Selection of Fine Dunhuang Calligraphy 3: The Lotus Sutra of Mahamayuri

Author: Huang Zheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: Oracle bone script, Western Han bamboo slips, Dunhuang manuscripts, and the imperial archives of the Qing court are collectively known as the "Four Great Discoveries" in the history of textual studies. However, in the context of calligraphy history, oracle bone script, Han bamboo slips, and Western regions manuscripts serve as a crucial key to reinterpreting the history of calligraphy. With oracle bone script, we recognize the beauty but unreliable myth of ancient character creation, and we also understand the historical limitation of tracing characters back only to the Western Zhou bronze inscriptions before the Song Dynasty. Moreover, thanks to the discovery of Western Han bamboo slips and later unearthed bamboo slips from Central China and the Xiang-Chu regions, we have learned that beyond the grand monuments of the Qin and Han dynasties, there exist such vivid and lifelike brushwork traces, which can be cross-referenced with stone inscriptions, thereby altering our perspectives on some classic interpretations in calligraphy history.
Then there are the Dunhuang manuscripts. Their emergence has revealed that, in the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, apart from the universally revered calligrapher Wang Xizhi, there were also numerous diverse writing styles scattered among the people—styles that were not overly concerned with brush technique, varied in form, and not rigidly confined to a few classic patterns. These styles effectively complement our one-sided interpretation of tradition and classical calligraphy, even forming an aesthetic style of folk and popular calligraphy that stands in contrast to the classics.
Professor Huang Zheng is an expert in Dunhuang studies, mentored by renowned scholars Jiang Liangfu, Jiang Lihong, and Guo Zaiyi. With his profound academic background, he collaborated with the skilled calligrapher Jiang Yin to compile this "Selected Masterpieces of Dunhuang Calligraphy," which has greatly benefited the calligraphy community. Furthermore, his meticulous research on each manuscript, including [Annotations], [Transcriptions], and [Corrections], distinguishes it from the typical Dunhuang calligraphy prints available in the market, giving it the function of an academic textual study.