The growth system comes at the age of 30

Chapter 306 Morality: The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors (4.6K)

The impact of the typhoon was quickly mitigated.

After all, this is just an everyday occurrence for the people of Jiangbei, and there's nothing to be surprised about.

After taking Li Wenhui on a trip to the countryside and confirming that the major planting bases had gradually resumed normal production, Chen Jingle was no longer worried.

at the same time.

Professor Xie Nanyan sent a message saying that Chen Jingle's calligraphy won an award.

And it's the highest gold award!

However, since there are five gold medals awarded in this provincial exhibition, rather than just one, the prestige of the award seems somewhat mediocre.

"It's not a big problem, as long as we can get a spot in the China Calligraphers Association."

Chen Jingle didn't care.

His original goal was to get a ticket to the China Calligraphers Association competition; otherwise, with his ability, why would he bother coming to the provincial competition to fail miserably?

As long as I can get into the China Calligraphers Association and be eligible to participate in the Lanting Award, nothing else matters.

If you can achieve something at the Lanting Award, its prestige will naturally surpass that of other national and provincial exhibitions.

Teacher Li was very happy.

This is a provincial gold medal!

It's much better than the third prize she won as a primary or secondary school student.

Although it was only a provincial-level competition, the submissions came from all over the country, so in a sense, it was a competition with calligraphy masters from all over the country.

Moreover, anyone who wins a gold medal or first prize is qualified to be selected for the national exhibition.

For example, those members of the South China Provincial Youth Calligraphy Association all won first place in the provincial exhibition and then made their mark in the national exhibition and the Lanting Award.

Li Beixing's gaze towards Chen Jingle was practically overflowing with affection, as if she wanted to write "Brother, fly high, your sister will always be with you" on her face.

"It's just a provincial exhibition, why are you so happy?"

Chen Jingle chuckled and pinched her cheek.

Li Beixing retorted, "Don't make it sound so easy, it's like anyone could win. Didn't you see the official data? More than 1100 submissions were received nationwide, and over 600 of them came from our Nandong Province alone. Beating over 1000 competitors who could be considered calligraphers to win the championship, isn't that something to be proud of?"

"Not the champion, but there are five gold medals." Chen Jingle shook his head slightly.

"You're the champion! The five gold medalists are just sharing the spoils. In terms of real strength, they're definitely not as good as you! Just wait and see." Li Beixing pouted.

Hopeless.

Chen Jingle facepalmed, never expecting that his number one fan would be his own wife.

Although he was confident in his abilities, he couldn't guarantee that an equally talented opponent wouldn't emerge.

The world has no shortage of geniuses.

It's best to keep a low profile until you win the gold medal or first prize at the National Exhibition.

……

Having just received the award, Chen Jingle immediately submitted his application to join the China Calligraphers Association under the guidance of Professor Xie Nanyan.

If all goes well, the review results should be available soon, and I should receive my membership card.

There were still two recommenders, but this time Professor Li wasn't qualified, so Professor Xie helped find another heavyweight recommender.

Professor Zhang Guiguang of Nanjing Normal University.

This man is a true master of calligraphy. He was a graduate student in 78, studying under Rong Geng and Shang Chengzuo, specializing in oracle bone and bronze inscriptions. He served as vice president of the Southeast Provincial Calligraphy Association for three terms and president for two terms.

I don't know how Professor Xie persuaded the other party.

There's really no trick to it.

Originally, everyone was from the School of Literature at Nanjing Normal University and knew each other very well. Although Xie Nanyan's literary achievements were not as high as Zhang Guiguang's, they were still quite impressive.

Even if you just show Chen Jingle's work to Zhang Guiguang, he will know exactly what level it is at.

Without hesitation, he agreed to help recommend it.

"This favor is quite substantial." Chen Jingle was unaware of the details, but he felt that the favor was difficult to repay.

Although a recommendation spot is nothing to Professor Zhang himself, it was a guide for Chen Jingle to join the China Calligraphers Association.

This debt of gratitude must be acknowledged, regardless of whether the other party cares or not.

After deciding to apply to the China Calligraphers Association, Professor Xie Nanyan said, "There's a National Youth Calligraphy and Painting Competition that closes next month, so I can participate."

