During the Wei, Jin and North-South dynasties era, the seven sages of the bamboo grove, who were representative literary figures of that time, often congregated at Lanting, or Orchid Pavilion, in Shaoxing. They would set their cups of wine in the upper reaches of a channel of water as a game, and whoever it floated down beside would have to drink the wine or compose a poem. In the year 353, the ninth year of Emperor Mu of Jin's Yonghe era, Wang Xizhi wrote the 'Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion' while in the throes of drunkenness, creating an unparalleled piece of Chinese calligraphy. During the Ming and Qing dynasties Shaoxing became even richer in culture. In around one hundred years, renowned scholars and philosophers such as Wang Yangming, Wang Ji, Ji Ben, and Xu Wei came on to the scene one after another.

Once upon a time, Tang Xuanzang was on a journey to the West, seeking out the Buddhist scriptures. One after the other, he had accepted Monkey, Pigsy and Friar Sand as his disciples.