Almighty painter

Chapter 942 Quiet

On the first day that Gu Weijing and Cao Xuan met, in that international art project, whenever Gu Weijing received the drawing of a mural, he would always let himself think before coloring it, thinking about how he would handle it if faced with such a situation, and how the senior painters in the project team handled the colors on the mural.

Find the problem first, then solve it.

In the past semester, what Cao Xuan asked him to do was the same as before, the only difference was that the object of comparison changed from a dozen predecessors in international art projects to the entire "Famous Paintings of All Ages".

From observing your own reflection in a drop of water to facing the entire ocean.

The old man never set clear course progress nodes, and Cao Xuan never told Gu Weijing what they must learn in this class, such as the essence of a certain brushwork or the spirit of a painting.

“They are mountains.”

Cao Xuan said.

“Don’t be in a hurry. When the mountain allows you to climb, it will reveal its own veil.”

Cao Xuan was in great spirits, and he spoke eloquently and fluently during the course, and you wouldn't know that he was over 90 years old. Anna always spoke very fast. When she talked to Gu Weijing about the exhibition, her voice was jingling and her speech speed would speed up inadvertently, almost surging. Something - that will, that intelligence - vowed to burst out from her heaving chest.

Cao Xuan would ask a key question in class and then gradually slow down his speaking speed.

He was no longer at the age where he needed to throw out his conclusions fiercely and without question to make himself appear older and more dignified. There were always enough gaps in Cao Xuan's words for Gu Weijing's thoughts to seep in slowly.

Gu Weijing is a zither.

Cao Xuan was both a musician and a listener; he only plucked the strings occasionally at critical moments.

The sound of the piano continues naturally and endlessly.

The old man almost never said whether Gu Weijing's views were good or bad. He asked Gu Weijing to imagine what the works of those historical painters should look like, and then find the relevant picture albums prepared by Lao Yang in advance and slowly compare them.

The analysis is the same as what Gu Weijing thought.

What's the difference?

The difference may be due to problems in Gu Weijing's understanding. He is wrong, the painter is wrong, and the copy is wrong.

Everyone is right though.

Yu Shinan and Feng Chengsu copied two different versions of "Lanting Preface" based on the same original work, one-to-one. Both are excellent. Art can be presented in different ways.

They first talked about those painters whose authentic works were handed down, and then talked about those ancient books of specific painters in history whose authenticity was difficult to distinguish. Just like playing a puzzle game, they tried to guess whether they belonged to a specific painter.

First, look at the picture and color it.

Then there's the crossword puzzle game.

At last.

They are grasping a clue and slowly walking into the mist of history to see how far they can go.

Gu Weijing had never had such a mysterious experience.

When he and Katsuko finished their paper on The Old Church in the Thunderstorm, they had a painting but few reliable records of the painter’s identity, and they could only guess at what the painter looked like. The works and painters he discussed with Cao Xuan were much older than those he discussed with Katsuko Sakai.

Not 150.

But 1000 years, 1500 years, and more.

They have in their hands infallible historical records about the painters, the thoughts of later generations when viewing their works, and even the poems written on some of the paintings can be found copied in the literature.

The only thing missing is the work itself.

Perhaps it is in the hands of a private collector, waiting for the day when it will be re-appeared in the world, or perhaps it is sleeping peacefully somewhere underground, or even worse, it has been swallowed up by the long river of history. Cao Xuan held his hand, and the two tried to capture one or two reflections in the long river of historical materials.

Cao Xuan did not ask Gu Weijing to paint, but started painting himself.

Since he had no works, he copied from documents.

In an identity imagined by later generations, he showed Gu Weijing what a painter's works should look like from Cao Xuan's aesthetic perspective.

What is "finely researched and refined, with the intention and form being similar."

What is "Seeing Wangchuan in Qingyuan Temple?"

What standards did Zhang Yanyuan use when he rated the painters as top, middle and bottom? What does it mean to be "imperfect in brushwork but thorough in artistic conception?"

There are also some very interesting small topics interspersed throughout.