"it is good!"

Chen Jingle did not refuse. Having participated in a provincial exhibition once, he was already relatively familiar with the exhibition process.

I looked up this competition and found that it was spearheaded by the China Calligraphers Association and jointly organized by the Hunan Provincial Publicity Department and the Hunan Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles. There is no entry fee, and apart from being at least 18 years old, there are no other requirements for participants.

It’s really rare.

This kind of competition is the most popular among calligraphers, and it's no surprise that many big names will participate.

Who wouldn't want to add a few more prestigious titles to their resume?
However, there are strict requirements regarding the specifications of the works.

Fortunately, this was a piece of cake for Chen Jingle; he could write in any font size and style.

What should I prepare for this competition?
"Have it!"

Chen Jingle merely raised an eyebrow and immediately laid out paper and prepared ink.

Li Beixing watched him dip his brush in ink and wield it. After seeing what he wrote, she covered her mouth in surprise, overjoyed.

If this work hadn't been intended for a competition, she would have kept it for herself.

……

Chen Jingle's application to the China Calligraphers Association was quickly approved after the information was verified.

joke!

If someone personally recommended by the former president of the South Eastern Province Calligraphers Association fails the review, wouldn't that be a slap in the face?

Moreover, Chen Jingle's skills are indeed top-notch. This provincial exhibition gold medal is a testament to his true ability. Even now, there are very few people in the calligraphy association who are better than him, let alone the younger generation.

God knows when this killer appeared out of nowhere; why was there no news about him before?

If a contestant like this doesn't get into the China Calligraphers Association, guess who's going to be embarrassed?
"It seems the South East Calligraphy Association is preparing to promote new talents."

"Probably so. After all, the election of the president was a bit of an ugly affair, making us a laughing stock in other provinces. Since none of the current candidates can win people's hearts, we might as well train new people."

"You know what, this handwriting is really impressive, it has the style of a master, making you wonder if it's something a young person could write."

"You wouldn't actually fake it, would you? That would be more than just embarrassing."

"It shouldn't be that bad. It just shows that young people these days are really fierce."

"..."

at the same time.

Chen Jingle's entry was successfully sent to the judging panel of the China Youth Cup Calligraphy and Painting Competition via express delivery.

The judge in charge of the evaluation initially just casually unfolded the works for a glance, but the next second he gasped in shock.

"I'm so angry!"

Quickly correct your attitude and call others over.

The others, upon seeing this, also gasped in astonishment and exclaimed in unison.

"Does anyone remind you of anyone?"

"Isn't it obvious? Who else could it resemble?"

"It blends the elegance of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, the beauty of Sun Guoting, the wild charm of Zhang Xu, the unrestrained spirit of Huaisu, and the robust strength of Su Shi and Huang Tingjian. It possesses the momentum of cursive script while incorporating the structure of regular script. It's incredible, truly incredible!"

"His personal style has matured, and without a doubt, another master of cursive script has been born!"

"Chen Jingle? Never heard of him. Does anyone know him?"

"I don't know, I haven't heard of it."

"From Nandong Province, judging from the self-introduction, he won the gold medal in the Lingnan Cup Youth Calligraphy and Seal Carving Competition. I remember the results of the Lingnan Cup were only announced a few days ago, right?"

"You just won a gold medal at the provincial exhibition, and now you're here to participate in a national award? Do you think this is a market fair, bro?"

"..."

Unsurprisingly, judging by the quality alone, it's a shoo-in for the exhibition and a sure thing for an award. The only question is what its final ranking will be. It's rumored that this year's China Youth Cup competition intends to reduce the number of first, second, and third prize winners.

However, compared to other excellent works, this one is in no way inferior and has a good chance of winning first prize.

Returning to the content of the submitted work, what was written on the paper was—

"The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were known for their morality, while the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties were known for their achievements and fame."

The seven powerful states and five hegemons fought for supremacy during the Spring and Autumn Period, their rise and fall changing hands in the blink of an eye.

A few lines of names in the annals of history, countless desolate mounds in the Northern Mang Mountains.

The land of our ancestors will be reaped by their descendants; what's the point of talking about fierce battles?

