Wang Xizhi's status as a "sage of books" has been unshakable since he was admired by Emperor Wu of Liang and Emperor Taizong of Tang; his calligraphy has influenced the art of mainland calligraphy for nearly two thousand years and has been regarded as authentic. At this time, some friends may wonder: Who is Wang Xizhi's calligraphy master? Satisfy your curiosity today, let's take a good look.
Don't rush down the name, then all you get is a glimpse of the light. To understand Wang Xizhi and his teacher, we must first know the environment in which Wang Xizhi lived, as well as the historical and cultural background of that era.
Zong Baihua once said: "The Six Dynasties of wei and Jin at the end of the Han Dynasty were the most politically chaotic and the most painful era in society, but it was an era of extreme freedom, liberation, wisdom, and enthusiasm in spiritual history. Therefore, it is also the era with the most artistic spirit. The "Wei and Jin demeanor" produced during this period has become a precious spiritual resource of Chinese aesthetics and art, forming a unique traditional Chinese culture. The so-called Wei and Jin demeanor refers to the spontaneous behavior and spiritual freedom pursued by the scholars of the Wei and Jin dynasties.
Wang Xizhi was born in this period, and he was also a first-class door valve clan→ the Langya Wang clan. The Langya Wang clan traced their distant ancestors back to the Zhou Ling Crown Prince Jin, but in fact, the Origin of the Langya Wang Clan was based on Wang Xiang at the time of wei and Jin. And Wang Xiang is the protagonist of the "Lying Ice and Seeking Carp" in the "Twenty-Four Filial Pieties" that we are familiar with, he was born in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the official to the third duke, and his younger brother Wang Lan also achieved an important position in the political arena at that time under his promotion. Wang Xizhi was a descendant of Wang Lan, and his father Wang Kuang was an important figure in the two Jin Dynasties, and it is recorded in the "New Language of the World" that he was the first to advocate the southern crossing of the Eastern Jin dynasty, but his own whereabouts in the Civil War are unknown. After the Royal Family of the Eastern Jin Dynasty crossed south, the Langya Wang family made great contributions, and Wang Xizhi's uncle Wang Dao was also the main figure who assisted the Jin Yuan Emperor Sima Rui in establishing a state in Jiangnan, and was in the dynasty, and Wang Xizhi's other uncle, Wang Dun, supported the large army to defend the place, and once formed a so-called "king and horse sharing the world".
During the Wei and Jin dynasties, the Gate Valve Clan was both the owner of political and economic privileges and the owner of cultural privileges, and this cultural privilege was different from the political and economic privilege, it was not exploited and plundered, but came from the quality of the Scholar Clan itself, "So in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, without culture, there would be no Gate Valve Clan." The cultural family of the Eastern Jin Dynasty paid special attention to literature and art, paying attention to cultivating literary and artistic talents in the family, using art and culture to prove their special status, show their noble cultural qualities, and maintain and revitalize their own families."
If we put Wang Xizhi in the Wei and Jin Dynasties in which he lived, he was one of the disciples of the Menmen clan; however, what made him popular for eternity was neither the arrogance of the "East Bed", nor the learning and political affairs, but the calligraphy art that embodied the style of the scholar clan. The flow of a scholar like Wang Xizhi is exactly the product of such an era and such a clan name.
Although it is the inevitability of the times, in terms of specificity, it is full of accidents. For example, the influence of the teacher on him is not inevitable.
Regarding Wang Xizhi's calligrapher Cheng, he is most famous for his "Lady Shaoxue Wei". On the basis of this, the legend is that Wang Xizhi wrote the article "After the Inscription Of Lady Wei (Pen Array)", which contains a passage describing the experience of learning calligraphy: Yu Shaoxue Wei Lady, who will be called a great power; and crossing the river north to travel to the famous mountains, see Li Si, Cao Xi and other books, and promised, see Zhong Xuan, Liang Hu Shu, and Luo Xia, see Cai Yong's "Stone Classic" Three-Body Book, and at congjie Qia, see Zhang Chang's "Huayue Monument", the first knowledge of the Book of Lady Xuewei, in vain. Xi Zhi then changed his master and still studied at the monuments. In the text, although Wang Xi later held a negative attitude toward his "Lady Xuewei's Book", he spoke of "Lady Shaoxuewei", so posterity has always regarded Lady Wei as Wang Xizhi's teacher. The legendary Wang Xizhi wrote this article, but there are many relevant records in the history books, of which the northern tour Xu Luo is particularly suspicious.
