Buddhist master Hsing Yun, founder of the influential Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Taiwan, died at the age of 97 on Sunday afternoon. He is considered to be one of the most prominent advocates of Humanistic Buddhism. Photo: Courtesy of Fo Guang Shan

A statue of Hsing Yun on display in 2013 at the National Museum of China in Beijing, where his “one-stroke calligraphy” exhibition was held. He was known for his ability to write a character in one stroke. Photo: VCG

Abbot Hsing Yun poses with a statue of Buddha Shakyamuni in North China’s Hebei province in 2016. He donated the head of the statue after receiving it as a gift from a follower in 2014. The head was carved during Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577 AD), originally belonging to Youju Temple in Hebei, was stolen and lost overseas in the 1990s. Photo: VCG

Master Hsing Yun visits China’s first Buddhist temple — White Horse Temple — in Luoyang, Central China’s Henan province, in 2008. Hsing Yun was dedicated to promoting Buddhist education, culture, charity and Buddhist exchanges between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. Photo: VCG

Citizens of Yangzhou, East China’s Jiangsu province, listen to Hsing Yun’s sermon via a live stream in 2016. Photo: VCG

Mainland’s first Nobel laureate for literature Mo Yan and Hsing Yun in 2013. Hsing Yun was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award of Most Influential Chinese People in the same year. Photo: VCG

A clay sculpture depicting Master Hsing Yun and his mother on display in Suzhou, East China’s Jiangsu province, in 2016. Hsing Yun was born in 1927 to a poor family and never received a formal education. Photo: VCG

Hsing Yun writes calligraphy during his “one-stroke calligraphy” exhibition tour, which began in Yixing, East China’s Jiangsu province, in 2016. Photo: VCG

A visitor looks at Hsing Yun’s works of calligraphy at an art museum in Southwest China’s Guizhou province in 2018. Photo: VCG

Visitors read an introduction of Hsing Yun’s life at his calligraphy exhibition in Yixing. He was dedicated to promoting Buddhist education worldwide, establishing over 300 temples, dozens of art galleries, Buddhist colleges and libraries. Photo: VCG