Wang Xizhi loved to practice calligraphy since he was a child, and was inspired by his father Wang Kuang and uncle Wang Xi. He was good at reading at the age of seven. At the age of twelve, he secretly read the "Bi Lun" of the previous generation from his father's pillow. Wang Kuang was good at writing and official calligraphy; Wang Xizhi was good at calligraphy and painting. Wang Sengqian's "On Calligraphy" once commented: "Since crossing the east of the Yangtze River, before the Youjun Army, Wei Zhen was the best. His paintings were the masters of the Jin and Ming emperors, and his books were the Youjun Laws." Wang Xizhi grew up since he was a child. He was deeply influenced by calligraphy from the Wang family. Liu Duo, a contemporary calligraphy rookie studying in the United States, once praised: "The only good calligraphy is Wang Xizhi." Below are the stories I compiled about the calligrapher Wang Xizhi. I hope it will be helpful to everyone.
Introduction to the calligrapher Wang Xizhi
Wang Xizhi (303-361, one work 321-379), courtesy name Yishao, alias Danzhai, Han nationality, ancestral home Langya Linyi (now part of Shandong), later He moved to Kuaiji (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang) and lived in seclusion in Jinting, Shan County in his later years. He served successively as secretary Ying, general Ningyuan, and governor of Jiangzhou. Later, he became the internal historian of Kuaiji, leading the general on the right, and was known as "Wang Youjun" and "Wang Kuaiji". He was a great calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. His son Wang Xianzhi was also good at calligraphy and was collectively known as the "Two Kings". Since then, there have been numerous calligraphy talents in the Wang family. Dongsheng died in the fifth year of Ping Dynasty (361) and was buried in Jinting Waterfall Mountain (also known as Ziteng Mountain). His fifth generation Sun Heng's residence was Jintingguan, and the ruins still exist.
Wang Xizhi’s representative works include: "Huang Ting Jing" in regular script, "Le Yi Lun", "Seventeen Posts" in cursive script, "Auntie Posts" in running script, "Quick Snow and Clear Posts", "Sang Luan Posts", " "Preface to the Lanting Collection" and so on. Among them, "Preface to the Lanting Collection" has been admired by calligraphers of all dynasties and is known as "the best running script in the world". Wang was also good at Li, Cao, Kai, Xing and other styles. He studied the styles carefully, imitated them with his heart and hands, picked up the strengths of others, prepared various styles, and cultivated them in one furnace. He got rid of the writing style of Han and Wei Dynasties and became his own style with far-reaching influence. His calligraphy is gentle and natural, his writing style is euphemistic and implicit, and he is beautiful and strong. Later generations commented: "It floats like clouds, and the moss on it scares snakes", "The dragon jumps over the Tianmen, the tiger lies in the Phoenix Pavilion", "The nature is natural, and the gods are abundant. ”, and was hailed as the “Sage of Calligraphy” by later generations.
Wang Xizhi sells his pawns
Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, loved to travel around the mountains and rivers and get into the natural scenery. That spring, he went to Hangzhou to visit friends. He walked to the ground in Suzhou, stepped on a stone bridge, and looked around. He saw a small village in front of him. The fluttering wine flags shone in the afterglow of the setting sun, and the smoke from the kitchen smoke curled up from the thatched roofs. Slowly rising, farmers in twos and threes walked towards the village. What a beautiful picture it was. He was a little reluctant to leave, and stopped by the bridge. When the moon rose, the village was hazy, and it was even more beautiful. I bought a pot of sake, bought a few plates of side dishes, and started drinking by myself. In the middle of the night, I gradually fell asleep with a bit of drunkenness.
When I woke up the next day, I suddenly felt my head was heavy. When I returned to the library and lay down, I fell ill. The boy invited a famous doctor from Suzhou to diagnose and treat Wang Xizhi. Wang Xizhi was ill for a month. The money I brought with me when I went out was all used up, and I couldn’t go to Hangzhou to see my friends. What to do? He thought about it and suddenly remembered that there was a pawn shop opposite the hotel where he was staying. He remembered that the word "dang" was already dilapidated. Why don't I write the word "pawn" and go pawn it? This was a good idea, so he asked the bookboy to spread paper and polish ink. He wrote the word "pawn" and asked the book boy to pawn it. The price was 30 taels of silver, and it didn't matter if it was a penny less. The book boy came to the pawn shop and unfolded Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. The boss saw that it was indeed a good calligraphy and asked how much it would cost. The book boy said 30 taels of silver, not even one penny less. The boss looked at it carefully and said: "The word "good" is good, but it has a sick look, so it is not worth it."
