Learning from the past to guide the future

Yuyao, a county-level city in Ningbo where Wang was born, has also been delving into innovative ways to promote Yangming culture.

A bookstore near his former residence in Yuyao features a variety of Yangming culturethemed products. One of its bestsellers is a bag that is adorned with Wang's calligraphy.

Li Fubin, manager of the bookstore and one of the bag's designers, says that he drew inspiration from a piece of Wang's original calligraphy works that is kept at the Yuyao Cultural Relics Protection and Management Preservation Institute.

The piece, which was written by Wang for his students, is one of his typical kaishu (regular script) works and was listed among China's grade-one cultural relics.

The bag stood out from some 1,700 products to win the bronze prize at a tourism product competition organized by the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism in August.

Tapping into the creativity of young people is another way to breathe new life into historical culture.