Legend of Wang Xizhi

The name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: The Legend of Wang Xizhi

Applicant: Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province

Project No.: 1044

Project No.: I-100

Time of publication: 2011 (the third batch)

Category: Folk Literature

Region: Zhejiang Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province

Protection units: Shaoxing cultural center, Shaoxing Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center

A brief introduction to the legend of Wang Xizhi

Applicant: Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province

Wang Xizhi is a famous "Scholar" at home and abroad. Wang Xizhi lived in Kuaiji (now Shaoxing) for 11 years. Wang Xizhi observed the people's situation, wrote many times to reduce taxes and duties of Kuaiji, and resolutely opened a warehouse to save famine, which was deeply supported by the people of Kuaiji. Wang Xizhi and Xie an, Xu Xun, Zhi Xun, Ruan Yu, who lived in seclusion here, had a very close history and many anecdotes. After the 11th year of Yonghe, he resigned from his post and traveled among the mountains and waters of Kuaiji. He traveled all over eastern Zhejiang Province to seek immortals. He died in Jinting, Shanxian County. The people thought that Wang Youjun had gone on a goose and became an immortal. His life story, anecdotes, as well as the remains of Lanting, ECHI, Mochi, Jiezhu temple, tifan bridge, jintingguan, Youjun tomb and so on, have been compiled into stories and legends by the people, which have been widely spread. A large group of legends and stories has been formed in Shaoxing.

The earliest record of the legend of Wang Xizhi can be found in Shishuoxinyu of the Six Dynasties. Since then, it has been widely spread among the people. Since the 20th century, especially in the 60 years since the founding of new China, more than 200 legends about Wang Xizhi have been collected and published. The main content is divided into four categories: learning and writing books, loving mountains and rivers, loving the country and the people, and disdaining the powerful. Many of them, such as "Wang Xizhi and the goose", "the price of the fan" and "preface to the Orchid Pavilion", are popular and interesting, so they are handed down from generation to generation.

The legend of Wang Xizhi has a long history, spread widely in different areas, spread in various ways, rich in content and distinctive features. It shows Wang Xizhi's intelligence, patriotism and affinity to the people, contempt for the powerful and other qualities in an all-round way. It is rooted in the folk, spread among the people, and has strong regional characteristics and local flavor of Shaoxing.

The legend of Wang Xizhi has important humanistic value, historical value, educational value, artistic value and folkloric value, which provides useful information for the study of folk literature and history.

With the acceleration of the pace of modern social life and the change of entertainment mode, the spread of the legend of Wang Xizhi has been greatly impacted, and it is urgent to strengthen the protection and excavation.