Wang Xizhi (303-361) is the saint of Chinese calligraphy. No other person in the history of China has this godly honor. His  is considered a masterpiece in the style of semi-cursive script, aka  script. The original was kept in the Wang clan for hundreds of years until the Tang Dynasty (618-907). After it came into the hands of the royal house of the Tang Dynasty, numerous copies were made by prominent calligraphers such as Feng Chengsu, Ouyang Xun, Yu Shinan and Zhu Suiliang. These handwritten copies gave rise to some carved replicas on stone tablets. History records that some collectors in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) had more than 100 different rubbings from stone tablets. Jia Sidao (1213-1275) who once served as prime minister of the Southern Song (1127-1279) had more than 800 different replicas in his collection of calligraphy. In the following dynasties, scholars and calligraphers were equally obsessed with the calligraphic masterwork.

Wang Xizhi’s preface inspired not only calligraphers of later generations, but also artists who painted Orchid Pavilion and related stories and figures for about 1,000 years. Yan Liben (c.600-673), a master painter of the early Tang Dynasty, created a painting illustrating how a guy named Xiao Yi outsmarted a disciple of a seventh-generation grandson of the Wang clan, put his hands on the manuscript, and presented it to the emperor. This anecdote is recorded in a book penned by a scholar of the Tang Dynasty. There are three different copies of the original painting by Yan Liben, now respectively in the possession of the Palace Museum of Beijing, Liaoning Provincial Museum, and the Palace Museum of Taipei.

Wang’s preface also inspired numerous artists to restore the scene of the spring-day outdoor party. The same story was painted again and again in the following dynasties and up to the 20th century. Artists who dedicated their time and talent to this subject include some greatest names in the history of Chinese art.

Wang Meng (1308-1385), one of the Big-Four artists of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), created an ink painting on a paper scroll that measures 28.8 centimeters tall and 135.5 centimeters wide. From the seals on the painting, the artwork can be ascribed to Wang Meng. Attached to the painting is a replica of the preface written in 1518 by Tang Yin (1470-1524) of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Some scholars argue the painting was not created by Wang Meng, but they all agree that it is a masterpiece. Another great artwork that portrays the gathering is a work jointly created by Zhu Yunming (1461-1527) and Wen Zhengming (1470-1559) of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu was an eminent calligrapher and Wen a versatile artist, both being among the best of their time. Zhu copied the preface and Wen created a painting to go with the calligraphy.

The Orchid Pavilion Ink-stone is a well-known stationery tool treasured by scholars of the past. The ink-stone named after Orchid Pavilion usually presents either a scene portrayed in the preface or eight scenes of the memorable place where the gathering took place. Such an inkstone first appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). Most of them are lost in history. Some similar inkstones were made in the Ming and the Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Another stereotypical ink-stone of the past is a goose-shaped design based on Wang Xizhi’s love of the bird. Such goose-shaped inkstones were made in the major dynasties from the Song on. These precious iink stones can be seen in various museum collections across China.

In the Ming, the famous spring-time gathering first portrayed in the preface appeared in many artworks such as horn carvings, paper fans, porcelains as well as lacquerware. In the Qing, the spring-time gathering was seen in most stationery pieces, as testified by the precious antiques in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing. Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) loved the image and had a whole set of stationery and decorative pieces custom-made with this subject for his royal study.

In 2006, a tombstone in the possession of an antique collector in Shaoxing, Zhejiang caused a stir among calligraphers and antique experts and scholars. The stone bears a text of 345 words in 28 lines in the clerical script. Most of the words are legible. The text relates to who was buried in the tomb and solved a problem that had puzzled historians for more than 1,000 years. Concerning the birth and death years of Wang Xizhi, (The Sea of Words), an authoritative dictionary, had offered three scenarios: 321-379, 303-361, 307-365 in different editions. The three different timelines suggested that Wang Xizhi died at the age of 59, but historians had no way to find out exactly when he was born or died. The tombstone clarifies: Wang’s wife Xi Xuan died in 358 when Wang Xizhi was 56. If the theory that Wang Xizhi died at 59 is correct, then it was 361 when he passed away and therefore he was born in 303.