In 352 AD, that is, March 3 of the ninth year of Yonghe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi, his friends Xie An, Sun Chuo and other celebrities, as well as 41 relatives and friends gathered in Lanting to perform the ritual of cultivating evil spirits, drink wine and perform rituals. poetry. Later, Wang Xizhi compiled the poems and essays of each person into a collection and wrote a preface. This is the famous "Preface to the Lanting Collection". Legend has it that Wang Xizhi wrote this preface quickly with silkworm cocoon paper and rat whisker pen while he was intoxicated with wine. There are 28 lines and 324 words in the whole text. Some of them are repeated, but they are all varied and exquisite. It's a pity that when such a treasure of calligraphy came into the hands of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, he couldn't bear to let go of it. When he was about to die, he ordered someone to use it for burial. From then on, the world could no longer see the original "Preface to the Lanting Collection".
In the Orchid Pavilion, there is a triangular stele pavilion. The stele inside the pavilion is engraved with two large cursive characters of "Goose Chi". It is said that these two characters were written by Wang Xizhi. It is also said that Wang Xizhi likes geese very much. A group of geese were raised. Now there are several white geese in the goose pond of Lanting. There are also three buildings in the interesting Quliu Liushang Pavilion, Youjun Temple and Mochi. There are corridors on all sides. There is a winding ditch in front of the pavilion, and the water flows slowly in the ditch. This is the famous Qushui. In those days, Wang Xizhi and others were sitting on the bank of Qushui. Upstream, a wine cup is placed, and the wine cup is held by lotus leaves and floats along the current. Wherever it stops, anyone has to compose a poem. Those who fail to compose will be fined a glass of wine. Today, many tourists come. Here, you can happily put drinks in plastic cups and "sip" them in the Qushui to appreciate the fun of the Qushui. Therefore, people often call him Wang Youjun. There are many inscriptions in the temple, and a portrait of Wang Xizhi hangs in the middle. The couplets on both sides are "I have left my mark on the mountains and rivers throughout my life, and I am sitting in a row and saying something ancient and modern." "There is a pool in the temple, called the "Ink Pool". It is said that Wang Xizhi used the water in this pool to dip his pen in to practice calligraphy, and the entire pool of water was dyed black.