Smile | Wang Xizhi (Jin) - Preface to the Poems Collected at the Orchid Pavilion | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Figure Painting | 100x50cm

Smile | Wang Xizhi (Jin) - Preface to the Poems Collected at the Orchid Pavilion | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Figure Painting | 100x50cm

Wang Xizhi (Jin) - Preface to the Poems Collected at the Orchid Pavilion

In the ninth year of Yonghe, in the year of Gui-Chou, at the beginning of late spring, we gathered at the Orchid Pavilion in the north of Kuaiji Mountain, to perform the purification rite. All the worthy are here, young and old together. This place has high mountains and steep ridges, luxuriant forests and tall bamboos; also clear rushing streams, reflecting on left and right—we divert them for a winding water for floating wine cups, sitting in order. Though no music of strings and flutes, one cup of wine and one poem are enough to express our deep feelings. On this day, the sky is clear, the air fresh, and the gentle wind harmonious. Looking up, we see the vastness of the universe; looking down, we observe the abundance of all things. Thus the eye roams and the heart is freed—enough to enjoy the pleasures of sight and hearing to the utmost. Truly, it is a joy. When people associate, their lives pass in a moment. Some pour out their hearts, conversing within a single room; some entrust themselves to what they love, abandoning restraint beyond form. Though choices differ, and calm and restlessness vary, when they delight in what they encounter, for a moment they are content with themselves, joyful and self-satisfied, not noticing that old age is coming. When they tire of what they love, feelings change with events, and emotion follows. What once delighted them, in the blink of an eye, is already past—yet they cannot help but be moved by it. Moreover, life's length follows nature, and all must end. The ancients said: 'Life and death are also great matters.' Is it not painful! Whenever I consider the reasons for the ancients' emotional stirrings, they match like a tally—I never fail to sigh before their writings, unable to explain it in my heart. I know that to regard life and death as one is empty talk; to equate long life and early death is false. Future generations looking upon the present will be as we look upon the past. Alas! Therefore I list the people of this time and record their compositions. Though times differ and events change, what stirs the heart is the same. Future readers will also feel moved by this writing.

Li Zongyi's expressive ink figure painting captures the spirit of classical poetry through bold, spontaneous brushwork. The figures—whether drunkenly reciting, gazing into the distance, or lost in thought—are vividly rendered with dynamic lines and rich ink tones. The painting's generous empty space creates a profound, ethereal atmosphere, blending poetry and painting into a single artistic vision that embodies the depth of Chinese traditional culture and contemporary creative innovation.

Size: 100×50cm (approx. 4.5 square chi) | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Figure Painting

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