In the history of Chinese calligraphy, there is a piece of writing that has been recognized by calligraphers of all dynasties as the unparalleled "No. 1 running script in the world". This is Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface". Wang Xizhi (AD 321-AD 379), the most outstanding calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, had the courtesy name Yishao. He was a native of Linyi, Langya, and a native of Shanyin in Kuaiji. He was a general of the Youjun Army, so he was called "Wang Youjun". He began to learn calligraphy at the age of seven. He studied under Mrs. Wei and his uncle Wang, who came from a calligraphy family. Later, he read the ancient and simple masterpieces of the seal script masters of Qin and Han Dynasties. In Yilu, he created the running script of "Natural nature, abundant gods and generations", and was hailed as the "Sage of Calligraphy" by later generations. In his later years, he became proficient in calligraphy and reached its pinnacle. "Lanting Preface" is his proud work in his later years.
"Lanting Preface" was called "Linhe Preface" in the Jin Dynasty, and later generations also called "Xiu Xie Preface", "Xi Tie", and "Lanting Poems Preface", with a total of 28 lines and 300 lines. Twenty-four characters, it is said that on March 3, the ninth year of Yonghe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 353), the sky was clear and the wind was gentle. Wang Xizhi, Xie An, Sun Chuo and other 41 people were drinking at the Orchid Pavilion in Shanyin. , compose poems and sing harmony. Faced with the beautiful scenery and the presence of many close friends, Wang Xizhi used silkworm cocoon paper and a mouse-whisker pen to write this preface, which is "emotionally charming and vigorous, peerless and unparalleled." Wang Xizhi rewrote it dozens of times after returning home. It was not as good as the original manuscript, so he loved it very much and passed it on to his descendants. It was passed down to Sun Zhiyong, the seventh generation of Wang Xizhi. He had no heirs and was handed over to his disciple Biancai for preservation. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, loved Wang Xizhi's calligraphy and tried every means to obtain "Lanting Preface", often "setting it up" Stand on the side of the seat and watch it day and night." In the 10th year of Zhenguan (AD 636), calligraphers such as Feng Chengsu, Yu Shinan, and Chu Suiliang copied ten copies and gave them to ministers. After their death, they brought the original works to Zhaoling as funerary objects. Therefore, we can no longer see the original copy of "Lanting Preface", but can only see the first-class Tang copy. The most realistic copy among the Tang Dynasty copies is Feng Chengsu's, which is also called the "Shenlong version" because it is printed with half and half seals of "Shenlong", the title of Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Xian, on the front and back. Guo Tianci said that the "Shenlong Edition" has "elegant brushwork, brilliant ink colors, extraordinary beauty, and shocking emotions."
The structure of "Lanting Preface" is multi-faceted, well-proportioned, ever-changing, and full of different styles. The twenty characters "Zhi" in the post all have unique postures and no one is the same. The center of the pen is used to establish the bones, and the side strokes are used to capture the beauty. Sometimes it is subtle and subtle, and sometimes it is sharp and sharp. Especially the composition, from beginning to end, the writing style is forward-looking, facing upward, clear and transparent, connected in shape and meaning, vivid in charm, and graceful in wind and spirit. Therefore, Dong Qichang in the late Ming Dynasty said in "Essays on Painting a Zen Room": "Youjun's "Lanting Preface" "The composition is the best in ancient and modern times. The characters are all reflected, big or small, and they are all in accordance with the rules. Therefore, it is of divine quality." The most valuable thing is that from the "Lanting Preface", it is "not exciting but not fierce." "The style contains the author's sophisticated pen and ink skills, profound traditional skills, extensive cultural literacy and noble artistic sentiment. [Edit this paragraph] Calligrapher of the Wei and Jin Dynasties - Wang Xizhi Wang Xizhi was born in a calligraphy family. His uncle Wang Yi and Wang Dao; his cousins ??Wang Tian and Wang Qia were all famous calligraphers at that time. Wang Xizhi (321-379, or 303-361), also known as Yishao and named Danzhai, was originally from Linyi, Langya (now part of Shandong), and later moved to Shanyin (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). He was promoted to general of the Youjun Army and served in Kuaiji. Shi was a great calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and was revered as a sage of calligraphy by later generations.
