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Translation:

To the east of Linchuan County, there is a protruding highland, which faces a stream and is called Xincheng. Above the new town, there is a low-lying rectangular pool called Mo Chi of Wang Xizhi. This is described by Xun Bozi, a Southern Song Dynasty man, in Linchuan Ji. Wang Xizhi once admired Zhang Zhi, a calligrapher in the Eastern Han Dynasty. He practiced calligraphy by this pool, and the water in the pool turned black. This is his legacy. Is this really the case? When Wang Xizhi didn't want to be forced to be an official, he traveled all over the East China Sea, boating on the East China Sea, in order to be quick in the mountains and rivers. Did he ever rest here when he was wandering around and enjoying himself? Wang Xizhi's calligraphy didn't get better until his later years. It seems that his profound attainments are due to his hard work, not his genius. However, none of the later generations can match Wang Xizhi. I am afraid that their learning skills are not as good as Wang Xizhi's. It seems that the study effort can be reduced! What's more, what about people who want to achieve high moral achievements?

to the east of Linchuan, the land is hidden but high, so it is close to the stream, which is called the new city. Above the new city, there are pools and depressions, but the side is long, such as Wang Xizhi's Mo Chi and Xun Bozi's Linchuan Ji. The taste of Xihe longed for Zhang Zhi, studied books in Linchi, and the water in the pool was all black. This is an old relic. Do you believe in evil? Fang Xi can't be strong as an official, but taste the extreme east and go out of the sea to entertain his intentions between mountains and rivers. Is it possible to wander around and enjoy this evil? The book of Xi is good at night, and if it can, it will cover itself with energy, which is not natural. Then those who can't reach in the world are not as good as those who are evil. Then you can learn less! What is the evil of those who want to further their morality?

Next to Mo Chi is now the school building of Fuzhou State School. Professor Wang Jun was afraid that Mo Chi's deeds would be lost in oblivion, so he wrote the six Chinese characters "Jin Wang Youjun Mo Chi" hanging between the two pillars in front of the door to mark it, and said to me, "I hope to have a narrative article." I speculate that Wang Jun's mind is not because he loves other people's strengths, even if he is skilled, he won't let it be buried, so even his remains are taken seriously? Or do you want to promote Wang Xizhi's hard work in Linchi to encourage the students here? People have a skill, but they still respect future generations to this extent, not to mention how the fashion and virtue left by benevolent gentlemen will affect future generations!

above Mo Chi, it is now a state school. Wang Junsheng, a professor, was afraid that he would not write a chapter. The six words of the book "Jin Wang Youjun Mo Chi" were revealed in the book, and he told Gong, "I wish I had a note." Pushing Wang Jun's heart, is it good to love others, although it can be abolished, but because of its evil deeds? It also wants to push things to encourage its scholars? My wife's ability has enabled future generations to do so. What a pity is the legacy of a benevolent scholar, who has been treated in the afterlife!

On September 12th, the eighth year of the Qing Dynasty, Ceng Gong made a note.

On September 12th, the eighth year of the Qing Dynasty, Ceng Gong was recorded.

Appreciation of Mo Chi Ji

Mo Chi is located in Linchuan County, Jiangxi Province, which is said to be the place where Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, washed his pens and inkstones. Ceng Gong admired Wang Xizhi's fame and made a special trip to Linchuan to pay tribute to the remains of Mo Chi in September, the eighth year of Qingli (148). Wang Sheng, a professor of state studies (official name), asked him to write notes on "Mo Chi in Wang Youjun", so Ceng Gong wrote this famous essay "Mo Chi Ji" based on Wang Xizhi's anecdote. It is called "Mo Chi Ji", but the focus is not on "Chi", but on explaining that achievement is not natural, and it depends on hard study, so as to encourage scholars to study hard. The article takes theory as the key link, notes as the purpose, notes and discussions are staggered, the outline is unified, the writing is novel and unique, and the opinions are accurate. It is indeed a rare masterpiece.

This article is intended to be a treatise, but before it is launched, it is necessary to narrate the materials related to Mo Chi. Otherwise, the discussion makes nothing attached to it, which makes it appear floating and empty. If you remember it in detail, it will usurp the host's role and drown out the topic. Therefore, the author adopts the method of combining notes with discussions, and briefly recording details to highlight the theme of the article. At the beginning, we put pen to paper to save risks. According to Xun Bozi's "Linchuan Ji", our geographical location, environment and appearance are vividly described:

