Wang Xianzhi

Who is Wang Xianzhi?

Wang Xianzhi, courtesy name Zijing, was a famous Chinese calligrapher of the Eastern Jin.

He was the seventh and youngest son of the famed Wang Xizhi. Wang inherited his father's talent for the art, although his siblings were all notable calligraphers. His style is more fluid than his father's, demonstrating a reaction against Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. Amongst his innovations is the one-stroke cursive script, which blends all characters in the writing in a single stroke. Until the Tang Dynasty his influence and reputation rivaled and even surpassed that of his father.

When he was young, his father, Wang Xizhi found his talent and started calligraphy since he was seven to eight years old. He used stacks of paper just to practise one movement. After five years, he finally started to write words. Wang Xianzhi, at that time, is still far away from his father's skill. However, he did not stop. He continued and practised. He finally became as skilled as his father. His patience was highly remarked by modern people.