Almighty painter

Chapter 980 In the Classroom
(Ugh, I didn't make it before midnight again.)
Before the reporters entered the house, before the guests arrived, and after yesterday's private lessons had ended.

Gu Weijing did not leave immediately.

He asked his teacher, "When Cao Xuan was young, he was known throughout the country as a child prodigy in the art world. Was he nervous back then? What was he thinking?"
Cao Xuan said with a smile that when he was very young, art exhibitions were a relatively novel thing, quite different from modern solo art exhibitions. When he was a child, he painted mostly for friends and elders to appreciate, so he didn't feel nervous.

Gu Weijing then asked the teacher, Sarah, who told her that the painter who had the most profound influence on her life was Picasso, and the art exhibition that left the deepest impression on her was a Picasso exhibition. She would always remember her experience of personally interviewing Picasso decades ago. "And what about you, Mr. Cao?" Gu Weijing asked. "Teacher, you studied in France, and you also met Picasso."

Then.

Is Picasso also the painter who impressed you the most?
Cao Xuan shook his head and said no.

Gu Weijing shook his head, saying he had just asked a very stupid question. The painter who impressed Cao Xuan the most was, of course, Cao Xuan's teacher, his grandmaster. Cao Xuan shook his head again, saying that his teacher was naturally a painter who had a very deep influence on him. He had been by his teacher's side since childhood, and his senior classmates had cared for him; to him, they were like fathers and family.

At this point.

In reality, it doesn't matter how deep the impact is anymore.

It's quite interesting, Cao Xuan said, that very few people ask him this question: "Who is the painter who has impressed you the most, and what is the art exhibition that has impressed you the most?"

Throughout his life, Mr. Cao met countless great painters and witnessed almost the entirety of the waves of art and society over the past half-century.

Many of them influenced him and could perhaps be considered his "teachers".

Like Sarah, Picasso was perhaps the most famous painter Cao Xuan had ever met in his life. He might even be the most famous painter in the history of Europe. In terms of wealth, Picasso alone brought the earning power of the art world to a whole new level.

Cao Xuan told Gu Weijing that he wasn't surprised Sarah was so impressed with Picasso; having actually met Picasso, one would know he was an extremely interesting and vibrant old man. He was equally impressed with Picasso.

Lively, stubborn, innocent, tormented, cheerful, worried...

His personality had strong contradictory qualities, which may be why he felt that Pablo sometimes seemed a little lost in his later years.

It left a deep impression.

Picasso isn't ranked number one. When Gu Weijing asked him this question, several names immediately came to mind for Cao Lao.

If we don't require him to be a painter, the first person he would think of... is probably Lu Xun. Gu Weijing said he knows that Wu Guanzhong also greatly admires Lu Xun. Cao Xuan said that this is perfectly normal; if you lived through that era, it's impossible not to like Lu Xun, impossible not to admire Lu Xun. Cao Xuan even admitted that he has a feeling of almost worship towards Lu Xun.

Lu Xun's greatness is beyond his reach; he embodies a spirit.

However... if we narrow the scope to a purely "narrow" classification of painters, the painter who left the deepest impression on Cao Xuan was actually a painter who wasn't very famous, and many, many people didn't even know him. Gu Weijing certainly hadn't heard of him.

When Cao Xuan was very young, he lived in a temple in the southern Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai areas for a period of time. In the late 20s, he met a monk who taught him to carve woodblock pictures with a carving knife.

They were all very trivial things.

There were women sewing clothes, children fishing for frogs by the river, and many other works about national salvation and survival. The monks would sing and hum some progressive songs as they went.

At that time, Cao Xuan was too young. At his most annoying, he would often secretly take other people's wood carving knives to carve tree bark outside, and sometimes he would make random marks on the boards.

Then, Cao Xuan was discovered by his teacher and beaten up.

However, the monk was not angry. Cao Xuan remembered that the monk was sharpening his carving knife under the oil lamp where the abbot read the newspaper at night, and he was smiling at him.

The teacher made him apologize.

He said that he had wanted to compile a children's pictorial magazine, with many things for children to see. The fact that Cao Xuan was printing it shows that he was good at engraving.

Xiao Caoxuan remembers that when he smiled, his teeth would show, and they had a faint yellow tint under the oil lamp. Secondly, he remembers that the wooden planks used to be of poor quality and had splinters, and the other person would often use the edge of a carving knife to pick at the splinters under the oil lamp.

