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135-413: Notable residents of Shaoxing include Wang Xizhi , the parents of Zhou Enlai , Lu Xun , and Cai Yuanpei . It is also noted for Shaoxing wine , meigan cai , and stinky tofu , and was featured on A Bite of China . Its local variety of Chinese opera sung in the local dialect and known as Yue opera is second in popularity only to Peking opera . In 2010, Shaoxing celebrated the 2,500th anniversary of

270-548: A " winding stream party " and Wang composed the Lantingji xu , a preface to the collection of poems that were written that day. He retired from governmental service in 355, devoted himself to Taoist practices, and died c.  361 in Jinting (present-day Shengzhou , Zhejiang). Wang is known for his proficiency in multiple Chinese script styles , particularly the regular , semi-cursive , and cursive forms. Apart from

405-603: A Hakka from a poor village in Guangdong , failed the imperial examination for the third time, frustrating his ambition to become a scholar-official in the civil service and leading him to a nervous breakdown. While recovering, Hong dreamed of visiting Heaven, where he discovered that he possessed a celestial family distinct from his earthly family. His heavenly father lamented that men were worshiping demons rather than himself and informed Hong that his given name violated taboos and had to be changed, suggesting " Hong Xiuquan ",

540-556: A Protestant Christian missionary several years earlier. After reading these pamphlets, Hong came to believe that they had given him the key to interpreting his visions: his celestial father was God the Father (whom he identified with Shangdi from Chinese tradition), the elder brother that he had also seen was Jesus Christ , and he had been directed to rid the world of demons, including the corrupt Qing government and Confucian teachings. In 1847 Hong went to Guangzhou , where he studied

675-764: A Qing-Vietnamese coalition headed by Feng Zicai . Wu Kun's troops broke up and became marauding armies such as the Yellow Flag Army led by Huang Chongying ( 黃崇英 ) and the Black Flag Army led by Liu Yongfu . The latter would become a prominent warlord in Upper Tonkin and would later help the Nguyễn dynasty to engage against the French during the Sino-French War in the 1880s. He later became

810-582: A cannon to scatter them irretrievably. Four months before the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan abdicated in favor of his eldest son Hong Tianguifu , who was 15 years old. The younger Hong was inexperienced and powerless, so the kingdom was quickly destroyed when Nanjing fell in July 1864 to the imperial armies after protracted street-by-street fighting. Tianguifu and few others escaped but were soon caught and executed. Most of

945-554: A decade, Taiping armies occupied and fought across much of the mid- and lower Yangtze valley, ultimately devolving into civil war. It was the largest war in China since the Ming–Qing transition , involving most of Central and Southern China. It ranks as one of the bloodiest wars in human history, the bloodiest civil war, and the largest conflict of the 19th century, comparable to World War I in terms of deaths. Thirty million people fled

1080-618: A deterioration of relations between the Taiping rebels and the triads. On March 19, 1853, the Taipings captured the city of Nanjing and Hong renamed it "Tianjing", or the 'heavenly capital' of his kingdom. Since the Taipings considered the Manchus to be demons, they first killed all the Manchu men, then forced the Manchu women outside the city and burned them to death. Shortly thereafter,

1215-469: A general transformation of the mechanisms of state. Moreover, rather than supplanting China's ruling class, the Taiping rebels sought to entirely upend the country's social order. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom located at Nanjing managed to seize control of significant portions of southern China. At its peak, the Heavenly Kingdom ruled over a population of nearly 30 million people. For more than

1350-423: A great admirer of Wang, amassed a collection of over 2,000 of his works (including originals and copies) and required that the imperial court scholars study his calligraphic techniques. The emperor was particularly fascinated with the Lantingji xu and went to great lengths to obtain the original, which he ordered to be buried in his mausoleum upon his death. He employed calligraphers to make tracing copies of

1485-676: A model statesman. Because many other historical accounts of the Jin dynasty have not survived, the Jin shu and the Shishuo xinyu continue to be referenced as rich sources of information about the era, despite their limitations. Wang Xizhi was born c.  303 in Linyi in Langya Commandery (present-day Linyi , Shandong ). During his childhood, his personal name was A'tu ( 阿菟 ). He

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1620-480: A number of historical places connected with the writer Lu Xun: Historical sites: Shaoxing was the location of the official world choir games in 2010. It also hosted the world Korfball championship in late October 2011. Due to its long history, Shaoxing has accumulated and handed down a characteristic culture known as "Yue Culture". As an important part of Yue Culture and a traditional folk custom of Shaoxing, Zhufu ( Chinese : 祝福 ; lit. 'worshipping

1755-550: A postscript to Wang's biography declaring him the greatest calligrapher in history. Modern scholars have questioned the reliability and accuracy of these early sources. Xiaofei Tian, a scholar of Chinese literature, writes that the compilers of the Shishuo Xinyu , in an attempt to evoke feelings of nostalgia, were often "willing to sacrifice historical accuracy for the sake of a good story". Matthew V. Wells suggests that Emperor Taizong's unusual degree of involvement in

1890-509: A prominent politician and the patriarch of the Wang family. Wang Dao helped suppress attempted coups by his brother, Wang Dun , in 322 and 324. Wang Xizhi's reaction to these conflicts between his uncles, which ultimately resulted in Wang Dun's death in 324, left him with a distaste for political and military affairs. Around the year 323, Wang became engaged to Xi Xuan, the eldest daughter of

2025-667: A prominent theme in paintings from the Song and Ming dynasties in China and the Edo period in Japan. In 355, Wang announced that he would resign from governmental service. This decision was precipitated when Wang Shu, a political rival, was appointed regional inspector of Yangzhou and gained oversight of Kuaiji and Wang Xizhi's administration. The two men had personally feuded for many years. Wang Shu subsequently opened an investigation into Kuaiji's finances, alleging that Wang Xizhi had mishandled

2160-564: A reference to their origins in the southeastern province of Guangdong. More colloquially, the Chinese called the Taiping some variant of Long-Hairs ( 長毛鬼、長髪鬼、髪逆、髪賊 ), because they did not shave their foreheads and braid their hair into a queue as Qing subjects were obligated to do , allowing their hair to grow long. During the 19th century, the Qing dynasty experienced a series of famines , natural disasters, economic problems and defeats at

2295-548: A renowned calligrapher in his own right. Between 324 and 354, Wang Xizhi served in various government positions. He received his highest title, "General of the Right Army", in 347, and was appointed administrator of Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing , Zhejiang ). In 353, he hosted 41 of his friends, relatives, and pupils at the Orchid Pavilion Gathering on Mount Kuaiji . There, the participants took part in

