Metaphysics is the culture of Wang Xizhi’s family. Mr. Chen Yinke, a great master of the generation, once said: "After the Eastern Han Dynasty, academic culture... became localized and family-based. Therefore, when it comes to academics, we can only talk about family studies, and academics are often inseparable from wealthy families." Important officials and celebrity leaders in the imperial court Wang Dao is Wang Xizhi's uncle. Wang Dao is both a politician and a talker. The violation of etiquette and madness in Wang Xizhi's metaphysics also left its mark on Wang Xizhi. The story of "Baring His Belly in the Eastern Bed" best proves this point. Wang Xizhi's sons, Wang Xianzhi and Wang Huizhi, were both unrestrained and free-spirited. When Wang Huizhi joined the army, he "had a disheveled head and a loose belt, and had no comprehensive knowledge of his government affairs." "At that time, everyone admired his talent but defiled his behavior." The story of "both the man and the piano" not only vividly illustrates the deep affection between the brothers Wang Xianzhi and Wang Huizhi, but also shows the Wang family's demeanor as celebrities who indulge in temperament and informality.
Most of Wang Xizhi’s close friends are metaphysicians. "Book of Zhongxing" says: "Anyuan lived in Kuaiji and traveled there with Zhi Daolin, Wang Xizhi, Xu Xun, and Jiang Zemin. When he came out, he fished in the mountains and rivers, and when he entered, he talked about literature. He didn't have any sense of life." Anyuan , Zhi Daolin and Xu Xun were all famous talkers at that time. Wang Xizhi's other two friends, Yin Hao and Liu Xun, were also fond of Lao and Zhuang. They were "good at talking about "Lao" and "Yi" and were good at Jiangdong." Xie An and Sun Chuo, who attended the Lanting gathering, were both famous metaphysicians. After Wang Dao, Xie An also held the post of Prime Minister and Assistant by talking about famous people. He was more elegant and free-spirited than Wang Dao. He did not think that talking about metaphysics would harm the country and the people. He once asked Wang Xizhi: "The Qin Dynasty appointed Shang Yang, and the second generation died. How can pure words lead to evil?"
Judging from the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" and the poems of 26 people, metaphysics still occupies their hearts. Their poems do not break away from the category of metaphysical poetry, and are enriched with a large number of metaphysical terms, such as "Wanshu Hunli", "True Qi Qi Ancient and Modern", "Yi Shi", "Baozhen", "Qi Wu", "Peng Shang" wait. In Wang Xizhi's "Orchid Pavilion Poetry", "Everything is uneven", "Create the truth to explore the mysterious roots", "The dispersion lies in reasoning", etc. are all mystical words. Wang Xizhi's friend Zhi Dun interpreted the meaning of "Xiaoyao" in "Zhuangzi" as "the theory of instant color", advocating that "color is empty", and "empty" and "nothing" exist in the colorful and diverse phenomena. Qian Xiunan pointed out that Wang Xizhi's "Lanting's "Poetry" and "Preface" obviously exerted the intention of Zhidun's "Xiaoyao Lun" on 'color theory'".
It seems that this Lanting gathering is a group of metaphysics friends who enjoy the joy of life by enjoying the scenery, drinking wine, composing poems, and enjoying the joy of life by cultivating the covenant. Naturally, they can't do without talking about metaphysics. They know each other because of the identity of metaphysics. They are not only the same kind, but also good friends. In such a season, Wang Xizhi would of course express the emotion of "quickly self-sufficient" and "nothing more than closeness to me".
2. Wang Xizhi’s metaphysical thoughts
When we talk about the metaphysics of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, we always make no distinction between Lao and Zhuang, as if Lao and Zhuang are the same person. In fact, at that time, Lao and Zhuang were two different schools of thought: Huangdi and Laozi were in the same school, and Zhouyi and Zhuangzi were in the same school. Although both families regard "inaction" as the highest state and "inaction" as a means, Huang and Lao's goal is to "do everything", which is a worldly attitude. Zhuangzi is just the opposite, with a passive worldly attitude. Mysterious talks were popular among celebrities in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, among which the dispute between Lao and Zhuang was often the focus of their debates. Both Ruan Ji and Wang Tanzhi wrote poems and articles directly criticizing Zhuangzi.
Wang Xizhi accepted Huang and Lao ideas. "Book of Jin" says that Qie Min "together with his brother-in-law Wang Xizhi and the eminent scholar Xu Xun, both of whom had the spirit of advancing in the world, lived in the heart of Juegu and cultivated the skills of Huang and Lao". There is no trace of Wang Xizhi being infatuated with Zhuangzi here. Wang Xizhi has a miscellaneous post that clearly expresses his attitude towards Lao and Zhuang: "Examine it, know what it is and follow the Dharma (Note: refers to Buddhism). This is the ultimate principle. Therefore, it can be said to cleanse away the dirt and study the sluggish worries. It’s all done, there’s nothing more to add. Compared with Qiyuan (Note: Zhuangzi), the teachings I entrusted (Note: refers to the Five Pecks of Rice) are exactly the same, but the appearance is slightly different..." Here is one of Wang Xixi's words. On the one hand, he rebuked Zhuangzi for "the following words were born"; on the other hand, he showed that he had always been devoted to the "Five Pecks of Rice Way" (originating from Huang and Lao's Celestial Master Way). Qian Zhongshu pointed out: "There were many scholar-bureaucrats in the Jin Dynasty who were involved in Zhang Lu's 'ghost way', and the Wang family was not alone in this tradition." Wang Ningzhi, the second son of Wang Xi, was killed by a traitor because he was too obsessed with this "ghost way".
