1. Ink becomes a pool. Zhang Zhi, the great calligrapher of the Eastern Han Dynasty, studied calligraphy very hard when he was young. He practiced calligraphy diligently every day, forgetting sleep and food. His pen became bald after a few days of writing, and he used up several ingots of ink a month. After finishing writing every day, Zhang Zhi went to the pond in his backyard to wash his pen and inkstone. Over time, the water in the pond turned black.
2. Iron threshold. Zen Master Zhiyong is good at regular script and cursive script, and can imitate Wang Xizhi's style. Although he practiced in Yongxing Temple, his reputation for calligraphy became more and more famous. Many people came and asked for his calligraphy works through various connections. There was an endless stream of people coming and going, and the threshold was trampled down. He had to wrap the threshold with iron sheets, and people laughed and called it "Iron Gate".
3. Wang Xizhi regarded ink as vinegar. When Wang Xizhi was young, he often listened to his teacher, Mrs. Wei, telling stories about the diligent study and practice of calligraphers in the past dynasties. In order to practice calligraphy well, wherever he went, he would travel across mountains and rivers to engrave inscriptions from past dynasties, thereby accumulating 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 forgot to eat and sleep.