2430-515: A restoration of the ancient Chinese faith in Shangdi. The Taiping faith, says one historian, "developed into a dynamic new Chinese religion ... Taiping Christianity". The movement at first grew by suppressing groups of bandits and pirates in southern China in the late 1840s, then suppression by Qing authorities led it to evolve into guerrilla warfare and subsequently a widespread civil war . Eventually, two other God Worshipers claimed to possess

2565-479: A result of Emperor Taizong's patronage, Wang is generally considered to be the most significant Chinese calligrapher in history. The Lantingji xu , according to Ledderose, is "the most celebrated piece of calligraphy of all time", admired for both its calligraphy and its text. He is an influential figure in Japanese calligraphy as well. After his calligraphy was established as the defining model in China during

2700-431: A sense of spontaneity that reflects the scene during which it was written. In contrast to the relatively wide characters typically seen in clerical script ( lishu ), Wang's characters were more vertically elongated and compact. The study of Wang's style is challenged by the lack of surviving original works. In debating the differences between Wang's calligraphy and archaeological texts produced by other writers around

2835-583: A small number of tracing copies. Wang's artistic talent continues to be held in high esteem, and he remains an influential figure in East Asian calligraphy . Much of what is known about Wang Xizhi's life is derived from letters that he wrote during his lifetime and historical texts such as the Shishuo xinyu ( 世說新語 ) and the Jin shu ( 晉書 ). Wang makes 47 appearances within the 1,130 historical anecdotes of

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2970-472: A stone engraving of the Lantingji xu and receives over one million visitors annually, and his tomb is popular with visitors as well. The Tishan Bridge ( 题扇桥 ; Tishan qiao ; lit.   ' fan-writing bridge ' ) in Shaoxing is named after an anecdote in which Wang took pity on a struggling vendor and inscribed her fans with his calligraphy to increase their value. The fans were easily sold and

3105-611: A total of 41 poems that day. The Lantingji xu ( 蘭亭集序 ; "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion"), the most famous calligraphic work attributed to Wang (though its authenticity has been debated), is a preface to the collection of poems that were written that day. The Orchid Pavilion Gathering has been described as "one of the most famous events in Chinese literary history". It has been depicted in numerous works of art and literature, and features as

3240-653: Is a poetic term meaning "inheriting the imperial task and resurging to prosperity". Modern-day Shaoxing lies north of the Kuaiji Mountains , which were an important center of the people of Yue during ancient China 's Spring and Autumn period . Chinese legend connected them with events in the life of Yu the Great , the founder of the Xia . Around the early 5th century BC, the time of Yue's famous king Goujian , his people began establishing permanent centers in

3375-426: Is among those who refer to the rebellion as the "Taiping Revolutionary Movement" on the grounds that it worked towards a complete change in the political and social system, rather than working towards the replacement of one dynasty with another. Many Western historians refer to the conflict in general as the "Taiping Rebellion". Recently, however, scholars such as Tobie Meyer-Fong and Stephen Platt have argued that

3510-534: Is known about how the Taiping referred to the war, but the Taiping often referred to the Qing in general and the Manchus in particular as some variant of demons or monsters ( 妖 ; yāo ), representing Hong's proclamation that they were fighting a holy war to rid the world of demons and establish paradise on earth. The Qing referred to the Taiping as "Yue Bandits" ( 粵匪 ; Yuèfěi or 粵賊 ; Yuèzéi ) in official sources,

3645-563: Is the Lantingji xu ( 蘭亭集序 ; "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion"). Born in Langya Commandery (in present-day Linyi , Shandong ), Wang fled to southern China in his childhood after the collapse of the Western Jin dynasty. He studied calligraphy under the tutelage of relatives, including Wei Shuo , and became engaged to Xi Xuan around the year 323. They had eight children, including Wang Xianzhi , who later became

3780-454: Is underway. After tasks are completed, the male members of the family successively kneel down facing the main door and kowtow to the god. At that moment there are many taboos. For example, the wine should not be poured from a cup, and chopsticks should not fall into the ground. Silence is also maintained to avoid taboos. When all is prepared, the officiant pours wine for those present. They hold their wine cups high as quickly as possible to see

3915-565: The Huangting jing ( 黄庭经 ; "Yellow Court Classic"). Wang died c.  361 . Details about the circumstances of his death are unknown, but he had frequently mentioned his poor health in his letters to others. The maladies that were detailed in the letters include fatigue and weakness , insomnia , gastrointestinal issues , chronic pain , and chest discomfort . He sought out many treatments and therapies such as acupuncture , moxibustion , and various medicinal substances, including

4050-530: The Lantingji xu and his letters to others, he mainly produced copies of existing texts. His works were enthusiastically collected by both emperors and private collectors. In particular, Emperor Taizong of Tang established Wang and his style as the defining standard for Chinese calligraphy by requiring that the imperial court scholars study his techniques and employing calligraphers to make handwritten tracing copies and ink rubbings of his works. There are no known surviving original works by Wang – only rubbings and

4185-436: The Lantingji xu and other works by Wang, using semitransparent tracing paper that was placed over the original versions. They also produced copies using the ink rubbing technique, which involved carving a tracing copy into a stone block, placing a thin sheet of paper over the engraving, and pounding an inkpad onto the surface to transfer the characters to the paper. This process was more efficient than tracing by hand, but it

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4320-470: The Shishuo xinyu , which was originally compiled during the 5th century. These anecdotes describe his interactions with contemporaries such as the statesman Xie An and the poet Sun Chuo . The Jin shu , which details the history of the Jin dynasty (266–420) , contains his official biography in its 80th volume. The work was commissioned in the 7th century by Emperor Taizong of Tang , who personally wrote

4455-476: The 2024 U-23 Baseball World Cup , which was the first international baseball world cup held in mainland China. Wang Xizhi Wang Xizhi ( Chinese : 王羲之 ; courtesy name : Yishao ( 逸少 ); c.  303  – c.  361 ) was a Chinese politician and writer from the Jin dynasty (266–420) known for his mastery of Chinese calligraphy . He is often regarded as the greatest calligrapher in Chinese history. His most famous work, composed in 353,

4590-575: The Buddhist monk Zhi Dun . The participants of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering took part in a " winding stream party ", a customary drinking game in which they composed poetry while cups containing rice wine floated down the stream towards them. Those who were able to compose two poems before the cups reached them would have to drink only one cup of wine, whereas those who were unsuccessful had to drink more. The scholars composed

