Wang Kuang, Wang Xizhi's father, was also a famous calligrapher at that time. He wanted to train his son to be a greater calligrapher than himself, so he hired a teacher for him, that is, the famous female calligrapher Wei Shuo at that time, that is, Mrs. Wei.
It is said that Mrs Wei's calligraphy was studied by Cai Yong of Han Dynasty and Zhong You, the teacher of Wei State, and she surpassed her predecessors in achievements. Mrs. Wei is related to Wang Xizhi's family by blood (according to research, Mrs. Wei is Wang Xizhi's aunt, and Wang Xizhi has a word called "Aunt Post", which was written for Mrs. Wei). Therefore, when Mrs. Wei taught Wang Xizhi to write, she was serious.
One day, Wang Xizhi found a book called Calligraphy under his father's pillow. He stole it and wrote it according to the above principles. At that time, the social atmosphere attached great importance to calligraphy and painting, and books in this field were very popular, and "calligraphy" was a treasure left by predecessors and it was not easy to show it to people. In addition, Wang Xizhi was only 65,438+02 years old at that time, so his father didn't want him to study this book too early. When he found that Wang Xizhi had been secretly reading Calligraphy, his father said to him, "Wait until you grow up." But Wang Xizhi's mother said, "When he grows up, it may be too late. Since he wants to learn, let him learn! " "
Since then, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy level has been greatly improved, which is completely unlike a child's handwriting. When Mrs. Wei saw this, she said excitedly, "He must have read calligraphy. His handwriting has been so sophisticated recently that no one can match his achievements and fame in the future. I'm afraid he will fall far behind! "
When Wang Xizhi became an adult, he became an official in the imperial court and was in contact with elites. His calligraphy is becoming more and more widely known and famous. Everyone wants to ask him to write a word, but he usually doesn't write it to others. Once, he went to a student's house and saw a smooth desk made of wood. He picked up a pen and wrote a few lines on the table. The students were very happy when they saw Wang Xizhi's handwriting. But one day, the student went out, and his father came to tidy up for him. When he saw the black words written on the brand-new desk, he didn't like it, so he wanted to erase them, so he couldn't erase them with all his strength. He simply took a knife and scraped off a layer. No, there are words, and then a layer is scraped off. He scratched for three minutes, and the students regretted it when they got home.
On another occasion, Wang Xizhi saw an old lady selling a fan made of paper, and no one came to buy it. Wang Xizhi asked the old lady for this fan, wrote a few words on it and said to her, "All you have to do is shout,' Come and buy the fan written by Wang Xizhi!'" "Just do it." The old lady gave a shout and sold out all the paper fans at once.
Wang Xizhi also has a habit, that is, he especially likes big white geese. He imitated the various postures of wild geese playing in the water and learned a lot from them, so he raised many big white geese for appreciation. There was an old Taoist priest in Yin Shan (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang) who wanted to ask Wang Xizhi to copy a copy of Laozi's Tao Te Ching, but he was afraid that he could not write it. He heard that Wang Xizhi liked white geese, so he raised a large number of geese with good varieties. The Taoist priest also specially told Wang Xizhi that there were a group of white geese somewhere, which were very beautiful. Wang Xizhi heard about it and ran to see it at once. Sure enough, he saw a flock of big white geese swimming in a pond in the forest. The shadows of green mountains and trees are reflected in the clear water, and white geese chase and play on the water. Wang Xizhi was stunned by the beautiful scenery and the beautiful white goose, so he asked who the owner of the white goose was. Then the Taoist priest appeared and said that the goose was his own. Wang Xizhi asked him if he wanted to sell it. The Taoist priest said, "I'll give it to you as long as you want, but on one condition, please copy a copy of the Tao Te Ching for us." Wang Xizhi readily promised, and Wang Xizhi's story about geese was handed down.
In 353, Moody Yonghe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty was nine years old. More than 40 high-class aristocrats and celebrities gathered in Lanting (now southwest of Shaoxing, Zhejiang) to drink and write poems. Very pleasant. It is proposed that everyone's poems be collected and compiled into a collection called Preface to Lanting Collection. Everyone unanimously recommended Wang Xizhi to preface this collection of poems and write it down. Wang Xizhi did not refuse, but wrote Preface to Lanting Collection. This preface has been preserved. In the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin of Emperor Taizong had Wang Xizhi's handwriting copied several times. Later, I don't know where Wang Xizhi wrote it. The copybooks copied in the Tang Dynasty have been passed down to this day. The Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection is treasured by calligraphers of past dynasties in China, and some people call it "the first post of China".
Wang Xianzhi, the son of Wang Xizhi, is also a great calligrapher in the history of China. Now when people talk about calligraphers, they often refer to the "two kings" together. The "two kings" are Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi.
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