The best running script in the world.
Preface to Lanting was called Preface to Linjiang in Jin Dynasty, and later generations also called Preface to Xiu, Preface to Tie and Preface to Lanting, with 28 lines and 324 words. According to legend, on March 3rd, the 9th year of Yonghe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 353), the sky was clear and calm, and Wang Xizhi and Xie. Facing the beautiful scenery and high friends, Wang Xizhi wrote the preface of "charming and vigorous, beautiful and eternal" with cocoon paper and eight-character pen.
Wang Xizhi rewrote it dozens of times after returning to China, but it is still not as good as the original. Therefore, he attached great importance to it himself, and handed it over to future generations for collection, and passed it on to Sun Zhiyong, the seventh son of Wang Xizhi. Sun Zhiyong had no children and handed it over to his disciples for debate and preservation. Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, loved Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, and made great efforts to get the Preface to Lanting, often "sitting aside and reading it every day". In the tenth year of Zhenguan (AD 636), calligraphers such as Feng Chengsu, Yu Shinan and Chu Suiliang were asked to copy ten copies and give them to the recent ministers. After his death, the original works were brought to Zhaoling as funerary objects.
So far, we can't see the original work of Preface to Lanting, but only the first-class copy of Tang Dynasty. The most authentic copy of the Tang Dynasty is Feng Chengsu's copy, which is also called "Dragon Book" because the word "Dragon" of Tang Zhongzong and Li Xian is printed before and after the post. Guo Tianci called it "Dragon Book", "the brushwork is elegant, the ink color is gorgeous, beautiful and fascinating".
Brief introduction of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy:
Among Wang Xizhi's calligraphy works, The Preface to Lanting is recognized by calligraphers of all ages as the unparalleled "best running script in the world". Wang Xizhi (AD 303~36 1), the most outstanding calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was born in Linyi, Langya. He lives in Huiji Yin Shan and is a right-wing general, so he is called "Wang Youjun".
Wang Xizhi began to learn calligraphy at the age of seven. His uncle, who studied under Mrs. Wei and a scholarly family, was praised as a "book saint" by later generations. Professor Peking University and pioneer Li Zhimin commented: "Wang Xizhi's calligraphy not only shows simplicity and abstinence based on Laozi and Zhuangzi's philosophy, but also shows harmony based on Confucian doctrine of the mean." Calligraphy reached its peak in his later years, and Preface to Lanting was his masterpiece in his later years.