4725-513: The China Federation of Literary and Art Circles . Guo published an article in 1965 rejecting Wang's authorship based on the recent discovery of tombs from the Jin dynasty whose inscriptions were written in clerical script. Guo also presented the argument that portions of the Lantingji xu , which somberly reflect on the transience of life, were inconsistent with the celebratory nature of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering. He suggested that it

4860-531: The Chinese lunar calendar . Shaoxing people first choose an auspicious day according to the Chinese lunar calendar to hold the ceremony. In Shaoxing, the days between December 20 and December 30 of the Chinese lunar calendar are called nights instead of days so as to remind homemakers that the Spring Festival is approaching and they should hurry up to prepare for Zhufu and the Spring Festival. Thereafter,

4995-731: The Green Standard Army against the Jintian uprising . On January 11, 1851, Hong declared himself the Heavenly King of the Heavenly Kingdom of Peace (or Taiping Heavenly Kingdom), from which comes the term "Taipings" commonly used for them in English-language studies. The Taipings began marching north in September 1851 to escape Qing forces closing in on them. The Taiping army pressed north into Hunan following

5130-468: The Hakka -led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom . The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of Taiping-controlled Nanjing —which they had renamed Tianjing "heavenly capital"—in 1864. However, the last rebel forces were not defeated until August 1871. Estimates of the conflict's death toll range between 20 and 30 million people, representing 5–10% of China's population at that time. While

5265-567: The Republic of China during the early 20th century, the prefecture was abolished and the name Shaoxing was applied to a new county comprising the former Shanyin and Kuaiji. Currently, Shaoxing is a municipality with a somewhat smaller land area than its Ming-Qing namesake prefecture, having lost Xiaoshan county to Hangzhou on the west and Yuyao county to Ningbo on the east. The prefecture-level city of Shaoxing administers three districts , two county-level cities and one county . There are

5400-746: The Small Swords Society uprising in Shanghai regrouped with the Taiping army. Du Wenxiu , who led the Panthay Rebellion in Yunnan , was in contact with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He was not waging his rebellion against Han Chinese, instead, he was anti-Qing and he wanted to destroy the Qing government. Du's forces led many non-Muslim forces, including Han Chinese, Li , Bai , and Hani peoples. They were assisted by non-Muslim Shan and Kachin people and other hill tribes in

5535-514: The Song dynasty continued to promote reproductions of Wang's calligraphy. Around this time, the "Dingwu stone", an engraving of the Lantingji xu made by Ouyang Xun and widely considered to be most faithful to the original, was discovered in the Hebei province. During the Ming dynasty , Wang's works were mainly promoted by private collectors who accumulated compilation albums of his rubbings. In

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5670-487: The Taiping Rebellion Shaoxing was home to a local militia leader named Bao Lisheng who organized an armed resistance to the Taiping army in his home village of Baochun . Bao was a martial arts expert and recruited thousands of people from the surrounding area to his cause by convincing them he had supernatural powers. However, after a months-long siege, Baochun was captured by the Taiping. Under

5805-803: The Tongzhi Emperor , Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army captured Anqing with help from a naval blockade imposed by the Royal Navy on the city. Near the end of 1861 the Taipings launched a final Eastern Expedition. Ningbo was easily captured on 9 December, and Hangzhou was besieged and finally captured on 31 December. Taiping troops surrounded Shanghai in January 1862, but were unable to capture it. The Ever-Victorious Army repulsed another attack on Shanghai in 1862 and helped to defend other treaty ports such as Ningbo , reclaimed on 10 May. They also aided imperial troops in reconquering Taiping strongholds along

5940-800: The Xiang River , besieging Changsha , occupying Yuezhou , and then capturing Wuchang in December 1852 after reaching the Yangtze River. At this point the Taiping leadership decided to move east along the Yangtze River. Anqing was captured in February 1853. Taiping leaders may have reached out to Triad organizations, which had many cells in South China and among government troops. Taiping titles echoed Triad usage, whether consciously or not, which made it more attractive for Triads to join

6075-476: The Xie clan of Chen , they dominated the regional politics of this period. In his youth, Wang had difficulties with his speech, but he became a skilled orator later in life. He studied calligraphy under the tutelage of Wei Shuo , also known as "Lady Wei", who was Wang Kuang's cousin. Wang Kuang was also involved in his son's lessons, working with Wei to teach him the techniques of the calligrapher Cai Yong . Wei Shuo

6210-459: The alluvial plain north of the hills. Following his freedom from captivity in Wu , Goujian commissioned his advisor Fan Li to erect a major triangular fortification in the area of present-day Shaoxing's Yuecheng District . Following Yue's conquest of Wu, though, its royal court was removed to its former rival's capital (present-day Suzhou ) until its own conquest by Chu in 334 BC. Following

6345-451: The population of China had nearly doubled between 1766 and 1833, while the amount of cultivated land remained the same. The government, commanded by ethnic Manchus , had become increasingly corrupt, and was weak in southern regions where local clans dominated. Anti-Manchu sentiment was strongest in southern China among the Hakka community, a Han Chinese subgroup. Meanwhile, Christian missionaries were active. In 1837, Hong Huoxiu ,

6480-494: The "Two Wangs" or "Two Kings" ( 二王 ). Wang Xizhi was appointed to various government positions between 324 and 354. He started as an assistant in the Palace Library , and c.  327 he served as a companion and mentor to the future Emperor Jianwen of Jin . Around the year 334, he became the military aide to the general Yu Liang , who later praised him as "pure and noble, a man with discriminating judgment". Wang

6615-412: The 12th century, when it was renamed Shaoxing. The present site of Yu's mausoleum dates to the 6th-century Southern dynasties period. Under the Ming and Qing dynasties , the area was organized as a prefecture containing the following eight counties : urban Kuaiji and Shanyin and rural Yuyao, Zhuji, Xiaoshan, Shangyu, Xinchang, and Cheng (or Sheng). From the later Ming through the Qing, Shaoxing

6750-697: The 1856 Tianjing Incident , wherein Yang and his followers were slaughtered by Wei Changhui, Qin Rigang , and their troops on Hong Xiuquan's orders. Shi Dakai's objection to the bloodshed led to his family and retinue being killed by Wei and Qin with Wei ultimately planning to imprison Hong. Wei's plans were ultimately thwarted and he and Qin were executed by Hong. Shi Dakai was given control of five Taiping armies, which were consolidated into one. But fearing for his life, he departed from Tianjing and headed west towards Sichuan. With Hong withdrawn from view and Yang out of

