The content of "Preface to the Collection of Orchid Pavilion" describes the scenery of Orchid Pavilion and the fun of gatherings of Wang Xizhi and others, and expresses the author's lament that great events do not come often and that "the shortcomings are modified and the end is over".
"Preface to the Lanting Collection" is also known as "Preface to the Lanting Banquet Collection", "Lanting Preface", "Linhe Preface", "Ye Preface" and "Ye Tie". On March 3, the ninth year of Yonghe (AD 353) of Emperor Mu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi, Xie An, Sun Chuo and other forty-one senior military and political officials went to "repair evil spirits" in Lanting, Shanyin (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). Poems, Wang Xizhi's manuscript preface to their poems. "Preface to Orchid Pavilion" describes the beauty of the landscape around Orchid Pavilion and the joy of the party, expressing the author's feelings about the impermanence of life and death.
It describes the spectacular scene where he and many dignitaries and literati of the dynasty gathered at Orchid Pavilion to practice rice cultivation. It also expresses his lament about human life and death, as well as the changes in cultivation and transformation. Under the lofty mountains, by the edge of lush forests and bamboos, drunkenly, with a splash of ink, he wrote poems and prefaces for everyone. His articles were fresh and beautiful, and his calligraphy was vigorous and elegant. He was regarded as the best in the calligraphy circles of the past dynasties.
The purpose of the "Preface to the Lanting Collection"
The "Preface to the Lanting Collection" is a preface to a poem written at a gathering. We often think of authors as unique and creative. From a banquet event, he talked about life insights about life and death, expressed his views on the joys of life and issues of life and death, explored the philosophy of life, and criticized the ideological tendency of advocating nothingness among the scholar-bureaucrats at that time. His rational thinking was extraordinary. But the author believes that this is just us raising the ideological level of Wang Xizhi's works, deliberately pursuing the ideological tendencies of the works and catering to political needs. In fact, the author has other ideas.
Reference for the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia - Preface to the Lanting Collection