Original text:
Wang Xi’s courtesy name was Shao, and Situ guided him to follow his son. When Xi was young, he was slow to speak, which was surprising to others. When it is long and strong, it is called bone. He is especially good at official calligraphy, which is the best in ancient and modern times. Commentators say that his writing style is as floating as floating clouds and as powerful as a frightening dragon. He is deeply valued by Cong Bodun and Dao. At that time, Chen Liu and Ruan Yu had the same name, and Yu Yimu, Xizhi, Wang Cheng and Wang Yue were the third young masters of the Wang family. At that time, Taiwei Xi Jian sent his disciples to ask for his son-in-law to guide him, and he ordered him to go to the east chamber to visit his disciples. When the disciple came back, he said to Jian: "All the young men of the Wang family are very good, but after hearing the news, they were very reserved. The only one who ate in the east bed was eating in peace, and he was the only one who didn't hear it." Jian said: "This is a good son-in-law!" It was Xi who took him as his wife.
Xi Zhiya liked to eat and nourish his body, but he was not happy in the capital. When he first crossed to Zhejiang, he had the ambition to end his life. Kuaiji has beautiful landscapes and many famous people live there. Xie An also lived there when he was not an official. Sun Chuo, Li Chong and others were all famous for their literary and righteousness, and they built houses in Dongtu to share the same interests with Xi. Chang and his comrades gathered at the Orchid Pavilion in Shanyin, Kuaiji for a banquet. Xi Zhi made a preface to express his ambition.
The goose has a good nature. A lonely grandmother in Kuaiji raised a goose. It was good at singing. However, I couldn't find it in the market, so I took my new friend to watch it. When grandma heard that Xi's arrival was coming, she cooked the food to wait for it. There was also a Taoist priest in Shanyin who raised geese. When he went to see them, he was very pleased and wanted to market them. The Taoist priest said: "In order to write the "Tao Te Ching", we should send a message to everyone." When I went to my disciple's house, I saw that the bamboo basket was slippery and clean. Because of the writing, it was half the same as the real grass. Later, his father accidentally scraped it off, causing his disciples to be frightened and annoyed for days. Xi's books are valued by the world, and they are all like this. Every time he claimed: "My calligraphy is as good as Zhong Yao's, and I should resist; compared with Zhang Zhi's grass, I am like a flying goose." He once wrote to someone: "Zhang Zhi came to the pond to study calligraphy, and the water in the pond was completely black, which makes people hesitate, and they may not follow. Ye."
At that time, the hussar general Wang Shu had little reputation and was as famous as Xi Zhi. The story was first written in Kuaiji, because his mother died and lived in the county. Xi Zhi wrote it on his behalf. He only stopped for one moment, so he did not repeat the achievement. Every time he heard the sound of the trumpet, he said that Xi Zhi was in charge of him, and he would always sweep and sweep to treat him.
This has been going on for many years, but Xizhi ignored him, and he felt deeply resentful.
("Book of Jin·Biography of Wang Xizhi")
Reference translation:
Wang Xizhi, also known as Yi Shao, was the nephew of Situ Wangdao. Wang Xizhi was not good at talking when he was a child, and people could not see anything superhuman about him. Growing up, he was good at debating and was known for his straightforward temperament. He is particularly good at calligraphy and is the first person in ancient and modern times. People praised his calligraphy strokes as "floating like floating clouds, as powerful as a startling dragon". His uncle Wang Dun and Director Wang valued him very much. Ruan Yu, a native of Chenliu (near today's Kaifeng, Henan Province), enjoyed a great reputation at that time, and Ruan Yu also valued Wang Xizhi and regarded him, Wang Yue and Wang Cheng as three young talents of the Wang family. Once, Taiwei Dujian sent his disciples to see Director Wang and wanted to choose a son-in-law among the Wang family's children. Director Wang asked the visitors to go to the east wing to see the Wang family's children. After the disciple returned, he said to Du Jian: "All the Wang family's children are good, but when they heard that a messenger was coming, they all seemed reserved and unnatural. There was only one person sitting on the east bed, eating openly as if nothing had happened." Du Jian said: "This is the perfect son-in-law I want to choose." Upon inquiry, it turned out to be Wang Xizhi. Jun Jian married his daughter to him.
Xizhi likes to take medicine to maintain his temperament, but does not like to be in the capital. As soon as he arrived in Zhejiang, he had the ambition to live here forever. Kuaiji has beautiful mountains and clear waters, beautiful scenery and a gathering of famous people. Xie An lived here before he became an official. There are also Sun Chuo, Li Chong and others, all of whom are world-famous for their articles. They all have residences here and are in love with Wang Xizhi. Wang Xizhi once had a banquet with a friend at the Orchid Pavilion in Shanyin, Kuaiji, and personally wrote a preface to express his ambition.
Wang Xizhi was born with a love for geese. There was an old lady in Kuaiji who had a goose. Unexpectedly, when the old lady heard that he was coming, she cooked the goose and prepared to entertain him. He was sad about it all day. At that time, there was a Taoist priest in Shanyin who raised a flock of geese. Wang Xizhi was very happy when he went to watch it and begged the Taoist priest many times to buy his geese. The Taoist priest said to him: "If you copy the Tao Te Ching for me, all the geese will be given to you." Wang Xizhi happily wrote the pen, put the geese in the cage and went back, feeling very happy along the way.
Another time, he went to a student's house and saw that the low wooden table was clean and smooth, so he started writing on it, half in regular script and half in cursive. Later, the student's father accidentally scratched off these words, and his student regretted it for several days. His calligraphy notes were very valued by the world at that time, and there were many things like this. Wang Xizhi often claimed: "Compared with Zhong Yao's, my calligraphy can be said to be on par; compared with Zhang Zhi's cursive script, it is as high as wild geese." He once wrote to someone: "In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Zhi learned to write in the pond. The water in the pond turned black. If people in the world were as addicted to calligraphy as he was, they would not necessarily be worse than him."
Hussian General Wang Shu had little reputation and was as famous as Wang Xizhi, but Wang Xizhi looked down on him. Therefore, the two are at odds. Wang Shu first served as the internal historian of Kuaiji, but because his mother passed away, he resigned to mourn. Wang Xizhi took over his post. He only went to Wang Shu's home once to express his condolences, and never visited Wang Shu's house again. Every time Wang Shu heard the sound of trumpets outside, he always thought Wang Xizhi was coming to visit him, so he hurriedly cleaned up and waited for him. A year passed like this, but Wang Xizhi ignored him. Wang Shu felt deeply regretful. ”