Wang Xizhi was born in Langya (now Linyi, Shandong) at the end of the Western Jin Dynasty (about 307 AD). During the Taihe period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (about 365 AD), he died in Huiji (now Shaoxing).
He completed the transformation of China's calligraphy from ancient seal script to modern calligraphy, line and grass, created a beautiful and healthy calligraphy style, framed the general appearance of China's calligraphy for thousands of years, and was honored as a "book saint" by later generations. ?
Wang Xizhi first started with the reform of real (model) books. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, in order to get rid of the "ancient style" of real books, changes have been made in the structure, punctuation and the state of the book, which makes the structure of regular script tend to be symmetrical and beautiful, and the nuances of punctuation contain changes, tall and colorful. The purpose of creating this grass is to delete the waves with the meaning of official script in Cao Zhang, strengthen the use of pens, and make the brushwork at the turning point continuous and smooth, full of charm. An important feature of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is that his works reveal a spontaneous, calm and peaceful artistic conception. This is inseparable from the prevalence of Hyunri in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Wang Xizhi's calligraphy style has a great influence on later generations. Especially after the vigorous advocacy of Emperor Taizong, the beautiful and elegant calligraphy style he created has been hanging over the China book circle. Scholars in Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties rarely heard that they had not studied Wang Xizhi. It was not until the rise of epigraphy in Qing Dynasty that the vigorous and rough style of the Northern School was re-valued, and this situation changed. ?