Almighty painter

Chapter 506 What is a wonderful pen?
The sun was almost setting.

Whenever you step on the white tiled floor with bare feet and feel the heat left by the day, there is always a kind of temperature from the source of history, ironing out from under your feet and slowly seeping into your bone marrow from bottom to top. a feeling of.

Legend has it that this golden pagoda houses eight hairs of Buddha. According to local historical narratives, King Ogaraba ordered craftsmen to start laying the foundation during the Zhou Dynasty of Eastern Xia.

At that time, Qi Huan and Jin Wen were still fighting for hegemony, and even Sakyamuni himself was still giving lectures in the Ganges River Basin.

According to myths and legends, on the spring day when construction was started, there had just been a heavy rain in the sky.

The water on the ground reflects the gorgeous golden light under the warm sunset.

When people passed by, they were surprised to find that the power of Buddha turned all the water pools into gold bricks.

then,

Everyone picked up these gold bricks as offerings and used them to build pagodas.

This is the origin of the name Shwedagon Pagoda.

Even though it's completely free for locals.

Only then did Gu Weijing's sense of confusion of being lost in time and space be broken.

But Gu Weijing is not one of them.

This country has risen and fallen.

Until the voice of the great monk next to me came to explain to a pair of Australian tourists.

It once used its own army to turn the ancient Siamese capital of Thailand on the Mekong River into rubble.

Gu Weijing only came here once when he was in ninth grade, following a study tour at Dulwich College. He also came here for a while during the Spring Festival when he participated in a historic site restoration project.

It's a bit shocking and a bit psychedelic.

But when there is no war, there are still a lot of European tourists in places like Yangon, Mandalay, and Bagan.

Strictly speaking.

It seemed that the light soul fell back to the ground again.

Google's satellites passed over from an altitude of 2 kilometers, and the few flickering lights at night on the photo map looked like a few overwhelmed old-fashioned tungsten lamps.

Although the country of Myanmar is chaotic, it is also relatively closed.

It has experienced countless earthquakes, wars, and large-scale repairs.

now.

Under the overflowing clouds.

Maybe this is the power of gold, maybe this is the power of religion.

The Shwedagon Pagoda is the most important religious holy place and the most luxurious building within a thousand miles of the Irrawaddy River estuary.

Today is my third visit.

And now, it is a frequent visitor to the list of the world's least developed countries designated by the United Nations.

Even as a child who grew up in Yangon, he found that he rarely visited the Shwedagon Pagoda.

Although the pagoda is not really made of gold, the weight alone, not counting the cost of craftsmanship and labor, is worth approximately US$830 million based on the current international gold price.

Gu Weijing even felt as if he was enveloped in a continuous spring rain that had fallen for 2,500 years. He didn't know what year it was today.

"My son, You are very fortunate, this'Ceremonial Buddha Protecting the Dharma' was painted by Master Cao Xuan himself... The restoration was completed with just a pen and the cultural value is very high——)”

At least the monks of more than 20 centuries ago were probably far less fashionable than today. They would use English to fool foreigners and call them "My son" like the missionary priests in the church.

Gu Weijing knows.

Depending on the statistical methods, 87% to 91% of Myanmar’s population are Buddhists.

But every time he stood at the foot of the Shwedagon Pagoda, he would feel a sense of trance from the inside out.

Its capital was once as famous as the Magic City, as the two most prosperous and wealthy trading port cities in the Far East complemented each other.

Its own old capital was also attacked by the British colonial troops who came in ironclad ships and turned into rubble.

When Gu Weijing stood barefoot in the temple and looked at the spire in the distance under the setting sun.

Especially today.

But that should not be the Buddha turning rainwater into gold, but the radiance of real gold reflected in the rain.

For the next two thousand and five hundred years, it would be like the surging waters of the Irrawaddy River, never to return.

It is still the most important religious holy place and the most luxurious building within a thousand miles of the Irrawaddy River estuary.

The magnificent lighthouses and city lights on the port coast made 20th-century maritime travelers write in their diaries - "When you enter the harbor at night, you will be covered by lights, as bright as the morning glow, and as bright as the day."

From the moment it was built.

Even the golden water after the rain has not changed.

The wick was teetering on the edge of melting.

The only thing that remains unchanged is the Shwedagon Pagoda.

If we think of the country as a person, it is exactly like Zen Buddhism's ultimate metaphor for how life, old age, illness, death, wealth and poverty in this world are nothing more than a floating cloud in the sky.