6885-626: The Bible with Issachar Jacox Roberts , an American Baptist missionary. Roberts refused to baptize him and later stated that Hong's followers were "bent on making their burlesque religious pretensions serve their political purpose". Soon after Hong began preaching across Guangxi in 1844, his follower Feng Yunshan founded the God Worshipping Society , a movement which followed Hong's fusion of Christianity, Taoism , Confucianism and indigenous millenarianism , which Hong presented as

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7020-705: The Dungan rebellion began in 1862, not as a planned uprising but as a coalescence of local brawls and riots triggered by trivial causes, among these causes were false rumors that the Hui Muslims were aiding the Taiping rebels. The Hui Ma Xiaoshi claimed that the Shaanxi Muslim rebellion was connected to the Taiping. Jonathan Spence claims that a key reason for the Taiping's defeat was its inability to coordinate its rebellion with other rebellions. The rebels announced social reforms, including strict separation of

7155-539: The Gate of Heaven, tigers crouching at the Phoenix Tower. Wang is known for his proficiency in multiple Chinese script styles , particularly the regular ( kaishu ), semi-cursive ( xingshu ), and cursive ( caoshu ) forms. His calligraphy also contains traces of patterns found in the early seal script ( zhuanshu ) style, according to an analysis by Dong Qichang , an art theorist and calligrapher of

7290-507: The God of Blessing') still has great influence on Shaoxing people and their lives. Zhufu is also called Zuofu and is the most prominent annual sacrificial ceremony in Shaoxing. The gods worshipped are Nanchao Shengzhong ( 南朝圣众 ) and Huangshan Xinan ( 黄山西南 ). They have been worshipped since the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368 CE). Legend holds that when the government of the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE)

7425-454: The Han people harshly, such that the Han people created and cleverly disguised their gods Nanchao Shengzhong and Huangshan Xinan in order to mourn for the lost nation and its patriotic martyrs whilst praying for their blessing. The ruling class knew only of the ostensible purpose of the annual sacrificial ceremony, believing it was the means to entertain the God of Blessing and pray for a good harvest

7560-526: The Ming dynasty who studied the stylistic effects of the brush tip in Wang's works. Although he produced famous works in multiple script styles, he remains best known for his innovations in semi-cursive script, the style of the Lantingji xu . His works vary in length from a few lines to several hundred characters and, apart from the Lantingji xu and his letters to others, are largely copies of existing texts. A hallmark of Wang's calligraphy, according to

7695-667: The Mongolian invasion, including Emperor Huaizong of Song , last emperor of the Southern Song dynasty, Wen Tianxiang , scholar-general of Southern Song dynasty, who was captured but didn't give in to the enemy and later was killed by the Yuan Government, and Lu Xiufu , the Southern Song Prime Minister who committed suicide, together with Emperor Huaizong and 800 other officials and members of

7830-601: The Orchid Pavilion Gathering not mentioned in the Lantingji xu , such as saucers in the shape of lotus leaves to carry the goblets of rice wine down the stream and the presence of a young boy stealing a sip of wine. Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion , also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution , was a civil war in China between the Manchu -led Qing dynasty and

7965-483: The Orchid Pavilion on Mount Kuaiji for the Double Third Festival , which was celebrated annually on the third day of the third month of the Chinese calendar . Originating as a spring purification ritual, the festival became popular among scholars who gathered each year to discuss philosophical topics, compose poetry, and drink rice wine . Wang's gathering included six of his sons (Xuanzhi, Ningzhi, Huanzhi, Suzhi, Huizhi, and Xianzhi), as well as Xie An, Sun Chuo, and

8100-427: The Qing did not describe the conflict as either a civil war or a movement because doing so would have lent credibility to the Taiping. Instead, they referred to the tumultuous civil war as a period of chaos ( 亂 ; luàn ), rebellion ( 逆 ; nì ) or military ascendancy ( 軍興 ; jūnxìng ). They often referred to it as the Hong-Yang Rebellion ( 洪楊之亂 ; Hóngyáng zhī luàn ), referring to the two most prominent leaders. It

8235-406: The Qing ultimately defeated the rebellion, the victory came at a great cost to the state's economic and political viability. The uprising was led by Hong Xiuquan , an ethnic Hakka who had proclaimed himself to be the brother of Jesus Christ . Hong sought the religious conversion of the Han people to his syncretic version of Christianity , as well as the political overthrow of the Qing dynasty, and

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8370-525: The Right Army"). Because of this title, he later received the nickname "Wang Youjun" ( 王右軍 ). Despite his military titles, Wang disliked war, never engaged in warfare himself, and often tried to prevent armed conflicts. He unsuccessfully attempted to convince Yin Hao, who was in a fierce rivalry with the ambitious general Huan Wen , to abandon his plans to lead an army into northern China; Yin Hao's expeditions ultimately ended in failure. On 22 April 353, Wang hosted 41 of his friends, relatives, and pupils at

8505-513: The Taiping ideology and the policy of strict separation of the sexes, even for married couples, sided with government forces. In Hunan , the local irregular Xiang Army under the personal leadership of Zeng Guofan , became the main force fighting the Taiping on behalf of the Qing. Zeng's Xiang Army proved effective in gradually turning back the Taiping advance in the western theater of the war and ultimately retaking much of Hubei and Jiangxi provinces. In December 1856 Qing forces retook Wuchang for

8640-705: The Taiping launched concurrent Northern and Western expeditions, in an effort to relieve pressure on Nanjing and achieve significant territorial gains. The former expedition was a complete failure but the latter achieved limited success. In 1853, Hong Xiuquan withdrew from active control of policies and administration to rule exclusively by written proclamations. He lived in luxury and had many women in his inner chamber, and often issued religious strictures. He clashed with Yang Xiuqing, who challenged his often impractical policies, and became suspicious of Yang's ambitions, his extensive network of spies and his claims of authority when "speaking as God". This tension culminated in

8775-415: The Taiping princes were executed. A small remainder of loyal Taiping forces had continued to fight in northern Zhejiang, rallying around Tianguifu. But after Tianguifu's capture on 25 October 1864, Taiping resistance was gradually pushed into the highlands of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian and finally Guangdong , where one of the last Taiping loyalists, Wang Haiyang, was defeated on January 29, 1866. Although

8910-485: The Taiping rebellion lost ground, particularly after the fall of Nanjing in 1864, former Taiping soldiers and commanders like Lai Wenguang were incorporated into Nian ranks. After the failure of the Red Turban Rebellion (1854–1856) to capture Guangzhou , their soldiers retreated north into Jiangxi and joined forces with Shi Dakai. After the defeat of the Li Yonghe and Lan Chaoding rebellion in Sichuan, remnants combined with Taiping forces in Shaanxi. Remnant forces of

