There was a renowned calligrapher named Wang Xizhi who lived during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420). His running script (one of the major categories of Chinese calligraphy) was characterized by a smooth and elegant style. Therefore, he was referred to by all as the “Sage of Calligraphy”. As a little child, Wang Xizhi was very bright and sharp-witted. He had begun to practice calligraphy at seven, and was already well famed as a prodigy calligrapher by the age of ten.
At that time, a general called Wang Dun was also very fond of calligraphy. He often took Wang Xizhi along with him wherever he went. One day, he took the boy to his military camp. As it was getting late, Wang Dun told the boy to sleep on his bed.
Since Wang Xizhi had drunk a little wine, he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. At midnight, he woke up and heard someone talking in another room. “Who is still up at such a late hour?” the boy wondered. Listening carefully, Wang Xizhi got a sudden shock. It turned out that Wang Dun was talking about overthrowing the government with his second in command Qian Feng. Wang Xizhi thought, “Perhaps they have forgotten I was sleeping here. If they realize their music, they will kill me to keep me quiet. What should I do?” After thinking desperately for a few moments, the boy decided to pretend to be dead drunk and he managed to make himself throw up all over the bed. Then he covered his face with the quilt and pretended to be sound asleep.
Just as Wang Xizhi had expected, after his discussion with Qian Feng, Wang Dun realized that Wang Xizhi was still asleep in his bedroom. He said to his man, “This is a matter of life and death. If anyone finds out our plans, not only we but our families will be executed. Let’s kill the boy just to be safe.”
Holding their swords,thetwocon-spirators walked quietly to the bed on which Wang Xizhi was sleeping. They were about to take his life when they found the bed covered in the boy’s vomit. In fact the whole room was full of the smell of alcohol. Seeing the boy was dead asleep, the general hesitated for a second. He put down his sword and sneaked out of the room. It seemed that Wang Dun believed the drunken boy hadn’t overheard anything, and thus spared his life.
After Wang Dun and his man disappeared, Wang Xizhi let out a sigh of relief and counted his blessings that he was still alive.