Moreover, the lamp oil used by the abbot was of poor quality, which stung his eyes, and his eyes were often completely red.

Cao Xuan watched for a long time.

Feeling sorry for the guy, he stopped causing trouble. But Cao Xuan was still arrogant, both mischievous and proud. He asked the other person, "You know what? I'm young, but someone is willing to pay 10 silver dollars for one of my paintings."

How much can you sell one of your paintings for?

The other person didn't say anything, just laughed.

Later, as Cao Xuan grew older, he gradually came to understand the whole story.

Back then, Chiang Kai-shek orchestrated the April 412 Massacre. In just three days, in Shanghai alone, more than 300 people were killed, more than 500 were arrested, and more than 5000 went missing. Countless progressive revolutionary masses were killed or injured.

That person was an underground member of the Communist Party who disguised himself as a monk and moved away.

Later, in 1931, Lu Xun founded the Woodcut Painting Workshop and launched the woodcut print movement, using prints to promote the war of resistance.

Cao Xuan felt ashamed every time he recalled his embarrassing childhood moments. He regretted that he had caused trouble for others back then.

One of Cao Xuan's greatest regrets in life was that Lu Xun passed away in 1936, and he never had the chance to meet Mr. Lu Xun in person. But when he recalled the monk, his carving knife, and the woodcut print movement, Mr. Cao felt that he was still fortunate enough to have had some connection with Lu Xun.

Back then, people would secretly transport progressive materials about resisting the Japanese invaders to the Japanese-occupied areas, complete with pictures and text. They would also circulate portraits of anti-Japanese heroes... Taking photos was easy at that time, but printing them required high-quality printing presses. Therefore, most of them were woodblock prints.

At that time, Cao Xuan was already studying in France. Whenever he saw these works sent by his friends in China, he would always wonder, did he paint them?

"So, that's the painter who influenced you the most? Did you find that painter later?"

Gu Weijing asked.

"Don't rush, I'm not finished yet. There's a second part to this story."

Cao Xuan pressed his fingers together.

"In 1945, when the Japanese devils surrendered, everyone was overjoyed. Firecrackers were going off all over Shanghai, and the atmosphere was festive. It was a truly great joy. We had won, and the Japanese devils had slunk away. But the situation was very complicated at the time. Beneath the jubilation, undercurrents were surging."

"When I returned to Shanghai in 1946, you can probably guess what the propaganda was like in many of the newspapers of the Republic of China that were controlled by Chiang Kai-shek at that time."

“I was attending a celebration, and there was a banquet afterwards. An official from the Education Bureau of the Republic of China came to me. By then, I was already considered a celebrity in the arts. He was very polite and invited me to his home. I asked him what it was about, and he said it was good news and asked me to come and see for myself.”

Antiques in prosperous times, gold in troubled times.

Taking advantage of the chaos of the war, the other party used some tricks to collect many old paintings among the people, but fearing that they would be deceived, they showed them to Cao Xuan one by one at home, hoping that Cao Xuan could appraise them.

Cao Xuan looked through them one by one.

A scroll of ancient painting from the Ming Dynasty costs only 2000 legal tender, equivalent to the price of two bags of flour. A single page of a Song Dynasty edition and a single page of a Jin Dynasty edition of the "Zhouyi Commentary" (commentary on the Book of Changes) costs no more than 6000.

That's certainly a good price, and the other party is definitely a knowledgeable and cultured person.

Cao Xuan didn't know much about the Belarusian court's cloisonné red tourmaline rings, nor did he know if they were real or fake, but they looked quite beautiful.

The official laughed and said, "It doesn't matter, it's for my concubine anyway, as long as she's happy."

He asked his concubine to come and serve tea.

Then he said that given the current situation, there might still be fighting. He knew some people still had goods, and the gist was that he could get them eventually, but he was afraid of being fooled. He hoped Cao Xuan could "take a look" for him, promising to reward him handsomely. He told Cao Xuan to let him choose whatever he liked, regardless of price.

"Three items, no, five items."

Cao Xuan laughed loudly and then said okay.

It's a really good painting.

It's truly a treasure.

He truly is a refined gentleman.

The two talked about the paintings until late into the night before the official sent a driver to take Cao Xuan home.

“I know that gentleman was telling the truth.”