9045-452: The Tang dynasty, it was transmitted to Japan during the Nara and Heian periods. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Heian court standardized Wang's semi-cursive and cursive scripts and these were copied by Japanese calligraphers, resulting in a distinctive Japanese style of that time period. Extant tracing copies of Wang's work, which are rare, continue to be highly valued. In 2010, a scroll with four lines of Wang's calligraphy, copied during

9180-403: The Tang dynasty, was sold at a China Guardian auction in Beijing for CN¥  308 million ( US$ 46 million). Several locations associated with Wang's life have become visitor attractions in China. The site of his childhood residence in Linyi is open to tourists and features an "ink pond" where he reportedly washed his brush while writing. In Shaoxing, the site of the Orchid Pavilion contains

9315-458: The Two Wangs were documented at the time. Over the next century, emperors continued to acquire new works of calligraphy, reacquire stolen ones, and hire expert authenticators. After Emperor Yuan of Liang reportedly set fire to his collection of 240,000 scrolls as an enemy army was approaching the capital, only about 4,000 scrolls were able to be salvaged from the ashes; it is unknown how many of these were produced by Wang. Emperor Taizong of Tang,

9450-457: The Two Wangs. Emperor Xiaowu obtained ten scrolls of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy from private collectors, but collected many forgeries as well. A violent palace revolt during the reign of Liu Ziye caused the imperial collection to be scattered. His successor, Emperor Ming , reassembled and expanded the collection and tasked an expert calligrapher with cataloguing and authenticating the pieces. In total, 52 wrappers containing 520 scrolls of works by

9585-459: The Yangtze River. In 1863, Shi Dakai surrendered to the Qing near the Sichuan capital Chengdu and was executed by slow-slicing . Some of his followers escaped or were released and continued the fight against the Qing. Qing forces were reorganized under the command of Zeng Guofan , Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang , and the Qing reconquest began in earnest. Zeng Guofan had initially failed so badly that he attempted suicide, but he then adopted

9720-747: The ability to speak as members of the "Celestial Family", the Father in the case of Yang Xiuqing and Jesus Christ in the case of Xiao Chaogui . The Taiping Rebellion began in the southern province of Guangxi when local officials launched a campaign of religious persecution against the God Worshipping Society. In early January 1851, following a small-scale battle in late December 1850, a 10,000-strong rebel army organized by Feng Yunshan and Wei Changhui routed Qing forces stationed in Jintian (present-day Guiping , Guangxi). Taiping forces successfully repulsed an attempted imperial reprisal by

9855-520: The appointment of "General Who Defends the Army". He then requested an appointment as the administrator of Xuancheng (present-day Xuancheng , Anhui ), so that he could focus on his cultural interests in a remote area, away from dynastic politics. He was instead appointed administrator of Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing , Zhejiang ), and moved there with his family in 347. That same year, he received his highest title, youjun jiangjun ( 右軍將軍 ; "General of

9990-601: The area's conquest in 222 BC, the Qin Empire 's Kuaiji Commandery was also established in Wu (which then took the name "Kuaiji" from this role) but the First Emperor visited the town in the last year of his reign (210 BC), ascending Mount Kuaiji (present-day Mount Xianglu) and sacrificing to the spirit of Yu . The commemorative stele he erected is now lost but was visited by Sima Qian during his 1st-century BC pilgrimage of China's historical sites and

10125-501: The art historian Robert E. Harrist Jr. , is the presence of "brushstrokes that are carefully formed and create a sense of disciplined energy flowing down the page", even for text that appears to have been rapidly written. He regularly experimented with varying the speed and direction of the brush, resulting in distinctive visual characteristics in different instances of recurring strokes. In the Lantingji xu , for instance, characters that are repeated have different visual forms, creating

10260-527: The authenticity of his works, primarily the Lantingji xu . During the Song dynasty, the poets Jiang Kui and Lu You began to question the authenticity of the preface. Several centuries later, some scholars of the Qing dynasty rejected the claim that Wang produced the Lantingji xu based on arguments that it did not include characters written in clerical script, that its semi-cursive script may not have been developed until after Wang's lifetime, and that it

10395-554: The border region of Hunan, Guizhou and Guangxi. Taiping wars also spilled over into Vietnam with devastating effects. In 1860, Wu Lingyun ( 吳凌雲 ), an ethnic Zhuang Taiping leader, proclaimed himself King of Dingling ( 廷陵國 ) in the Sino-Vietnamese border regions. Dingling was destroyed during a Qing campaign in 1868. His son Wu Yazhong, also called Wu Kun ( 吳鯤 ), fled to Vietnam but was killed in 1869 in Thái Nguyên by

10530-559: The city. The city's food supplies ran low. Hong contracted food poisoning from eating wild vegetables; the intent may have been suicide. He died in June 1864 after a 20-day illness. A few days later, the Qing took the city in the Third Battle of Nanjing . On 1 August, Zeng Guofan ordered Hong's body exhumed for verification, and desecrated as spiritual punishment. After exhumation, it was dismembered, cremated, and its ashes were fired from

10665-551: The collection of taxes in the region. Resolving to leave his position rather than continue working under his new superior, Wang Xizhi retired, citing ill health. After his retirement, Wang moved to Jinting (present-day Shengzhou , Zhejiang) and devoted himself to Taoist practices. The Wang clan of Langya were well-known adherents of the Way of the Celestial Masters movement of Taoism, and Wang's letters indicate that he

10800-455: The collection, they surpassed "their aesthetic value and function as a symbol of power". Thus, emperors continually sought to expand their collection of Wang's calligraphy in order to strengthen their own perceived legitimacy. Around the time of the Tang dynasty, he was designated the "Sage of Calligraphy" ( 書聖 ; shu sheng ), a title that is still used to describe him in the present day. As

10935-412: The compilation of the Jin shu may have been motivated by a desire to create a pro-imperial work and revise the presentation of historical events for his own purposes. In his analysis of the Jin shu biography of Wang Dao , the uncle of Wang Xizhi, Wells observes that its authors selectively omitted anecdotes from the Shishuo xinyu that were unflattering or otherwise did not depict Wang Dao as

11070-452: The conquered regions to foreign settlements or other parts of China. The war was characterized by extreme brutality on both sides. Taiping soldiers carried out widespread massacres of Manchus, the ethnic minority of the ruling Imperial House of Aisin-Gioro . Meanwhile, the Qing government also engaged in massacres, most notably against the civilian population of Nanjing. Weakened severely by internal conflicts following an attempted coup and

11205-466: The country exacerbating ethnic disputes and accelerating the rise of provincial power . Historians debate whether these developments played a role in the start of the Warlord Era , the loss of central control after the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. The terms which writers use for the conflict and its participants often represent their different opinions. During the 19th century,

