Lan Ting

Lan Ting is located at the foot of

Lanzhu Mountain

, in southwest Shaoxing, 13 km from the downtown. Small as it is, it is ancient and elegant. It is well-known among the Chinese because of Wang Xizhi, the Calligraphic Sage in Chinese history. Wang Xizhi once dwelled and wrote the famous Lan Ting Ji Preface in Lan Ting. On Mar. 3rd, 353 A.D., Wang Xizhi gathered together with 41 personages. They wrote poems while drinking in Liushang Pavilion inside Lan Ting. Totally they wrote 37 poems, and Wang Xizhi wrote a preface for the collection of poems. That’s the famous Lan Ting Ji Preface. It was and is considered as the greatest calligraphic work of all time.

But the original work is missing. Where it is still remains a mystery. Some scholars hold the idea that it was buried with Li Shimin, the second emperor of Tang Dynasty. The idea is reasonable for Li Shimin adored Wang Xizhi and he was especially fond of Lan Ting Ju Preface. It’s said that he had searched the calligraphic work for years but in vain. Finally, he got it by playing tricks. And when he was dying, he ordered his son Li Zhi to bury it with him. However, later an official in the period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms opened the mausoleum of Li Shimin and didn’t find Lan Ting Ji Preface. Some scholars suspect it was buried in Qian Mausoleum, the mausoleum for Li Zhi and his wife Wu Zetian. As Li Shimin’s son, Li Zhi was crowned as the third emperor of Tang Dynasty. Qian Mausoleum is located in Shaanxi Province. It is the unique mausoleum which hasn’t been broken into by grave robbers. It is still kept in mystery. The scholars think that the original work may be under Wu Zetian’s head. But who knows. It is only guesswork.

Inside

Lan Ting

, there are many historical sites, such as Goose Pool, Goose Pool Pavilion, Liushang Pavilion, Small Lan Pavilion, Yubei Pavilion, and Mohua Pavilion, etc. Goose Pool is named so because often there are gooses swimming in the pool. And beside the pool is Goose Pool pavilion, where there is a stele, on which “Goose Pool” in Chinese are inscribed. It is said that the character “Goose” was inscribed by Wang Xizhi while “Pool” was written by his son Wang Xianzhi, who was also a great calligraphist. Liushang Pavilion was the place where Wang Xizhi handwrote Lan Ting Ji Preface. Because of Wang Xizhi and his Lan Ting Ji Preface, Lan Ting has become a holy land for calligraphy and a place of pilgrimage for calligraphists from different eras.