The Preface to the Lanting Pavilion, with 28 lines and 324 words, is charming and elegant, with exquisite words and dancing, which seems to help the gods and men. It has been regarded as a masterpiece in the calligraphy circles of past dynasties. Mi Fei, a great calligrapher in Song Dynasty, called it "the first post of China's running script".

Anyone who studies running script in the future will fall in love with Lanting. The graceful and dancing brushwork of Preface to Lanting really makes our younger generation sigh and admire Wang Xizhi's superb calligraphy skills and fluent literary talent.

However, it is this Preface to the Lanting Pavilion, the first running script in the world, which has made a permanent puzzle in the history of calligraphy. Today, the whereabouts of this calligraphy masterpiece "more expensive than others, the best in ancient and modern times" are still confusing and regrettable.

Among the eight existing pillars in Lanting, the third unsigned pillar was once suspected to be the original of Wang Xizhi. However, after a lot of textual research, this work is still written by Feng Chengsu, a great calligrapher of later generations, and it is not the original work of Wang Xizhi.

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The Preface to Lanting Collection has 28 lines and 324 words. It is charming and elegant throughout, and its words are exquisite, if God helps. For example, none of the 20 "zhi" characters are the same, which has become a must in the history of calligraphy. Later, he rewrote it many times, but it was not as good as this wine-soaked work, and was regarded as a masterpiece by the book circles of past dynasties.

Mi Fei, a great calligrapher in Song Dynasty, called it "the first calligraphy post of China", but it is this masterpiece that "the more expensive it is, the more ancient it is". Until now, its whereabouts are still confusing and regrettable.

He's Lanting Collection once said that people are big and have a special liking for calligraphy, especially the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi, a "book saint". He used the convenience of the emperor to search for Wang Xizhi's calligraphy works all over the world.

Every time I get an original, I regard it as a treasure. When Yu Xing came, I copied it and understood its brushwork. After appreciating its natural charm, you will cherish it for fear of losing it.

Not only that, he also advocated Wang Xizhi's calligraphy style, personally wrote the biography of Wang Xizhi for the Book of Jin, and collected Wang Xizhi's original works. In his later years, Emperor Taizong liked Wang Xizhi more.

Although Wang Xizhi has many ink collections, including Preface to Lanting, the real copy of Preface to Lanting has never been found. As the king of a country, he can't get the rare treasures of the previous dynasty. Every time Emperor Taizong thought about this, he looked unhappy.

It turned out that Wang Xizhi himself treasured the Preface to the Lanting Pavilion, a "God-given" work, and carefully passed it on to his seventh generation Sun Zhiyong as a family heirloom.

Zhi Yong became a monk and loved calligraphy. He admired Naizu Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi's calligraphy and was determined to make Naizu's calligraphy immortal. Zhiyong practices calligraphy very hard. When he was in Yongxin Temple, he built a small building to practice calligraphy, vowing that "if the book is not finished, he will never leave this building".

In this deserted small building, he practiced calligraphy selflessly and spent one stroke after another. He often throws his worn brush into the big urn. Over time, he has accumulated several urns. Zhiyong later buried these brushes in a place and buried them with his own inscription, which was called "returning the pen to the tomb".

After 30 years of hard work, Zhiyong's calligraphy has become more and more famous. Many people seek its original work and ask for advice at home, so that his outdoor space is often full and even the threshold is trampled on. Zhiyong had to reinforce the threshold with iron sheets, which was called "iron threshold" at that time.

Shu Zhen Qian Wen Zi is a masterpiece of Zhi Yong, which is highly praised by later generations. His Thousand-character Literatures spread to Japan in the Tang Dynasty, which had a great influence on Japanese calligraphy.

Zhiyong/kloc-died at the age of 0/00. Before he died, he gave the Preface to Lanting Collection to his disciple, monk Cai Bian. Monks in Cai Bian are also good at calligraphy. He knew the value of Preface to Lanting Collection and treasured it in a hole specially carved on the beam of the bedroom.

When Li Shimin learned that the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion was in the hands of the monk Cai Bian, he was very excited and sent someone to ask for it many times, but the monk Cai Bian always said that he didn't know the whereabouts of the original. Li Shimin saw the difficulty and succeeded, so he changed his mind. He sent Xiao Yi, an ancient scholar, to get close to him and try to get Preface to Lanting Collection.

Xiao Yi was also very good at calligraphy and had a very speculative conversation with this talented monk. After their close relationship, Xiao Yi specially took out several calligraphy works of Wang Xizhi for the monks to enjoy.

After reading it, he said disapprovingly, "It's true, but it's not good. I have an original book, which is the real treasure handed down by Wang Xizhi. "

Xiao Yi understood this confusion and calmly asked what this post was. He hesitated, and then mysteriously told him that this was the manuscript of Preface to Lanting Collection. Seeing that Xiao Yi didn't believe it, he decided to let him open his eyes and take out the original Preface to Lanting Collection from the hole in the beam for Xiao Yi to see.

