Preface to Lanting is a legendary masterpiece of Wang Xizhi in Jin Dynasty. In the spring of March 3rd, the 9th year of Yonghe (AD 353), Wang Xizhi, a book sage, and 4 1 sons from Taiyuan, Sun Chuo, Xie An, Zhi Dun, and Wang were taught in Lanting, a shady place in Huiji. Everyone is dancing, drinking and writing poems. The collection of poems is prefaced by Wang Xizhi, and the prefaced manuscript is The First Running Book in the World and Preface to Lanting. Li Shimin valued him very much, and once wrote a biography of Wang Xizhi in the Book of Jin, praising him as "perfect". Feng Chengsu was ordered to use the double hook method to copy a copy, which turned out to be copied and distributed to ministers for copying. The original was buried with Li Shimin. Thanks to Li Shimin's strong recommendation, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy was established as a model of China's calligraphy.
During the Zhenguan period, calligraphers such as Yu Shinan and Chu Suiliang in the Tang Dynasty kept a copy of Preface to Lanting. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong collected eight kinds of ink on Lanting in previous dynasties and carved them on stone pillars, which were called "Eight Columns of Lanting". The "Dragon Book", one of the "Eight Columns of Lanting", which was ordered by Feng Chengsu of Emperor Taizong, is the most famous copy of Preface to Lanting. Because Feng Ben's Preface to Lanting has the seal of Tang Zhongzong Shenlong Year, it was named Shenlong Ben. After the Tang Dynasty, The Preface to Lanting was a dragon book, which was collected by many celebrities and had many seals on it, such as Guo Tian Xi, Xiang, Emperor Qianlong and so on.