The Legend of Shushan Xuanjian

Chapter 458 The Mystery of Huangfu
Don't you see a foreigner, Chang'an Road, once back, once old.

——Bai Juyi, "Horizontal Songs Chang'an Road"
……

Tang Kui nodded and asked Bai Fu to wait in the inner study.

Not long after, Tang Kui came out of the secret room, holding a red sandalwood box.The words 'Huangfu Zhen' are written in lower letters on the wooden box.

Open the wooden box, inside are several volumes of records:

"Huangfu Zhen, his origin is unknown. He is young and handsome, with outstanding demeanor. Recently, he has emerged in the Chang'an painting circle."

"Born in humble background, superb painting skills, extremely talented. Famous work: "Picture of Ghosts and Gods" on the south wall of Jingyu Temple in Xuanyangfang. Some people predict that within three years, this child will lead the trend of a generation."

"The royal painter Zhang Xuan asserted that Huangfu Zhen will replace Wu Daozi as the number one painter in Chang'an within days."

"King Ning, who loves calligraphy, painting and melody, intends to take Huangfu Zhen under his command and treat him as a disciple. Li Guinian, the "Sage of Songs" of Liyuan Musician, once suggested to King Ning that Wu Daozi and Huangfu Zhen compare paintings on the spot."

"King Ning asked Wu Daozi to comment on Huangfu Zhen, and Wu Daozi said: 'After this life, it reminds me of myself many years ago, walking on the road from Luoyang to Chang'an.'"

"The day before the Yulan Basin Festival on July [-]th, Huangfu Zhen was stabbed to death by a masked man in the street. The murderer is at large and his whereabouts are unknown."

……

Even in the intelligence center of the Tang Sect, there are very few records about Huangfu Zhen.Tang Kui shook his head apologetically.

Bai Fu didn't see it that way, even with these few strokes, there are still many clues.

Bai Fu then asked Tang Kui to find several other files, which seemed to have little to do with Huangfu Zhen's case, but Bai Fu found several suspicious points in them.

First of all, the first person to predict that Huangfu Zhen will lead the trend of the generation is none other than Wu Daozi himself.

Secondly, it was Wu Daozi himself who recommended Huangfu Zhen's paintings to the abbot of Jingyu Temple in Xuanyangfang.The mural "Picture of Ghosts and Gods" completed by Huangfu Zhen in Jingyu Temple made him famous in one fell swoop.The theme of "Ghosts and Gods" was painted by Wu Daozi at Tianwang Temple in Luoyang, and it is considered to be Wu Daozi's first masterpiece.

Is this a coincidence?
Why did Huang Fuzhen choose "The Picture of Ghosts and Gods"? Doesn't this mean that he directly challenged Wu Daozi's painting skills?
Thirdly, although the imperial royal painters Zhang Xuan and Zhou Fang have never been in touch with Wu Daozi on the surface, they are close friends in private.With such a friendship, it is absolutely impossible to openly 'suppress Wu Yang Huangfu'.

Finally, before Huangfu Zhen died, the last sentence he said to Wu Daozi was: "Why do you want to kill me?"

It was also this sentence that made everyone in Chang'an think that Wu Daozi was jealous of his virtuous talents and hired an assassin to assassinate Huangfu Zhen in the street.

But the problem lies precisely in this sentence.According to previous deduction, what Huangfu Zhen said to Wu Daozi before his death should be: "Why do you want to kill me?"

The difference between one letter and the other is thousands of miles away.This 'harm' can be the 'harm' of 'killing', or the 'harm' of "framing"!
In Bai Fu's view, if Wu Daozi is really jealous of the virtuous and capable, and cannot tolerate Huangfu Zhen, with his dominance in the Chang'an painting circle, he can completely kill Huangfu Zhen's rise to fame in Chang'an through various channels, without risking the displeasure of the world. , committing crimes in the street.

On the other hand, Wu Daozi, not only did not kill Huangfu Zhen, but continued to "pursue" Huangfu Zhen, helping him to become famous in Chang'an.

"What is Wu Daozi's intention behind this move? What kind of medicine is sold in this gourd?" Bai Fu kept asking himself.

Tang Kui said: "Brother Fu, why don't you ask 'Catching God'?"

Bai Fu smiled and said: "When I think of the answer, I will go to Mr. Fang to verify it. I don't want to rely too much on Mr. Fang, otherwise once Mr. Fang returns to Zhongnan, we will be helpless when we encounter problems."

