Author ｜
Lei Liu
Abstract ｜
“Dingwu version” became the most classic and important version of the “Lanting Preface” in the Song Dynasty. However, its importance arose more from the specific historical conditions and thinking patterns of the Song Dynasty formed over time than its achievements in calligraphy over other “Lanting” editions. In addition, in the Yuan Dynasty, Zhao Mengfu’s further respect and conceptual reconstruction for “Dingwu version” made it gradually become the mainstream among the versions, whose influences continued that can be seen on Wang Zhong’s understandings of “Dingwu version” collected by himself during the Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty. Before this conceptual reconstruction was broken, popular attitude towards and perspective on “Dingwu version” remained stable and unchanged. Nevertheless, once there was a major change in social concepts, people’s attitude toward “Dingwu version” changed accordingly. Afterward, this change became the ideological root for questioning “Lanting Preface” by Ruan Yuan, Li Wentian and others.
keywords ｜
Lanting Preface, concept, change, Lanting argument, Wang Zhong