This content is selected from Yang Shen's "Twenty-One Histories Ballads" - "West River Moon: On the Three Kingdoms and the Two Jin Dynasties (Part 1)".

It's Yang Shen, the one who wrote "The mighty Yangtze River flows eastward."

This time, Chen Jingle did not use running script, but instead followed the cursive script route, or rather, cursive-running script.

Just as there is regular running script in running script, there is also cursive running script in cursive script. Regular running script is similar to regular script but more unrestrained, while cursive running script is similar to cursive script but more restrained.

His cursive script style was first learned from Mao Zedong's style, then from Zhang Xu and Huaisu, and finally from the styles of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi.

It emphasizes a straight, vigorous stroke, unrestrained and free-flowing lines, and a strong sense of dynamism.

For this competition, I wrote "Xi Jiang Yue" in an attempt to make the style of the work match the content of the writing as much as possible, so I adopted a slightly unrestrained cursive style.

Looking at the paper, its imposing presence is overwhelming, enough to make anyone stare in disbelief.

This is the advantage of cursive script: based on freedom of composition, it presents unparalleled artistic expression and emotional tension.

Chen Jingle rarely writes cursive script.

After all, most of his customers have an aesthetic sense that is limited to ordinary people, and cursive script is easy to confuse with other characters because the characters are too simple.

The development of cursive script can be divided into three major stages: early cursive script, Zhangcao (章草), and Jincao (今草).

Early cursive script originated in the Qin and Han dynasties. Zhangcao (章草) was roughly formed between the reigns of Emperor Xuan and Emperor Yuan of the Western Han dynasty, and flourished in the Eastern Han, Three Kingdoms, and Western Jin dynasties. Jincao (今草) was created by Zhang Zhi of the Eastern Han dynasty and developed and perfected by Wang Xizhi of the Eastern Jin dynasty.

By the Tang Dynasty, cursive script had become a calligraphic art, thus evolving into "wild cursive." Its function as a tool for conveying information had diminished, and it had become an art form, emphasizing the structure and the arrangement of black and white on the paper. Whether or not people could recognize what was written was no longer important.

Especially the cursive script after the Tang Dynasty, which emphasizes continuous and swirling strokes and varied and unpredictable character shapes, leans more towards artistry than practicality.

In modern times, the characteristics of cursive script are more commonly seen in the structure of strokes, turns, and brushwork, all of which absorb the strengths of calligraphers from ancient times to the present. For example, some of the styles of Wang Xizhi were learned, some were taken from the calligraphic works of Wang Duo, and others such as Zhu Yunming and Sun Guoting, and finally evolved into their own styles, freely and unrestrainedly expressed.

If we talk about the greatest achievements in cursive script, none surpass Zhang Xu and Huaisu.

Zhang Xu's style is unrestrained yet disciplined, with a measured approach to composition; Huaisu's brushwork is vigorous and powerful, with turns that are fluid and flowing, completed in one go.

Both allow people to intuitively experience the existence of beauty.

This kind of cursive script truly deserves to be called art!

A negative example is Zhang Shang, the prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Zhang Shangying was fond of cursive script, but his skill was only average. One day, he came across a fine line of poetry and quickly wrote it down. He then asked his nephew to help him copy it. When his nephew came across a strange character, he asked curiously what it was. Zhang Shangying looked at it for a long time but couldn't recognize it. He immediately scolded, "Why didn't you ask sooner? I've forgotten what I wrote!"

Believe it or not, even in modern times, there are quite a few people like this, each claiming to be a master of cursive script, but in reality, their writing is no different from scribbles.

Ultimately, it's about pursuing the shades of ink and the thickness of brushstrokes too much.

A calligrapher should strive for natural brushstrokes and free composition while adhering to established rules, rather than deliberately creating ugly works to attract attention.

Innovation is good, but not all innovation is valuable.

Chen Jingle thought that since it was an exhibition, it was understandable to lean towards an artistic approach.

So I tried to adopt the cursive style.

I was in a good mood at the time and wrote a satisfactory result in just one take, then packaged and sent it out directly.

I don't care about rankings or anything like that, as long as I get selected for the exhibition, that's enough.

Since it was my first time participating in the National Exhibition, I didn't know the level of the other contestants, so I treated it as a trial run.