"To the east of Linchuan, the land is hidden but high, so we are close to the stream and call it a new city. . Above the new city, there are pools and depressions, but the side is long. " At the same time, according to Wang Xizhi's admiration for Zhang Zhi, the legend that "the pond is full of books and the water is black" points out the origin of Mo Chi's name. In fact, there are other legends about Mo Chi besides those described in Linchuan Ji. Because the purpose of this article is to reason, not to remember the pool, they are all omitted. The simplicity of the language can be described as cherishing ink as gold. Although the narrative of Motta is not complicated, it lays a track leading to discussion. Then the article traces Wang Xizhi's life experience of retiring from officialdom from things and people. According to the Book of Jin, Wang Shu, a title of generals in ancient times, was as famous as Xi when he was young, but Xi was very light. When Xi's appointment was to review the internal history, it was described as Yang Chuan's secretariat, and Xi Zhi became his subordinate. Later, Wang Shu, the procurator of Huiji County, was ashamed of it, so he called himself ill and left his post, and swore at his parents' graves that he would never come out as an official again. For this period of Wang Xizhi's experience, the author only uses the phrase "Fang Xizhi can't be strong enough to be an official"? After a brief account, I recounted Wang Xizhi's wandering freely and indulging in the mountains and rivers: "It's also very important to recount the passage" Taste the extreme east, go out of the sea, in order to entertain his mind between the mountains and rivers, how can he wander freely, but taste the evil 7 ". It highlights Wang Xizhi's thought of being proud and upright, getting rid of dust and vulgarity, which is the ideological basis and good spiritual temperament of Wang Pizhi's study of calligraphy. Structurally speaking, the phrase "I have tasted this evil again" confirms that Wang Xizhi studied books in Linchuan with rhetorical questions, which is linked to the ink pool in Shangwen and provides a basis for the following discussion. Subsequently, on the basis of notes, the article turned to discussion; "The book of Xi is good at night, and it is not natural that it can do what it can and cover itself with energy." Yu He's On the Book Table says: "The book of Xi is strange from beginning to end, and it is extremely incomparable. In its last years, it was the ultimate creation. Try ten pieces of cursive script, which is too bright and bright to show your wings. Wing gasp in admiration, because of the book cloud of Xi:' I used to have ten pieces of cursive script of Bo Ying Zhang, and when I crossed the river, I lost it, and I often lost my wonderful trace forever. "Suddenly, I saw the first step of answering my brother's letter, and I was as radiant as a god, and I returned to my old view." This shows that Wang Xizhi kept pace with Zhang Zhi, the "sage of grass", in his later years, which shows that the saying that "The Book of Xi is a success late" is based on facts and convincing. So, what is the fundamental reason why Xizhi's calligraphy is good? That is the result of concentration, hard study and hard practice, not natural. At this point, the reason lies in the lack of diligence, which further illustrates the importance of studying hard. Finally, following the meaning, it extended the moral cultivation of feudal literati, and pointed out that "further study of morality" is also indispensable. In this way, positive arguments, negative arguments and following the meaning reveal the theme of the article layer by layer. However, the author's exploration of the topic did not stop there. After briefly recounting the course of Wang Sheng, a professor of state studies, to his prose, the article turned to the discussion again: "Pushing Wang Jun's heart, is it true that the goodness of loving others, though not abolished, is due to its evil deeds?" "Does he also want to push it to encourage him to be a scholar?" Although this is a speculation about Wang Jun's intention, it is actually the author's good intention to take notes. Then, with the material, it is extended and further discussed: "My wife's ability makes future generations still do so, and the legacy of a benevolent Zhuang Shi is not so good for the afterlife." From Wang Xizhi's good calligraphy skills, the author extended it to the education and virtue of "a benevolent scholar", encouraging people not only to have "one ability", but also to study hard the moral cultivation of feudal literati, thus deepening the meaning of the text. Ceng Gong is an "orthodox" ancient prose writer, and his articles have a strong flavor of defending Taoism, which also clearly reveals his traditional thought of defending Taoism.

In the reasoning prose with "Ji" as the genre in the Song Dynasty, it is rare to find a writing style with "Mo Chi Ji" as the attachment and discussion as the main theme. The ideological meaning of Zuiweng Pavilion is that "the meaning of Zuiweng is not in wine" and "it is also between mountains and rivers". But this kind of "meaning" is not based on the "discussion" table? What is achieved is revealed by the description of natural scenery with mountains and rivers setting each other off, changing ratio at dusk and changing seasons; The focus of "The Story of Yueyang Tower" is not to remember the building, but to reveal the personal mind of "worrying about the world first, and enjoying the world later". In the way of lyricism, the author adopts the method of touching the scene, so the article lays out the pen and ink, and writes the unpredictable scenery of Yueyang Tower in a rural space. However, there are few words used to remember the "pool" in "Mo Chi Ji", but many words are discussed. It is not a comment after narration, but a mixed use of notes and comments, integrated into one. Although there are more discussions than records, there are no disadvantages of breaking the line and drifting away from the meaning, which makes it feel natural to read. It can be said that "Mo Chi Ji" broke away from other people's stereotypes and found its own way.

I. Introduction of Wang Xizhi

Wang Xizhi was born in the Eastern Jin Dynasty in 33 AD and began to learn calligraphy at the age of seven. His first teacher was his uncle and a famous female calligrapher, Mrs. Wei Shuo. Wang Xizhi studied block letters first, and when he was older, he began to create his own style, which was self-contained and original. His running script is lively, and his feelings are fully expressed in the shelf structure. His most famous calligraphy work is Preface to Lanting. This is his work completed in 353 AD. At that time, Wang Xizhi invited 41 relatives and friends to hold a wild event in Lanting in the country. They sat on both sides of the stream, put the feather (a kind of portable wine glass) on the water, and went down the river, and each person took the drink and wrote poems in turn. Anyone who can't write a poem will be fined. On that day, 26 people wrote poems, and 35 poems were written. Wang Xizhi, with a little drunk, made an impromptu gesture, prefaced these poems and wrote Preface to Lanting. Preface to Lanting is regarded as the greatest work in China's calligraphy history, and its original was later taken away by Emperor Taizong as his burial object. Although the original work of Preface to Lanting was lost in 65 AD, Wang Xizhi's handwriting had a great influence on China's calligraphy. Tang Taizong's preference for Preface to Lanting prompted more calligraphers to learn and copy Wang Xizhi's fonts.