Who wrote Preface to Lanting Collection? Where is this calligraphy work now?

In the 9th year of Yonghe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a grand gathering of scholars was held in the Lanting of Yinshan. The great calligrapher Wang Xizhi is also one of the participants. He wrote a Preface to Lanting with great interest, which is regarded as the best running script in the world. People who have read Preface to Lanting are full of praise for Wang Xizhi.

Therefore, there are many manuscripts of Preface to Lanting, and many scholars have come to copy this calligraphy work. None of the Preface to Lanting, which has been circulated in later generations, is an original work of Wang Xizhi.

It is said that the Preface to Lanting Collection was collected by Tang Taizong, a calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty, and it has been in the hands of the royal family in Li Tang ever since. Tang Taizong liked Wang Xizhi's calligraphy very much, so it is said that Tang Taizong brought the Preface to Lanting into Zhaoling, but Zhaoling was invaded by grave robbers many times and was already "smashed to pieces".

The tomb of Emperor Taizong was stolen many times, but the Preface to Lanting never appeared. So archaeologists speculate that Wu Zetian also likes Wang Xizhi's calligraphy very much. If Preface to Lanting is not in Zhaoling, it is probably in Ganling.

Shaanxi has "Eighteen Tombs of the Tang Dynasty", where all the emperors of the Tang Dynasty were buried, but the only one that was not occupied by grave robbers was Gan Ling, where Wu Zetian and Tang Gaozong were buried together. Ganling was not stolen because it was too strong. But no matter how powerful it is, it can't stop people's curiosity and exploration. 1958, several local farmers came to Ganling with explosives, and this time they found the entrance with explosives.

Guo Moruo, a scholar at that time, was very unwilling. He often wrote letters asking for archaeological work in Ganling, but they were all rejected. Guo Moruo is curious, so he really wants to enter Ganling to engage in archaeological work.

Because Guo Moruo really wants to know, is the priceless Preface to the Lanting Pavilion in Ganling? Guo Moruo had successfully excavated Dingling in Ming Dynasty in 1958 before he applied to excavate Ganling. Dingling in Ming Shenzong covers a large area and contains many cultural relics. Guo Moruo was bent on excavating Dingling and promised to bring out very useful archaeological information from Dingling.

In this way, the tragedy of Dingling happened. Dingling can be said to be an eternal pain in archaeological history. Many literati led by Guo Moruo broke into Dingling unprepared, and many cultural relics were destroyed.

Ten years later, Dingling suffered another disaster. At that time, the bones of Ming Shenzong and Empress were dragged out of Dingling and burned, and their coffins were thrown into ditches. These precious golden nanmu coffins were thus discarded.

Later, archaeologists specially made cabinets for Dingling's cultural relics, and many damaged cultural relics were permanently preserved. This is also the reason why the Prime Minister rejected Guo Moruo. Guo Moruo turned Dingling into an archaeological tragedy because of his selfish desires. From then on, the imperial tombs in China can no longer be actively excavated.

Until there is a complete archaeological plan that can minimize the destruction of cultural relics, the imperial tombs in China will not be opened again.