His attitude towards life has always been like this: whatever he does, he does it seriously, but he tries to keep his expectations low.

Because once you have expectations, you are prone to worrying about gains and losses, especially if the result does not meet your expectations, you will inevitably feel disappointed, which is detrimental to your mental health.

Whether the process or the result is more important is a matter of personal opinion.

……

Over the past few days, Li Wenhui has gradually adapted to and kept up with Chen Jingle's pace.

Even during those two days of running around outdoors, I didn't mess up. I wasn't tired, but I was asked a lot of questions every day.

The person asking the question was none other than his cousin, Chen Jingle.

In any situation, Chen Jingle always likes to ask her for her opinion first.

Of course, her opinion is not important. After all, what extraordinary insights could a high school student or soon-to-be college student possibly have?
The key point is that Chen Jingle wants to hear what she has to say, or rather, to test her thinking ability and cognitive level.

At first, Li Wenhui hesitated and was hesitant, but after receiving Chen Jingle's persistent encouragement, she gradually learned to express her thoughts.

Even if you don't speak well, you won't be scolded.

Chen Jingle practically gave her detailed advice, teaching her how to be a person and how to do things step by step.

Li Wenhui was very grateful for this.

She felt that the biggest change in Le Ge was not his appearance, but his mindset.

When she lived with her maternal grandparents and studied here, although she was very good, she didn't feel that she was outstanding compared to others.

But things are different now.

She could clearly sense that Le Ge was much better than before in terms of his perspective on problems and his way of thinking. He was better than anyone she had ever met, including those great teachers in her previous school!

This is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

He was somewhat like a philosophical master who had seen through the ways of the world. Every word he said was full of philosophical insights, which made me, a soon-to-be college student who had just graduated from high school, suddenly realize the truth, like a wake-up call.

I feel like I've learned more in just these few days than I have in the past ten years.

After all, she had previously learned mostly from textbooks, but now Chen Jingle was teaching her principles that apply to society and to life as a whole.

If the latter doesn't have anyone to teach her and relies solely on her own understanding, she feels that she would only be able to grasp it by at least university or after graduating from university.

Besides being Chen Jingle's little helper, Li Wenhui also had another task: tutoring Chen Qiyun for her final exams.

Chen Qiyun has also changed a lot.

In Li Wenhui's memory, she used to be a lazybones who only thought about watching TV and playing on her phone every day. However, now her grades are in the top three of the grade, and she is even aiming for the top spot.

The progress is astonishing.

Although it's called tutoring, there's not much she actually needs to do. At most, Chen Qiyun can ask her for advice if she doesn't understand something.

It is clear that Chen Qiyun's change was influenced by Brother Le, and Chen Qiyun's answer confirmed her guess.

Li Wenhui envied Chen Qiyun, who was much luckier than her.

If I could have studied alongside Brother Le and received his tutoring like Chen Qiyun did during my first and second years of high school, my college entrance exam score might have been several tens of points higher.

Aside from all that, what makes Li Wenhui happiest is that after tutoring Chen Qiyun, she can eat the meals cooked by Brother Le.

This amazed her, who was used to eating in the school cafeteria.

Absolutely divine!
The thought that Chen Qiyun can eat this almost every day makes me even more envious.

Then there's my sister-in-law, Li Beixing. She's a stunningly beautiful woman who looks like a fairy and has a gentle and elegant demeanor. Getting along with her isn't as difficult as I had imagined.

On the contrary, they are much easier to get along with than the average person.

He comes from a wealthy family, but he is not arrogant at all, and he is very generous to her and Chen Qiyun. On Saturday, he took them to the mall to shop all kinds of things and taught them how to take care of their skin and how to dress.

After going around once, everyone was carrying various bags, big and small.

For the first time, Li Wenhui felt like she wasn't there to work, but rather to enjoy life.

"Get ready, we'll do another field trip this afternoon."

When Li Beixing returned with the two little ones, Chen Jingle said to Li Wenhui.

"Ok."

Li Wenhui nodded hurriedly: "Where are we going this time?"

Chen Jingle smiled slightly: "We won't go to the countryside today. Let's go to the company's physical stores instead."

(End of this chapter)