11340-510: The county, prefectural, and provincial levels, plus clerks working in Beijing's Six Boards (central administrative offices), especially the Boards of Revenue and Punishment. The legal experts were also known as Shaoxing shiye (Shaoxing masters), and they were indispensable advisers to the local and regional officials who employed them, since their knowledge of the detailed Qing legal code permitted

11475-542: The death toll may have reached 100 million. The Nian Rebellion (1853–1868), and several Chinese Muslim rebellions in the southwest (the Panthay Rebellion , 1855–1873) and the northwest ( Dungan revolt , 1862–1877) continued to pose considerable problems for the Qing dynasty. Occasionally, the Nian rebels collaborated with Taiping forces, for instance, they collaborated during the Northern Expedition . As

11610-522: The destruction of idols was initially welcomed by foreign missionaries, missionaries eventually came to fear the zealotry of the Taiping that they had a hand in creating. Separation of the sexes was strictly enforced in the first few years, although it tapered off in later years. Part of the extremeness came from a mistranslation of the Ten Commandments , which led to the seventh commandment also forbidding "licentiousness" as well as adultery. It

11745-541: The end of Zhufu . Ancestor worship follows the ceremony and, although similar to Zhufu, differences do exist. After worship, the family sits down at tables and eat Fuli together, which they call Sanfu or sharing the blessings. As a featured folk custom, Zhufu has been handed down and well protected as part of Shaoxing's cultural heritage. It is reputable because of its special origin. It was widely popularized by Lu Xun (1881-1936, Shaoxing-born) in his short story Zhufu  [ zh ] ( 祝福 ), which he named after

11880-478: The failure of the siege of Beijing , the Taiping rebels were defeated by decentralised provincial armies such as the Xiang Army organised and commanded by Zeng Guofan . After moving down the Yangtze River and recapturing the strategic city of Anqing , Zeng's forces besieged Nanjing during May 1862. After two more years, on June 1, 1864, Hong Xiuquan died during the siege, caused from the consumption of weeds in

12015-431: The fall of Nanjing in 1864 marked the destruction of the Taiping regime, the fight was not yet over. There were still several hundred thousand Taiping troops continuing the fight, with more than a quarter-million fighting in the border regions of Jiangxi and Fujian alone. It was not until August 1871 that the last Taiping army led by Shi Dakai 's commander, Li Fuzhong ( 李福忠 ), was completely wiped out by government forces in

12150-559: The final time. The Xiang Army captured Jiujiang in May 1858 and then the rest of Jiangxi by September. In 1859, Hong Rengan , Hong Xiuquan's cousin, joined the Taiping forces in Nanjing and was given considerable power by Hong. Hong Rengan developed an ambitious plan to expand the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's boundaries. In May 1860, the Taiping defeated the imperial forces that had been besieging Nanjing since 1853, eliminating them from

12285-487: The founding of the city. Economically, the city is driven by manufacturing of textiles, electronics, and energy-efficient lighting. Zhejiang has the fifth highest per capita GDP in the nation , with the city itself at 32nd nationally by GDP per capita . The city was first named Shaoxing in 1131 A.D. during the Southern Song dynasty. The name comes from the Shaoxing reign period of Emperor Gaozong of Song , and

12420-496: The god out. Then the officiant burns the Mazhang Stick together with golden and silver Taiding in the courtyard. He cuts the tongues from the chicken and goose then throws them on to the roof of the house at the same time and praying to the god to take away the tongues which symbolize possible calamities emanating from the spoken word. Finally, the officiant put a cup of wine with tea onto the ashes of Mazhang Stick signifying

12555-475: The groups eventually disbanded. With no reliable census at the time, estimates of the death toll of the Taiping Rebellion are speculative. The most widely cited sources estimate the total number of deaths during the almost 14 years of the rebellion to be approximately 20 to 30 million civilians and soldiers. Most of the deaths were attributed to plague and famine. Some analysts have claimed that

12690-576: The hands of foreign powers. Farmers were heavily overtaxed, rents rose dramatically, and peasants started to desert their lands in droves. The Qing military had recently suffered a disastrous defeat in the First Opium War , while the Chinese economy was severely impacted by a trade imbalance caused by the large-scale and illicit importation of opium. Banditry became common, and numerous secret societies and self-defense units formed, all of which led to an increase in small-scale warfare. Meanwhile,

12825-452: The imperial court. Huangshan Xinan refers to two anonymous brothers who sacrificed their lives to save civilians from being killed by the Mongolian army. In memory of the brothers, the local people named the place where they were killed after them and offered sacrifice to a portrait or statue of the brothers. Records show that the Mongolian nobility, the ruling class of the Yuan dynasty, treated

12960-400: The military general Xi Jian . In a well-known anecdote from the Shishuo xinyu and the Jin shu , Xi Jian sent an emissary to Wang Dao's household to find a suitable husband for his daughter. While the other young men flaunted themselves in fine clothing, an indifferent Wang Xizhi arrived late and sprawled across a bed, with his robes open and belly exposed due to the heat. The emissary

13095-401: The moniker ultimately adopted by Hong. In later embellishments, Hong would declare that he also saw Confucius being punished by his celestial father for leading the people astray. In 1843, Hong failed the imperial examinations for the fourth and final time. It was only then, prompted by a visit by his cousin, that Hong took time to carefully examine Christian pamphlets he had received from

13230-409: The movement. In 1852, Qing government troops captured Hong Daquan , a rebel who had assumed the title Tian De Wang (King of Heavenly Virtue). Hong Daquan's confession claimed that Hong Xiuquan had made him co-sovereign of the Heavenly Kingdom and given him that title, but was more likely an echo of an earlier but unconnected White Lotus Rebellion . However, the capture of Nanjing in that year led to

13365-416: The next year as well as harmony. The ceremony was handed down from generation to generation and finally became a convention whilst its political meaning gradually dimmed. It became a pure sacrificial ceremony, held annually to offer thanks to the God of Blessing for all his blessings and to pray for the next year's blessing. Zhufu is often held during the period between December 24 and December 28 according to

13500-488: The officials, whose education was in the Confucian Classics, to competently perform one of their major functions, that of judging local civil and criminal cases. Coming from the same gentry social class as the officials, the legal experts were expected to adhere to the ethical dictum enunciated by Wang Huizu, Shaoxing's most famous muyou: "If not in accord [with your employer], then leave" ( Bu he ze qu ). During

