Jin Dynasty
Wang Xizhi
Wang Xizhi, who styled himself Yishao, is a calligrapher of Eatern Jin Dynasty. His domicile of origin is Linxi, Shandong province. He was once the general of right wing army, and later the prefecture chief, so he was also called "Wang of the rightwing army". He learned his penmanship from Mrs. Wei, a famous calligrapher at that time. He later traveled across the Yangtze river and visited all the famous mountains in the north, and combined all the merits of other calligraphers: cursive style from Zhang Zhi, and regular script from Zhong Yao. Finally, he successfully formed his own style which no one before him or after him could match, by absorbing all the advantages of these styles. Thus he was entitled "the great calligraphy master".
The greatest achievement of Wang Xizhi's penmanship lies in the variation of former styles: he changed the simple and plain styles of both Han and Wei Dynasties. He valued a lot the exquisiteness of characters, and elegance and fluency of whole passages. He was good at all kinds of penmanship. His regular script has elf waves: the stroke sometimes is lifted, sometimes restricted; the vertical lines also vary a lot, full of vitality of life. In his cursive writing style, his thick and thin strokes balance each other, dividing from each other yet also have links to connect, reaches a realm that hard to get. His running script is very calm and plain, with natural yet vigorous power in writing which reveals a diversity of beauties.
In fact, the penmanship of Wang Xizhi is a milestone which evidenced a real awaken in the art of penmanship, signifying the fact that calligrapher can not only discover beauty but also has the ability to embody beauty in their writings. His major works included "Lanting Xu", "Kuaixueshiqing Tie", "Sangluan Tie", "Yimu Tie", "Shiqi Tie" and "Huangting Tie" and so on。
冯承素摹《兰亭序》
冯承素摹本（局部）
"Lantingji Xu" (Foreword of Orchid Pavilion)by Wang Xizhi
On the March 3rd, in the ninth year of Yonghe of Eastern Han (353 AD), Wang Xizhi and some other writers from the north of mountains gathered by the water and wrote many works. "Lantingxu" was a forward by Wang Xizhi, for those works. The work was influenced by the Daoism, and attained a high place in the history of calligraphy, which had exellent structure, style and content. The work was commented that"the style of Wang Xizhi varied through history but was also very natural, and had long been the model for others to imitate" Many calligraphers regarded it as the "Top 1 in running script writing." However, whether the work was written by Wang Xizhi or not was still at issue, which gave rise to many heated discussion in Qing dynasty and 1960s. As for the artistic value, Dong Qichang said in "Essays on paintings and Buddhist"that, " Lantingxu by Wang Xizhi ranked the first in history with various size of characters and natural and pleasant style. Thus, it is worthwhile to be called the "work of God". These characters were especially well-structured; the beauty will be ruined whether you add a stroke or delete a stroke. The work has long been recognized as the most remarkable work of all calligraphic writings.
《十七帖》局部
"Shiqi Tie" (a handwritten copy of Seventeen by Wang Xizhi)
This is the representative work of Wang Xizhi, which got such a name as there were the characters of "Shiqi (seventeen)"on the first page of the work. The original one were lost, so the existed one was a carved copy. "The list of main calligraphic writing" written by Zhang Yanyuan of Tang dynasty, recorded the original book of "Shiqitie". The work received high remarks in history, just as Huang Bosi of Song dynasty said, "This was the best work of Wang Xizhi". Zhu Xi said "the intention implied in the writing was very natural and leisure, blended with rules but not constrained by rules, which shows this work was the flow of the writer's true feelings." All these remarks are quite precise for the work, especially the last comment.
Wang Xianzhi
Wang Xianzhi(344-386), styled himself ZIjing. He once was head of the secretariat, so he was also called " Wang Daling". He and his father Wang Xizhi together were called "Two Wang". Xianzhi learned penmanship from his father from an early age; he later developed his own style and formed a new penmanship style.
His representative works included regular script "thirteen lines about the Goddess of Luo river", his running script "the head of duck", cursive style of " Mid-autumn tie". His use of brush is quite outward and his script's structure is quite good -balanced and well-proportioned. The style of his penmanship is flow fluently, frank and direct. His cursive style work "a Mid- autumn tribute" has been praised as the representative work of "one-line penmanship", in which the script keeps going without any interruptions with its dashing and debonair style and was highly spoken of. "a Mid-autumn tribute" was also listed by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty as one of the " Three Treasures".
《鸭头丸帖》
"Yatouwantie" (a handwritten copy of the drug of the head of duck)
Explaination, "the drug of the head of duck does not work (as you have told me); therefore we should meet tomorrow to talk about this."
This work was a copy from Tang dynasty; there were altogether two lines and 15 characters of running and cursive writing. It was a message written by Wang Xianzhi for his friends. The whole writing was very fluent with words beautifully finished. The turning point was very clear, the beginning and finishing stroke distinctive, the writing power well-connected, structure vivid, with endless meaning. It was the best work of Wang Xianzhi, who was most good at the cursive writing. He changed the rules of ancient calligraphic and imitated the styles of Wang Xizhi, finally he created a special style of his own, which shows the expression of his feelings in writing through observing the nature.
Wang Xun
Wang Xun (350-401), styled himself Yuan Lin and Fa Hu. He was from LangYaLinXi, Shandong Province. He was born in the Wang clan in Eastern Jin Dynasty.
His grandfather and his father, Wang Dao and Wang Qia, were both good at calligraphy. His uncle, Wang Xizhi, was the great calligraphy master. He was influenced by them and he did a great achievement in calligraphy. People think highly of his works. "BoYuan Tie" is his representative work and is also the only one that is kept. The style of his penmanship is flow fluently, graceful, skilled and flexible.
《伯远帖》
Boyuan Tie (A handwritten copy) by Wang Xun
"Boyuan Tie" was a letter written by Wang Xun to give his regards to an intimate friend. It was a typical work in earlier time of running script. In "Boyuan Tie", we could feel that Wang Xun was skilled, the work being charming, refined and elegant. We can feel the writing style of Eastern Jin's writing from the characters. The pursuit of ideal art and interest was related to the society at that time. "BoYuan Tie" was a famous calligraphy work at that time. In addition, it is the only authentic work of the Wang clan in Eastern Jin Dynasty. It is regarded as a treasure by calligraphers, collectors and connoisseur. Dong Qichang regarded it as a treasure, saying in "Huachanshi Informal Essay" that Boyuan Tie was so charming that it presented the style of Eastern Jin's writing. Also Yao Nai, a litterateur in Qing Dynasty, thought highly of this work as well.
