Wang Xizhi (303-361), courtesy name Yishao, was originally from Linyi, Langya (now Linyi, Shandong), and later moved to Shanyin, Kuaiji (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). He was promoted to General of the Right Army and internal historian of Kuaiji. He was known as "Wang Youjun" in his old life. He is known as the "Sage of Calligraphy". Wang Xizhi was born into a prominent family in the Jin Dynasty. He loved calligraphy since he was a child, and was inspired by his father Wang Kuang and uncle Wang Yu. He was good at calligraphy at the age of seven. When he was twelve, his father taught him the theory of penmanship. In his early years, he learned calligraphy from Mrs. Wei, a famous female calligrapher at that time. Mrs. Wei learned from Zhong Yao and passed on his methods wonderfully. "Book Review of the Tang Dynasty" said: "Mrs. Wei's books are like a flower-arranging dancer, or like a beautiful woman on the stage, a fairy playing shadows, a red lotus reflecting the water, and a green marsh floating clouds." Wang Xizhi was also good at learning from many teachers, gaining knowledge and exploring sources. He once said to himself: "I taught the young lady Wei the book, and I will be called a great power; I crossed the Yangtze River and traveled to famous mountains in the north, and saw the books of Li Si, Cao Xi, etc.; also under the promise, I saw the books of Zhong Yao and Liang Hu; and when I went to Luoxia, I saw the books of Cai Yong. "The Stone Classic" was written in three volumes; and after meeting with my brother, I saw Zhang Chang's "Huayue Monument", and I learned about Mrs. Wei's calligraphy, but it took me many years to change it and continue to study it at Zhongbei." If he learns from Zhong Yao, he will be able to melt himself. Zhong's book is still translated, and the real book also has a divided style. The pen is still extended outward, with the momentum of flying birds, which is called "Zhongjia Falcon's wake". Wang Xizhi liked this and chased it with his hands, but it was easy to turn into a song, which reduced his potential. The pen is still pointed inward, and it is turned without folding. It is called "filling the bottom of the bed straight down". He learned from Zhang Zhi on his own initiative. Xiao Yan of the Southern Dynasty wrote in "Comments on the Pros and Cons of Ancient and Modern Calligraphers": "Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is majestic and majestic, like a dragon leaping over the Tianmen or a tiger crouching on the Phoenix Tower. Therefore, it has been treasured by generations and will always be used as a lesson." Wang Xizhi's greatest achievement lies in the enhancement and deletion of ancient methods. , transformed the simple calligraphy style of the Han and Wei dynasties into a calligraphy style with exquisite brushwork and beauty, which had a huge and far-reaching influence on later generations. His wife, Xi, was also a Gongshu scholar and had seven sons, among whom Xian was the most famous.

Appreciation of calligraphy and calligraphy: "Seventeen Calligraphy"

Wang Xizhi's representative work in cursive script, the contents are his letters. Cursive script is one of the calligraphy styles that Wang Xizhi is good at. Wang Xizhi summarized the achievements of his predecessors, and based on learning from Zhang Zhi and other calligraphers before the Eastern Jin Dynasty, he changed the simple calligraphy style of the Han and Wei dynasties and created Yanmei Liuben's cursive script. "Seventeen Posts" is a famous representative work of Wang Xizhi's cursive script. It is named after the word "Seventeen" at the beginning of the volume. The original calligraphy was lost long ago, and the "Seventeen Tie" handed down now is the engraving. "Seventeen Posts" is a collection of letters, a set of letters, with 27 posts, 134 lines, and 1166 words. According to research, it was written to his friend Zhou Fu, the governor of Yizhou. It was written over a period of fourteen years from the third year of Yonghe to the fifth year of Shengping (347-361 AD). It is an important material for studying Wang Xizhi's life and the development of calligraphy.

According to records: Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was fond of Youjun's writings and collected three thousand pieces of Wang's writings, all of which were divided into one volume of one foot and two feet. "Seventeen Posts" was one of them. Zhang Yanyuan of the Tang Dynasty recorded the situation of the original calligraphy of the "Seventeen Posts" in his "Book of Dharma": "The "Seventeen Posts" is one foot and two feet long, which is the inner version of Zhenguan, with one hundred seven lines and nine hundred and forty-three characters. Famous post. Emperor Taizong purchased the two kings' books, and the king's book contained three thousand pieces of paper. He took the writings and words into a volume and made them into a volume. . There are many imitation editions, the most famous ones handed down include the editions collected by Xing and Dong of the Ming Dynasty, the editions collected by Wen Zheng and Zhu Shiwen of the Ming Dynasty, the editions of Wu Kuan and Jiang Chenying, etc. The above "Seventeen Posts" are rubbings from the Song Dynasty.

The predecessors of "Seventeen Posts" rated it as "the brushwork is ancient and has a clear and natural quality, with the legacy of seal script". The style is elegant, neither irritating nor harsh, and does not have the usual crazy and angry habit of cursive writing. It reveals a calm and peaceful atmosphere. The lines of the whole post are clear, and there are occasional links between characters, but they are mainly broken. The shape is broken and the spirit is continued, and the movement of Qi is connected; the size and density of the characters are well-proportioned.

This post was highly praised by predecessors and was regarded as "Dragon and Elephant in Books" by calligraphers. For example, Huang Bosi of the Song Dynasty said: "This post is about the dragon in Shao Yi's book." Zhu Xi said, "He plays with the meaning of his brushwork, calmly and generously, and has a detached atmosphere. He is not tied to the law, and does not seek to escape from the law. The so-called one flows out from his own mind one by one." The cursive writing of this post is natural and free, and the official meaning is still retained in the strokes. The style of the painting is exquisite, the characters are interconnected with each other, and the strokes are rarely connected. This is the characteristic of Zhangcao. And this post has the characteristics of regular script's precise structure and clear dots. Wang Xizhi also studied Zhang Zhi's cursive script and Zhong Yao's official script. Then he followed the general trend of the development of regular script and created Jincao, which integrates cursive, official script and regular script. This post can give you a glimpse of it.

Wang Xizhi's poem "Orchid Pavilion" writes: "Looking up at the blue sky, overlooking the Lushui River. There are few cliffs, and the view is self-explanatory. The great creation of chemical industry is all uneven. Although the group of sounds is The difference is nothing but new.” Zong Baihua, a contemporary esthetician, commented: It really represents the world view inspired by the pure mind and deep feeling of Jin people. "Although the sounds of the group are different, they are nothing but new to me." It can especially be written that Jin people understand the world with a fresh, lively and free mind, making everything they touch reveal a new soul and a new life. Therefore, "viewing the truth tells itself", this truth is not a mechanical and outdated truth, but the deepest truth contained in the lively vitality of the universe. Wang Xizhi also wrote another poem: "It is not my business to strive for the first place, but to be still and shine is to forget to ask for it." Zong Baihua believes that "stillness to shine" is the starting point of all art and aesthetic life. The literature and art of Jin people are infiltrated with this fresh and lively philosophical spirit of "still shining in forgetfulness" and "what suits me is nothing but new" ("Lun, "Shi Shuo Xin Yu" and the Beauty of Jin People"). We can understand and understand the soul of Wang Xizhi's book from the above analysis.