Wang Xi's teacher is a reliable record of Lady Wei, see Southern Dynasty Song Yangxin's "Cai Gu Lai Neng Shu Ren Name": "Jinzhong Academy (Shilang) Li Chong Mother Wei Lady, Shan Zhongfa, Wang Yishao's teacher." ”
Who is Mrs. Wei? She is a branch of the same clan as the Western Jin Dynasty Gaomen and the calligraphy families Wei Wan and Wei Heng. In the last year of the Western Jin Dynasty, she married Jiangzhou's assassin Jiangxia Li Zhi, lady Wei was known for her canonical writing, "Shan Zhong Fa", probably her son Li Chong also had to be taught by him, so "Shan Kai Shu, Miao Sam Chung, Suo". When Wang Xizhi was young, he studied books from Lady Wei, and it is estimated that it is the calligraphy of the School of Zhong Xuan.
Lady Wei can only be regarded as Wang Xizhi's enlightened teacher in learning calligraphy. Because Wang Xi later came to "change the master" to his uncle Wang Dao, the Southern Dynasty Qi monk Qian Qian's "On books" and Liang Yu's shoulder wu "Books" have records of Wang Xi's teacher Wang Dao, but people do not mention this experience of Wang Xizhi. When Wang Xizhi crossed south with Wang Dao to Jinling (present-day Changzhou), his adolescence was spent in Jiankang, and when he was twenty years old, Wang Dao died. In the more than ten years after Wang Dao crossed the river, he initially served as a short-term sheriff of Lujiang and Poyang Counties, and later served as the assassin of Jingzhou but for a short time, during which he served in Jiankang, and the mourner was also in Jiankang. It is estimated that Wang Xizhi's transfer to Wang Dao was between the ages of ten and twenty.
What kind of character is Wang Dao? Wang Dao was the most influential figure in the early art scene of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, not only good at the main book, but also in the works of the book, cursive, and feibai, and his skills were more comprehensive than those of Mrs. Wei. The desire to learn calligraphy is a gradual and broad process, and it is also logical for Wang Xizhi to be transferred from Mrs. Shi Wei to Wang Dao. Moreover, Wang Xizhi lost his father at an early age, and as an uncle, Wang Dao had his own responsibility of supervision.
After Wang Xizhi changed his teaching to Wang Dao, the study of calligraphy was extended from the orthodox style to the techniques of xingshu, cursive writing, and flying white calligraphy. Later, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy level gradually increased, and he could write various types of books, although Lady Wei's enlightenment could not be erased, but Wang Dao's role and influence on Wang Xizhi far exceeded that of Lady Wei.
Wang Dao and Lady Wei are both "passing on the Chung Fa", and Wang Xizhi should of course be regarded as a descendant of the Chung Sect. Later, Wang Xizhi built the "present body" in calligraphy, which was a natural thing.
Wang Xizhi once said: "After searching for all the famous books, Chung and Zhang are absolutely brilliant, and the rest are not enough to survive." After his calligraphy was valued by the world, he often said to himself: "My book is better than Zhong Xuan, when it is resisting; than Zhang Zhicao, it is like a goose line." In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Zhong and Zhang were recognized as authorities by calligraphers, and Wang Xizhi admired Zhong and Zhang to show his recognition of authority, and also promised to "resist" and "walk in the wild goose" with Zhong and Zhang. It can be said that after the age of twenty, Wang Xizhi had an in-depth study of Zhong and Zhang calligraphy for a period of time, so he could say the words "Zhang Zhi studied books in the pond, and the pool water was black, making people delay if they were, but not necessarily later".
In summary, Wang Xizhi's calligrapher Cheng, the general clue is: Lady Wei of Shaoxue, the technique of obtaining the main book; from more than ten to twenty years old, he changed his master's uncle Wang Dao, and obtained the technique of the multitude; after the age of twenty, the master's teacher, the master of the master, the main book and the xingshu Zong Shang Zhongxuan, cursive imitation of Zhang Zhi.
Well, today we will understand here, no further exploration, I hope to enhance your understanding of Wang Xizhi's master.