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'Wuzhun Shifan' (Chinese: 無準師範; Wade-Giles: 'Wu Chun Shih Fan'; 1178 – 1249 AD) was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and prominent Zen Buddhist monk who lived during the late Song Dynasty (960-1279).

Contents

Life

See also

Notes

References

External links

Life

Wuzhun Shifan was born in Jinzhou, Liaoning province, China. He eventually became a renowned Buddhist abbot at the Temple of Mount Jingshan. He was once summoned by Emperor Lizong of Song (理宗; r. 1224-1264) in order to share with him the doctrine of Chán (Zen) Buddhism. For this Wuzhun was given the title ''Fojian Yuanzhao Chanshi'' (Mirror of the Buddha, Zen Teacher).
Wuzhun had many disciples who studied under him. This included Enni Ben'en (圓爾辯圓 ; 1201-1280; Shoichi Kokushi), who studied under Wuzhun in China from 1235 to 1241 and later brought Wuzhun's teachings to Japan. Afterwards, Enni helped cement greater acceptance for Zen teaching in Japan and aided in the establishment of the Tōfuku-ji temple of Kyoto in 1243. Some of Wuzhun's written calligraphy that was handed down to Enni is still preserved on plaques found at Tōfuku-ji, and a scroll of Wuzhun's calligraphy was even presented to the Tokugawa family as a gift to the Shogun. There is also a written letter of Wuzhun Shifan, dated to 1242, that is now preserved as a national treasure of calligraphy at the Tokyo National Museum.
Wuzhun Shifan's written inscription appears on the 13th century Chinese painting ''A Monk Riding a Mule'', housed in the Collection of John M. Crawford Jr.^[1] It is possible that he painted the picture, although it is unknown if he is the true author of the artwork. Wuzhun's painted portrait was taken in 1238 by an anonymous artist, and is located now in Kyoto, Japan.^[2]

See also

★ History of the Song Dynasty

★ List of Chinese people

★ Culture of the Song Dynasty

★ Chinese Buddhism

★ Buddhist art

Notes

1. Embree, 113.
2. The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

References

★ Embree, Ainslie Thomas (1997). ''Asia in Western and World History: A Guide for Teaching''. Armonk: ME Sharpe, Inc.

External links

★ MOA Museum of Art

★ Tokyo National Museum