Ru Mu San Fen

Literal Meaning: carving into the timber with three-tenths inches

Metaphorical Meaning: It is used to describe the description or argumentation which is penetrating, profound and convincing.

Wang Xizhi was the famous calligrapher in the Jin Dynasty (265 – 420 AD).

He used to practice his writing near the pond in his house. Every time he finished, he washed his brush and ink table in the pond. After long, the water in the pond turned black. He kept thinking of how to improve his writing skills, no matter when he was walking or resting. The structure of the words never left his head. He even practiced this writing without brush in his hand by moving his fingers on his clothes. After a long time, his clothes were worn out.

When he was twenty, a high-ranking government official named Xi Jian came to the Wang’s to choose the husband for his daughter. All of Wang Xizhi’s brothers all got dressed up with the hope of being chosen by Xi Jian. Only Wang Xizhi wore his normal clothes and lay on the bed, eating a cake while moving his fingers to practice his writing. Xi Jian appreciated Wang’s composure and decided to marry his daughter to him.

Once upon a time, the King went for sacrificing in the northern part of the capital. He ordered Wang Xizhi to write the blessings on a wooden board and then asked the carpenters to carve the board. When the carpenters did their jobs, they found that Wang Xizhi had already written the words inside the wood. They can’t help but praise: “Wang’s words were really like a knife carving into the wood.”