Sino-japanese Zen Ink Study

Buddhism is a religion as well as a cultural phenomenon. As a school of Buddhism, though, Zen is a typically Chinese school of Buddhism. With its abundant cultural connotation and influence on various fields, Zen represents a distinctive character of ethical culture. Especially during the Song and Yuan Dynasty, literati and scholar-officials attached great importance to moment-by-moment awareness and to the theory of mind-nature. Reveling in calligraphy and landscape, they have formed the characteristics of Chinese culture by their creating of poems, calligraphies and paintings, which deeply affected our neighboring country, Japan. After a long time of absorbing and developing, the culture of Zen-Buddhism has formed the very core Japanese ethical culture.During the cultural communication between China and Japan in the ancient time, especially during the religious communication between these two countries during the Chinese Song and Yuan Dynasty or the Japanese Kamakura Period and Muromachi Period, the calligraphy of eminent monks of both countries composed a significant realm of Sino-Japanese cultural relationship. By setting the calligraphy of Zen as a research object, it will be possible to obtain a scientific and integrative research on the cultural heritage of both China and Japan through scientific cognition and sober analysis on the representational calligraphy of both its disseminators and embracers by comparative method. Besides the introduction and the conclusion, the main content can be divided into three parts.Part OneChapter 1This part gives a summary about the origins and tenets of Chinese and Japanese Zen-Buddhism, and about the meanings and the definition of Zen calligraphy. Different categories and editions of Zen calligraphy will be introduced.Chapter 2This part mainly researches and introduces the representational characters and their representational calligraphy of Linjizongyangqi School in Song and Yuan Dynasty. There were three schools of Zen in Song and Yuan Dynasty, namely, Dahuizonggao School, Poanzuxian School and Songyuanchongyue School. Rearrangement and textual research will be made on Zen calligraphy.Chapter 3The thread of this part is the missionizing of the most distinguished Chinese eminent Zen monks to Japan. These eminent monks of Song Dynasty, Lanxidaolong, Wuxuezuyuan and Yishanyining went to Japan where they disseminated the pure Zen of Linjizong and the Shangyi Calligraphy Style. At the same time they transplanted also the Pure Rule of Zen and the Principal-theory of the Song Dynasty to Japan. Besides, Wuanputing, Daxiuzhengnian, Qingzhuozhengcheng and other Yuan Dynasty monks brought the calligraphy style of Zhao Mengfu, Zhang—Jizhi and other eminent calligraphers of Yuan Dynasty to Japan.Chapter 4This part deals with the Japanese Zen calligraphy of the Middle Ages. First, I will do research on the Japanese training monks in Song Dynasty China during the Japanese Kamakura Period. I will mainly focus on Rongxichuanlin, Junnaichuanluzong, Daoyuanchuancaodongzong. Through calligraphy and literature, textual research on sparely known historical facts of Zen friendship between Chinese and Japanese monks will be made. Secondly, research on the communication between Japanese training monks in Yuan Dynasty China and Chinese Buddhist masters will be made. Thirdly, I will analyze the calligraphy of three representational eminent Buddhist monks in the Japanese Wushan Period, namely Mengchuanshushi, Huguanshilian and Zongfengmiaochao, and expose the mental characteristics of Japanese ethical culture.Part TwoChapter 1In this part I will make an introduction to Zen painting, interrelated with Zen calligraphy and will also give a definition of the content of Zen painting. This part mainly expatiates the influence on painting brought by the Yipin Painting Style of court painters, like Mu Xi, Liang Kai, Ma Yuan and Xia Gui; and the tremendous influence brought by Chinese Yuan dynasty landscape paintings with theme of reclusion on the form and taste of the Japanese scrolling painting during the Wushan Period.Chapter 2This part will focus on the Japanese culture interrelated with calligraphy. This part will mainly introduce the eminent item in the tea houses, which will be regarded as the most significant calligraphies of those so called "tea people" as well as to the friendship between China and Japan in the field of religion. The predilection for Chinese culture of Ashikaga Shogun in the Kamakura Period will also be analyzed and researched; and his collection of paintings and seals will be summarized.Part ThreeSummary of Zen Calligraphy and Painting Arts. The conclusion reviews the historical background of assimilation of Zen into Japan and aesthetic characteristics of Zen calligraphy related artworks, such as Chinso painting, wash painting and scrolling painting.Rulers of Kamakura period and Muromachi period received eminent monks from China with generous hospitality, hoping that the emerging Zen could take the place of existing religious power; meanwhile, the simplicity and asceticism advocated by Zen had met the emphasis on thrift and austerity by Kamakura samurais.While hugely impacted the calligraphy circle of Japan, "Shangyi" calligraphy Style of Song Dynasty greatly influenced calligraphy of Chinese and Japanese eminent monks. Non-balanced, simple, natural and exceptional—the major characters of Zen calligraphy shared the same spirits with "Shangyi" calligraphy Style of Song Dynasty: surmounting, exceptional, original, suddenly-enlightened, unconventional, and ''from rules to free style".If Portrait painting in Kamakura Period was regarded as expression of worship of heroes in aesthetics, then Chinso painting in Muromachi period was a respect to Zen masters. Valuing orthodoxy inheritance, Chinso painting was awarded with inkajyo and cassock, certificates of inheritance of Zen, to the successor.The vigorous and unrestrained Yipin painting style, represented by Liang Kai and Mu Xi of Song Dynasty, had great influence on Japanese Zen wash painting. In the medieval Zen, Taoism and Buddhism figure painting became source theme of Zen painting. The "simple strokes", of no resemblance of shape and with loosely arranged strokes, had met the taste of Zen monks and samurais.The thought of seclusion reflected in landscape scrolling painting of Kamakura Period, was inspired by literati painting of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, wherepoem, calligraphy and paintingwere combined, enhancing the artistic beauty of the painting.All the above-mentioned are both great enrichment to the cultural inheritance of human beings and evidence of the great compatibility, tolerance and changeability of Chinese Buddhism culture. Japan's embracement of such culture has showed its maturity and self-consciousness in absorbing foreign culture.