About Wang Xizhi’s deeds

Introduction to the story of Wang Xizhi

Wang Xizhi is the most remarkable calligrapher in history. He was born in Linyi, Langya, in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. His family was one of the few wealthy noble families in the Jin Dynasty. His grandfather Wang Zheng was Shangshulang, and his father Wang Kuang was the prefect of Huainan. He once proposed that the Jin Dynasty cross the river and establish the Eastern Jin Dynasty on the left side of the river. Wang Xizhi's uncle, Wang Dao, was even more famous as the prime minister of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and his other uncle, Wang Dun, was the military commander of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The Langya Wang family was extremely powerful and prosperous in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Because of Wang Xizhi's background, he became a secretary as soon as he became an official. Later he joined the army for Yu Liang, then moved to Ningyuan general, Jiangzhou governor, and finally became the right army general and Kuaiji internal historian. So people also call him "Wang Youjun".

Wang Xizhi was frank and informal, and he had no desire for honor and profit since he was a child. "Shishuoxinyu" contains Wang Xizhi's beautiful talk about confessing his feelings.

Xi Jian, another major gentry in the Jin Dynasty, wanted to marry into the Wang family, so he sent his disciples to the Wang family to choose a son-in-law. Director Wang asked people to go to the east chamber to observe his nephews one by one. After the disciple returned, he reported to Xi Jian: "The Wang family's young men are all good." When they heard that the visitor was sent by the Xi family to choose a son-in-law, they all looked reserved. There was only one person eating openly on the east bed, as if he didn't know this happened. Xi Jian heard this and said: "This is the good son-in-law I am looking for." ? Later, when I inquired about it, I found out that the person who had eaten openly was Wang Xizhi, so I married my daughter to him.

Judging from this anecdote, Wang Xizhi has had an open-minded character since he was a child and rarely worries about trivial matters. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why his calligraphy is vigorous and open, with a free and unrestrained attitude. Because of this allusion, later people used "Dong Bed Tan Fu" and "Dong Bed Tan" as good names for son-in-law, or called other people's sons-in-law "Ling Tan".

Because of Wang Xizhi's rare reputation, the officials in the imperial court loved his talents, and he was repeatedly recruited to serve as a minister, minister of history, etc., but he refused. He doesn't like being an official and prefers to be quiet. But when he had no choice but to take up an official position, he would never remain in office. During his tenure, he expressed important and practical political opinions to Prime Minister Xie An and Yin Hao who participated in government affairs. He also opened a warehouse to provide relief to the hungry. All these show that he does not seek glory and wealth but is an upright character.

Wang Xizhi has been fond of calligraphy since he was a child. When he was young, he learned calligraphy from his aunt, Mrs. Wei, a famous female calligrapher. After crossing the river, he studied the calligraphy of senior calligraphy masters such as Li Si, Cao Xi, Zhang Zhi, Zhang Chang, Cai Yong, Zhong Yao and Liang Hu. This makes his calligraphy integrate the strengths of various calligraphy schools and become a style of its own. In addition, there are many people in his family who are good at calligraphy. His fathers, Wang Dao, Wang Kuang, Wang Yi, etc. are all masters. This is also a very significant help to his calligraphy learning.

Wang Xizhi has profound attainments in real calligraphy, cursive and running calligraphy. His real calligraphy is clever and dense, opening up a new realm; his grass is long, thick and slender; his running script is charming and vigorous. People call his words "floating like floating clouds, powerful like a frightening dragon"; "dragon leaps over the sky gate, tiger lies in the Phoenix Pavilion".

Wang Xizhi has many calligraphy engravings, such as "Le Yan Lun", "Huang Ting Jing", "Dongfang Shuo Painting Praise" and other regular script works, which occupy an important position in the history of ancient Chinese calligraphy. His cursive calligraphy handed down from generation to generation includes more than ten kinds of cursive calligraphy, such as "Han Qie Tie", "Auntie's Tie" and "Chu Yue Tie". Although these calligraphy treasures are copies of Tang Dynasty double outlines, they are also rare treasures. His running script "Kuaixue Shiqing Tie" has only 24 characters, and was listed as the first among "Three Xi Tie" by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.

"Preface to Lanting" is Wang Xizhi's most famous masterpiece. From a literary point of view, it has beautiful words and broad-minded emotions. It is a great article that will last forever. From the perspective of calligraphy, it is known as the crown of Dharma stickers and has been carefully studied by famous artists of all generations.

Wang Xizhi was also good at painting and was one of the earliest calligraphers in history who was also good at painting. His wife Xi and his seven sons are all good at calligraphy, and they are a world-famous calligraphy family, which is also rare in ancient Chinese history.

