Work / monument · text

Lantingji Xu

353 · 4th century · Also known as Orchid Pavilion Preface

The Lantingji Xu (Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion) is a short prose text written by Wang Xizhi in 353 for a collection of poems composed by his friends at a spring gathering at the Orchid Pavilion near Shaoxing. Regarded as the most celebrated work of Chinese calligraphy, the original was reportedly buried with Emperor Taizong of Tang, and it survives only in copies and tracings.

Lantingji Xu
Image: Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Lantingji Xu. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/lantingji-xu
MLA
“Lantingji Xu.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/lantingji-xu. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Lantingji Xu.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/lantingji-xu.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Lantingji Xu’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/lantingji-xu (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