Wang Xizhi began to learn calligraphy at the age of seven, and studied under Mrs. Wei and his uncle, both of whom were born in a calligraphy family. Later, he visited the exquisite works of Qin and Han dynasties, studied their styles, imitated their hands, learned from others' strengths, and merged them into one furnace, creating a running script that was "natural and rich in spirit" and was praised as a "book saint" by later generations.
In order to practice calligraphy well, wherever he went, he always waded through mountains and rivers, explored ancient inscriptions and accumulated a lot of calligraphy materials. In his study, in the yard, at the gate and even outside the toilet, he has stools and pens, ink, paper and inkstones. Whenever he thinks of a well-structured word, he immediately writes it on paper. When he practiced calligraphy, he thought hard and even forgot to eat and sleep.
Extended data:
Wang Xizhi's masterpiece is:
Regular script "Le Yi Lun", "Huang Ting Jing", cursive script "Seventeen Posts", running script "menstruation Post", "Quick Snow Clear Post", "Mourning Post" and running script "Preface to Lanting Collection" etc. Intensive study of body posture, imitation of heart and pursuit of hand, learning from others' strengths, and casting in one furnace created a running script of "natural, rich in gods and the world", which was praised as "the sage of books" by later generations.
Among them, Wang Xizhi's Preface to Lanting Collection is highly praised by calligraphers and is called "the best running script in the world". Wang Xizhi has profound attainments in original works, cursive script and calligraphy.