Wang Xizhi
Historical sources

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 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 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 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 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.
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