In particular, his youngest son Wang Xianzhi inherited his father's learning, and further created a world of originality. His calligraphy and painting were beautiful and exquisite, and he was as famous as his father, known as "Er Wang".

The most obvious feature of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy style is his delicate brushwork and changeable structure. Wang Xizhi's calligraphy has influenced generations of calligraphers. Ouyang Xun, Yu Shinan, Zhu Suiliang, Xue Ji, Heyan Zhenqing, and Liu Gongquan in the Tang Dynasty, Yang Ningshi in the Five Dynasties, Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu, and Cai Xiang in the Song Dynasty, Zhao Mengfu in the Yuan Dynasty, and Dong Qichang in the Ming Dynasty. These famous calligraphers of all dynasties were sincerely convinced by Wang Xizhi. , highly respected, so he enjoys the reputation of "Sage of Calligraphy".

Wang Xizhi was concerned about the sufferings of the people and showed compassion. One day, Wang Xishang was walking on the street and saw an old woman carrying a basket of white fans and selling them sadly. Wang Xishang stepped forward to inquire and found out that the old woman and her family relied on this small business to make a living. But who knew that no one would buy her fan. Wang Xizhi advised the old lady not to be anxious, and then asked the old lady to take out all the white fans she owned and inscribe words on them. The old lady was very angry at first. Why did this man scribble on her fan? Wang Xizhi told her that as long as she shouted loudly that this was written by Wang Xizhi and paid 100 yuan for each fan, someone would definitely buy it. The old lady shouted doubtfully, and sure enough, the basket of fans was sold out. The old lady was very grateful to Wang Xizhi, but when she looked around, he was nowhere to be seen. Wang Xizhi's life story

He learned calligraphy from his uncle when he was young, and later from Mrs. Wei. He saw the calligraphy of many famous calligraphers since the Han and Wei dynasties. He practiced various styles, learned from the strengths of others, and prepared various styles. He got rid of the writing style of Han and Wei Dynasties and became his own style. The writing style is open and bright, and the structure is rigorous. The most popular regular scripts are "Huang Ting Jing" and "Le Yi Lun"; the most popular running scripts are "Lanting Preface"; and the most popular cursive scripts are "Kuaixue Shiqing Tie" and "Chu Mu Tie". Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty regarded it as a national treasure and called on the world to copy his calligraphy. His calligraphy became the authentic calligraphy style that replaced the calligraphy of the Han and Wei dynasties. His calligraphy is known as "floating like floating clouds, powerful as a frightening dragon", "iron calligraphy with silver hooks", unrivaled in ancient and modern times, and later generations honored him as "the sage of calligraphy". According to legend, his authentic running script "Lanting Preface" was buried with Li Shimin. All the copies that have been handed down to the world are copies.

He believes that raising geese can not only cultivate sentiments, but also comprehend the principles of calligraphy and writing from certain body postures of geese. Early one morning, Wang Xizhi and his son Wang Xianzhi took a small boat to explore the landscape of Shaoxing. When the boat arrived near Jun Village in the county, they saw a group of white geese on the shore, swaying and dawdling. Wang Xizhi was fascinated by the sight and fell in love with these white geese, so he wanted to buy them home. Wang Xizhi asked the Taoist priest nearby, hoping that the Taoist priest could sell him the geese. The Taoist priest said, "If Lord Youjun wants it, please write for me a Taoist health-preserving book, the Huang Ting Jing." Wang Xizhi was eager to ask for it, and he readily agreed to the conditions put forward by the Taoist priest. This is the story of "Wang Xizhi's book exchanged for a white goose".

When he was twenty years old, a Taiwei Xi Jian sent someone to Wang Dao’s house to choose a son-in-law. At that time, people paid attention to family status and the right family. Director Wang's son and nephew heard that Taiwei's family was coming to propose marriage, so they all dressed up in disguise, hoping to be selected. Only Wang Xizhi seemed to have heard nothing. He was lying on the bamboo couch in the east, eating sesame seed cakes with one hand and drawing on his clothes with the other. After the visitor returned, he reported what he saw to Taiwei Xi. When he knew that there was a calm Wang Xizhi leaning on the east couch, he couldn't help but clapped his hands and exclaimed: This is exactly the son-in-law I want! So Xi Jian married his daughter Xi Junjun to Wang Xizhi. This story became the two allusions of "Dong Bed" and "Ling Tan".

These are not the only idioms that appeared on him. It is said that once, he wrote the words on a wooden board and showed it to the carver to carve. The person used a knife to cut the wooden board and found his handwriting. Print three-thirds deep into the inside of the board. This is the origin of the idiom "three points into the wood".