The book boy came back and told Wang Xizhi what the boss said. Wang Xizhi said: "Hey, I think highly of you. You're so good, okay! I'll write another one." Wang Xizhi wrote another word and asked the boy to take it. The boss looked at it and said, "This word is much more powerful than that one, but it is full of loneliness and anger. "That's it, I want it." Give the boy 30 taels of silver. Wang Xizhi had money and could go on the road again. He came to Hangzhou and met a friend. The friend set up a table of fine wine to entertain Wang Xizhi. There was a relative of his friend who opened a pawn shop and wanted Wang Xizhi to write the word "pawn" as a sign. Wang Xizhi said: "I have already written It's a pawn, just go and get it back." Wang Xizhi took out the pawn ticket and handed it to the man.
The man took the silver and left for Suzhou. When I arrived in Suzhou, I met the pawnshop owner and decided to return the pawn. The boss thought he was a lunatic when he heard that he was not a local and wanted to cheat him after traveling so far. When he saw that the pawned ticket was genuine, the boss wanted to trick him. He pulled the abacus and asked him for 40 taels with interest. The man took out 40 taels and gave it to the boss. The boss was a little puzzled. He was obviously trying to trick him, but he happily took out 40 taels of silver to redeem the pawn. So I asked him: "Excuse me, what's so precious about this calligraphy?" The man said: "This is an authentic work by Wang Xizhi, a great contemporary calligrapher. You old man has eyes for gold and jade, huh! Goodbye!" The boss was anxious. He shouted: "Come back, I will take 50 taels of silver and ask for your pawning word, or 100 taels, 100 taels!" The man didn't even listen. He returned to Hangzhou, met Wang Xizhi, and handed over the pawning word. Wang Xizhi took it without even looking at it. He tore the word into pieces with two "clicks". It was a pity that the man was too late to save the character. Wang Xizhi smiled and said: "The most important thing for a businessman is the word 'harmony'. Does harmony bring wealth? This word was written when I was in a bad mood and lost my temper after recovering from illness. It was with a bit of anger, no OK, I will write another one for you now, and I guarantee that you will get rich if you hang it out." So, the friend in Hangzhou spread his paper and ink, and Wang Xizhi worked hard and wrote a big word "dang". All the friends present were amazed, and everyone praised this word as being very good. This inscription was carved by a senior craftsman and hung on the main thoroughfare of Hangzhou City. It is very conspicuous and business has been very busy since then. Since then, Hangzhou's pawnshop has become the most famous pawnshop in the country.
Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface" is also known as "Lanting Collection Preface", "Linhe Preface", "Ye Preface" and "Ye Tie".
Wang Xizhi teaches his son calligraphy
Wang Xianzhi is Wang Xizhi’s seventh son. He was smart and studious since he was a child. He specializes in calligraphy, cursive script and official script, and is also good at painting. He began to learn calligraphy when he was seven or eight years old, learning from his father. Once, Wang Xizhi saw Xianzhi practicing calligraphy attentively, so he quietly walked behind and suddenly reached out to pull out the brush in Xianzhi's hand. Xianzhi held the brush firmly and did not pull it out. The father was very happy and praised: "This son will have a great name again." Xiao Xianzhi was very pleased after hearing this. Another time, a friend of Xizhi asked Xianzhi to write on the fan, and Xianzhi started writing with a pen. Suddenly, the pen fell on the fan, polluting the words. Xiao Xianzhi had an idea, and a calf came to life on the fan. In addition, everyone was full of praise for Xianzhi's calligraphy and painting, which made Xiao Xianzhi feel proud. Xianzhi's parents looked thoughtful at this scene... One day, little Xianzhi asked his mother, Xi, "I just need to write for another three years, right?" Her mother shook her head. "Have you been headquartered for five years?" Mom shook her head again. Xian became anxious and said to his mother: "Then how long do you think it will take?" "You have to remember that after writing these 18 tanks of water in the courtyard, your words will have muscles, bones, flesh and blood, and you will Stand upright and steady." Xianzhi turned around and found his father standing behind him. Wang Xianzhi was dissatisfied and said nothing. He gritted his teeth and practiced for another five years. He showed his father a lot of written words, hoping to hear a few words of praise. Unexpectedly, Wang Xizhi turned over them one by one and shook his head. When he came across the word "big", his father showed a more satisfied expression, casually filled in a dot under the word "big", and then returned all the manuscripts to Xian. Xiao Xianzhi was still dissatisfied, so he showed all the calligraphy to his mother and said: "I have been practicing for another five years, and I have practiced it exactly according to my father's calligraphy. Take a closer look, what other calligraphy does my father and I have?" Different?" The mother looked at it seriously for three days, and finally pointed to the dot that Wang Xizhi added under the word "big", sighed and said, "My son has exhausted three tanks of water, but only one is like Xizhi." After hearing this, he became discouraged and said feebly: "It's difficult! If this goes on, when will we get good results?" Seeing that his arrogance had disappeared, his mother encouraged him and said: "Son, as long as you work hard, there is nothing you can't overcome. Rivers and mountains that can't be climbed. As long as you keep practicing as you have in recent years, you will definitely achieve your goal!" After hearing this, Xianzhi was deeply moved and continued to practice persistently. Hard work paid off, Xianzhi used up 18 large tanks of water to practice calligraphy, and made rapid progress in calligraphy.
Later, Wang Xianzhi's calligraphy also reached the level of being able to penetrate the back of the paper and become so perfect that his calligraphy and Wang Xizhi's handwriting were juxtaposed and were called the "Two Kings".
Wang Xizhi became a disciple in Tiantai Mountain
Wang Xizhi came to Tiantai Mountain before practicing at Lanting. He was attracted by the magical and beautiful scenery of Tiantai Mountain, so he stayed in Hua Ding. He enjoyed the wonders of the sunrise and the sea of ??clouds and mist, and these mountain scenery polished his calligraphy. He kept practicing calligraphy and washing his pen and inkstone, and even dyed a clear and green pool black. This is how the ink pool got its name. One night, Wang Xizhi was practicing calligraphy under the lamp. He practiced and practiced. He wrote one piece after another on white paper, which was spread all over the floor. Late at night, he was still reading and thinking about each word. He was still not satisfied with what he had written. He read and practiced again and again. He was too tired from practicing and leaned on the desk with his pen in hand. Suddenly, a gust of breeze passed by, and a white cloud floated over. There was an old man with white hair and silver beard on the cloud. He looked at him with a smile and said, "Your handwriting is good!" "Where, where!" Wang Xizhi He answered humbly while offering his seat. When he saw the old man looking at his handwriting carefully, he asked for advice: "Old man, please correct me." Seeing Wang Xizhi's sincerity, the old man said: "Stretch out your hand." Wang Xizhi was puzzled. What to do? Seeing that the old man was serious and not joking, he slowly stretched out his hand. The old man took the pen and said with a smile: "I see that you are sincerely learning to write, and I will let you understand a writing technique that will be useful in the future." After the old man finished speaking, he wrote a word on Wang Xizhi's palm, and then nodded. Say: "You will make progress faster." Say it. Wang Xizhi hurriedly shouted: "Where does Mr. live?" He heard a faint voice in the air: "White clouds on the rooftop..." Wang Xizhi saw that the word "Yong" was on the palm of his hand. He drew, drew, and practiced. Finally I realized: the horizontal and vertical hooks, dots and strokes, the strokes of the square characters and the secret of the frame structure are all reflected in the word "Yong". What Mr. Baiyun taught me is really good writing skills! After that, Wang Xizhi practiced more diligently, and his calligraphy became more free and wonderful. Later, Wang Xizhi returned to Shaoxing, and while gathering with literary friends in Lanting, he wrote the "Preface to the Lanting Collection", a calligraphy treasure that has been passed down through the ages. Wang Xizhi never forgot Mr. Baiyun's "Yong" style in Tiantai Mountain, so he sincerely wrote "Huang Jing Cave" and placed it in a steep and steep cave on the top of the mountain. Later generations called it "Huang Jing Cave". Today, some brave tourists want to climb up the Huangjing Cave to see if Wang Xizhi's "Huangting Jing" is still hidden in the cave!
