Wang Hsi-Chih

I Shao. Born 321; died 379. Chinese calligrapher and man of letters.

According to tradition, Wang Hsi-chih was self-educated and came from the common people. His inscriptions, which he made on small boards and scraps of paper and clothing, were recopied onto stone by his descendants. More than 500 examples of Wang Hsi-chih’s handwriting have been preserved. He was famous as a man of letters for his epistolary prose and the elegance and simplicity of its style. His preface to the collection of poems In the Orchid Pavilion has been included in all Chinese readers (Russian translation by V. M. Alekseev).