The Preface to the Orchid Pavilion was written in the ninth year of the Yonghe era (AD 353). It is traditionally said to have been composed spontaneously by Wang Xizhi as a preface during a spring purification gathering of literati with poetry and wine. Later generations described Wang Xizhi's calligraphy as "graceful as a startled swan, lithe as a wandering dragon," and honored him as the Sage of Calligraphy. The Preface to the Orchid Pavilion is a treasure of calligraphy, known as the finest running script under heaven, and has been admired and copied by calligraphers through the ages. The surviving Shenlong copy of Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Orchid Pavilion has generally been called the Feng Chengsu traced copy since Guo Tianxi of the Yuan dynasty. The Orchid Pavilion is located in present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang.