The most influential cultural mystery in history is the whereabouts of Wang Xizhi's authentic calligraphy "Preface to the Lanting Collection".
On the third day of March in the ninth year of Yonghe (353 years) of Emperor Mu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi, Xie An, Sun Chuo and other 41 people gathered at the Lanting River in Shanyin, Kuaiji, a suburb of Shaoxing, for a banquet. 26 people composed 41 poems. The first poem was collected into a collection called "Orchid Pavilion Collection". Wang Xizhi wrote a manuscript preface for it, which is called "Preface to the Lanting Collection". The preface describes the beauty of the landscape around Orchid Pavilion and the joy of the party, expressing the author's lament about human life and death, as well as the changes in life and growth.
"The Preface to the Lanting Collection" has 28 lines and 324 words. The whole text is charming and elegant, and every word is exquisite, like divine help. For example, among the 20 characters "?", none of them are similar, making it a unique masterpiece in the history of calligraphy. He rewrote it many times in the future, but none of it was as good as this drunken work, which was regarded as the best in the calligraphy circles of all dynasties. Mi Fu, a master of calligraphy in the Song Dynasty, called it "the first calligraphy calligraphy in China". However, it is this "Guiyue group product" and the best calligraphy in ancient and modern times. Until now, its whereabouts are still confusing, which makes people regret it.
It is said in He Yanzhi's "Orchid Pavilion" that Li Shimin, a literary and military man, had a special liking for calligraphy, especially the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi, the calligrapher. To search for Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy works.
Although there are a lot of Wang Xizhi's ink paintings in the collection, including the "Preface to the Lanting Anthology", the authentic copy of Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Lanting Anthology" has never been found. As a monarch of a country, he could not obtain the rare treasures of the previous dynasty. Whenever Taizong thought about this, he seemed depressed.
It turns out that Wang Xizhi himself cherished the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" written by "God's Assistance" very much. He carefully kept it and regarded it as a family heirloom, which was passed down to his seventh generation Sun Zhiyong.
Zhiyong died at the age of 100. Before his death, he passed the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" to his disciple, monk Biancai. Monk Biancai also studied calligraphy very well. He knew the value of "Preface to the Lanting Collection" and kept it in a specially dug hole in the beam of his bedroom.
When Li Shimin learned that the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" was with Monk Bancai, he was very excited and sent people to ask for it many times. Monk Bancai always claimed that he did not know the whereabouts of the original work. Li Shimin saw that force would not work, so he resorted to outsmarting him. He sent Xiao Yi, the supervisory censor, dressed as a scholar, to get close to Biancai and look for an opportunity to obtain the "Preface to the Lanting Collection". Xiao Yi also studied calligraphy very much, and had a very good conversation with Monk Biancai. After the two became close, Xiao Yi deliberately took out some of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy works for Monk Bancai to appreciate. After reading it, Biancai said disapprovingly: "It's true, but not good. I have an authentic copy. That is Wang Xizhi's real treasure passed down from generation to generation." ?
Xiao Yi pretended to be confused and asked calmly what the post was. After much hesitation, Xiao Yi mysteriously told him that it was the original "Preface to the Lanting Anthology". When Biancai saw that Xiao Yi didn't believe it, he decided to open his eyes and took the original "Preface to the Lanting Collection" from the hole in the roof beam for Xiao Yi to see.
Xiao Yi inspected it carefully and found that it was indeed the original "Preface to the Lanting Collection". His face changed, and he quickly put it into his sleeve, and at the same time showed the relevant edict of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty to Bencai. Only then did Biancai realize that he had been deceived, but it was too late to regret it.
Li Shimin was extremely happy when he finally got what he had dreamed of. Li Shimin admired Wang Xizhi's calligraphy so much that he ordered the four calligraphers Zhao Mo, Han Daozheng, Feng Chengsu and Zhuge Zhen who served in the palace to make several copies each and reward them to the crown prince, princes and ministers. This kind of authentic work was rare at that time. The first-class copy is also made on Luoyang paper. In addition, there are also copies handed down by famous artists such as Ouyang Xun, Chu Suiliang, and Yu Shinan.
So, after the death of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, where did Wang Xizhi's authentic "Preface to the Lanting Collection" go?
Historical records record: "The Preface to the Lanting Collection" was mentioned in Li Shimin's posthumous edict as a pillow. Under the head. That is to say, this treasure should be in Zhaoling (the mausoleum of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty). The warlord Wen Tao of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties stole Zhaoling while he was serving as the governor of the northern part of Guanzhong, Shaanxi. Historical records record: After seven years in the town, all the tombs of Emperor Tang were excavated and the gold and treasures hidden in them were taken out.
?Li Shimin’s Zhaoling Mausoleum will naturally not be spared. After the tomb robbers entered the underground palace of Zhaoling, they saw that its architecture and internal facilities were magnificent, just like the Chang'an Imperial City Palace. In the middle of the tomb is Taizong's main bedroom. A stone letter is placed on the bed. When the stone letter is opened, an iron box is hidden inside. The iron box is full of valuable books, calligraphy and paintings collected by Li Shimin during his lifetime, among which the most valuable ones are the original works of Zhong Yao, a great calligrapher of the Three Kingdoms period, and Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. When I opened it, I saw that the paper and ink stains from more than 200 years ago were as good as new. All these rare treasures were taken out by Wen Tao, but their whereabouts have been unknown for more than a thousand years. No one knows where these treasures have gone.
However, there is no "Preface to the Lanting Collection" on the list of unearthed treasures written by Wen Tao, and there has never been any record of the circulation and collection of the authentic works since then. Some historians believe that Wen Tao's excavation was hasty and careless, and he did not conduct a comprehensive and careful cleanup. Therefore, the authentic work is probably still hidden in a more secret place in the Zhaoling tomb.
There is another theory in the historical circles, that is, the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" was not buried with Li Shimin in the Zhaoling Mausoleum, but was buried in the Qianling Mausoleum of Tang Gaozong Li Zhi. People who hold this view believe that when Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty died, he did not propose that the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" should be buried with him, but instead handed the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" to his son Li Zhi who also loved handed down works of art.
Li Zhi reigned for 34 years, died in the first year of Hongdao (683), and was buried in Qianling. Before Li Zhi died, he left an edict on his deathbed and buried the calligraphy and paintings he liked during his lifetime. Therefore, after the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" was lost, some people suspected that the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" was not buried with Zhaoling, but in Qianling.
There were eighteen imperial tombs in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that seventeen of them were dug by Wen Tao. However, when they reached the Qianling Mausoleum, there was heavy wind and rain and the work was unsuccessful. After the Tang Dynasty, no one has ever seen the original "Preface to the Lanting Anthology", which makes more people believe that the "Preface to the Lanting Anthology" was buried with Qianling Mausoleum.
The whereabouts of the authentic "Preface to the Lanting Collection" is still a mystery. It seems that the truth will only be revealed when Zhaoling and Qianling are officially excavated in the future. Only time can ultimately answer the questions left by history.