arts and health

Copy of Wang Xizhi’s “Letter about Sandalwood and Walnuts” (“Zhan ji hu tao tie” 旃罽胡桃帖)

Illness Narratives in a Fourth-Century Chinese Correspondence

Antje Richter explores the illness narratives in the informal correspondences of Wang Xizhi, the most celebrated of Chinese calligraphers. This essay is adapted from her journal article “The Trouble with Wang Xizhi, Illness and Healing in a Fourth-Century Chinese Correspondence”, co-written with Charles Chace and originally published in T’oung Pao.