When Wang Xizhi was seven years old, he learned calligraphy from the female calligrapher Wei Shuo. Wang Xizhi copied Wei Shu until he was twelve years old. Although he was good at it, he always felt dissatisfied. Because he often heard his teacher tell stories about the diligent study and practice of calligraphers in the past dynasties, he developed an admiration for the calligraphy of Zhang Zhi, the "Cao Sage" of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and determined to inspire himself with Zhang Zhi's "Linchi" story.
In order to practice calligraphy well, wherever he went, he always traveled across mountains and rivers to engrave inscriptions from past dynasties, and accumulated a large amount of calligraphy materials. He set up stools in his study, in the yard, by the gate and even outside the toilet, and placed pens, ink, paper, and inkstones. Whenever he thought of a well-structured word, he would immediately write it on the paper. When he was practicing calligraphy, he was thinking so hard that he even forgot to eat and sleep.
He believes that raising geese can not only cultivate sentiments, but also comprehend the principles of calligraphy and writing from certain body postures of geese. Early one morning, Wang Xizhi and his son Wang Xianzhi took a small boat to explore the landscape of Shaoxing. When the boat arrived near Jun Village in the county, they saw a group of white geese on the shore, swaying and dawdling. Wang Xizhi was fascinated by the sight and fell in love with these white geese, so he wanted to buy them home. Wang Xizhi asked the Taoist priest nearby, hoping that the Taoist priest could sell him the geese.
The Taoist priest said, "If Lord Youjun wants it, please write for me a Taoist health-preserving book called the Huang Ting Jing!" Wang Xizhi was eager to ask for it, and he readily agreed to the conditions put forward by the Taoist priest. This is the story of "Wang Xizhi's book exchanged for a white goose".
When he was twenty years old, a Taiwei Xi Jian sent people to Wang Dao's house to choose a son-in-law. At that time, people paid attention to family status and the right family. Director Wang's son and nephew heard that Taiwei's family was coming to propose marriage, so they all dressed up in disguise, hoping to be selected. Only Wang Xizhi seemed to have heard nothing. He was lying on the bamboo couch in the east, eating sesame seed cakes with one hand and drawing on his clothes with the other. After the visitor returned, he reported what he saw to Taiwei Xi. When he knew that there was a calm Wang Xizhi leaning on the east couch, he couldn't help but clapped his hands and exclaimed: This is exactly the son-in-law I want! So Xi Jian married his daughter Xi Jun to Wang Xizhi. This story became the two allusions of "Dong Bed" and "Ling Tan".
These are not the only idioms that appeared on him. It is said that once, he wrote the words on a wooden board and showed it to the carver to carve. The person used a knife to cut the wooden board and found his handwriting. Print three-thirds deep into the inside of the board. This is the origin of the idiom "three points into the wood".
The best calligraphy of Wang Xizhi’s life is the preface to the Lanting Collection. That was his work in middle age.
There was a custom in the Eastern Jin Dynasty that on March 3rd of the lunar calendar every year, people had to go to the river to play in order to eliminate bad luck. This is called "Xiucai". On March 3 of the ninth year of Yonghe, Wang Xizhi and some literati, numbering forty-one, went to the riverside of Lanting to repair. Everyone drank and wrote poems.
After finishing the poems, everyone collected them and combined them into a preface to the Lanting Collection. Wang Xizhi was recommended to write a preface. Wang Xizhi was already drunk at this time. Taking advantage of his drunkenness, he picked up the rat whisker pen and began to write on the silkworm cocoon paper. This preface was the preface to the Lanting Anthology, which later became famous throughout the ages. This post is a draft, 28 lines, 324 words. It describes the gathering of literati at that time. The author was in high spirits at the time and was very proud of his writing. It is said that he could no longer be caught writing it again later. There are more than twenty characters "Zhi" written in different ways. Mi Fu in the Song Dynasty called it "the best running script in the world". Legend has it that Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, cherished "Lanting Preface" very much and buried it in Zhaoling when he died. All that remains are copies of others. What people see today are all copies of "Lanting Preface". Wang Xizhi's calligraphy works are very rich. In addition to "Lanting Preface", the famous ones include "Guannu Tie", "Seventeen Tie", "Two Xie Tie", "Fengju Tie", "Auntie Tie", "Kuaixue Tie" "Shi Qing Tie", "Le Yi Lun", "Huang Ting Jing", etc. The main characteristics of his calligraphy are peaceful and natural, euphemistic and implicit, and graceful and graceful. Later generations commented: "Flying like clouds, trimming moss and frightening snakes." Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is extremely beautiful.