Compared with Wang Ningzhi, Wang Xizhi accepted more of the idea of ??caring about the suffering of the lower class in the "Five Pecks of Rice". In his letters to Yin Hao and Xie Wan, he respectively advised them to "take the blame, govern better, save money on taxes and services, and start a new life with the people" and "I hope you will share the joys and sorrows with your soldiers and subordinates."
When he was a local official, he implemented a benevolent government of "lenient and harmonious": "When there was a famine in the east, Xi Zhihui opened a warehouse to provide relief." When he was a general guarding the army, he practiced the "Five Pecks of Rice" principle of "fairness of survival rights". "The idea of ??equality": "What is important now is the equality of public service... Those who are old and sick, who are unable to serve, or who are hungry and cold, and cannot survive on their own, must be distinguished." This sense of equality, The practice of caring for the elderly, weak, sick and disabled was really rare in ancient times. Although he did not aspire to be an official, he showed a strong sense of responsibility for state affairs. He said to Yin Hao: "If you are driven, Guanlong and Bashu will not hesitate to do it." He advised Xie An: "False talk is a waste of affairs, and it is just idle words." Guo Moruo thought that this was inconsistent with Wang Xizhi's depressed attitude towards life in the second half of "Preface to the Lanting Collection", and then concluded that the 160 words from "Madam's Reciprocity" were added by later generations, and added It is concluded: "(The added person) is someone who does not understand the thoughts of Lao and Zhuang and the thoughts of the Jin people. He has not even understood Wang Xizhi's thoughts." In fact, the person who "has not understood" should be Guo himself. People often think that the metaphysics of the Wei and Jin Dynasties is a word "Xuan", but ignore the characteristics that Xuan means "body" and Confucianism means "use". Mr. Tang Yongtong pointed out: "Most people in the world regard metaphysics as a vassal of Lao and Zhuang, but forget that it is also the transformation of Confucianism." Wang Xizhi, Wang Dao, Xie An, etc. are all representatives of the metaphysical transformation of Confucian personality. As far as Wang Xizhi himself is concerned, his thoughts on managing the world are more derived from the original Taoist complex of the "Five Pecks of Rice".
Although Wang Xizhi admired Lao Lao and demoted Zhuangzi, he did not completely deny Zhuangzi. On the contrary, he appreciated some of Zhuangzi's things. When Wang Xizhi read Zhi Daolin's "Zhuangzi Xiaoyaoyou", he "undressed and took off his belt, and couldn't stop lingering". In Wang Xizhi's "Orchid Pavilion Poetry", "Everything is uneven" is obviously Zhuangzi's thought of equalizing all things, and "Although the sounds are uneven" is also an allusion from "Zhuangzi's Theory of Equality of All Things". This is extremely contradictory to the critical statement in the "Preface" that "it is known that one death and life is an illusion, and the death of Qi Peng is an illusion". When Qian Nanxiu analyzed this contradiction, he said: "It is clear that the song ends and the people part ways. 'What I admired has become obsolete.' My soul and emotions are greatly shaken. I deeply understand that life and death are different paths, and life expectancy is uneven." , regardless of the philosophical inconvenience, he expressed his feelings directly, showing his transcendence of reason and his persistence in emotion. "But this explanation is not convincing, because a person's mood may change greatly in an instant, but a person's mood may change greatly in an instant. Thoughts probably won’t change on the fly. However, Mr. Qian Zhongshu's explanation is relatively reasonable: "Only 'one death and life' and 'Qi Peng Shang' are false, and they are based on the delusional thoughts of cultivating gods and seeking longevity." Wang Xizhi's thought of "cultivating gods and seeking longevity" is The theory of Taoist gods and alchemy from "Five Pecks of Rice". Du Mengruo concluded that Wang Xizhi's denial of Zhuangzi's "life and death" thought was "complete despair from the bottom of his heart about the theory of immortality. It is precisely because the hope is so strong that the despair is so complete." But this despair should at least be It happened after the "Eleventh Year of Yonghe", because Wang Xizhi resigned from office two years after writing this preface and traveled, and he never tired of traveling thousands of miles to seek immortality.
3. Wang Xizhi’s denial of Zhuangzi’s view of “life and death” comes more from the grief and indignation of reality
Wang Xizhi is so sure that his “solid knowledge” of life and death and Qi Pengshang are not true, at least Three aspects from a bitter life.
The first is the farewell of life and death. More than 40 of Wang Xizhi's miscellaneous notes collected in "Quan Jin Wen" use words with the semantic meaning of "painful" and "beifu". What made Wang Xizhi sad was that his middle-aged son Xuanzhi and his official slave died in infancy one after another. The second was the death of his sister-in-law Zhou. When Wang Xizhi was 6 years old, his father's whereabouts were unknown. He grew up in the "nursing of his mother and brother". His sister-in-law was the daughter of Zhou Song, a famous family in Runan. She was very virtuous and treated Wang Xizhi very well. During the Yonghe period, Zhou's sister-in-law died of illness. Wang Xizhi wrote many times: "It hurts so much that there is nothing I can do!" Facing the farewell of life and death of relatives, no one can be free and easy, even Ruan Ji can't, how about Xizhi? Faced with such heart-breaking grief, how could he believe that life and death, longevity and premature death were the same?
The second is the helplessness of life. Sima Rui established the Eastern Jin Dynasty with the advice and assistance of Wang Xizhi's father Wang Kuang, uncles Wang Dao and Wang Dun, but this did not change the turmoil in the political arena and the chaos of the current situation. Chao Gang was in chaos, master and servant were confused, brothers turned against each other, friends had no faith, and people's lives were like straw. This made Wang Xizhi's life unpredictable. What made him particularly embarrassed, confused, and bitter was that his two uncles, Wang Dun and Wang Dao, and his two uncles, Wang Xi and Wang Bin, chose completely different directions in life. On one side, Wang Dun and Wang Gong rebelled and killed Zhongliang. Wang Xizhi's father and uncle, loyal ministers Zhou Song and Zhou Qiye, were killed by Wang Dun. Zhou Qiye played a key role in Wang Xizhi's growth.
When Wang Xizhi was 13 years old, Zhou Qiye, then serving as the chief historian, was the first to serve Luojing's famous dish "beef heart roast" to Wang Xizhi. From then on, Wang Xizhi became famous all over the world. Wang Zhen followed Wang Dun's will and killed his loyal minister Sima Cheng. Although "Wang Xian is the master of the right army", Wang Xizhi has always been ashamed to mention his uncle Wang Xian. On the other side, Wang Bin was not afraid of the threat of death. He scolded Wang Dun to his face for "resisting the throne and violating obedience and killing loyal people, which is unethical." One of the people on the verge of life and death. Waiting for life or death every day is undoubtedly the longest suffering in the world. On the one hand, the murderer is an elder he respects, and on the other hand, the victim is a benefactor he respects. How could this make Wang Xizhi think that love and hatred are the same? That helpless passive choice between life and death probably would not have shaken Wang Xizhi's soul, nor would it have convinced him that life and death were the same!
The third is Wang Xizhi’s depression. Everyone in the world talks about Wang Xizhi's free and easy style, but they don't know the depression and indignation in his heart. When Wang Xizhi was young, in 309, his father Wang Kuang led an army on an expedition but was completely wiped out. If Wang Kuang died in battle, there would be no sign of his death. If he was alive but there was no news, scholars later concluded that Wang Kuang had signs of escaping from battle. If so, what kind of shadow should this leave on Wang Xizhi's mind? Another thing that made Wang Xizhi angry was the personal grudge between Wang Xizhi and Wang Shu. The two kings were equally famous in the world, but they were deeply hostile to each other. In the 10th year of Yonghe, when Wang Xizhi heard that Wang Shu would be appointed as the governor of Yangzhou, he immediately sent a soldier to the court to request that Kaiji County be divided and Yuezhou be established. As a result, the people who were sent misunderstood Wang Xizhi's intention and failed, which "made the wise people laugh at him". Suffering this extraordinary humiliation, Wang Xizhi swore in front of his parents' tombs that he would never serve in officialdom again. In 361, he "ended up in anger." People are often deceived by Wang Xizhi's calligraphy of "floating like clouds, as graceful as a frightening dragon" and mistakenly believe that Wang Xizhi's people are like his calligraphy. In fact, Wang Xizhi cares very much about the experience of daily life. Perhaps life cannot allow him to transcend love and hatred between life and death. He lived truly, painfully, and depressedly. In joy and sorrow, love and shame, we can realize the difference between life and death, longevity and infancy. In search of relief, Wang Xizhi broke through in loneliness, relieved himself among relatives and close friends, relaxed in the embrace of nature, and sought solace in seeking immortality and taking medicine.
As a practitioner of Confucian personality metaphysics, Wang Xizhi’s thoughts are metaphysics that combine Huang and Lao’s world-oriented philosophy with the Confucian world-management thoughts he accepted in his early years. However, he did not establish a complete ideological system. His likes and dislikes for Lao and Zhuang come more from his intuition about life. As a talented artist, Wang Xizhi focuses on the voice from the heart. When real life experience made him realize that the arguments of "one death and life" and "Qi Peng Shang" were inconsistent with the teachings of the Five Pecks of Rice, Wang Xizhi naturally rejected it. It is obviously untrue to elevate Wang Xizhi's thoughts and place him above his times based on just this statement that denies Zhuangzi.