Wang Xizhi
Wang Xizhi studied Zhong You in regular script, Zhang Zhi in cursive script, Li Si and Cai Yong, and learned from others. His calligraphy gives people a sense of tranquility. The Preface to Lanting written by him is the most representative, creating a natural running script, which is praised as a "book saint" by later generations.
On March 3rd, the 9th year of Yonghe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 353), 41 people, including Wang Xizhi and Xie An, held a unique poetry meeting in the Lanting of Yinshan (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). A group of literati put wine on a clean stream and let it drift. Whoever stops in front of it will improvise poetry, or he will be fined. According to records, people who attended the poetry meeting at that time wrote 37 poems.
With the help of drunkenness, Wang Xizhi wrote a preface for his poem: "Yonghe is nine years old and nine years old is ugly." In the spring, I will repair things in the Lanting of Huiji Mountain. A group of smart people never miss, but some of them are long and salty. There are mountains here, and there are bamboos in Maolin. There is also a clear stream, which is reflected left and right, thinking it is a stream. Sitting next to it, although it is not as prosperous as a string, it is enough to talk about love. Today is a sunny day, sunny and sunny. Looking up at the universe, overlooking the variety, watching and listening is enough to enjoy, believe in coke! Ladies, lifelong pitch. Or arm in arm, talk in one room, or leave the country on request. Although the choice is different, calm is different. When they are happy with what they have encountered, they will gain something from themselves for a while and soon become self-sufficient. They never knew that old age was coming. What he is tired of is that his feelings are advancing with the times and his feelings are sentimental. I am very happy about this. Between pitching and pitching, this has become a thing of the past. I'm still happy about it. Things will get better. The ancients said that "life and death are the most important", isn't it very painful? Every time we look at the reasons for the excitement of the ancients, if we unite, we will not be without sorrow, and we can't compare it to something in our chests. Knowing that a dead life is a false birthday and the destruction of Peng Qi is a mistake. Looking back today is still looking back on the past, sad husband! So when people line up, they are recorded. Although the world is different, pregnancy is a good thing. Later visitors will also feel gentle. "The world called it" the handicraftsmen ". The preface narrates the beauty of the landscape around Lanting and the joy of gathering, and expresses the author's feelings of impermanence of life and death. The article is fresh and natural. Although many parallelism sentences are used, it is not blunt. Among them, there are more than 20 characters, none of which are the same. Preface to Lanting Collection, also known as Preface to Lanting Collection, is a running script with 28 lines and 324 words. Its composition, structure and brushwork are ingenious, and the font is unique and smooth. This calligraphy work is Wang Xizhi's masterpiece at the age of 33.
Preface of the Orchid Pavilion
It is said that Wang Xizhi's later rewritten Preface to Lanting is not as good as the first calligraphy work. He once sighed: "God helps my ears, how can I do it?"
Li Shimin appreciated Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Lanting Pavilion before his death, and ordered several copies to be sent to relatives and ministers. Among them, The Book of Lanting Dragon is an excellent manuscript, which is reflected in brushwork, pen and ink, style and charm, and is recognized as the best manuscript. Li Shimin's posthumous testamentary edict calls for the Preface to the Lanting Pillow after death, that is, the so-called "living in the same bed, dying at the same point".
According to "The Book of the New Tang Dynasty-The Biography of Emperor Taizong", on May 26th of the 23rd year of Zhenguan, on August 18th of the same year, Li Shimin was buried in Zhaoling, a mausoleum built before his death, at the age of 53. The day when the Shimen of Zhaoling Underground Palace was sealed was the time when Preface to Lanting passed away.
Preface to Lanting embodies the highest realm of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy art, and the author's tolerance, spirit, mind and feelings are vividly displayed in this calligraphy work. The ancients said that Wang Xizhi's cursive style is like "the breeze comes out of the sleeve and the next month comes into my arms." Later generations commented that "the font of the right army has changed. Its heroic spirit is natural, so it is considered to be a model from ancient times to the present. " Therefore, Preface to Lanting is known as "the best running script in the world".