The story of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy is as follows:
In the spring of 353 AD, Wang Xizhi summoned the famous scholars and officials who built houses in the East, such as Xie An, Xi Tan, Chen Chuo, Sun Tong, Xu Xun, Zhidun, Xie Sheng, Xu Fengzhi and forty-one of their family members held a gathering at Lanting in Shanyin. This was the famous "Lanting Meeting" in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. This is a grand gathering of relatives and friends based on the ancient custom of "washing and removing dirt" by the water on the third day of March. This certainly belongs to Wang Xizhi’s time of “calm clouds and gentle breeze”, which reflects the entanglements in his previous life.
Of course, it was this gathering that gave birth to the most famous calligraphy work in the history of Chinese calligraphy, the "Preface to the Collection of Orchid Pavilion". As it is written, Orchid Pavilion "has high mountains, luxuriant forests and bamboos, as well as clear and rapid waters. "Yingdai left and right." At that time, "the sky was clear, the air was clear, and the wind was gentle and gentle." People lined up beside the curved water and performed the performance of "flowing the curved water", drinking wine, singing and poetry. On that day, twenty-six people wrote poems, and ten people were unable to write poems. They were each punished with three measures of wine. Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Lanting Collection" records the grand occasion of this day.
The "Preface to the Lanting Collection" is a work of beautiful calligraphy and writing. Wu Chucai and Wu Tiaohou's "Guanwen Guanzhi" said: "The whole article focuses on the word "death and life". It was only for the literati at that time to talk about it, and rarely Practical effect. There is no economic sense in life and death, so I feel happy when I touch the scenery. I am still sick, but I am free and open-minded. Therefore, although I am desolate and sighing, I have infinite pleasure." This evaluation is appropriate.
The calligraphy of "Preface to the Lanting Collection" is also called "the best running script in the world" by later generations. Of course, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy achievements are far more than "Preface to the Lanting Collection". He also has too many classic works.
Other stories of Wang Xizhi
1. "The Word of Not Avoiding"
Wang Xizhi's sons Xuanzhi, Ningzhi, Huizhi, Caozhi and Xianzhi ; Sun Tzu Zhenzhi, Jingzhi. People after Wang Xi did not shy away from family taboos. There is a big secret hidden here, a secret related to Zhang Liang of the Western Han Dynasty.
In his generation, there are 12 people with the character "Zhi" in their names, 22 children and nephews with the character "Zhi", 12 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, 9 great-great-grandchildren, and 4 fifth-generation grandchildren. Chen Yinke said The reason why these people do not shy away is because they are all members of Tianshi Dao, and the "zhi" is a secret code and a badge. The eldest son of Tianshi Dao, Tianshi Zhang Ling, was the eighth generation grandson of Liuhou Zhang Liang.
2. "How to Avoid Disasters"
When Wang Xizhi was young, he was favored by General Wang Dun and often asked Wang Xizhi to sleep with him. One time, Wang Dun got up first, and soon Qian Feng came in. Wang Dun ordered all his servants to leave, and they discussed the plan of rebellion. For a moment, they forgot that Wang Xizhi was still sleeping in the bed. Wang Xizhi woke up and heard what Wang and Qian were talking about. He knew that he would die, so in order to survive, he had to smear his face and quilt with saliva and pretend to be asleep.
Halfway through the conversation between Wang and Qian, Wang Dun suddenly remembered that Wang Xizhi had not gotten up yet, and was shocked and said: "Now that things have come to an end, I have to kill this kid." When he opened the mosquito net, he saw Wang Xizhi's face was drooled, thinking that he was fast asleep and heard nothing, so Wang Xizhi saved his life.