Eating Dumplings
One day, Wang Xizhi was passing by the market and saw a dumpling shop with noisy people in front of it. Especially the two couplets beside the door are particularly eye-catching. On them are written "I can't get through this, I know the taste and come here often", and the horizontal plaque reads "Ya'er Dumpling Shop". However, the writing was dull and weak, lacking effort. After Wang Xizhi read it, he thought to himself: Is such a word "lai" worthy of a plaque? Another thought: "I can't get past this, I know the taste and come back often." ——Good guy! Whose business is it that can boast so much? When I got closer, I saw a large pot of boiling water inside the shop, located next to a low wall. The wrapped white flour dumplings were like little white birds flying over the wall one after another, falling right into the boiling cauldron. Once the pot is full, the "little bird" will stop flying without any need to say hello. When the pot of dumplings was cooked and fished out, the "birds" flew over again as if they were lining up again, exactly. Wang Xizhi was very surprised, so he took out some broken silver coins, ordered a large bowl of dumplings, and sat down. Only then did he realize that the dumplings were all exquisite and exquisite, like ducks floating and playing in the water. They were truly a marvel of ingenuity! He picked up the dumpling with chopsticks, slowly brought it to his mouth, and took a bite. Suddenly, the fragrance hits your nose and your mouth is filled with deliciousness. Unknowingly, I swallowed all the big bowl of dumplings.
Many artists have their own hobbies, some like to grow flowers, and some like to raise birds. But Wang Xizhi has his special hobbies. Wang Xizhi loves geese. He believes that raising geese can not only cultivate sentiments, but also enable him to understand the principles of calligraphy and writing from certain body postures of geese. No matter where there is a good goose, he is interested in seeing it or buying it back to enjoy. There was a Taoist priest in Shanyin who wanted Wang Xizhi to write the Dao Sutra and the De Sutra for him. But he knew that Wang Xizhi was not willing to copy scriptures for others easily. Later, he found out that Wang Xizhi liked white geese, so he specially raised a batch of good varieties of geese. One day, Wang Xizhi and his son Wang Xianzhi took a boat trip to Shaoxing. When the boat arrived at Jun Village in the county, they saw a group of white geese on the shore. Wang Xizhi was fascinated by the sight. After asking, he learned that these geese were raised by Taoist priests. The geese were floating leisurely in the river. The snow-white feathers set off the tall red top are really cute. Wang Xizhi watched by the river and couldn't bear to leave, so he sent someone to find the Taoist priest and asked to sell the geese to him. The Taoist priest smiled and said: "Since the prince likes it so much, I will give you all these geese without any expense. But I have one request, which is to ask you to write a volume of scripture for me." Wang Xizhi was eager to ask for the geese. , readily agreed to the conditions proposed by the Taoist priest, and without hesitation copied a volume of scripture for the Taoist priest, and the group of white geese were taken back by Wang Xizhi.
Inscription on Bamboo Fan
It is said that once, Wang Xizhi crossed a bridge in Shanyin City. An old woman was selling a basket of hexagonal bamboo fans at the market. That kind of bamboo fan was very simple, with no decoration, and it did not attract the interest of passers-by. It seemed that it could not be sold, and the old woman was very worried. When Wang Xizhi saw this, he sympathized with the old woman and went up to her and said, "You have no paintings or words on this bamboo fan, so of course you can't sell it. How about I inscribe it for you?" The old woman didn't know Wang Xizhi. Seeing how enthusiastic he was, I gave him the bamboo fan to write. Wang Xizhi picked up his pen and wrote five words on each fan, then returned them to the old woman. The old woman was illiterate and felt that his writing was very sloppy and she was very unhappy. Wang Xizhi comforted her and said, "Don't worry. You can tell the people who bought the fans that the words on them were written by Wang Youjun." As soon as Wang Xizhi left, the old woman did as he asked. When people at the market saw that it was Wang Youjun's calligraphy, they all rushed to buy it. A basket of bamboo fans was sold out immediately.