The best calligraphy of Wang Xizhi’s life is the Preface to the Lanting Collection. That was his work in middle age.

There was a custom in the Eastern Jin Dynasty that on March 3rd of the lunar calendar every year, people had to go to the river to play in order to eliminate bad luck. This is called "Xiucai". On March 3 of the ninth year of Yonghe, Wang Xizhi and some literati, numbering forty-one, went to the riverside of Lanting to repair.

Everyone drank and wrote poems. After finishing the poems, everyone collected them and combined them into a preface to the Lanting Collection. Wang Xizhi was recommended to write a preface. Wang Xizhi was already drunk at this time. Taking advantage of his drunkenness, he picked up the rat whisker pen and began to write on the silkworm cocoon paper. This preface was the preface to the Lanting Anthology, which later became famous throughout the ages. This post is a draft, 28 lines, 324 words. It describes the gathering of literati at that time. The author was in high spirits at the time and was very proud of his writing. It is said that he could no longer be caught writing it again later. There are more than twenty "?" characters, written in different ways. Mi Fu in the Song Dynasty called it "the best running script in the world". Legend has it that Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, cherished "Lanting Preface" very much and buried it in Zhaoling when he died. All that remains are copies of others. What people see today are all copies of "Lanting Preface". Wang Xizhi's calligraphy works are very rich. In addition to "Lanting Preface", the famous ones include "Guannu Tie", "Seventeen Tie", "Two Xie Tie", "Fengju Tie", "Auntie Tie", "Kuaixue Tie" "Shi Qing Tie", "Le Yi Lun", "Huang Ting Jing", etc. The main characteristics of his calligraphy are peaceful and natural, euphemistic and implicit, and elegant and graceful. Later generations commented: "Flying like clouds, trimming moss and frightening snakes". Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is extremely beautiful.

After the Han Dynasty, after more than sixty years of the Three Kingdoms' struggle, it entered the Jin Dynasty. Calligraphy has reached another peak. The cursive writing of official script is called Licao. Licao dissolves the basic structure of official script and only retains the waves. It is mainly used for writing memorials, so it is also called Zhangcao. Representative calligraphers who wrote Zhangcao include Shi You, Huang Xiang, Suo Jing, etc. On the basis of Zhangcao, Jincao appeared. At the same time, regular script and running script also appeared. It can be said that by the Jin Dynasty, the seal, Li, Cao, Xing, and Kai scripts were all in place.

The calligraphy of the Jin Dynasty achieved the greatest achievements in regular script and running script, and had the greatest influence on later generations. The representative calligraphers are Zhong Yao and Wang Xizhi. Zhong Yao (151-230), named Yuanchang, was born in Changshe, Yingchuan (now east of Changge County, Henan Province). During the Cao Wei Dynasty, he was an official and became a Taifu. He is good at Li, Kai and Xing styles, especially regular script has the greatest influence. The "Xuanhe Script" of the Song Dynasty evaluated his calligraphy as "the ancestor of regular script" (regular script). His regular script inherited the legacy of the official script of the Eastern Han Dynasty, with eight-part opening, left and right waves, clever momentum and dense shape, natural and elegant. The "He Jie Biao" written by him is quite full of flying swans, and was praised by Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty Xiao Yan as "a group of swans playing in the sea, and a dancing crane traveling in the sky". In his regular script, there is also the style of official script. His works also include "Declaration Form", "Power and Life Form", "Return Statement", etc.

On the third day of the third lunar month in the ninth year of Yonghe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (353), when Wang Xizhi, Xie An, Sun Chuo and other 41 people were making a contract in Lanting, Shaoxing (an activity to ward off diseases and bad luck), everyone drank. After composing poems and collecting them into a collection, Xizhi improvised a preface, which is the famous "Lanting Preface". This post is a draft, 28 lines, 324 words. It describes the gathering of literati at that time. The author was in high spirits at the time and was very proud of his writing. It is said that he could no longer be caught writing it again later. There are more than twenty "?" characters, written in different ways. Mi Fu in the Song Dynasty called it "the best running script in the world". Legend has it that Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, cherished "Lanting Preface" very much and buried it in Zhaoling when he died. All that remains are copies of others. Wang Xizhi (303-361), courtesy name Yishao and Danzhai, his ancestral home is Langxiejianyi (now Linyi, Shandong). He later moved to Kuaiji and lived in seclusion in Jinting, Shan County in his later years. He is good at calligraphy and is known as the "Sage of Calligraphy" in the world.

