Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface" is written in Chinese. Running script is a general term, which is divided into two types: running script and running script. It was developed on the basis of regular script and is a font between regular script and cursive script. It was created to make up for the slow writing speed of regular script and the difficulty of identifying cursive script.
"行" means "walking", so it is not as sloppy as cursive script, nor as straight as regular script. In essence, it is the cursiveization of regular script or the regularization of cursive script. Those with more regular script than cursive script are called "Xing Kai", and those with more cursive script than regular script are called "Xing Cao". Running script has high practicality and artistry, while regular script is a text symbol, which is highly practical and requires skill. In comparison, cursive script has high artistic quality, but its practicality is relatively insufficient.
"Lanting Preface" is written in running script, but from its round and flowing running script, you can feel the completeness of the regular script of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and the beauty of the running script implies the strength of regular script. Regular script in the Southern Dynasties was very developed, but judging from Wang Xizhi's biography, his outstanding achievements were obviously in the aspects of running and cursive writing.
Compared with the Han, Wei and Western Jin Dynasties, Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy style is characterized by its delicate brushwork and changeable structure. In the past, calligraphy styles were all clumsy, such as "Pingfu Tie", but Wang Xizhi was able to master calligraphy. The technique changes from being purely natural to paying more attention to beauty and reaching a state of refinement, which is "beautiful" as opposed to being primitive.
Extended information
"Lanting Preface" was written by Wang Xizhi when he was 47 years old. It describes the grand tour that Xizhi and his friends and elegant scholars gathered at Lanting (now Lanqing, southwest of Shaoxing, Zhejiang). , his book is calm and gentle, full of energy and concentration. It is said that Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, loved his calligraphy and believed that "Lanting Preface" was a "perfect" work. After his death, he was buried with it in the mausoleum.
There was a huge debate over the authenticity of the "Lanting Preface" that is now said to be true, and Li Shimin's grave was almost dug up. However, the artistic value of "Lanting Preface" is unanimously recognized. Mi Fu's poem of the Song Dynasty goes: "Han and calligraphy are popular in ancient and modern times. Who doesn't love Shanyin in Goosechi? Although this book has decayed to the Zhaoling Mausoleum, the carved stone can save thousands of gold." There are no fewer than dozens of copies by calligraphers in the past dynasties, which is also rare in the history of calligraphy. Some cultural phenomena.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Preface to the Lanting Collection