Feng Chengsu's copy of Wang Xizhi's Orchid Pavilion Preface

Author: Ji Lin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Wang Xizhi (also known as Wang Yishao, 303 AD or 321 AD–379 AD), Eastern Jin Dynasty calligrapher, styled Yishao. Originally from Langya (now part of Linyi, Shandong), he resided in Shanyin (Zhejiang Shaoxing). He held the position of Right Military General and Shanyin Interior Minister, hence known as "[Wang Right Military General]". Born into a prominent family of the Eastern and Western Jin Dynasties, he studied calligraphy under the renowned female calligrapher Wei Fen in his youth. Later, he traveled north to famous mountains, absorbing various styles, and learned cursive script from Zhang Zhi and regular script from Zhong Yao. Through his observation and study, "[He integrated various methods, forming his own style]", achieving a height of "[Superior to all, unmatched in ancient and modern times]", ultimately becoming the recognized "[Sage of Calligraphy]" in the history of Chinese calligraphy.
The Orchid Pavilion Preface, also known as Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection, Seated by the River, The Airing of the Waters, or The Airing of the Waters Manuscript. On the third day of the third month of the ninth year of the Yonghe reign (353 AD) of Emperor Mu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi, along with the renowned scholars Xie An, Sun Chuo, and forty-one others, gathered at Shanyin (now Zhejiang Shaoxing) in the Orchid Pavilion to discuss "[Airing the Waters]". During the gathering, each person composed a poem, with Xizhi writing the preface. The preface describes the beautiful landscape around the Orchid Pavilion and the joy of the assembly, with elegant wording that expresses Xizhi's lament over the fleeting nature of beauty and the impermanence of life. It is a prose piece with a unique Wei-Jin style. The manuscript has twenty-eight lines and 324 characters, with perfect composition, structure, and brushwork, and is considered his masterpiece at the age of thirty-two. Generations of calligraphers have praised it as the "[Greatest Running Script in the World]". Later scholars remarked, "[The handwriting of Right Military General marked a transformation of ancient methods. His majestic and elegant spirit arose naturally, hence becoming a model for ancient and modern calligraphers]."
By the Tang Dynasty, the manuscript came into the possession of Emperor Taizong, who ordered Zhao Mo and others to make several copies, distributing them among his close relatives and officials. However, the original was buried as a burial item by Emperor Taizong in the Zhaoling Tomb, forever lost to the world. Among the existing copies and carvings, the Feng Chengsu Dragon Manuscript is considered the most authentic, while the Dingwu Orchid Pavilion carving is regarded as the most renowned.