Experts say that works are used to express the heart. Preface to Lanting Collection was written by Wang Xizhi while playing with friends, drinking some wine and playing this game. It can be said that it was done in one go, although it was revised, but it wrote Wang Xizhi's beautiful and carefree mood at that time. Wang Xizhi woke up, his purpose changed, and his environment changed. The key is that his mood has changed, and what he writes is naturally very different.
Preface to Lanting has become the highest honor in China calligraphy circle, and it has the reputation of the first running script in China. So becoming a master of calligraphy is not just a matter of technology. If you are a calligrapher, your mood and wisdom can't be reached, and naturally your works can't express your rich inner feelings, so naturally they can't be good works.
Cai Yong, a famous calligrapher in the Eastern Han Dynasty, once said that to write the best calligraphy works, two conditions must be met. The condition of 1 is that he suddenly wants to write a calligraphy work, which is a whim and has no external compulsion. Wang Xizhi woke up after drinking and wanted to force himself to write a preface to Lanting, so there was a sense of compulsion and naturally he couldn't write well. The second condition is that when you are doing calligraphy, you should first put aside all other thoughts, fully release your subconscious mind and do it first. I don't mean to write anything in advance if you want. But with the free play of consciousness, there is no plan in advance and no purpose is achieved. Wang Xizhi wants to write the preface to Lanting after a hangover, which has such a purpose. With such distractions, it is naturally impossible to surpass the Preface to Lanting written by him.