Artists › Painters and Calligraphers
Wang Xun
Eastern Jin minister and calligrapher of the Langya Wang clan, grandson of Wang Dao, whose letter Boyuan tie survives in his own hand
A desk holds an unrolled sheet bearing three bold black ink strokes, with a rack of many brushes above it, a stone ink slab and ink stick, a porcelain bowl, a red lacquer box, a dish of red seal paste and a paperweight; a small seated figure shows through a round window onto bamboo.
Also known as Zi Yuanlin · Childhood name Fahu · Marquis of Dongting
Wang Xun, courtesy name Yuanlin, childhood name Fahu, came from Linyi in Langya, modern Shandong; he was a grandson of the chief minister Wang Dao and son of Wang Qia. He served early on Huan Wen's staff and was made Marquis of Dongting for his part in the campaign against Yuan Zhen. Trusted by Emperor Xiaowu, he became director of the Department of State Affairs early in the reign of Emperor An, and he died in 400 at fifty-one (fifty-two by Chinese reckoning); he was posthumously named General of Chariots and Cavalry and canonised Xianmu. Heir to a family of calligraphers, he wrote the letter in running script known as Boyuan tie; in the Qianlong era it was kept with letters by Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi in the Hall of Three Rarities, and it is now in the Palace Museum, Beijing.
Life and times
Dates 349 CE–400 CE