Tang Kui praised secretly in his heart, thinking: "No wonder Bai Fu can stand out among all the young people in Bashu, you can see the clue from this little incident.

Although this person is young, he has high aspirations and extraordinary wisdom, and he is definitely not something in the pool.I have to help with my heart. "

……

Knowing that Huangfuzhen is the key figure that cannot be avoided, Bai Fu came to Jingyu Temple in Xuanyangfang and found the mural "Picture of Ghosts and Gods" painted by Huangfuzhen.

I have to say that this mural has a special charm.Although the paintings are ghosts and gods, the ghosts and gods in the painting are as if off the wall, vivid and elegant.

Bai Fu came to Pingkangfang Bodhi Temple again, where there is a mural "Pure Land Transformation" by Huangfu Zhen, whose name moved Chang'an.

This "Pure Land Transformation" once caused a huge sensation and was considered to be the best mural in all the temples in Chang'an at that time.On the day when the mural was completed, Pingkangfang music workshops closed down one after another, and many kabuki and dancers flocked to Bodhi Temple in order to see the elegant demeanor of Mr. Huangfu.

This "Pure Land Transformation" was also Huangfu Zhen's last mural. Not long after the painting was finished, Huangfu Zhen was assassinated.

When Bai Fu came this time, he noticed that next to Huangfu Zhen's mural "Pure Land Change", there was Wu Daozi's "87 Immortal Scroll".

Is this another coincidence?
Bai Fu learned from the abbot of the temple that Wu Daozi's "87 Immortals Volume" was completed after Huangfuzhen's "Pure Land Change".

At this time, Huangfu Zhen was dead, so why Wu Daozi was painting in vain and competing with him?
……

Bai Fu pondered "Pure Land Change" carefully, and found that there are as many as 88 Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, etc. in this picture, which is only one more figure than Wu Daozi's "87 Immortals Volume".

What does this mean?The answers are getting more and more interesting.

……

Bai Fu sat meditating in front of the two murals in the Bodhi Temple, without eating or drinking, without sleeping or resting, thinking all day and night, combined with many circumstantial evidence, a bold guess slowly emerged:

If An Lushan wants to find someone to use paintings to hide clues, this person must have superb painting skills.Therefore, An Lushan found Wu Daozi and tested Wu Daozi's tone.

It is a secret that everyone in Chang'an knows that An Lushan harbors evil intentions, except Xuanzong, of course.

Although Wu Daozi didn't know what An Lushan wanted him to do, but out of intuition and wariness, he instinctively wanted to turn down this errand.

But An Lushan was Xuanzong's number one celebrity at that time, if he offended An Lushan, there would be trouble later.

So, Wu Daozi thought of a way to steal the beam and change the pillar, and replace the flower with the tree.

He first praised the up-and-coming painter Huangfu Zhen on various occasions, and then recommended Huangfu Zhen's paintings to the abbot of Jingyu Temple in Xuanyangfang.

After Huangfuzhen got the job, Wu Daozi gave Huangfuzhen the manuscript of the mural painting "Ghosts and Gods" at Tianwang Temple in Luoyang for reference.

Wu Daozi privately persuaded the royal royal painter Zhang Xuan and Li Yuan musician "sage of song" Li Guinian to "suppress Wu Yang Huangfu" in public, creating an atmosphere of public opinion that Huangfu Zhen's painting skills surpassed his own.

Sure enough, through this operation, "disasters are diverted from the east".An Lushan really gave up on Wu Daozi and chose Huangfu Zhen who was not deeply involved in the world and had no interest in the royal family.

Later, Huangfu Zhen painted "Pure Land Change" in the Bodhi Temple in Pingkangfang, Wu Daozi's site, which caused a huge sensation.

Just as Wu Daozi expected, the day when Huangfu Zhen's "Pure Land Change" was completed was also when it was silenced.However, what Wu Daozi did not expect was that the assassin sent by An Lushan to silence him was actually Gongsun Jiao!
　A brothel blooms where the flower branches are missing, a song and a glass of wine.

　　The beauty persuaded me to have fun, since ancient times the beauty never came again.

　　Don't you see a foreigner, Chang'an Road, once back, once old.

　　——Bai Juyi, "Horizontal Songs Chang'an Road"
　　bibliography

　　"The Sealed History of the Tang Dynasty: The Dead End of the Grand Empire", Wei Fenghua, Modern Publishing House, January 2018

　　
　
(End of this chapter)