The Origin of Wang Xizhi and Wenzhou

Wang Xizhi (32 1 ~ 379), a native of Linyi (now Shandong), was born in Yinshan (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). Born into a noble family, he was a famous calligrapher and writer in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the art of calligraphy, he learned from others and formed his own family. His brushwork is "floating like a cloud, agile like a dragon" and is respected as a "book saint" by later generations. He loves mountains and rivers and is good at poetry. His masterpiece Preface to Lanting Collection is not only a literary masterpiece, but also called "the best running script in the world" in calligraphy. His books are simple and miscellaneous, or talk about current politics, or express their feelings, and are also praised by the world.

When Wang Xizhi was a child, he was not good at words, but he was smart and discerning, and was valued by the sages at that time. At the age of 22, he served as secretary lang. Later, he recruited General Xi to join the army and moved to a place with a long history. He recommended General Ningyuan and Jiangzhou as the secretariat. Frequently called assistant ministers, ministers of official departments, and generals to protect the army. Yonghe Seventh Army (35 1) is the general of the right army and will take literature and history. Xihe attaches great importance to politics, is lenient and sometimes receives disasters. He opened a warehouse to lend money and transported water for the convenience of the people. The imperial court is heavily taxed, so "every time you go to school, you must fight for it; He once denounced the corruption of officials at that time, saying; "Since the Qing Dynasty, criminals have lost their way, almost like Qin Zheng." They care about the people's sufferings and have done many good things for the people.

Xizhi believes in Taoism, advocating lightness, luxurious personality, being good at traveling in mountains and rivers, and doing nothing for the temple. Later, there was a conflict with his good friend Wang Shu, who was promoted to Yangzhou secretariat and became Wang Xizhi's immediate superior. Out of personal resentment, Wang Shu was critical of many things about Xihe, and was deeply ashamed of Xihe, so he resigned due to illness and vowed not to be an official at his parents' grave. Jin Shu? Wang Xizhi's Biography "Cloud; Xihe became an official and enjoyed traveling with the people in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He took the Taoist Xu Mai * * * and traveled thousands of miles to collect medicine and grain. He traveled around the eastern counties, where poor mountains flooded the sea and sighed,' I should die with joy'. It can be seen that after he resigned, he enjoyed his life of mountains and rivers.

Wang Xizhi has a close relationship with Wenzhou. Ming Ren Jing in the Wenzhou government map? The preface says: "Since the establishment of the county in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the guards such as Wang Xizhi, Shang Cihui, Xie Lingyun, etc. have recruited scholars to tell books, learned from themselves and changed customs. "Wang Xizhi left many anecdotes in Wenzhou, such as Five Horses Square. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Mu published Yu Fang Sheng Lan for nine years: "Wang Xizhi kept Yongjia, lined up five horses in court, embroidered a saddle, and immediately controlled it. Today, there are five horses in the square. Pan Yang's poem "Ode to Five Horses" said: "According to legend, there are five horses that once stood here. People love to make you good, and changing geese is not a vulgar book. "The first sentence has five horses, and the last sentence has Wang Xizhi's allusion to" changing geese ",which undoubtedly refers to Wang Xizhi. Pan Yang was the magistrate of Wenzhou in the Northern Song Dynasty. He once designated Wenzhou City as 36 squares, including Wumafang. It can be seen that Wumafang was named after Wang Xizhi, the satrap of the Northern Song Dynasty. " "Yu Fang Sheng Lan" also records that the lotus blooms from Wenzhou Bailifang to Pingyang Island Bailihe Port, and Wang Xizhi boarded the boat from the south gate to enjoy the lotus. In the Tang Dynasty, Zhang said in the poem "Wenzhou Yongbailifang": "It is the time when the lotus is in full bloom. People like to travel and meet five horses, and the whole family knows that they are messengers. " "Visit Zhang Jian of Yueqing Gaoshi." Ming Yongle's "Yueqing County Records" Volume II "Danxia Mountain" said: "At the beginning, Zhang Jin Wen Jun was here to make an alchemy, and the prefect Wang Xizhi called at home. Wen Jun escaped into the Woods, and no one saw him. Zhang Wenjun, a native of Yueqing, lived at the foot of Baihe Mountain, got the skill of cultivating immortals and made an alchemy near his residence. Wang Xizhi, the county magistrate, visited Yan. Wen Jun threw the remaining medicine into the stream and fled into the bamboo forest, but the right-wing army left without seeing it. Zhang Wenjun, Volume 99 of Taiping Universe in the Northern Song Dynasty, said: "Yongjia people are hiding in Danxia Mountain, visited by Xihe River, and hiding in bamboo is not uncommon. Zhang Tang's heart has the poem "White Crane Mountain": "Who was the one who wanted to drive five horses to seek truth?" Taiping Yulan (963) and Bamboo Department quoted Yongjia County Records of Ji Zheng, Liu Song as saying: "Zhang Jian, a native of Lecheng County, lived in seclusion and should not make a living. His family has dozens of hectares of bitter bamboo, which belongs to it and lives in it forever. Wang Youjun heard it and did it. He suggested escaping from the bamboo forest and not meeting each other. The first county name is Gao Shi. " It can be seen that Wang Xizhi and Yongjia county magistrate Zhang Jian's visit to Yueqing has been recorded continuously since, Yong, Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties.