Calligraphy in exchange for geese
Wang Xizhi, the sage of calligraphy, liked geese very much. He believed that raising geese not only cultivates sentiments, but also enables one to learn some calligraphy theories from observing the movements of geese. One time, Wang Xizhi went out to play and saw a group of beautiful white geese, so he wanted to buy them. After asking, he found out that these geese were raised by a Taoist priest nearby, so he approached the Taoist priest and wanted to discuss buying the geese with him. The Taoist priest When he heard that the famous Wang Xizhi wanted to buy it, he said: As long as Wang Youjun can copy a copy of "Huang Ting Jing" for me, I will give him some geese. Wang Xizhi happily agreed, and this became a legend of the book being exchanged for white geese.
Cleverly making up Spring Festival couplets
Wang Xizhi, the great calligrapher, would write Spring Festival couplets by hand and stick them on the door every New Year's Eve. Because his handwriting is known as "the best running script in the world", many people want to know his handwriting but it is rare. So every New Year's Eve, as soon as his Spring Festival couplets are posted, they are secretly taken away before midnight. This year, New Year's Eve came again, and Wang Xizhi still wrote the Spring Festival couplet with the eight words "Blessings come without pairs, misfortunes never come alone", leaving the lower half. People who wanted to steal the couplet saw that these eight characters were too unlucky, so they left disappointed. At the Yin time, Wang Xizhi added the second half, and it became "Unparalleled blessings have come this morning, and misfortunes never come alone last night." Early the next morning, those who wanted to steal the Spring Festival couplets saw the changed appearance of the Spring Festival couplets, and they all marveled and clapped their hands.
Don’t avoid words
Fei Songzhi, Liu Laozhi, Kou Qianzhi, Sima Fuzhi, Sima Liangzhi, Sima Jingzhi, Sima Tanzhi... Wang Xizhi’s sons Xuan Zhi, Ning Zhi, Hui Zhi, Cao Zhi, Xian Zhi; Sun Tzu Zhen Zhi, Jing Zhi. Why don’t the above people avoid family taboos? There is a big secret hidden here, a secret related to Zhang Liang of the Western Han Dynasty. There are 12 people in Wang Xi's generation with the character "Zhi" in their names, 22 children and nephews with the character "Zhi", 12 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, 9 great-great-grandchildren, and 4 fifth-generation grandchildren... Chen Yinke said that the reason why these people do not avoid taboos is Because they are all members of Tianshi Dao, this "Zhi" is a secret code and a badge.
Zhang Tianshi, the boss of Tianshi Dao, is the eighth generation grandson of Zhang Liang.
Taoist Love
The calligraphy art of Wang Xizhi, a famous calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, reached the height of "the pinnacle". The reason for its formation has a lot to do with Wang Xizhi's belief in Taoism and the integration of books and Taoism. Taoism, which was born and raised in the country, produced Taoist talismans very early. When copying scriptures, they must be copied by scripture students who are skilled in calligraphy. In the process of writing scriptures, they were unknowingly influenced by Taoist culture. Many Taoist scholars in history were famous calligraphers and painters. They cultivated their moral character and cultivated their character. They were proficient in Taoism and could write brushes and ink well. Wang Xizhi is a typical representative in this regard. He integrated Taoism and calligraphy art into each other and complemented each other, thus creating great artistic charm.
Wang Xizhi’s Taoist belief has a profound family background. The Wang family was the most representative cultural gentry in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. From top to bottom, we believe in Huang-Lao theory. "Book of Jin·Volume 80·Biography No. 50" records that the Wang family "does business in the world and is proficient in calligraphy." The "Tao Jing" records that Wang Xizhi's ancestor, Prince Jin, yearned for the immortal spirit and walked freely. The story of reaching the 27th Cave Heaven (one of the 36 Cave Heavens in the Taoist Realm) at Tongbai Mountain in Jinting, the north gate of Tiantai (now Jinting, Shengzhou). "Qianfu Lun" records: "The descendants of the Yin family, the Wang family, like to cultivate their nature and practice the art of immortality."