Collective Word Holy Teaching Order (37)

Author: Wang Xizhi (Eastern Jin Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-06-01
Features: The Jizishengjiaoxu was carved in the third year of the Xianheng era of the Tang Dynasty (672 AD) in December. Emperor Taizong Li Shimin wrote the preface, Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi wrote the inscription, and the monk Huairen collected the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Ge Zhenli leashed the stone, Zhu Jing engraved the characters, and the original stone was stored in Hongfu Temple in Xi'an, Shaanxi. It is now preserved in the Xi'an Stele Forest. The stele is 311.5 cm high, 145 cm wide, in running script with 30 lines, with 83 to 88 characters per line. The stele was carved in the third year of the Xianheng era of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (672 AD) and is now stored in the Xi'an Stele Forest Museum. After Xuanzang returned from his journey to the West, he was ordered by Emperor Taizong to translate Buddhist scriptures. Emperor Taizong personally wrote the preface, and Crown Prince Li Zhi (Emperor Gaozong) composed the inscription. These five works—the preface, inscription, Emperor Taizong's reply, the Crown Prince's reply, and Xuanzang's translation of the Heart Sutra—were carved on a single stone. Monk Huairen collected the running script of Wang Xizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Ge Zhenli leashed the stone, and Zhu Jing engraved the characters. There are 30 lines, with 83 to 88 characters per line. The stele's header is carved with seven Buddha images, hence its alternative name, Qifoshengjiaoxu. Additionally, Jiang Heng in his Zhuocun Tang Tiba wrote: "Monk Huairen was a descendant of the ancient military lineage and inherited his family's calligraphic tradition, which is why the Jizishengjiaoxu flows with effortless grace, radiating vitality, and rivals the Lanting Xu in calligraphy, becoming the ancestor of calligraphy studies for millennia." This evaluation represents the historical significance of Huairen's Collected Wang Characters Holy Teaching Order in the history of calligraphy.