Wang Xizhi was born into a prominent aristocratic family in what is now Shandong province, but the family fled the fighting in the north to settle in the Yangtze delta. The Wang clan played such a crucial role in establishing the new Eastern Jin dynasty.
Wang Xizhi held several offices in the imperial court. He rose to such prominent positions as Regional Inspector of Jiangzhou and General of the Right Army.
Wang Xizhi integrated the styles of the great calligraphers of the Qin and Han dynasties to create his personal running -script. He created new forms of running and cursive scripts that transformed calligraphy into a personally expressive medium.
Wang Xizhi wrote the preface to the ‘Collected Poems from the Orchid Pavilion', on 22 April 353, to commemorate a springtime gathering of forty-one notable literati members at the scenic piedmont outside modern Shaoxing. It was acclaimed as the most representative of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphic works, as well as the world's greatest masterpiece in running script. Today only copies survive, the earliest dating back to the early Tang dynasty.
Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion (Lan Ting Xu)
Letter to Express Worries and Indignation towards the Destruction of an Ancestral Tomb (Sang Luan Tie)
Essay on Yue Yi (Yue Yi Lun)
Letter to Kong (Kong Shi Zhong Tie)
Letter to Express Happiness and Greetings (Kuai Xue Shi Qing Tie)
