王羲之祖籍為現在的山東省,是東晉大書法家,后人尊稱他為:“書圣”(the Sage of Calligraphy)。王羲之年輕時跟衛夫人學習書法,后來又到處游歷,學習了書法界前輩們的碑刻。據說他常常夜以繼日地練習書法。休息時,他還想著字的結構,手指就在衣服上畫,時間一長,連衣服也寫破了。王羲之在行書(running script)和草書(cursive script)方面的獨特風格對后世書法家影響很大。
Wang Xizhi was born in today’s Shandong Province. He was a great calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and was called by later generations the Sage of Calligraphy. He learned the art of calligraphy from Lady Wei in his youth. Then he traveled widely to study tablet inscriptions executed by venerable seniors in calligraphy. It is said that he used to practice day and night. When he took a rest, he still thought of the structure of characters, and his fingers would trace them on his garments which became worn out over time. Wang Xizhi’s unique style in both running script and cursive script had a great influence on calligraphers of later generations.