The descendants of Indian Buddhist culture have brought new ideas to China's paintings in form, but it is impossible to bring new techniques to China's calligraphy. However, the spread of Buddhist culture has objectively promoted the development of calligraphy art in China, because calligraphy can copy scriptures and record Buddhist scriptures for future generations. Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were the heyday of Buddhism. Large-scale copying of Buddhist scriptures, sculpture inscriptions and inscriptions have become the primary work of Buddhist monks. In the process of writing Buddhist scriptures, calligraphy has developed greatly. In the early days of Buddhism, calligraphy was mainly used to copy scriptures, which played a practical role. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, calligraphy has become an art category, which has attracted the attention of the whole society. Calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty has the characteristics of attaching importance to emotion and reason. This feature, in addition to the development and change of art itself, is also influenced by the prevalence of Zen and the theory of Zen mind and realm, which is an important driving force for China's calligraphy art to enter a mature stage.
In the history of calligraphy in China, there are many Buddhist calligraphers. According to Tao's Book History Society, by the Yuan Dynasty, there were 59 Buddhist calligraphers. In fact, there are many more monks who can be called calligraphers. If you count the monks who are good at copying scriptures and monuments, the number is amazing. There are also many Zen monks who have both calligraphy and painting, such as Chang Fa in the Song Dynasty, Shi Tao in the early Qing Dynasty and Badashanren. People used to think that they were painters. In fact, their calligraphy art is very distinctive. It is only because they have made higher achievements in painting that the painting art has drowned the calligraphy art. Since the Northern Song Dynasty, although the literati in the society may not have escaped into Buddhism, they have been greatly influenced by Zen in spirit. Su Shi and Huang in the Song Dynasty, Dong Qichang and Xu Wei in the Ming Dynasty, and the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" headed by Zheng Banqiao in the Qing Dynasty. Their painting and calligraphy meanings are closely related to Zen. This is a unique cultural phenomenon in the art history of China.
Buddhist calligraphers occupy an important position in the history of calligraphy art in China, and such Buddhist calligraphers as Zhi Yong, Huai Ren, Huai Su, Ya Qi, Gao Xian, Guan Xiu, Meng Gui, Wen Chu and Hong Yi have made important contributions to the calligraphy art in China. Only three famous Buddhist calligraphers, Zhi Yong, Huai Su and Hong Yi, are introduced here.
First, Zhiyong and "True Grass Thousand Characters"
Zhiyong was born in Yin Shan (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). He lived in the Southern Dynasties of Liang, Chen and Sui, and the exact date of birth and death is unknown. His surname is Wang, and he is the seventh grandson and the descendant of the fifth son of the book sage Wang Xizhi.
Zhiyong became a monk with his brother's wisdom when he was young. Huiji Jiaxiang Temple is the place where they first learned Buddhism from their teachers. Jiaxiang Temple was rebuilt from the former residence of Wang Xizhi. At that time, becoming a monk was a social fashion to express piety to Buddhism. Liang Wudi Xiao Yan (AD 464-549) learned that the Zhiyong brothers advocated Buddhism, so he took a word from each of their names and named the temple "Yongxin".
Zhiyong attended Zen in Yongxin Temple and learned all the Prajna Sutra and Hokkekyo. He is so Zen-silent that he is called Yong Zen Master. In addition, he studied hard, copied famous posts in the attic next to the temple, and swore that he would never go downstairs if he failed in calligraphy. It is said that the bald head has accumulated five baskets. After decades of hard work, he finally became a famous calligrapher.
Zhi Yong's superb calligraphy art, in addition to hard practice, has a lot to do with his family background. Wang Xizhi's family is good at calligraphy, and his seventh son, Wang Xianzhi, is good at cursive and official calligraphy. Wang Xizhi wrote an article about Le Yi for him to learn. Zhiyong had the privilege of appreciating Le Yi Lun many times and learned exquisite brushwork from it. Luo Shen Fu, Mid-Autumn Festival Sticker and so on. Mohism handed down from ancient times also provided a model for Zhiyong to learn. Yang Xin (307-442 AD) was Wang Xianzhi's nephew. Inspired by Wang Xianzhi, he became a famous painter. Yang Xin teaches Wang Sengqian calligraphy. Wang Sengqian (AD 426-485) is the fourth grandson of Wang Xizhi's brother Wang Qia, and also a calligrapher of the Wang family. When the Biography of Shu Qi was uploaded, Emperor Wen of the Southern Song Dynasty happened to see a fan written by Wang Sengqian and appreciated it very much. He thought that his calligraphy skill surpassed that of Wang Xianzhi. Wang Sengqian's calligraphy thought "the pen must forget the heart, the hand must forget the book, the heart and hand are affectionate, and the book does not forget the thoughts" has a strong touch and influence on Zhiyong. Xiao Ziyun, the imperial clan of the Southern Qi Dynasty, was a descendant of Wang Sengqian, a famous calligrapher at that time. Xiao Ziyun