Xiao Yi looked at it carefully, and it proved to be the original work of Preface to Lanting Collection. As soon as his face changed, he put it in his sleeve and showed Cai Bian the relevant "letters" of Emperor Taizong. Only then did I know that I had been cheated, but it was too late to regret it.

When Li Shimin finally got what he dreamed of, he was ecstatic. Because of Xiao Yizhi's contribution in Preface to the Lanting Pavilion, Li Shimin promoted him to Yuanwailang with five products, and gave him silver bottles, golden bottles, agate bowls and pearls. , gave him two royal horses in the palace, with jeweled saddles, a house and a manor.

At first, Li Shimin kept the Preface to Lanting Collection a secret, and was very angry that he didn't dedicate it to the master with discerning eyes and talents. After he calmed down, he felt that the discerning people were too old to punish them, so he let them go.

A few months later, Li Shimin, a kind-hearted man, gave 3,000 pieces of brocade and silks to the discerning master, 3,000 pieces of stones to the valley, and sent a letter to the prefect of Yuezhou asking for repayment.

After receiving these rewards, the master with a discerning eye who was in shock did not dare to take them for himself. He managed to turn the gift into money and built a three-story pagoda with the money.

This pagoda is particularly exquisite and gorgeous, and it still exists in the world until now. Cai Bian fell ill from fear and excitement and died a year later.

Li Shimin appreciated Wang Xizhi's calligraphy very much. Four calligraphers in Ming Palace, including Zhao Mo, Han Daozheng, Feng Chengsu and Zhu Gejin, each exhibited a few pieces and gave them to the Crown Prince, princes and modern ministers. At that time, this "first-class" copy was also "Luoyang paper is expensive". In addition, there are Ou Yangxun, Chu Suiliang, Yu Shinan and other famous artists handed down from generation to generation.

According to historical records, Preface to Lanting Collection said in Li Shimin's testamentary edict that it should be placed under his head. In other words, this treasure should be in Zhaoling (the tomb of Emperor Taizong). Wen Tao, a warlord in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, stole Zhaoling during his tenure as our special envoy in northern Guanzhong, Shaanxi Province.

History records: "In the town for seven years, if the tomb of Emperor Tang was in its territory, it was discovered and its treasures were taken away." Zhaoling in Li Shimin is also hard to escape. After entering the Zhaoling underground palace, grave robbers saw the splendor of its buildings and internal facilities, just like the imperial palace in Chang 'an.

In the middle of the tomb is the master bedroom of Emperor Taizong. There is a stone letter on the bed. After opening it, there is an iron box inside. The iron box is full of precious books and calligraphy collected by Li Shimin before his death, among which the most valuable ones are the original works of Zhong You, a great calligrapher in the Three Kingdoms period, and Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

When you open it, the paper and ink more than 200 years ago are as good as new. These rare treasures have been taken away by Wen Tao, but they have been missing for more than 1000 years, and no one knows where these treasures have gone.

However, there is no Preface to Lanting Collection on the list of unearthed treasures written by Wen Tao, and there has never been a record of the original being circulated and included since then. Some historians believe that Wen Tao's excavation was hasty, and there was no comprehensive and meticulous cleaning, so the original work is probably still hidden in a more secret place in Zhaoling.

There is also a saying in the history circle that Preface to Lanting Collection was not buried in Zhaoling with Li Shimin, but in Ganling, Li Zhi, Tang Gaozong.

People who hold this view believe that when Emperor Taizong died, he did not propose to bury the Preface to the Lanting Pavilion, but gave it to his son Li Zhi, who also loved handed down works of art. ..

Li Shimin's ninth son, Li Zhi, was made a prince in the 17th year of Zhenguan (643) and ascended the throne in the 23rd year of Zhenguan (649). Li Zhi reigned for 34 years, died in the first year of Hongdao (683) and was buried in Ganling.

When Li Zhi died, he left a testamentary edict and buried his favorite calligraphy and painting. Therefore, after the loss of Preface to Lanting Collection, some people suspected that Preface to Lanting Collection was not buried with Zhaoling, but hidden in Ganling.

In the Tang Dynasty, there were 18 imperial tombs. It is said that Wen Tao dug 17, but when he dug Ganling, it was stormy and in vain. After the Tang Dynasty, no one has seen the original "Preface to Lanting", which makes more people believe that "Preface to Lanting" was buried with the tomb.

The whereabouts of the original Preface to Lanting Collection is still a mystery. It seems that the truth can only be revealed when Zhaoling and Ganling are officially excavated in the future. Only time can finally answer the questions left by history. In this regard, we should wait patiently enough, and the truth will come out one day.

People's Daily Online-Revealing the Secret: The whereabouts of the original preface to Lanting Collection

Baidu Encyclopedia-Preface to Lanting Collection