During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong loved calligraphy and Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. Later, he heard that the monk had Preface to Lanting, so Emperor Taizong sent suggestion Xiao Yi to defraud the Preface to Lanting.
Xiao Yi dressed himself up as an ordinary person, holding a few pieces of Wang Xizhi's miscellaneous stickers, and gradually approached Cai Bian. After deceiving him into trusting him, in the process of talking about Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, Cai Bian produced Preface to the Lanting Pavilion.
One day, after leaving home, Xiao Yi made an excuse to go to Cai Bian's house to get the Preface to Lanting. Later, Xiao Yi called Cai Bian as an imperial adviser, and Cai Bian suddenly realized that he had been cheated, but it was too late. Xiao Yi returned to Chang 'an after getting the Preface to Lanting, and was rewarded by Emperor Taizong.
Extended data:
Yan's Xiao Yi Earning Lanting Map describes the story that Emperor Taizong sent Xiao Yi to cheat Lanting Preface. There are five characters in this painting. In the middle, a monk, namely Cai Bian, is sitting opposite to Xiao Yi, and two people are making tea at the lower left.
On the screen, witty and cunning Xiao Yi and suspicious monks are lifelike. At the bottom left of the picture, there is an old servant squatting by the air stove with a pot on it. The water in the pot is boiling and the tea powder has just been put in.
On the other side, a boy bent down, holding a tea tray, and carefully prepared to "divide the tea". In the painting, the old monk is eloquent, with long eyebrows and round cheeks, slightly open mouth, smiling face, holding dust, sitting on the wooden chair of the meditation couch, as if talking to Kan Kan.
Xiao Yi, dressed as a Confucian scholar, had a pair of phoenix eyes, raised eyebrows, a robotic heart on his face, his hands in his sleeves, and sat respectfully on the bench, holding his breath and listening attentively. The conversation between two people jumped onto the page through silent body language.
References:
Baidu Encyclopedia-Xiao Yi Earns Lanting