In addition to the above records, there is another example: "Mo Chi Square" and "Yongjia County Records-Historical Relics" contain: "Mo Chi wrote a book in Mo Chi Square, and Linchi washed the inkstone here." Ming-ye style "Mochi Ji" says: "The right army's stabbing is more beneficial to politics, and it is appropriate to return to the pool. Later generations are in the county. " Hua Yan Shi Yan; Wang Xizhi is very satisfied with the production of inkstone in Luofuhua inkstone mountain in Jiangbei, Wenzhou. There is a sentence in the short post: "It's good to get Yanshi inkstone near China". According to legend, the word "Fu Lan Ting" in Guogongshan, Wenzhou was written by Wang Xizhi. The word "Rongcheng Yu Tai Cave" is engraved on the inside of the left well site of the old Wenzhou House, and it is said that it was also written by Wang Xizhi. When Wang Xizhi visited the evil stream and saw the beauty of the stream, he wrote the word "sudden star wrasse" on the stone beside the stream. The old "Xie Wang Temple" at the foot of Gaihua Mountain in Wenzhou was built for Wenzhou people to commemorate Wang Xizhi and Xie Lingyun.

Wang Xizhi was a magistrate of Yongjia County. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, well-documented documents and historical books have been serialized with conclusive evidence. Recently, however, some scholars have denied or questioned the lack of Biography of Wang Xizhi in the Book of Jin.

Wang Xizhi and Nanxi Dou E

Yongjia Mountain in southern Zhejiang has beautiful scenery and is now a national key scenic spot. Local farmers have an appliance, the famous goose pocket. It is made of Chinese fir, with a bottom at the lower part, round as a goose, and can hold water; There is a handle like a goose head, which can be carried by hand. Rural women like to wash clothes with goose bags or bathe their children with goose bags. This shape of goose pocket is rare in other parts of the country, only in southern Zhejiang. Why do you want to make the washing utensils into the shape of a goose? It is said that this is related to the book sage Wang Xizhi.

Wang Xizhi (32 1-379) was named Shao Yi and was known as Wang Youjun by the world. His ancestral home is Langya, Shandong (now Linyi) and Yinshan, Huiji, Zhejiang (now Shaoxing). He used to be the satrap of Yongjia County (now Wenzhou). His people advocated luxury and luxury, and he liked to travel around. He was a gentleman with a good heart. His favorite life is practicing calligraphy and raising geese, which makes calligraphy and geese have a special bond. At that time, there were many geese in Yongjiahe Township and Xishan Mountain. Goose feathers are gray, they can swim, their bodies are elegant, their heads are long, their crowns are beautiful and flexible. This is a great inspiration to Wang Xizhi's calligraphy practice: he also seeks stability, elegance and beauty, stability as Mount Tai and liveliness as a dragon. Wang Xizhi watched geese practice calligraphy, raised geese to practice calligraphy, and especially loved to write goose characters. The goose tablet on the rooftop has the unique character of Wang Xizhi's book; The word "goose pond" in Lanting, Shaoxing was also written by Wang Xizhi; At the age of 35, Wang Xizhi resigned and retired to raise geese in Jiuquxi, Fenghua. Wang Xizhi's words, floating like clouds, agile like dragons and dancing like dragons, are actually related to geese.

