A Brief Introduction of Wang Xizhi, a Calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty —— Preface to the Collection of Saint Lanting

Wang Xizhi, a calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Not much to say, Linyi people. Born into a noble family, he was a general of the right army and was known as Wang Youjun in history. Resigned due to disagreement with Wang Shu and settled in Huiji Mountain. Seiko calligraphy, studied under Mrs. Wei in his early years, then changed to beginner, cursive script under Zhang Zhi, orthography under Zhong You. He learned from others' strengths, studied styles, and brought forth new ideas, which changed the simple calligraphy style since the Han and Wei Dynasties and became a beautiful and convenient new style. His books are well-prepared in all kinds of styles, especially good at upright brushwork and powerful changes in characters, which have been advocated by scholars of all ages and have great influence. There are many inscriptions on books, which are scattered in essays carved since the Song Dynasty. The running script is the most complete one in the Preface to the Collection of Tang Priest Huai Ren. Seventeen cursive posts. There are no original works, only menstruation, Orange, Mourning, Kong Shizhong and Chuyue cursive scripts written with double hooks in the Tang Dynasty.

On the eighth day of the third lunar month in 353 AD, on a spring day, the cartoon jumpmh of Yang jumping off a building was sunny and everything was so beautiful. Wang Xizhi, his friends and others came to Lanting in Huiji Mountain talking and laughing. They sang poems, raised glasses and enjoyed the beautiful scenery together. After a few drinks, Wang Xizhi was already a little drunk. At this time, his friend Xie An said to him: Today's scenery is pleasant, and everyone is having a good time. Do you want to write a word to help? That's what Wang Xizhi meant. He picked up a pen and cheerfully prefaced a collection of poems. This is the famous Preface to Lanting Collection. Preface to Lanting Collection is ***28 lines and 324 words. The full text is written in running script and has become a masterpiece recognized by calligraphers of all ages. Wang Xizhi is also known as a book saint.

Wang Xizhi's calligraphy art absorbed the essence of many calligraphers since the Han and Wei Dynasties, got rid of the shackles of predecessors and opened up a new artistic conception. People often describe his writing as erratic and agile as a dragon.

Wang Xizhi's calligraphy can reach such a high level because he studied hard and studied hard since he was a child. It is said that when he was seven years old, he liked writing very much. Usually when he walks, he thinks about the structure of fonts, the gestures of strokes, and how to write and receive pens. Thinking about thinking, fingers unconsciously gesticulated on clothes, and over time, even clothes were cut. Although this legend is somewhat exaggerated, it vividly illustrates Wang Xizhi's hard-working spirit.

After Wang Xizhi became famous, many people wanted to get his words. According to legend, there was a Taoist priest in Yangshan who wanted to ask Wang Xizhi to write a book called Huang Tingjing for him. He had already prepared the pen and ink, but he was worried that Wang Xizhi would not agree. Later, he heard that Wang Xizhi usually likes geese best, so he specially raised a group of lovely white geese to play with it and act according to circumstances. Finally one day, Wang Xizhi passed by by boat. When he saw a group of beautiful white geese swimming in the river, he couldn't tell how much he liked it. He stopped the boat and watched it again and again, never giving up and walking away. So he found a Taoist priest and asked him to sell him the goose. Road flyover said: I don't want to sell such a good goose. But if you can write me a scripture, I will give you these geese. Hearing this, Wang Xizhi immediately agreed, and immediately spent half a day writing a volume of regular script "Huang Tingjing" with great interest, and handed it to the Taoist priest. The Taoist put the goose in a cage and let Wang Xizhi take it away. This story is the calligraphy that people later praised as White Goose.

Now Wang Xizhi's original work is hard to see. The Palace Museum still treasures Feng Chengsu's Preface to the Lanting Pavilion, and the Drum Tower in Beijing Beihai Park only retains some stone tablets of Wang Xizhi's original work. However, the artistic charm of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy will last forever.