Overview
Wang Xizhi was a Calligrapher.
IdentityHistorical · Male
Found inBook of Jin
Life and dates
Attested activity
- AD 303 to AD 361 王逸少（東晉）Dated from the passage context · Book of Jin 80, passages 325, 329, 340-344
Family
Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.
- Parent of Wang Xianzhi (獻之)father 父 · paternal lineDirectly stated · Book of Jin 80, passage 329
Places and affiliations
- Polity Id eastern-jin · Relation Lived underStrongly inferred · Book of Jin 80, passage 340
Learning and skills
- Skill calligraphy 書 · Level unmatchedDirectly stated · Book of Jin 80, passages 340-343
Assessments and attributes
- Assessment All remaining calligraphers are petty and not worth discussing beside him. · Mode historian-judgmentDirectly stated · Book of Jin 80, passage 344
- Assessment From Zhong Yao and Wang onward, calligraphy can be discussed with some confidence. · Mode historian-judgmentDirectly stated · Book of Jin 80, passage 325
- Assessment His dots and sweeps and compositional cutting are so subtle that forms seem broken yet still linked, like mist floating and dew knotting. · Mode historian-judgmentDirectly stated · Book of Jin 80, passage 341
- Assessment His momentum is like a soaring phoenix and coiling dragon, appearing slanted yet standing straight. · Mode historian-judgmentDirectly stated · Book of Jin 80, passage 342
- Assessment One may study his writing without tiring and never know its end; heart admires and hand pursues this man alone. · Mode historian-judgmentDirectly stated · Book of Jin 80, passage 343
- Assessment Surveying ancient and modern seal-script on silk, exhaustive goodness and exhaustive beauty belong to Wang Yishao alone. · Mode historian-judgmentDirectly stated · Book of Jin 80, passage 340
Source notes
- Historicity historicalDirectly stated · Book of Jin 80, passage 340
References in the histories
No matching passages.