Wang Xizhi served as a satrap in Yongjia, leaving behind the "Mo Chi" historic site where ink stones and pens were washed. He also said that "Huayan Shi Yan" and "Wang Dezhi is very happy" were produced in the fallen flower Yanshan Mountain in the north of Yongjia, and now there is still Hua Ni 'ao Village at the foot of Huayan Mountain. Wang Xizhi loves geese, raises geese, understands geese, and practices calligraphy with geese as the shape of gods. He also left a beautiful legend in Yongjia. In memory of him, he asked the log craftsman to make a goose-shaped goose pocket for household appliances, which he used every day and met every day. It has been circulated in Nanxishan Township and southern Zhejiang.

He was a great calligrapher in Jin Dynasty. Born into a noble family at the age of 48, he was appointed as the general of civil society and the right-wing army, and was called "Wang Youjun".

Wang Xizhi has made outstanding achievements in calligraphy. He studied the brushwork of Zhong You, a famous calligrapher, but he didn't stick to the clock method. He absorbed the essence of all kinds of calligraphy in Wei and Jin dynasties with an open mind, learned from others, and was determined to innovate, thus forming his own unique calligraphy style. His calligraphy style is really cursive, beautiful in all aspects, bold in brushwork and colorful in style. It has become an authentic calligraphy of later generations and is known as the "book saint".

Although Xihe was born in a noble family and was brilliant, he retired from Yung Yung's official career many times. The court "frequently called him to be the official department, but he refused." On the other hand, Xizhi is very concerned about state affairs and people's affairs. He cared about the Northern Expedition, aiming at restoring the Central Plains and unifying China. Concerned about political stability and striving to promote domestic unity; And open positions to relieve fatigue, Cambodia strives for tax cuts from the imperial court and so on. He is also very concerned about the life of Wenzhou people. The sixth volume of the Complete Works of Jinwen records Wang Xizhi's letters, which mentioned: "Instead of books, people fled to the mountains and seas, and Yongjia (county) went with 500 households. Deep worry! This time (referring to the meeting) is not even this. "

Later, Wang Xizhi was snubbed and laughed at because the court did not accept his calligraphy. In the eleventh year of Yonghe, Xizhi resigned from the social history and swore at his parents' graves that he would no longer be an official and interfere in court affairs. Since then, I have lived in Huiji, living a life of "Sang Yu every year" and "seeking defeat alone". I have traveled all over the counties in the East, and I have traveled with the orientals.

There are two theories about the relationship between Wang Xizhi and Wenzhou. First, according to the records of Wenzhou Prefecture, Yongjia County and Yufang Shenglan, Wang Xizhi was the magistrate of Yongjia, and there was a legend of five horses in the court. Secondly, there is no such record in Biography of Jin Shu and other relevant historical books. However, Wang has been to Yongjia and left a trail in some places. For example, "Yongjia County Records" said: "In the past, Wang Youjun visited Yongjia, but in the end it became evil. There are big stones in the south of the right army book. Today, the ink is still visible, but the words are not very clear. " Then he said, "People in Lemin County recommend Zhang, who lives in a simple house and should not be killed." There are dozens of hectares of bitter bamboo in the home, which is a house among bamboo and lives forever. Wang Youjun smelled it and made it. It is recommended to escape from the bamboo forest and not meet each other. The number of the first county is Gauss. "Especially since the past dynasties, many legends about Wang Xizhi have been widely circulated among the people.

