Overview

This is a study of the earliest and finest collated inscription in the history of Chinese calligraphy, the Ji Wang shengjiao xu 集王聖教序 (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.

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9781032136950

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De Laurentis endeavors from the outset to ensure that the volume does not simply examine the technical aspects of the inscription and the significance and impact it had on Chinese calligraphy, but particularly seeks to also explore the wider background of the monument's erection, it's broader impact on the religious landscape, and the specific motivations behind its construction. [...] Although this volume will be of greatest worth to those interested in early Chinese Buddhism, those with a broader interest in Chinese religion as a whole will have much to gain from De Laurentis' attention to the multifaceted context in which the stele was erected. Joseph Chadwin, University of Vienna, Religious Studies Review (vol. 48/2, pp. 290-291) De Laurentis s'efforce de situer la place de l'inscription des Saints enseignements dans l'histoire de la calligraphie chinoise. L'interet qu'elle a suscite chez les calligraphes et les collectionneurs d'estampages est manifeste puisqu'elle represente le plus vaste des ecrits de Wang Xizhi (ou plutot execute avec les caracteres de Wang Xizhi). [...] A La demonstration patiente, minutieuse, enthiusiaste et parfaitement documentee de Pietro De Laurentis vient s'ajouter un ensemble de documents annexes: la transcription et la traduction du texte de la stele des Saints enseignements, et un inventaire des autres inscriptions utilisent egalement des characteres empruntes a Wang Xizhi. De Laurentis tries to situate the place of the inscription of the Holy Teachings in the history of Chinese calligraphy. The interest it has aroused among calligraphers and collectors of stampings is obvious since it represents the largest of the writings of Wang Xizhi (or rather executed with the characters of Wang Xizhi). [...] To the patient, meticulous, enthusiastic and perfectly documented demonstration of Pietro De Laurentis is added a set of additional documents: the transcription and translation of the text of the stele of the Holy teachings, and an inventory of the other inscriptions also use characters borrowed to Wang Xizhi. Jean-Pierre Drege, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris, T'oung Pao (vol. 108/3-4, pp. 535-542) In response to the main trends and images that have been explored in the study of calligraphic material, De Laurentis discusses in this book the Buddhist art of Shuouseikyo from the perspective of its historical significance and cultural value and I discovered the attributes of this from my reading. On the other hand, the same book also gives specific examples from the calligraphic art regarding such issues as whether the material is secular or not, from a technical and aesthetic analysis of elements including the 'naturalness, thread, dry brush, knotted brush, unbroken line, and sincerity'. It was very impressive that many arguments were presented through persuasive quantification and charting, and that De Laurentis was able to demonstrate arguments effectively. Shi Yongfeng , Bi Luo chu Son Yugun i yoku shogyo wo yomu-Yuroppa ni okeru O Gishi kenkyu no saizensen , Shoho gangaku kenkyu , vol. 32 (2022/12), pp. 60-64.

Author Information

Pietro De Laurentis was born in southern Italy and studied Sinology at the University of Naples “L’Orientale,” where he received his Ph.D. in East Asian Studies in 2007. He was trained in Chinese philology and Chinese calligraphy, theoretical and practical, in Hangzhou, Tianjin, and Shanghai. From 2010 to 2016 he was Research Fellow at the University of Naples “L’Orientale,” where he taught Literary Chinese and Modern Chinese. He is currently chair professor at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts.

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