Arrived at Lanting again on March 3rd

On March 3, the ninth year of Yonghe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (353), 42 people including the famous calligraphers Wang Xizhi and Xie An held a " Exorcism” event. Attendees drank wine and composed poems in a meandering stream, and then Wang Xizhi wrote the preface to the next poem. This is "Lanting Preface", also known as "Ye Tie". Unexpectedly, this exquisite and vigorous calligraphy poem preface became the first line of Chinese calligraphy and has been passed down for thousands of years. Wang Xizhi was also revered as a sage of calligraphy by later generations. Orchid Pavilion has also become a holy place for calligraphy and a place where literati of all ages visited, chanted, recited and reminisced.

Frankly speaking, I have also traveled around Lanting. The first time was when she accompanied her family to Shaoxing to visit her comrades in the Inner Mongolia Construction Corps. We took the opportunity to visit Lanting. Write a poem: "The chapter on the winding water with a wine cup to repair the misfortune, the preface to the collection of Orchid Pavilion has been passed down to this day. After learning to look down at the forest of stele, it is difficult to climb to the sacred heaven of books now and in ancient times." It is relatively straightforward and expressive.

The second time I went to Shaoxing with a few "travel friends". When we visited Lanting, it happened to be the second day of the third month of the lunar calendar. The big sign read "Warmly welcome to participate. "Guests at home and abroad for the 25th China Lanting Calligraphy Festival", I couldn't help but ask, "When will it start?" The answer was, "Tomorrow". This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "It's better to choose a day than to hit it." So I discussed with my travel friend, "I won't leave tomorrow and will go to Lanting for a day." The travel friend knew my hobbies, so he agreed and agreed to meet me in Jiaxing.

The next day, March 3rd, I came to Lanting for the third time. I visited calligraphers from all over the country, drank wine, composed poems, and splashed ink. In my excitement, I wrote this : "Walking through Orchid Pavilion on March 3rd, calligraphers gathered by the Quxi River. They recited poems and drank wine, imitating the past and rejuvenating the present to praise the prime of life." I only talked about my feelings at that time.

The fourth time my wife and I accompanied our grandson to Shaoxing. Under my influence, my grandson also likes calligraphy and practices calligraphy. When he visited Lanting, I became his tour guide and explained the origin of Lanting. According to "Yue Jueshu", King Goujian of Yue planted orchids in the Zhutian here, and a post pavilion was built in the Han Dynasty, which was named after Orchid Pavilion. This is also an "ancient inn".

When we arrived at the "Echi" stele pavilion, we explained that this is the "Father and Son Stele". It is said that when Wang Xizhi was writing the word "goose", he suddenly heard that the emperor's imperial edict had arrived, and he was busy going to receive the imperial edict. His son Wang Xianzhi followed the procedure and wrote the word "chi", two characters for one stele, and the father and son combined their efforts. Wang Xianzhi is also a calligrapher. , has become a legend through the ages. Look closely at the "goose" is thin and the "chi" is fat, you can see that the characters of father and son are still slightly different.

When we arrived at the "Imperial Stele Pavilion", we explained that this is the "ancestor and grandson stele". In the front is the full text of "The Preface to the Lanting Collection" copied by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, and in the back is his "Lanting Jishi" is a seven-rhythm poem written by Emperor Qianlong, his grandson. You see, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty were all calligraphers. They copied the inscriptions on inscriptions since they were young. They did not accomplish it overnight. They all learned and wrote bit by bit as "the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold".

When we arrived in front of the monument with the character "Tai", we explained that the character "大" was originally written by Wang Xianzhi. Wang Xianzhi wrote a few words and asked his father to read them. Wang Xizhi thought that the character "big" he had written was tight at the top and loose at the bottom. He couldn't help but add a little bit casually, and it became the character "太". Wang Xianzhi happily took it to his mother to see. My mother said, you have written so many words, but I think only the one under the word "太" is the best. Wang Xianzhi was ashamed and saw his own gap. From then on, he practiced more humbly and assiduously, and later became a great calligrapher.

I explained and introduced all the way, which may have inspired my little grandson. When he walked to the practice board, he started to practice with his pen.

In fact, during my visit and explanation, I was the one who felt the deepest. It can be said that the impression is deepened every time, and the insights are deeper every time. The first time I came here, I just felt that the calligraphy was good and the writing was strong. The second and third time I came here was just for fun, to join in the fun, and to appreciate the atmosphere of calligraphers imitating the past and reviving the present.

This time, it’s different. I think of Wang Xizhi’s "Preface to the Lanting Collection": "The ancients said: 'Death and life are also big things'------Every time I take the inspiration of the past people, ------We know that one death and life is an illusion, and the death of Qi Peng is an illusion.

The future will look at the present just as the present looks at the past------" I can't help but feel that Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Lanting Collection" is not only a masterpiece of calligraphy art, but also a beautiful essay lamenting life. He refuted "a The falsehood of "life and death" and "Qi Peng Shang".

So, I wrote another poem: "The poetry of the wine cup is lyrical in rhyme and style, and it is bold and natural to awaken to life." Lanting is written in the heart of a generation and written in a thousand-year context. "It seems that there has been a sublimation in thinking. To learn calligraphy, you must not only learn Wang Xizhi's character and calligraphy quality, but also learn Wang Xizhi's character, literary quality, his cheerful thoughts, and his attitude towards life. As in the Lanting Youjun Temple A couplet praises Wang Xizhi: "My whole life is imprinted on the mountains and rivers, and everyone here can say that it is timeless. ”

From then on, every year on March 3rd, we stone iron calligraphy enthusiasts will gather to hold some commemorative activities. Last year on March 3rd, I He also wrote a poem: "We gather at Shimen to see the peach blossoms blooming, writing to express our emotions on March 3rd. Excellent works are hung on jade and jade, and books have been intoxicating for thousands of years. "

This year's "March 3rd", due to the epidemic, everyone had to communicate and display online. I couldn't help but write another poem: "On March 3rd again in Lanting, I have strong confidence in preventing the epidemic at home. The world is looking forward to good times, and online calligraphers are showing off their skills. "To commemorate "March 3rd" in "Lanting Collection Preface".

Jiukou 2022-4-3 (Renyin March 3rd)