Wuma Street in Wenzhou, formerly known as Wumafang, is the downtown area of Wenzhou. The origin of its naming is related to Wang Xizhi. According to legend, when Wang Xizhi was a magistrate in Yongjia, he arranged five horses in the court and embroidered saddles. Every trip, five horses galloped on the road. Zhang, the secretariat of Wenzhou in the Tang Dynasty, said in the poem "Hundred Flowers": "It is the time when the lotus blooms in midsummer; People like to meet five horses when they travel, and the whole family knows that they are messengers. " That's what I wrote. There may not have been a store name at that time. When Pan Yang was appointed as the magistrate of Yongjia in the Northern Song Dynasty, in memory of Wang Zeng, the streets and alleys of Wenzhou were divided into 36 squares. People love to make you good, and it's not bad to change a goose. "Said very clearly.

According to "Yongjia County Records and Historical Relics", "Mo Chi wrote a book in Mo Chi Square and Linchi, Wang Youjun, and washed the inkstone here." Fang is still there because of the name of the pool. It is understood that the former Mo Chi has been annihilated in the compound of Wenzhou Municipal People's Congress. Yunzi, the Tongzhi of Qing Dynasty, witnessed it; He wrote in "Wenzhou Zhi Zhu Ci": "The remains of Mo Chi are still towering, and the gardens and ponds are far away."

Mi Fei, a great calligrapher in Song Dynasty, wrote the word "Mo Chi" to commemorate this relic of Wang Xizhi. And then disappeared. On August 3rd, the 50th year of Qing Qianlong (A.D. 1785), the word "Mo Chi" was added to Sanqu by Huang Damou and carved in stone carvings. This stone is now in the Wenzhou Museum. Seeing these two powerful characters, we seem to smell the ink, and we also seem to see Wang Xizhi's handwriting "floating like a cloud, swimming like a dragon" shaking in front of our eyes. Guo Zhongyue, a former Wen Sima in the Qing Dynasty, wrote in the poem Ode to Mo Chi: "The romantic satrap remembers Wang Lang, and the word goose is fragrant after changing cages. I saw Lang's good handwriting yesterday and moved to Mo Chi Square. "

In the north of Wenzhou City, that is, on the north bank of the river, there is a Huayan Mountain named Chu Yan. According to the "Yongjia County Records Xushan" cloud: "Huayan Mountain, a branch of Yongning Mountain in Bali, north of the city, has a cave with beautiful flowers and trees, and it is a beautiful place of its own, and its stone can be inkstone." According to legend, Wang Xizhi once got Hua Yan inkstone. Wang Xizhi likes inkstone very much. He wrote in the post: "It's good to be close to Huayan inkstone. This is also a great pleasure for him, so it is written into the law post for future generations.

Wang Xizhi left a lot of handwriting in Wenzhou. According to folklore, the original "Fugui Pavilion" under Guogong Mountain in Wenzhou and the words "Rongcheng Yutai Dongtian" engraved on the original mine field under Gaihua Mountain were all written by him, but unfortunately they have all disappeared. Therefore, in Fang Ziying's "Wenzhou Zhi Zhu Ci" in the Qing Dynasty, there is a saying that "the rich pavilion is empty and nostalgic, and the son of heaven pays the original".

Wang Xizhi lived more than 1,600 years ago. As a "book saint", his calligraphy has a great influence on later generations. In Wenzhou, the water in Mo Chi has been nourishing this land. Since the Tang Dynasty, the style of writing has become more and more prosperous, and calligraphers have mushroomed. From Zhang Yan, a famous cursive writer in Tang Dynasty, to Jiang Ligang, who could write at the age of seven in Ming Dynasty; In recent years, from the brothers Meng Rong and Gong Yu, who were called "Yongjia Ernan" in 1930s, to Fang Jiekan and Zou Mengchan in today's book circle, what is more commendable is that a new generation is growing. They became attached to Mo Chi, absorbed the essence of previous calligraphy art, and made great efforts to create different styles and schools, which made China's calligraphy blossom more brilliantly.