“Those paintings were truly excellent. I remember there were paintings by Bada Shanren, Tang Yin, and calligraphy by Dong Qichang… In a different setting or place, discussing these things is a delightful and elegant affair.”

Cao Xuan said, "We talked a lot that night, but I couldn't help but think of the monk I saw carving woodblocks under an oil lamp when I was a child, and how he looked when I asked him how much a painting could sell for."

"The image of his teeth reflected in the oil lamp is clearly visible to me. The image of the official having his concubine serve me tea and laughing is also right before my eyes."

“At that moment, I didn’t feel anger or absurdity, but a clear awareness that I was truly witnessing history. It was the only time in my entire life that I felt it so vividly and clearly.”

Cao Xuan said.

"I know perfectly well that no matter how many divisions Chiang Kai-shek has, whether or not he has American aid, no matter what he says in the newspapers or how he promotes himself, no matter how many people he can kill, no matter how the war goes once it breaks out, whether the initial stages are smooth or difficult, I know that in the end our party will definitely win."

"This is an unstoppable tide of history."

the next day.

Cao Xuan packed his belongings, casually packed his bags, took the prints he had collected over the years, bought the earliest boat ticket of the day, and took a boat from Shanghai to Tianjin, and then went directly to northern Shaanxi.

"Gu Weijing, tell me, wouldn't you say he's the painter who had the biggest impact on my life?"

The old man asked.

Gu Weijing nodded.

"And what about that monk? What did he say to you when he saw you?"

"died."

Cao Xuan said.

"He organized armed forces and the masses to fight back against the Japanese sweeps, and he died in the early 40s. During the war, millions of people died."

The old man spoke calmly.

There was no obvious emotional fluctuation in his voice.

a long time.

He then spoke again.

"I have always regretted my naughtiness when I was a child."

"Picasso was a great painter, and so was he. They are both part of the history of art, although they received completely different levels of attention. For me, he may have left a deeper impression on me than Picasso."

Gu Weijing remained silent.

He could feel the emotions surging in the old man's chest.

Perhaps, something so alive and in motion... is the reason why an artist wouldn't become Midas?

Thinking that he would meet Sarah again tomorrow, Gu Weijing asked his teacher one last question.

He recounted how he had yelled at Sarah that day because he thought Viktor had been treated unfairly, only to be ridiculed and humiliated.

Gu Weijing asked Cao Xuan if he had done the right thing.

Cao Xuan said that it is probably wrong to draw conclusions without understanding the situation. But... it is probably not wrong to bravely stand up for others, to challenge the stronger at the cost of one's own life, for the sake of others who have suffered unequal treatment.

Although it was a misunderstanding, Cao Xuan felt that Gu Weijing hadn't done too badly.

It's always easy to stay silent.

Maintaining courage is always relatively more difficult.

Gu Weijing lacks nothing more than more thought.
-
"For example, in winter like now, we only have this one cotton-padded coat. We must then help a suffering person who is about to freeze to death, or we must sit under the Bodhi tree and meditate on how to save all mankind."

"Saving all mankind and saving one person are worlds apart, but if I had to choose, I would immediately sit under the Bodhi tree, so as not to take off my only cotton-padded coat and freeze to death."

—Lu Xun, "What Happened to Nora After She Left?"
-
The sound of music can always make people contemplate.

The young man's playing wasn't particularly good, nor was it particularly bad. After months of effort, his playing finally sounded passable, like a standardized advertisement flyer printed on a bus stop. There was clearly no outstanding artistry, but it certainly wasn't utterly unbearable to look at.

Even so, over the past few days, apart from relatives and friends, the only person who can truly be considered knowledgeable about dairy products is... a cow.

Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi, like the legendary friendship of high mountains and flowing water, found a kindred spirit.

True friends are hard to find.

Now that we have a big cow, we don't need to worry about who will listen when the string breaks.

He stood by the second-floor window, quietly playing his violin, hoping to release all the tension deep within his heart through the music.

The music ended.

At the same time, a knock sounded on the door of the room, and Gu Weijing opened the door.

“The guests are all waiting; the young lady is downstairs,” Elliott said.

Gu Weijing nodded.

He and Anna's private secretary filed out of the room. Just as they reached the stairwell, they saw Anna and Sarah having tea together at a table in the lobby on the first floor.

The guests in the room fell silent, terrified.

(End of this chapter)