13635-403: The officiant of the ceremony who is usually the man of the house, lights incense and red candles, hangs golden and silver Taiding made of paper on the left and right candleholders, puts cushions for kneeling on the ground in order, and inserts a Mazhang Stick, which represents Nanchao Shengzhong or Huangshan Xinan into the prepared holder. Females are not allowed to be present whilst the sacrifice

13770-507: The old woman reapproached Wang with even more fans, but he declined to sign them and slipped out through a side door. According to an anecdote from the Jin shu , Wang once received ten live geese in exchange for transcribing two chapters from the Tao Te Ching , a foundational Taoist text. After his lifetime, art theorists such as Guo Xi continued to associate him with geese, creating the narrative that his calligraphic brush technique

13905-503: The palace grounds as well as suspicions of poison. Nanjing fell barely a month later. The 14-year civil war as a whole coincided with internal and external conflicts of the Opium Wars and the future Boxer Rebellion to further weaken the Qing dynasty’s grasp on central China. The Taiping rebellion gave incentive for an initially successful period of reform and self-strengthening although shadowed by social and religious unrest within

14040-452: The picture, the remaining Taiping leaders tried to widen their popular support and forge alliances with European powers, but failed on both counts. The Europeans decided to stay officially neutral, though European military advisors served with the Qing army. Inside China, the rebellion faced resistance from the traditionalist rural classes because of hostility to Chinese culture and Confucian values . The landowning upper class, unsettled by

14175-573: The present day, there are no known surviving original works by Wang Xizhi. The earliest extant reproductions of his work were produced during the Tang dynasty , including a small number of tracing copies. Numerous rubbings exist – including many copies of the Dingwu stone – but these have likely become less accurate over the centuries as inaccuracies are propagated over time when new engravings are made from older rubbings. 龍跳天門，虎臥鳳閣。 Dragons leaping at

14310-635: The psychoactive and toxic Cold-Food Powder which may have exacerbated his symptoms. He has been traditionally believed to be buried in a tomb in Jinting, which has become a major tourist attraction in Shengzhou. Some modern scholarship has suggested that he may have been actually buried in Jiankang (present-day Nanjing , Jiangsu ), the capital of the Eastern Jin, alongside other members of his family. The first known collector of Wang's calligraphy

14445-536: The region and opening the way for a successful invasion of southern Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, the wealthiest region of the Qing Empire. The Taiping rebels were successful in taking Hangzhou on March 19, 1860, Changzhou on May 26, and Suzhou on June 2 to the east. While Taiping forces were preoccupied in Jiangsu, Zeng's forces moved down the Yangtze River. An attempt to take Shanghai begun in June 1861

14580-472: The revolt. The other Muslim rebellion, the Dungan revolt , was the reverse: it was not aiming to overthrow the Qing dynasty because its leader Ma Hualong had accepted an imperial title. Instead, it erupted as a result of intersectional fighting between Muslim factions and Han Chinese. During the Dungan revolt, various groups fought against each other without any coherent goal. According to modern researchers,

14715-500: The sacrificial ceremony. Whilst deeply moved by the ill-fated leading character of the novel, readers get to learn the details of the Zhufu tradition. The Shaoxing Baseball & Softball Sports Centre is the largest baseball and softball venue in China conforming to international competition standards. The stadium was built for the 2022 Asian Games , which hosted the baseball and softball events. In September 2024, Shaoxing hosted

14850-487: The same time period, some scholars have questioned the relative influence of Wang versus the Tang calligraphers who copied his pieces. Ledderose observes that the works attributed to Wang vary widely in style, precision, and balance, making a "correct assessment of his personal contribution quite difficult". Written in regular script: Written in semi-cursive script: Written in cursive script: The complicated textual history of Wang's calligraphy has led to debates over

14985-510: The second and last leader of the short-lived Republic of Formosa . Other "Flag Gangs" armed with the latest weapons, disintegrated into bandit groups that plundered remnants of the Lan Xang kingdom. They were then engaged in the Haw wars (misnamed due to conflation with Chinese Muslims ) against the incompetent forces of King Rama V ( r.  1868–1910–  ) until 1890, when the last of

15120-603: The sexes, abolition of foot binding , land socialisation, and "suppression" of private trade. They also outlawed the importation of opium into all Taiping territories. In regard to religion, the Kingdom replaced Confucianism , Buddhism and Chinese folk religion with the Taiping Christianity, God Worshipping , which held that Hong Xiuquan was the younger brother of Jesus and the second son of Shangdi . Buddhist libraries were burned. Because Hong saw Confucianism

15255-516: The teachings of the 16th-century Ming general Qi Jiguang . He bypassed the professional regular armies and recruited from local villages, paying and drilling them well. Zeng, Zuo and Li led personally loyal soldiers. By early 1864, Qing control in most areas had been reestablished. In May 1862, the Xiang Army besieged Nanjing; attempts to break the siege by the numerically superior Taiping Army failed. Hong Xiuquan declared that God would defend

15390-447: The term "Taiping Rebellion" is biased because it insinuates that the Qing government was a legitimate government which was fighting against the illegitimate Taiping rebels. Instead, they argue that the conflict should be called a "civil war". Other historians such as Jürgen Osterhammel term the conflict "Taiping Revolution" because of the rebels' radical transformational objectives and the social revolution that they initiated. Little

15525-500: Was Huan Xuan , a Jin dynasty warlord who collected two wrappers (each containing approximately ten scrolls) of works by Wang Xizhi and his son, Wang Xianzhi. Another early collector, Duke Hui, was tricked by dealers who soaked forgeries in dirty water to make them appear older and then sold them as originals. The emperors of the Liu Song dynasty (420–479) were enthusiastic art collectors whose imperial collection included many pieces by

15660-520: Was a follower of this movement as well. On one occasion when his granddaughter was ill, he composed a written confession of his own perceived moral failings, believing that these were linked to her illness and that he needed to petition the celestial masters to heal her. He regularly collected medicinal herbs that were believed to grant longevity, and together with his brother-in-law Xi Yin, he practiced bigu (abstinence from cereals ). During his lifetime, he transcribed several Taoist texts, including

15795-598: Was a shadow of its noble origin, being now a tool of the Qing to tyrannize Han people, libraries of the Confucian monasteries were destroyed—in the Yangtze delta, almost entirely —and the temples were often defaced or turned into temples of his new religion or hospitals and libraries. Traditionalist works like those of Confucius were burned and their sellers executed. The Taiping were especially opposed to idolatry , destroying idols wherever found with great prejudice. Though

