2. Preface to Lanting is a running script, but from its beautiful running script font, we can feel the completeness of the opening method in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and the beautiful running script implies the power of regular script. The regular script in the Southern Dynasties was very developed, but judging from the biography of Wang Xizhi, its outstanding achievement was obviously cursive.
Legendary allusion
For a long time, there has been a popular saying in academic circles: The Preface to the Lanting Pavilion was brought into the coffin after the death of Li Shimin, the emperor Taizong who deeply loved it, and will never appear in front of the world as a sacrificial object.
During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin had a soft spot for calligraphy, especially Mo Bao, the "sage of calligraphy". He used the convenience of the emperor to collect Wang Xizhi's works all over the world. Every time I get an original, I regard it as a treasure. When I am interested in it, I will guess it, appreciate its brushwork and appreciate its natural charm, and then I will cherish it for fear of losing it.
Not only that, he also advocated Wang Xizhi's calligraphy style, which made the style of learning from Wang prevail in Zhenguan period. It is said that Li Shimin personally wrote Biography of Wang Xizhi for the Book of Jin, and he liked Wang Xizhi more in his later years.
Although Mo Bao is rich, Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Lanting Pavilion has never been found. A monarch can't get the rare treasures of the previous dynasty. Every time Emperor Taizong thought about it, he was unhappy.