Wang Ximeng, according to legend, was a figure in the Northern Song Dynasty. He is the only talented painter in the history of Chinese painting who is famous for his paintings. Wang Ximeng's only remaining work is the 11.9-meter-long "Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains". This painting was completed by Wang Ximeng in 1113 AD, when he was only 18 years old.
There are almost no records of Wang Ximeng in historical records. The only clear record is Cai Jing's inscription at the end of the volume of "Thousands of Miles of Rivers and Mountains", which records that Song Huizong appreciated "Ximeng" and personally taught him painting skills. . However, the inscription only states that his name is Ximeng, and his surname is not mentioned. Wang is the surname speculated by later generations. Some people also think that his surname may be Zhao and he was a member of the Song Dynasty clan. Some people think that Wang Ximeng does not exist at all.
About Wang Ximeng, the most widely circulated story on the Internet is "The scent of horseshoes returns after stepping on flowers." According to legend, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty established a painting academy to recruit outstanding painters from all over the world. In order to test them, he came up with a topic "Stepping on flowers and returning home with the fragrance of horse hoofs", and asked the painters to express this poem in paintings. Most painters worked hard on the word "stepping on flowers" and painted many flowers, with a person riding a horse walking among the flowers. Some people also focused on "horses" and drew a heroic young man riding a horse. There was only one young man who did not stick to a single word, but started from the whole poem. In his painting, at dusk in summer, officials who had been out for a day returned home on horseback, and the horses galloped. Galloping, several butterflies chased the horse's hooves and danced. When the examiners saw this painting, they couldn't help but praise it. The young man who painted it was Wang Ximeng.
As for the cause of Wang Ximeng’s death, some people are convinced that he died of illness from overwork after he finished painting "Thousands of Miles of Rivers and Mountains". Others are convinced that he was sentenced to death after angering Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty after painting "Thousands of Miles of Hungry". Of course, as mentioned before, it is not certain whether Wang Ximeng actually exists, so the authenticity of these events is also doubtful. However, many people hope that he exists. They imagine that in the Northern Song Dynasty more than 900 years ago, there was a genius boy who was only 18 years old and left a masterpiece to future generations.