World of Pots: Lanting Xu 蘭亭序 and Zhejiang

My wife and I had the opportunity to visit this historical place Lanting 蘭亭 in Zhejiang where a famous work of calligraphy was written by Wang Xizhi (王羲之 a famous caligrapher) in year 353. This work was written in semi-cursive style and was the most well-known and well-copied piece of calligraphy work in Chinese history. It began as the preface to a collection of poems composed by 42 poets who gathered at the Orchid Pavilion 蘭亭 near Shaoxing, Zhejiang. They composed poems, played music while enjoying wine (having a good time). These gentlemen engaged in a drinking contest: wine cups were floating down a small winding creek as the men sat along its banks; whenever a cup stopped, the man closest to the cup was required to empty it and write a poem. In the end, 26 of the participants composed 37 poms. Lanting Xu 蘭亭序 was then written by Wang Xizhi 王羲之 as the preface to the compilation of all these poems. The original is lost, but the work is survived in a number of finely traced copies in existence, with the earliest and most well regarded copy being the one made between c. 627-650 by Feng Chengsu, and it is located in the Palace Museum in Beijing.

When we were in Zhejiang sometime ago, we were fortunate to visit the Orchid Pavilion; we saw the little winding creek, the wine cups that were floating on the creek. We could experience the atmosphere that day almost 1800 years ago when those gentlemen were having so much fun in drinking wine and composing poems. We sat by the bank, the cup stopped by the side of the local tour guide and without any hesitation, he quickly picked it up and emptied the wine. He was lucky this time tough as he was not asked to compose any poem. Later we passed by a court yard where there were many high tables for tourists to have a go at Chinese calligraphy. There was a big flower pot beside the table, you just picked up a brush, dipped it into the water, then started writing on a piece of stone placed on the table. It was said in those days that you had to use up all the water (why used water?) in the pot before you could see significant improvement in your calligraphy. That would took many years of hard work!

The Entrance of Pavilion

The Winding Creek with floating wine cup

Tour Guide emptying the cup

You may not understand the significance of this piece of calligraphy work by Wang Xizhi unless you you know who the calligrapher was and why there was such a craze over his work (even emperors spent enormous effort and money looking for the original manuscript of the Lanting Xu).

Wang Xizhi (303 - 361) 王羲之 was known as the Sage of Calligraphy (書聖), who lived during the Jin Dynasty (265–420). He was considered by many to be one of the most esteemed Chinese calligraphers of all time, especially during and after the Tang Dynasty, and a master of all forms of Chinese calligraphy, especially the running script. The Emperor Taizong of the Tang ynasty admired his works so much that the original Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion 蘭亭序 was said to be buried with the emperor in his mausoleum. Wang Xizhi is well remembered for rearing geese. Legend has it that he learned how to turn his wrist whilst writing by observing how geese moved their necks. Wang Xizhi had seven children, all of whom were notable calligraphers. The most distinguished was his youngest son, Wang Xianzhi.

The preface, Langting Xu, consists of 324 Chinese characters in 28 lines. The character zhī (之) appears 20 times, but no two look the same, which is considered one of the features of this work that constitute its calligraphic excellence.

Emperor Taizong liked Wang Xizhi's calligraphy so much that he ordered a search for the original copy of Lanting Xu. According to legend, the original copy was passed down to successive generations in the Wang family in secrecy until the monk Zhiyong, dying without an heir, left it to the care of a disciple monk, Biancai. Tang Taizong sent emissaries on three occasions to retrieve the text, but each time, Biancai responded that it had been lost. Unsatisfied, the emperor dispatched censor Xiao Yi who, disguised as a wandering scholar, gradually gained the trust of Biancai and persuaded him to bring out the "Orchid Pavilion Preface." Thereupon, Xiao Yi seized the work, revealed his identity, and rode back to the capital. The overjoyed emperor had it traced, copied, and engraved into stone for posterity. Taizong treasured the work so much that he had the original interred in his tomb after his death.

Wang Xizhi had seven children, all of whom were notable calligraphers. The most distinguished was his youngest son, Wang Xianzhi. In 2010, a small Tang reproduction of one of Wang's calligraphy scrolls on silk with four lines, was sold in China at an auction for ¥308 million RMB ($48 million).

I kept wondering to myself, why so much attention was paid to this Preface to the introduction of the collection of poems written by so many people in the past. What happened to the poems? Has anybody anything to say about these poems, 37 of them. It seems nobody really bothered about the poems, or at least I have not read any one of them.