Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

Protecting the Dharma through Calligraphy in Tang China : A Study of the Ji Wang shengjiao xu ????? The Preface to the Buddhist Scriptures Engraved on Stone in Wang Xizhi’s Collated Characters, Paperback / softback Book

Protecting the Dharma through Calligraphy in Tang China : A Study of the Ji Wang shengjiao xu ????? The Preface to the Buddhist Scriptures Engraved on Stone in Wang Xizhi’s Collated Characters Paperback / softback

Part of the Monumenta Serica Monograph Series series

Paperback / softback

Description

This is a study of the earliest and finest collated inscription in the history of Chinese calligraphy, the Ji Wang shengjiao xu ????? (Preface to the Sacred Teaching Scriptures Translated by Xuanzang in Wang Xizhi’s Collated Characters), which was erected on January 1, 673.

The stele records the two texts written by the Tang emperors Taizong (599–649) and Gaozong (628–683) in honor of the monk Xuanzang (d. 664) and the Buddhist scripture Xin jing (Heart Sutra), collated in the semi-cursive characters of the great master of Chinese calligraphy, Wang Xizhi (303–361).

It is thus a Buddhist inscription that combines Buddhist authority, political power, and artistic charm in one single monument.

The present book reconstructs the multifaceted context in which the stele was devised, aiming at highlighting the specific role calligraphy played in the propagation and protection of Buddhism in medieval China.

Information

Other Formats

£39.99

 
Free Home Delivery

on all orders

 
Pick up orders

from local bookshops

Information

Also in the Monumenta Serica Monograph Series series  |  View all