臨川之城東，有地隱然而高，以臨于溪，曰新城。新城之上，有池洼然而方以長，曰王羲之之墨池者，荀伯子《臨川記》云也。羲之嘗慕張芝，“臨池學書，池水盡黑。”此為其故跡，豈信然邪?

There is a terrace concealed from view east of the city of Linchuan. It juts out onto a brook and is known as Xincheng. On top of Xincheng is a pond, which is deep and rectangular in shape and which, according to the Chronicles of Linchuan, by Xun Bozi, bore the name of “Wang Xizhi’s Ink Pond.” As he admired Zhang Zhi, Xizhi followed his example by practicing calligraphy on the banks of the pond until the water became wholly black. It is said that here is the site of the old pond. Can it be the truth?

方羲之之不可強以仕，而嘗極東方，出滄海，以娛其意于山水之間;豈其徜徉肆恣，而又嘗自休于此邪?羲之之書晚乃善，則其所能，蓋亦以精力自致者，非天成也。然后世未有能及者，豈其學不如彼邪?則學固豈可以少哉，況欲深造道德者邪?

Wang Xizhi refused to be pressed into the civil service; he journeyed to the east, reaching as far as the Gulf of Bohai, to amuse himself by frequenting mountains and rivers. Could it be that in the midst of his roaming he had some rest near this pond? The calligraphy of Xizhi was not perfected until late in his life. In other words, instead of being a born calligrapher, he acquired his skill through the energetic pursuit of the art. But he has had no equal in subsequent generations. Could it be that they never equaled him in practicing? Indeed, can practice ever be dispensed with, especially by those who are bent on cultivating their morality?