The story of Wang Xizhi writing the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" is a good story in the history of ancient Chinese calligraphy art. The details are as follows:
Wang Xizhi invited many guests, including Situ Xie'an, Sima Sunchuo, etc., as well as several of his sons, to the Lanting gathering at the foot of Lanzhu Mountain in Kuaiji. The spring there was warm and the flowers were blooming, and the mountains and rivers were beautiful. The group of people walked leisurely on the mountain trails. Wang Xizhi proposed the traditional Qushui Shangqing activity, which was approved by everyone.
So they came to a winding creek, and everyone found a stone beside the creek and sat down. Wang Xizhi ordered the boy to put several wine glasses on a wooden tray and let them flow down the river. Whoever stops in front of his glass will drink. This activity is both interesting and cultural, adding a lot of color to the party. At this gathering, Wang Xizhi was inspired and created the famous "Preface to the Lanting Collection".
Introduction to "Lanting Collection Preface"
"Lanting Collection Preface" is also known as "Lanting Banquet Collection Preface", "Lanting Preface", "Linhe Preface", "Ye Preface" and "Ye Tie" . On March 3, the ninth year of Yonghe (AD 353) of Emperor Mu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi, Xie An, Sun Chuo and other 41 senior military and political officials went to "repair evil spirits" at Lanting in Shanyin (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). Poems, Wang Xizhi's manuscript preface to their poems. "Preface to Orchid Pavilion" describes the beauty of the landscape around Orchid Pavilion and the joy of the party, expressing the author's feelings about the impermanence of life and death.
The work depicts the scenery of Orchid Pavilion and the fun of the gathering of Wang Xizhi and others, expressing the author's lament that great events do not come often and that "the shortcomings are modified and the end is over". The author is sometimes happy and sad, extremely happy and sad, and the article also changes from calm to agitated, and then from agitated to calm according to the changes of his emotions. It is full of the beauty of ups and downs, cadences and ups and downs, which is why "Preface to the Lanting Collection" has become a famous work. The full text consists of three paragraphs.