Digging graves and stealing art
Zhong Yao was born in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He was very dedicated and enthusiastic about the study of calligraphy, almost to the point of madness. It is said that he once studied in Baodu Mountain. In order to practice calligraphy well, he wrote all the rocks and trees in the mountain black. Once, he was discussing calligraphy brushes with Cao Cao, Wei Dan and others. He was so interested that he kept copying the drawings before going to bed, and even cut several holes in the quilt. Wei Dan was also a calligrapher at that time. It is said that he had the "Bi Lun" written by Cai Yong, a great calligrapher of the Eastern Han Dynasty, so his calligraphy level was very high. People at that time praised his calligraphy and considered him the first calligrapher of the dynasty. Zhong Yao wanted to borrow this "Bi Lun" from Wei Dan, but Wei Dan refused and refused again and again. Zhong Yao was so angry that he beat his chest and vomited blood. Fortunately, Cao Cao saved his life with the Five Spirit Pills. After Wei Dan passed away, Zhong Yao sent someone to dig out the book from the grave, studied it repeatedly, and finally understood the secret of using the pen.
Inscription on Bamboo Fan
It is said that once, Wang Xizhi passed a bridge in Shanyin City. An old woman was selling a basket of hexagonal bamboo fans at the market. That kind of bamboo fan was very simple, with no decoration, and it did not attract the interest of passers-by. It seemed that it could not be sold, and the old woman was very worried. When Wang Xizhi saw this, he sympathized with the old woman and went up to her and said, "You have no paintings or words on this bamboo fan, so of course you can't sell it. How about I inscribe it for you?" The old woman didn't know Wang Xizhi. Seeing how enthusiastic he was, I gave him the bamboo fan to write. "Wang Xizhi picked up his pen and wrote five words on each fan, and then returned it to the old woman. The old woman was illiterate and felt that his writing was very sloppy and was very unhappy. Wang Xizhi comforted her and said, "Don't worry. Tell the fan buyers that the calligraphy on it is written by Wang Youjun." When Wang Xizhi left, the old woman did as he asked. When people in the market saw that it was Wang Youjun's calligraphy, they all rushed to buy it. A basket of bamboo fans was sold immediately Finished.