Chapter 398

Those who truly love calligraphy.

How fanatical they would be upon seeing the *Preface to the Orchid Pavilion*.

Especially now that once the original is made public.

The sensation it brings will absolutely be explosive.

By then, I estimate that calligraphy masters from all over the country.

Every single one of them will have to come on a pilgrimage.

This is its influence.

The Heirloom Seal of the Realm is very important and very meaningful.

But it cannot make people view it with the mindset of a pilgrimage.

However, the *Preface to the Orchid Pavilion* is different.

Ordinary people might just be watching the excitement.

But in the eyes of calligraphers, this is a true supreme treasure.

【Popularity】+1+1+1+1.

——【Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, Qi Baishi's shrimp, Zhang Daqian's tigers, Xu Beihong's horses, and the 'big pies' my boss draws—these can be called the Five Wonders.】

——【I am a calligraphy enthusiast. Many people don't understand; I can only say you don't like calligraphy. But for those who do, it's different. The subtle nuances are often impossible to put into words; you can't understand without writing it yourself. The simplest way is to copy it yourself, and you will know the ingenuity within.】

——【In youth, one does not understand Wang Xizhi; only at fifty does one know the hearts of the ancients. The Right General held the universe in his chest; later generations looking at the present is even better than the past.】

——【Someone once said, if one day the original *Preface to the Orchid Pavilion* could appear in the world, then it would be the Chinese version of *Michelangelo*, the *Mona Lisa*, and *Guernica*!】

——【Damn, why am I suddenly interested in classical Chinese? Back when I was in school, whenever I heard the teacher start a classical Chinese lesson, my head would swell. Now, not only am I not repelled, but I'm listening with great interest.】

Just at this moment, Xiang Fangyang walked to the front of the *Preface to the Orchid Pavilion* and slowly began to speak.

"There is another reason why the *Preface to the Orchid Pavilion* is the world's number one running script, and that is the story it tells."

"The background of the story is the ninth year of the Yonghe era of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The weather was clear, and a light breeze was blowing."

"Wang Xizhi, born into a noble family, saw such good weather and thought it would be a waste not to gather with friends."

"So he called a group of close friends to go on an outing and enjoy the spring."

"Forty-one like-minded literati gathered at the Orchid Pavilion in Shanyin, Kuaiji, looking at the beautiful scenery and drinking good wine."

"For a time, their poetic inspiration surged, and they created 37 poems all at once."

"You have to know that so many poems could be edited into a collection."

"Just then, someone suggested that Wang Xizhi write a preface."

"Wang Xizhi had just drunk quite a bit of wine and was feeling the buzz, so he agreed without hesitation."

"He picked up his brush and wrote: 'The gathered sages have all arrived, the young and the old are all assembled.'"

"The meaning of this sentence is that the weather is clear and friends are gathered."

"There is no moment in life happier than now."

"But immediately after, suddenly, his brush turned sharp and downward, and he began to write: 'Looking up at the vastness of the universe, looking down at the abundance of all things.'"

"It means that the world is so big, but people are so small; life is so short, and happiness is so fleeting."

"Wang Xizhi felt a sorrow rise from his heart for no reason."

"Because he thought of his own life experiences."

"Actually, the *Preface to the Orchid Pavilion* has a lot to do with Wang Xizhi's personal growth experience."

"From the moment he was born, he had been facing death."

"When he was seven or eight years old, his father passed away during the chaos of war."

"Without his father, he naturally wasn't valued by the family."

"One day, he was sleeping in his room."

"His uncle, Wang Dun, was outside plotting a rebellion with his subordinates."

"After the plotting was finished, they remembered that Wang Xizhi was sleeping in the inner room."

"To prevent the news from leaking, he planned to kill Wang Xizhi."

"As a result, when he pushed the door open and went in, he found Wang Xizhi covered in vomit, sleeping very soundly."

"Only then did he believe that he had been sleeping the whole time and hadn't heard their plot, so he let him go."

"Many people might think Wang Xizhi was very smart, but you have to know that he was still just a little child at the time."

"Facing such a life-and-death crisis, even though he used his wit to escape a disaster."

"But, how scared he must have been at the time, and what a huge psychological shadow it must have left. If it were us modern people... I dare not imagine!"

Hearing about such an experience of Wang Xizhi.

The audience present was moved.

A little child, being able to perform like this when facing such a life-and-death crisis.

It is hard to imagine.

Asking themselves, even Xiang Fangyang himself.

Felt it would be difficult to do better than him at that time.

Likewise.

The war and turmoil of that era.

One can also imagine how poor the living environment was at that time.

Even for a noble family like Wang Xizhi's.

It was not necessarily much better than an ordinary family.

Often, it is precisely because of such life experiences.

That he could become the person he was.

Such situations have not failed to occur in history.

Many great figures have experienced this kind of life.

Only in desperate pain can one be reborn.

Xiang Fangyang looked at everyone's expressions, smiled, and said again.

"Later, Wang Dun rebelled, and Wang Xizhi's other uncle, Wang Dao! The two had a disagreement."

"In the end, the army was defeated, and Wang Dao took Wang Xizhi and all the descendants of the Wang family."

"Kneeling in the palace every morning to await punishment."

"But in the end, it was unavoidable for the Wang descendants to kill each other."

"The Wang family also began to go downhill from then on."

"The young Wang Xizhi, kneeling in the palace, his spine had long since bent to the lowest point."

"This also made him deeply weary of the officialdom."

"So, at the age of 20, he crossed the river to the north, preparing to take a trip that would start on a whim."

"Unfortunately, his uncle Wang Dao felt that among all the young people of the Wang family, only Wang Xizhi had the most promise and wanted him to inherit the position of family head."

"Therefore, at the age of 23, he was forced to become an official."

"From then on, he lived a life with a sword hanging over his head for thirty years."

"Everyone might think that Wang Xizhi's birth should have been very good."

"Being a noble and a family head. How did it end up being so painful to be an official?"

"But have you ever thought about it?"

"His uncle had previously killed many royal relatives because of the rebellion."

"Although he later knelt and begged for forgiveness."

"But people in their families had died; how could they easily let the Wang family go?"

"Thus, Wang Xizhi became this unlucky guy, being targeted by others everywhere when he was an official."

"The main thing is that the emperor at the time supported their mortal enemy, the Yu family of Yingchuan."

"The head of the Yu family, Yu Liang, also didn't take the usual path. He insisted on promoting Wang Xizhi."

"This led to Wang Xizhi witnessing the two families fighting to the death for a long time."

"It was either you poisoning me today, or me using the emperor's hand to kill you tomorrow."

"Only he was caught in the middle, in a difficult position."