When it comes to Chinese calligraphy, people will definitely mention Wang Xizhi, even those who know a lot about calligraphy, I am afraid they also know Wang Xizhi's name, as well as his classic work "Orchid Pavilion Preface", Wang Xizhi is revered as the "sage of calligraphy" by later generations, and "Orchid Pavilion Preface" is rated as the world's first line of books.
Wang Xizhi's greatest contribution to calligraphy is undoubtedly to excavate the artistic beauty of calligraphy, endow calligraphy with artistry, and advanced calligraphy from a simple use of technology to the field of art, opening up unlimited space for the development of calligraphy, and playing a decisive role in the future of calligraphy.
Wang Xizhi had already made a name for himself during his lifetime, and in the Tang Dynasty, because Li Shimin particularly admired Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, Wang Xizhi's fame was pushed to the top of the history of calligraphy. The scholars of the Manchu Dynasty were all kings, and the handsome spirit filled the world, until the appearance of one person has changed this status quo, this person is Yan Zhenqing.
Yan Zhenqing was also a king at the beginning of his studies, but later he integrated his personal experience and personality into his calligraphy, forming a completely different appearance from Wang, that is, Yan style calligraphy. Yan Zhenqing's greatest contribution to calligraphy is to open up another aesthetic perspective of calligraphy, a kind of majestic and simple beauty.
If Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is like handsome men and beautiful women, then Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy is like Manghan village women, handsome men and beautiful women live in temples, Manghan village women are busy in the market, handsome men and beautiful women are rare, Manghan village women are walking everywhere, appreciating handsome men and beautiful women is naturally pleasing to the eye, but looking at Manghan village women also have a bearing, and find the most ordinary and natural beauty, which is Yan Zhenqing's greatest contribution to calligraphy.
Yan Zhenqing has a lot of handwriting in the world, among which the "Manuscript of the Sacrifice of Nephews" is a copy of the authentic handwriting, especially precious, this Yan Zhenqing to commemorate the Anshi Rebellion when the nephew Yan Jiming died in the war of the weeping of tears, is a priceless treasure in the history of Chinese calligraphy, this work is circulated in an orderly manner, for the treasure of the past dynasties, known as the second line of books in the world.
The Manuscript of the Sacrifice of Nephews has always been highly valued by calligraphers, many people compare it with the "Orchid Pavilion Preface", and some people think that compared to the latter, the artistic value of the "Manuscript of the Sacrifice of Nephews" is higher, and the contemporary calligrapher Zhang Xuguang, who has always admired Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, has said that no matter from which point of view, the "Manuscript of the Sacrifice of Nephews" is more valuable than the "Orchid Pavilion Preface", if you really want to rank the handwriting of the predecessors, the "Manuscript of the Sacrifice of Nephews" should be in the first place.
One of the main reasons why it is generally believed that the "Manuscript of the Sacrifice of Nephews" is better than the "Orchid Pavilion Preface" is that it is authentic, first of all, the "Manuscript of the Sacrifice of Nephews" is a genuine ink copy, with clear handwriting, complete preservation, and almost perfect. From this point alone, it is much more precious than the facsimile and the temporary copy of the "Orchid Pavilion Preface".
In addition, the emotion of "The Manuscript of the Sacrifice of Nephews" is real, Yan Zhenqing's mood has always been in a high degree of sadness and indignation when writing this manuscript, this emotion can be clearly felt from the content of the work and the rhythm of writing, and the changes in strokes.
The emotions expressed in "Orchid Pavilion Preface" have been controversial, the first half is in the narrative, fresh and natural, but the second half begins to feel nostalgic, slightly sad, and the emotional changes are too blunt, I don't know what made Wang Xizhi turn from joy to sorrow at that time, so that many people think that the current "Orchid Pavilion Preface" is a patchwork forgery by later generations, not the original text. The lack of understanding of this emotional transformation is the main obstacle that many people cannot achieve when they study the "Orchid Pavilion Preface". From this point of analysis, the "Manuscript of the Sacrifice of Nephews" is more real than the "Orchid Pavilion Preface".
And then there is Yan Zhenqing's character is more real than Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing is loyal to the country, upright, outspoken and daring, not for power, his life has been full of ups and downs, and his calligraphy is also full of changes, closely fitting his life experience, truly achieving the realm of the unity of man and book, and only when this realm can he write a great work like "Manuscript for the Sacrifice of Nephews".
And Wang Xizhi's life is full of more rumors, some say he is uninhibited, some say he is elegant, and some say he is humble, these rumors are not uniform, so that Wang Xizhi's image is not real enough, which is one of the reasons why it is difficult for people to understand the emotional transformation in "Lanting Preface", this unreality also makes it difficult for future generations to enter Wang Xizhi's inner world, so that learning Wang Shu only stays in the stage of copying fonts, and it is difficult to understand his emotions.
From this point of view, Xuewang is more in the basic stage of imitating appearance, which is also the reason why a soulless book of collected characters "Jiwangshu Shengjiao" is regarded as a treasure book. Xueyan, on the other hand, can truly explore the inner emotional expression of calligraphy, that is, the charm of calligraphy works.
Calligraphy as an art, the requirements for lyrical expression are higher, calligraphy works without emotion are soulless, but also have no artistic value, from this requirement, "Sacrifice Nephew Manuscript" is indeed more suitable than "Orchid Pavilion Preface" to become the first line of books in the world.