People always say that calligraphy and painting are one and the same, so why did Zhang Yanyuan say that Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is the best from ancient times to the present, and his painting is also wonderful? But in fact, in his evaluation system, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is the best in the world, and his painting, which is also "excellent", only received a comment of "middle-grade and lower-class"?
Where is Wang Xianzhi?

It is said that he was also a good painter, and the famous Huan Wen once asked him to paint for him.

Zhang Yanyuan said that Wang Xizhi's painting level was "excellent in painting", while Wang Xianzhi's painting level was "skillful in painting". However, like his father, Wang Xianzhi only received a comment of "middle-grade".

Does this have anything to do with the aesthetic trends at that time?
After the first semester, the next year came and it was this semester.

Cao Xuan finally started to let Gu Weijing pick up the paintbrush, and after each private lesson, he began to assign Gu Weijing fixed homework.

Still not painting.

But practice calligraphy.

Calligraphy and painting are one and the same. My grandfather believes that Chinese calligraphy is a very unique treasure in the entire oriental art aesthetic system.

The word is like its person.

When practicing calligraphy, you are not only practicing the characters, but also abstracting the lines and compositions to the simplest level, honing an aesthetic taste.

Calligraphy, calligraphy, it is a kind of law.

In classrooms.

Cao Xuan wrote a big word on the blank rice paper with his pen moving quickly.

"It's almost time to end get out of class."

The old man put the pen on the table and asked a question: "We have been taking classes for a whole year. This semester, after every class, I have never allowed you to take away any paintings or writings. Do you know why?"

"Teacher, you have announced that you will stop writing."

Gu Weijing looked at the handwriting in front of him and replied.

There was nothing strange about Cao Xuan not allowing him to take his work away from the classroom.

The old man has announced that he will stop writing.

With Mr. Cao's status, any piece of calligraphy left behind, even if it was just a fragment without a system, would be very expensive. In the past year, every time Cao Xuan demonstrated his painting skills, every time the old man brought him to the classroom to "copy" the works of ancient masters, Gu Weijing would pick them up and put them in his pocket after class to take back and practice.

It’s hard to say how effective the practice is.

Anyway, if he continues to take classes like this for a year, he should be able to bring home the sports car, yacht and villa that Teacher Yang has been dreaming of.

Gu Weijing never even mentioned this matter. It is important for a person to be sensible and know his limits.

“That’s some unsystematic stuff.”

Cao Xuan laughed. "One or two characters, some practice patterns and lines, not even a painting." The old man sat on a chair at the side. "The reason I didn't let you take it back is because you are still very young."

"At this age, you will think that whatever the teacher says is right. Whatever the teacher draws is the best."

Cao Xuan took a sip of tea.

“The paintings I drew are just the answers in my mind. They may not be the answers in your mind, let alone the correct answers. There is no correct answer, so how can there be any certainty?”

"At my age, I have painted and copied so much that it is easy for me to paint in whatever style I want. Learning for young people is like carving. One cut is one cut, one chisel is one chisel. The slower you carve, the deeper you carve. Our course is to train your imagination and aesthetic sense. I don't want you to go home with standard answers after class."

"The idea exists and the form is similar." Gu Weijing said.

"I dare not say that it is similar in form, I just hope that the meaning can be preserved." Cao Xuan said: "Since this is an exposition class, I hope that you will remember a kind of... aesthetic image."

"It takes only one day to return to Jiangling, a thousand miles away." Cao Xuan said.

Gu Weijing thought hard.

“What we do is to go downstream along the river of fine arts. It may not be a one-day journey, but one or two semesters is too short for thousands of years of history. There are too many different landscapes and too many important artists. Art learning, whether it is Chinese painting or calligraphy, including any art form in the world, has people devoting their lives to it, and it is a lifelong thing.”

The old man paused.

"I don't want you to think that you fully understand these masters after taking a year of classes, or that you understand those painters after seeing my works. This is not enough, far from enough. If you return to Jiangling in a day after a thousand years, how can you remember every rock and tree on the shore and the cliffs in a day, and remember every drop of water on the reefs?"