15930-430: Was a specialist in the clerical , regular , and semi-cursive script styles of Chinese calligraphy, and gave lessons on selection of calligraphy supplies, proper posture, and basic stroke techniques. Wang Xizhi also learned calligraphy from his uncle, Wang Yi, a painter and calligrapher who was married to the sister of Emperor Yuan of Jin . After his parents died, Wang Xizhi lived in the household of his uncle Wang Dao,

16065-575: Was actually written by Zhiyong, a Buddhist monk who was a descendant of Wang. In the wake of the Socialist Education Movement , few scholars were willing to publicly challenge Guo's claims, and those who did were attacked by Guo and his political allies in the Chinese Communist Party . He Jianjun, a scholar of Chinese history, wrote that Guo's motivation for challenging the authenticity of the Lantingji xu

16200-626: Was also dismissively referred to as the Red Sheep Rebellion ( 紅羊之亂 ; Hóngyáng zhī luàn ) because the two names sound similar in Chinese. In modern China, the war is often referred to as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, due to the fact that the Taiping espoused a doctrine which was both nationalist and communist, and the Taiping represented a popular ideology which was based on either Han nationalism or protocommunist values. The scholar Jian Youwen

16335-404: Was also less accurate. These reproductions, along with the creation of an imperial office to teach calligraphy to young scholars in the capital, firmly established Wang and his style as the defining standard for Chinese calligraphy. According to the art historian Lothar Ledderose , Emperor Taizong was the "one man who did most for the propagation of the Wang [Xizhi] tradition". The emperors of

16470-435: Was famous (or notorious) for its network of native sons throughout the Chinese government bureaucracy, cooperating out of native-place loyalty. In addition to the substantial number of Shaoxing natives who succeeded in becoming officials via the regular civil-service examination route, this vertical Shaoxing clique also included county-level jail wardens, plus unofficial legal specialists (muyou) working privately for officials at

16605-411: Was impressed by his spontaneity and reported back to Xi Jian, who agreed to the match. Xi Xuan was also skilled at calligraphy. She and Wang had eight recorded children: seven sons – Xuanzhi, Ningzhi, Huanzhi, Suzhi, Huizhi , Caozhi, and Xianzhi – and one daughter, Mengjiang. Wang Xianzhi, their youngest son, became a renowned calligrapher in his own right, and he and Wang Xizhi were later praised as

16740-651: Was inconsistent with another recorded version, the Linhe xu ( 臨河序 ; "Preface to the Riverbank Gathering"). They instead hypothesized that it was written by a later calligrapher of the Sui or Tang dynasties, but this was a minority view at the time. During the 1960s, the question of the Lantingji xu 's authenticity was revived by Guo Moruo , the chairman of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and

16875-434: Was inspired by the way that the geese moved their necks. Wang's fondness for geese "has come to be the emblem of his artistic personality in popular and elite imagination alike", and his depictions in art typically show him in the presence of geese. A 14th-century rubbing of a painting from the Song dynasty is the earliest known depiction of Wang with geese. A well-known painting, Wang Xizhi Watching Geese by Qian Xuan ,

17010-515: Was later given the courtesy name Yishao ( 逸少 ), and adopted the studio name Danzhai ( 澹齋 ). He was a member of an aristocratic family, the Wang clan of Langya , and his father, Wang Kuang, was the governor of Huainan . With the collapse of the Western Jin dynasty following the capture and execution of Emperor Huai , the Wang family fled to southern China and helped establish the Eastern Jin in 317. Together with other aristocratic immigrants such as

17145-498: Was marked by a high level of discipline and fanaticism. They typically wore a uniform of red jackets with blue trousers, and grew their hair long so in China they were nicknamed "long hair". In the beginning of the rebellion, the large numbers of women serving in the Taiping army also distinguished it from other 19th-century armies. However, after 1853 there ceased being many women in the Taiping army. Hong Xuanjiao , Su Sanniang and Qiu Ersao are examples of women who became leaders of

17280-575: Was named governor of Linchuan (present-day Linchuan , Jiangxi ) in 336. After declining several offers from Wang Dao to serve in the Department of Personnel, he became the regional inspector of Jiangzhou (near present-day Huangmei County , Hubei ) and received the title of "General Who Brings Repose to the Distance" c.  342 . In 346, he was reluctantly persuaded by his friend Yin Hao to accept

17415-427: Was overthrown by the Mongolian army and replaced by the Yuan dynasty, the original Song citizens, namely the Han people, were extremely afraid of the newly established minority political power. They secretly offered sacrifices at midnight to the emperors of South Song dynasty and those patriotic martyrs who died to save the nation. Nanchao Shengzhong refers to a group of martyrs, who died in the war of resistance against

17550-550: Was painted c.  1295 and is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art . Though the Orchid Pavilion Gathering in 353 did not involve geese, artists have often combined the two themes in their paintings of Wang. According to the art historian Kazuko Kameda-Madar, the gathering itself is "one of the most important painting themes in the cultural history of East Asia". Over time, Chinese and Japanese artists have added other recurring elements to their depictions of

17685-539: Was political, not academic, and that Guo was deliberately trying to subvert "the single most important Chinese work of art of past millennia", usher in the Cultural Revolution , and establish his own authority in cultural debates. These debates over Wang's calligraphy subsided after 1966 as critics shifted their focus to other works such as Hai Rui Dismissed from Office . Guo's claim that clerical script would have been used exclusively during Wang's lifetime

17820-637: Was preserved in his Records of the Grand Historian . By the time of the Later Han , the lands between the Yangtze and Hangzhou Bay received their own commanderies and administration of Kuaiji —then stretching along the south shore of the bay from Qiantang (present-day Hangzhou ) to the East China Sea . The area's capital in present-day Yuecheng was then known as Kuaiji until

17955-495: Was repulsed after 15 months by an army of Qing troops supported by European officers under the command of Frederick Townsend Ward . This army would become known as the " Ever Victorious Army ", a seasoned and well-trained Qing military force commanded by Charles George Gordon , and would be instrumental in the defeat of the Taiping rebels. In 1861, around the time of the death of the Xianfeng Emperor and ascension of

18090-405: Was so severe that parents and children of the opposite sex could not interact, and even married couples were discouraged from having sex. The rebels used brilliant unorthodox strategies that nearly toppled the dynasty but inspired it to adopt what one historian calls "the most significant military experimentation since the seventeenth century." The Taiping army was the rebellion's key strength. It

18225-470: Was weakened in 1988 upon the discovery of an Eastern Jin tomb with an inscription written in regular script. Wang's works were already popular during his lifetime, and in the centuries after Wang's death, collectors continued to seek out his calligraphy. The value of an imperial collection was often judged by the number of works written by the Two Wangs. As Wang Xizhi's works were the most valuable part of

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