bamboos and plum blossoms he often painted on fans. Unfortunately, very few of his paintings are extant. Nevertheless, Master Huihong was known to have composed several inscriptions for a number of paintings, which are documented in Letters of Chan at the Stone Gate.