"In this case, it is more important to remember the magnificent view, the feeling of the waves hitting the table and the river breeze caressing your face."

"I'll also let you start practicing calligraphy this semester, for the same reason."

"My requirements for you are to put emphasis on strength and meaning first."

Mr. Cao looked at the teacup in his hand.

It was a hand-fired porcelain cup with a small boat drawn on it with a pencil.

"Art is not the purpose of life, art exists as a part of life. I know you have many hobbies in your spare time. I heard that you also like sculpture, which is a good thing."

"I also heard..."

Cao Xuan stopped talking halfway.

Looked at it for a moment.

The old man didn't say anything, he just raised the teacup in his hand.

"This teacup is a gift from you. Today is the last class of this school year. The calligraphy is for you. Please take it."

Gu Weijing looked at the table.

There was a large character written on the desk in the room, with a spacious center and wide outer edges.

This is a word for "quiet".

Cao Xuan stared at the young man's profile and fell into a trance of memories. Many years ago, he also wrote the same word to Tang Ning.
-
After the end of this semester's courses.

Gu Weijing stayed alone in the classroom for more than an hour, slowly flipping through the class notes of the past year. Then he took out a roll of rice paper and wrote 20 words "Jing" in a row according to the teacher's handwriting.

Gu Weijing waited for the ink to dry.

Then he crumpled up the rice paper into a ball and threw it into the trash can. He carefully cut off the word written by Mr. Cao with a cutting knife, folded it and put it in a big book. He took clean water and a bucket to clean up the room, made sure all the windows were closed, then locked the door of the classroom and walked out alone.

Gu Weijing glanced at his watch.

He strolled slowly around the campus. He was not in a hurry to return to his dormitory. Instead, he walked a long circle on the school's green path and strolled to the parking lot on the side.

He found a yellow 2015 Volkswagen Polo in the third row of the parking lot.

The young man took out the key to unlock the car, got in, put his schoolbag on the passenger seat, and started the car.

Gu Weijing drove all the way to the entrance of the parking lot, stopped in front of the toll gate, and took out his VISA card.

All parking lots here require payment, but due to student status, there are certain exemptions every quarter.

The young man rolled down the car window and stretched out his hand to swipe the sensing area of ​​the gate.

He stared at his wallet.

Inside the fabric wallet was a handwritten note.

“It’s Friday, August 2018, 8, 19 weeks until the exhibition opens.”

There is also a line of handwritten cursive letters below.

"He was not of age, but for all time."

“He is not confined to one generation.”

"He will shine forever."

"Squeaky-"

The gate machine spat out the parking receipt with difficulty. Gu Weijing reached out to take the receipt, opened the central armrest box, and put the note paper in it.

Stacked side by side were a stack of parking tickets and handwritten notes.

Gu Weijing turned on the radio.

A German broadcast came from the Polo car's stereo. The young man reached out and pressed the central button, turning the radio station expressionlessly until a Pink Floyd song came from the car stereo.

The Volkswagen drove out of the school and drove through the streets of Hamburg.

Ten minutes later we turned onto a highway.

Gu Weijing was driving slowly in the rightmost lane, and from time to time a car whizzed past his car, making a harsh sound.

Germany is famous for its famous unlimited speed highways.

The people here drive very wildly. Having stayed in Hamburg for a whole year, Gu Weijing has seen more than once a huge blue long-distance bus speeding past on a two-lane highway at night, perhaps at a speed of more than 150 kilometers per hour.

Gu Weijing found it scary at first.

Later he got used to it, and even if there was a high-powered car driving as fast as lightning, he could still listen to the music without changing his expression.

The news said that the state parliament is reportedly considering introducing new legislation that would allow the maximum speed on the state's highways to not exceed 320 kilometers per hour.

but.

This has nothing to do with Gu Weijing's second-hand Polo. This size of MINI car is very convenient for traveling in the old city of Hamburg with many bridges and bends, but it is not good at high speed.

While walking this road.

When I occasionally ride in Anna's GLS, I can feel no shaking even at speeds above 200 km/h. But his car starts to shake as soon as it reaches over 100 km/h.

(End of this chapter)