Wang successively served as secretary Ying, general Ningyuan, and governor of Jiangzhou. Later, he was the internal history of Kuaiji, leading the right general, and was known as "Wang Youjun". In March of the 11th year of Yonghe (355), he claimed to be ill and abandoned his official position. He moved with his son Cao Zhi from Kuaiji Jishan to Jinting. He built a library, planted mulberries, taught his children, composed poems, made calligraphy and paintings, and entertained himself by letting geese go fishing. He also traveled with Xu Xun, Zhidun and other famous people throughout the mountains and rivers of Shan. After the king settled in Jinting, calligraphy flourished. Most of his descendants were good at calligraphy and painting, and their works were hung all over the halls and study rooms, and they were known as the "Huayuan Painting Hall". Later generations named the village "Huatang", and it is still known as this. Wang Xizhi's relics can be found all over the county. Duxiu Mountain in the west of Sheng was Wang Xizhi's place of study. The Guanyin Hall on the mountain has a plaque titled "Youjun's Old Tour Place". At the foot of the mountain, a Taoyuan Township Head Temple was built to honor Wang Youjun as the head of the town. Xizhiping in Shengbei Mountain, Qingyin Temple in Shengdong, and Wanghanling at the junction of Shengxin and Sheng were all recreation places for kings, and there are still relics to be found.

In the fifth year of Dongsheng Dynasty (361), the king was buried in Jinting Waterfall Mountain (also known as Ziteng Mountain). His fifth generation Sun Heng’s residence was Jintingguan, and the ruins still exist. During the Datong period of Liang Dynasty (535-546), his descendants built the Youjun Temple in front of the tomb, and built a library and an ink pond next to the temple. Pei Tong of the Tang Dynasty wrote "Jin Ting Guan Jin Youjun Library and Ink Pond". In the seventh year of Daye in the Sui Dynasty (611), the seventh monk Sun Zhiyong asked his disciple Shang Gao (the young master of Yongxin Temple in Wuxing) to go to Jinting to worship and sweep. He also wrote the "Tomb Record of the Waterfall Mountain Exhibition" and erected a stele in front of the tomb. During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Tuiguan planted a monument on the right side of the tomb. In the fifteenth year of Hongzhi (1502), the tomb of King Jin Youjun was rebuilt with a stone tablet, which still exists today. In the winter of the 29th year of Daoguang's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1849), Xiuqing, the descendant of the Wang family, built an archway for the tomb of King Youjun of Jin Dynasty on the left side of Jinting Temple. It is still intact.

When it comes to his love for geese, the one who stands out is Wang Xizhi, the great calligrapher of the Jin Dynasty. Here is a story:

It is said that Wang Xizhi, a noble man, was not very interested in being an official, so he left the noisy and boring capital and came to the pleasant scenery of Jiangnan. When he lived in Shaoxing, he often walked In the water town of Zeguo, observe a group of geese. One geese after another, their feathers are neat and beautiful, and their postures are graceful and luxurious. Some of them float, some sing, and some play. He watched and watched in fascination, sometimes forgetting to go home for dinner.

One day, he was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a goose that looked unusual. Its feathers were as white as snow and its crown was as red as rubies. Its cry was especially sweet and sweet, and he loved it very much. , immediately sent people to inquire nearby, and wanted to buy the goose, even if it cost twice as much, they would not hesitate. As soon as I found out, it turned out that the owner of the goose was a gray-haired old woman. The old woman had no relatives around her and only had this white goose for company. Although her family was very poor, she couldn't bear to part with the goose. After Wang Xizhi learned about this situation, he fully understood the old man's mood and expressed that he would not buy this precious goose. In order to observe further, he decided to pay a visit. Speaking of this old woman, when she heard that the calligrapher Wang Xizhi was coming to visit her home, she was very happy, but what should she do to entertain the distinguished guests? The old woman was feeling worried, and suddenly there was a cry of "Oh!" in the yard. Voice. Oh, yes, in order to entertain the guests, the old man killed his beloved white goose and made a delicious dish, waiting for Wang Xizhi's arrival. After a while, Wang Xizhi walked into this simple hut with hurried steps. When he learned that the warm and generous host brought his only beloved goose to entertain guests, his eyes became moist: he felt sorry for the death of the goose, and was even more moved by the host's kindness? So he asked people to He found an ink pen and wrote on the hexagonal bamboo fan he brought with him. He handed it to the old woman and said, "Old man, I have nothing to thank you for. Please take this fan to the market and sell it for a hundred dollars." Use it to supplement your livelihood. ?The old man refused, and Xizhi said affectionately: This is my way of honoring you! Wang Xizhi's character introduction