Chinese typography

About The Puti Trees

Dating back almost 1500 years ago, these two poems are quoted from the original Zen classic, The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch and distinguish differences in creativity between master (Shen Xiu) and apprentice (Hui Neng). The same classical verse can have vastly different conceptions. The second stanza is better equipped to embody (more suitably embodies) the Zen frame of mind in addition to have been more widely circulated.


As every person’s understanding of Zen is a bit different, I’d like to offer my understanding:

1.) each person’s body is a tree of wisdom, every person’s soul is a mirror of brightness (‘the light’). It is important to carefully take care of this light in order to maintain a state of purity versus one of fallen dust.

2.) perhaps the tree of wisdom does not even exist; perhaps brightness (‘the light’) is not a mirror. Actually, if nothing exists, how then might we have dust?

 

there is no buddhist tree at all...

 

and there is bright mirror nor...

 

now there is nothing at all...

how could be dust any more.

via NOD

There is my understanding of the poerty:

Here the "tree" is not literally a tree,PU TI (duddhist tree) means inner peace and wisdom of a person, and the mirror is not actually mirror, it means awareness and mood, therefore, so called "tree" and "mirror" actually not even exist, how then might we have dust? if we already have inner peace and wisdom, have awareness of life and a peaceful mood, then how might we have dust?

Back to the topic of Chinese typography, I think this is an appropriate typeface design for the content. The typeface compose modernity with tradition togeher, use of leaf shape to meet the content, the use of light color and overlying different color convey a kind of spirituality.