Wang Xianzhi Small Regular Script The Goddess Of Luo River Copy And Inheritance

Wang Xianzhi's Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River is a calligraphic work based on the text of Cao Zhi's Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River, which is hailed as “Model of Regular Script in Small Characters” for its beauty and refinement. Although the original version is lost, the carving copies still exist. Nine lines of the hemp paper(one hundred and seventy-six characters) have been found in Shaoxing in Jin Dynasty, and another four lines have been found by Jia Sidao at the end of Song Dynasty, so the overall version is called “Thirteen Lines of Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River.” The multiple carving copies that change through different dynasties can reveal the reception of classics by different dynasties. Copying, rubbing and writing are important ways to spread classics, during which process the calligraphers' attitudes exert influence on the inheritance of the works. In the meantime, the written contents, that is, the literary works, also affect the spread of classic works in calligraphy. Spreading calligraphy by literature, spreading literature by calligraphy, and the mutual influence of the two are significant steps in communication. From ink copy to carving, from calligraphic facsimile to rubbing, classics are inherited through different carriers, by different attitudes, and in different ways. As “Model of Regular Script in Small Characters,” Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River has become the model calligraphy for later generations. Unlike other works, it is a single classic whose influence is so huge that most of the later famous calligraphers of regular script follow its example.