Mr. Wang Xizhi ((Chinese: 王羲之, 303–361) 303 - 361 AD)is a very famous great Chinese ancient calligrapher in the Song Dynasty (960 AD - 1279 AD). One day, he was on an excursion by a small boat, fully immersing himself in the beauty of water landscape of Shaoxing, a city in Zhejiang province. A group of ducks were joyfully playing on the surface of river lined with green trees. They were chasing after each other in joy and virility. Mr. Wang appreciated the various pretty movements of the ducks with his eyes fixed on them and was very reluctant to leave the place. He asked the boatman about the owner of ducks. "The owner of these ducks is a Daoist master. If you really love these ducks, why don't you buy them?" the boatman replied.
Mr. Wang, the calligrapher, accepted the boatman's suggestion and found his way to the home of Daoist master. The latter quickly knew who was the visitor. He knew Mr. Wang was the famous calligrapher. He was secretly overjoyed to learn about the intent of his visitor. Concealing his joy, the Daoist master said: "I am sorry to tell you that my ducks are not for sale. If you really want them, I would appreciate if you cuold copy the Book of Morals (an ancient Chinese classic)to exchange for them." Mr. Wang was happy to consent to this deal.
Mr. Wang eagerly started to write with his brush word by word of the book on return at home. Several days later, his writing of the book was finished. He was delighted to get the ducks for exchange with this artistic work, now one of the most cherished masterpieces of calligraphy in Chinese history.