The plaque of “Fragrant Land of the Upper World”

The plaque of “Fragrant Land of the Upper World”

The plaque of “Fragrant Land of the Upper World” is hung above the internal lintel of the lower part on the East Wing of Guanyin Hall. The inscription reads: “Luofeng Temple is a place of interest on the East of Panyu. Surrounded by cascades of hills and arrays of plum trees, it gives plenty of pleasure to the sightseers, who all indulged in the scenery and forget to return. Before the Mid-Autumn Day I was just at home idle, so I brought a wine vessel along with me when I climbed the mountain and conveniently stayed here. Unfortunately, it was not the time the flowers blossomed. What a shame! In this winter, I made a second journey here when it snowed. The cold fragrance in the freezing gale filled the entire valley. To the excitement after the drink, I pulled out the brush and wrote these four characters to add some delight to it and to show that how is it less than the plum blossom village of Luofu? This is the postscript. Written by Feng Jing and Xianshi of Fengcheng on the first day of the 12th lunar month of Wu Yin, the fourth year of Guangxu Period”. The seal reads “Seal of Feng Jing, Xianshi”. All the handwriting is in black in a yellow background. The characters of “Fragrant Land of the Upper World” are in regular script, while smaller cursive script is used for the postscript. The large characters are based on the style of Ouyang Xun in terms of the structure, while the strokes are carrying a relish of Yan Zhenqing’s style, looking upright and dignified. The smaller script in the postscript looks flat and simple, with a touch of Yang Ning’s style as well as Su Shi’s charm. “Fragrant Land” refers to the wonderland of Buddhism.