Segment from the Nan-in Edition of Shinsenrui Rinsho (Collection of Poems from the Tang Dynasty)

This segment originally from volume four of the Xinxuan leilinchao (J., Shinsen ruirinshô)-a collection of forty Chinese poems by renown poets of the Tang dynasty (618-907), such as Wang Wei (706-761), Li Bo (701-762), arranged thematically in a total of 228 lines-was copied in the early Heian period (794-1185) and is attributed to the hand of the priest Kûkai (784-835). As a rare example of a Tang poetry collection written in cursive script (J., sôsho) , it is of great value. Referred to as the Nan'in edition, it is revered as a fragment of ancient brushwork. Regarding the Xinxuan leilinchao itself, it is unknown how many volumes originally existed, because they were not numbered, and who compiled this poem anthology. From the fact that it contains only Tang poems and from the cursive style of the calligraphy, it is thought to have been compiled during the Tang dynasty.

— Museum description: Kyoto National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.