The great monks are all very international, and you can often see monks going to foreigners to hone their speaking skills.

When Gu Weijing was doing odd jobs in the project team here at the beginning of the year.

I also saw a young novice monk sitting on the flower bed over there, holding a GRE vocabulary book and memorizing it like crazy. He looked like he was keen and studious and wanted to take the postgraduate entrance examination.

He withdrew his gaze from the golden pagoda spire, listened to the conversation around him, and looked at the painting "Pilgrimage to Buddha and Protector" in a five-meter-square space surrounded by the red isolation ribbon commonly seen in art museums. picture".

Gu Weijing felt a little bit proud.

True.

Gu Weijing was a little unhappy - when the monk next to him introduced Cao Xuan to the tourists, he only mentioned Cao Xuan and did not mention his name.

Ah!
It's a joint creation. Do you know what joint creation is? Open your eyes and look at the "Cao Xuan·Gu Weijing" on the commemorative plaque over there.

Although everyone has only heard of "Cao Xuan", but not who "Gu Weijing" is.

But you can’t not introduce it just because tourists haven’t heard of it.

The great monk is dishonest.

mean!

But in a sense, this is still the first work in Gu Weijing's life that has been "offered" for tourists to see.

What an artist wants in his life is not to put his works in famous venues so that millions of spectators can admire them.

The offerings are placed in temples filled with incense, not art galleries.

Think about it carefully.

This is a little... strange.

According to the habits of the Eastern Xia people, eating cold pork has a bit of a horrifying feeling with "the sound and appearance are special".

Don't worry about these small details.

There are a lot of weird things happening in the temples in Southeast Asia. Next door in Thailand there is the Beckham Temple and the Pikachu Temple.

It's still a career milestone.

Whenever I see the tourists around me who are constantly attracted to stop in front of this mural, and when I hear the explanations from the monks next to me, I occasionally exclaim "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh".

All of them can bring Gu Weijing a great sense of achievement and satisfaction.

Even though he knew very well that the object of those admirations was Cao Xuan and not himself. He was just a small pendant on his thigh.

Under the pretense of the fox and the tiger's power,

This still gives Gu Weijing the mountaintop scenery brought by some of the top cosplay painters. Gu Weijing enjoyed the admiration of the pair of twin brothers from the University of Melbourne next to him who were on their gap year during college (note, they took a year off to travel during the semester). They probably came to visit the oriental-style Melbourne University twins.

Listening to them go away as they discuss in envious whispers "This painting may be worth a million".

Only then did Gu Weijing reluctantly pull away from the satisfaction of dopamine secretion in his brain.

After school in Dulwich today, he deliberately did not go to the orphanage. Instead, he ran back to the Shwedagon Pagoda to revisit his old place, but it was not at all for the great Cos painter who came here to pose and relax.

This makes him happy.

But besides being happy, he has more important goals to accomplish.

The breaking task of sketching requires Gu Weijing to maintain the emotional level of painstaking efforts (perfection) and even brilliant strokes during the painting process.

This task prompt is too abstract.

After much thought, Gu Wei couldn't really find a good starting point.

It's ok.

There is no cool ability to cross the river with a reed.

He can also use the stupid method and try to cross the river by feeling for the stones.

What better object to study than the "Picture of Worshiping the Buddha and Protecting the Dharma" that is right at home?
He was unable to copy the mood of the "Picture of Worshiping the Buddha and Protecting the Dharma", and it was difficult for him to take shortcuts by simply copying.

But the creative process of Master Cao Xuan - the feeling of projecting spirit with his pen.

Gu Weijing felt that there were still many ways in it that were worthy of his imitation and learning.

To eat this article in Mr. Cao’s calligraphy—that was one of the important purposes of his coming to the foot of the Shwedagon Pagoda today.

It is not necessary to be able to draw, and given his level, it would be difficult to imitate.

at least,

He can ask himself hard to "read" and understand as much as possible, and to appreciate the connotation of this painting.

Considering he once saw himself in the hospital while watching Pancake Mill Ball.

Gu Weijing did not dare to use calligraphy and painting appraisal skills to dismantle the details of the painting.

Instead, he chose to "face" the painting for a long time in front of the mural.

Standing there and thinking quietly.

Gu Weijing still saw some very interesting features... They were all works by top masters, but they were completely different from the "Dance at the Pancake Mill".

