Zhi Yong Running Script Thousand Characters Manuscript

Author: Fang Chuanxin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: Zhi Yong's True Cursive Thousand Characters Manuscript
Zhi Yong (unknown birth and death years), styled Fa Ji, was a native of Kuaiji, Zhejiang. He was believed to be the seventh-generation descendant of Wang Xizhi, namely the descendant of Wang Huizhi. In his youth, Zhi Yong and his brother Xiao Bin both entered monastic life, earning the lay name "Eternal Zen Master." After ordaining, he resided on the upper floor of Yongxin Temple and devoted himself to calligraphy with relentless effort. Over more than three decades, he accumulated discarded brushes like a mountain, totaling five baskets, which he then buried to form a mound called the "Brush Grave," creating an inscription for it. This demonstrates the extreme diligence he devoted to calligraphy. When Zhi Yong gained fame, those seeking his calligraphy or brushworks came in droves, even wearing out the threshold of his studio. To protect it, he covered the threshold with iron plates, earning the name "Iron Threshold" and becoming a celebrated anecdote in the realm of calligraphy.