Reano's painting characteristics are very typical of being influenced by Delacroix and Gustave, the senior color masters in the Western art world. In his creation, he combines traditional colors with impressionistic methods.

He put a lot of effort into color matching and incorporated his own unique innovations into it.

The colors are extremely bright and transparent.

After all, he is a master who claims to use his brush to depict the tremor of sunlight and the flow of air. He has simply played with colors, hues, temperatures, saturation and brightness to the extreme.

Every Renoir work is an extremely vivid textbook of color science.

Cao Xuan was the old gentleman Gu Weijing knew and whom he admired and respected the most.

There is no doubt that he is a highly respected great master.

However, say anything.

Take this painting for example.

In terms of the expressiveness of colors and the treatment of light, Gu Weijing's current view of this "Picture of Worshiping the Buddha and Protecting the Dharma" is still quite different from the works of the Impressionist masters.

Not only because Impressionism is a painting school based almost entirely on "light".

It is also because the "Picture of Worshiping the Buddha and Protecting the Dharma" in front of me is a mural.

The lighting of the "Mojie Notes" knowledge cards provided by Gu Wei Jing Zhuo System took a big advantage in the color matching.

He mixed the colors as much as possible to blend in with the surrounding ancient mural paints, in order to restore the old look.

But a mural is a mural.

Excellence is also for this category.

Although there is no essential difference between mural painting, silk painting and paper painting in terms of painting methods and brushes, the color expression is still different.

The storage conditions faced are also completely different.

The priority that murals need to consider is to withstand the invasion of wind and sun. Oil paintings will be damaged after being exposed to strong sunlight for two years, while murals need to consider the survival time of ten, decades or even hundreds of years. The durability of paints Adhesion and durability are far higher priorities than the bright color of the paint.

In addition, the ability of paint to smudge on sand and the ability to spread and flow freely according to the artist's intention when painted on rice paper or plant fiber canvas are completely different concepts.

If you compare your shortcomings in painting skills with other people's strengths, Guan Gong is suspected of fighting Qin Qiong.

To insist that Mr. Cao's paintings are better would be unreasonable bragging.

But this "Picture of Worshiping the Buddha and Protecting the Dharma" also has something that is not found in Reano's works. As for... what is it?
Unfortunately.

Gu Weijing didn't know.

During those few weeks of brief interaction, Gu Weijing acted more like a little follower who followed Mr. Cao around, shouting "666" and marveling at Mr. Cao's mastery of writing and attention to details. Handled to perfection.

Look more at the small things.

Now, it is the first time for him to experience the charm of this work from the perspective of an audience, quietly, well, and from an academic perspective.

If you stand in front of this painting for a long time, you can feel the magical attraction of this painting.

It seems to naturally have a peaceful and peaceful demeanor and temperament.

in other words.

Gu Weijing remembered that during the creation process, Cao Xuan repeatedly emphasized that a painting should be a combination of spirit and technique.

Painting should be done in one go, with the finishing touch.

Maybe it's an illusion.

Gu Weijing has been looking at this painting for an hour.

He seemed to be able to vaguely feel that there was a "qi" flowing on the wall between Mr. Cao's brushstrokes in this painting.

It exists.

But what exactly is this "qi" - maybe it's because the state of mind is wrong, or maybe it's not up to the level required for appreciation.

Gu Weijing couldn't explain it.

There is a true meaning in this, but I have forgotten to explain it.

He thought for a long time and finally felt depressed.

He knew that his thinking had reached the limit, and he did not dare to force it.

He shook his head and looked away.

While distracted, Gu Weijing suddenly discovered that there were a lot of monks in the crowd around the isolation zone.

The Shwedagon Pagoda is originally the most important Zen temple in Yangon, and the monks really like to stroll around and find people to chat with and practice speaking.

But there were five or six Zen masters standing in front of the small mural.

The density is still a bit too high.

Normally, no matter how good Cao Xuan's paintings are, they are precious.

These monks all live here.

If you're used to it, it shouldn't be unusual after a few months.

I haven’t seen the lady sweeping the floor at the Louvre, who watches the Mona Lisa every day?
Gu Weijing grabbed the monk who just gave an explanation to the Australian tourists and clasped his hands together, "Master, please ask you something. I see that the isolation tape has been pulled out, and this painting needs to be done separately. A tourist attraction?”

(End of this chapter)