Chapter 14: The Three Difficulties of Painting a Tiger
Chapter 14: The Three Flavors of Painting a Tiger
While Zhou You was sleeping soundly at home, something was happening in the inner courtyard of Jianxiong Martial Arts School.
Wang Jianxiong was wearing loose and light home clothes and holding a covered bowl in both hands.
Although he is thin, he is strong and walks with great vigor.
His eyes are long and narrow and sharp, and when he looks at people he is like a tiger aiming at its prey, with a gleam of light flashing from time to time.
It is said that this is the change in his aura after practicing the Subduing Tiger Fist. His aura is fierce and inhuman, and his disciples both respect and fear him.
"Master, this is a gift from General Chen Qian. It is said to be a famous painting that was copied after destroying a mountain stronghold."
Two disciples held a scroll on the left and right, and slowly unfolded a picture of a tiger in front of him.
The picture shows a tiger coming down the mountain, with the mountains and forests trembling and all the beasts submitting.
The tiger was extremely ferocious, with each strand of its hair standing upright like steel needles, and even the barbs on its bright red tongue were clearly visible.
Gazing at this painting, one can even smell the fishy wind blowing towards you, which is the smell of a man-eating tiger.
The two disciples holding the scroll got goose bumps all over their bodies.
“It is indeed the work of a famous artist.”
A tall and graceful young man, he is Wang Jianxiong’s second disciple Qi Fengzhang.
He bowed to Wang Jianxiong and said, "Congratulations, Master, for obtaining a masterpiece of calligraphy."
Mr. Chen Qian was a good friend of Wang Jianxiong when he was young. He was stationed in a military camp outside Gongliang City, guarding the area.
The years were bad, and the number of bandits in the mountains increased dramatically, often harassing passing merchants and travelers.
General Chen Qian led more than a thousand elite soldiers under his command to encircle and suppress the enemy everywhere, killing so many people that the streams changed color.
When he was searching for stolen goods, he accidentally found this painting, which matched Wang Jianxiong's path of cultivation, so he ordered an express rider to deliver it to the city overnight.
The gift is precious, and the thought is also precious!
Wang Jianxiong stroked his beard and said, "Old Chen has me as his old friend in his heart."
He waved to his disciple, "Feng Zhang, you were born into a famous family and have a lot of insights into the art of painting. Come over and watch with me."
Qi Fengzhang is the direct descendant of the Qi family, a prominent family in the city. He has the highest birth and the best talent among Wang Jianxiong's disciples.
When he was less than 30 years old, he had already mastered the Jade Tiger Skill, an advanced form of the Subduing Tiger Fist, to the point where he was about to break through to the Bronze Tiger level.
This achievement is unique among those who have won the first place in the inner courtyard.
It should be noted that Lu Qiang, the eldest disciple in charge of the outer courtyard, is the confidant of Grandpa Wang Jianxiong who has been brought up since childhood, and he is still at the Iron Tiger level.
Unfortunately, given his status and family background, he is destined not to inherit the martial arts school and will definitely have to return to his family in the future.
"Master, the eight famous painters recognized by the world are divided into the Four Southern Masters and the Four Northern Masters."
"The four southern masters are good at painting flowers, birds, insects and fish, while the four northern masters are good at painting mountains, rivers and rare animals. Each has its own strengths and has reached the pinnacle of art."
"As far as I know, Han Yusou, one of the Four Northern Masters, is the best at painting tigers. I think the tiger in this painting is quite charming. Could it be his work?"
Qi Fengzhang looked at the signature again and nodded, "Yes, I am 80% sure."
But Wang Jianxiong laughed, "You are mistaken."
Han Yusou is a legendary figure in the world of painting and calligraphy.
In his early years, he was good at painting all kinds of rare and exotic animals, and his painting skills were so sophisticated that they were worth a fortune.
In his middle age, he encountered an accident. While traveling alone in the mountains to collect folk songs, he slipped and fell into an abyss.
Unexpectedly, there was a tiger's den at the bottom of the abyss, and there was a pregnant tigress in the den who was starving.
Holding a sharp stone, he confronted the tigress for three days and three nights. He was completely exhausted before he found a chance to escape.
After escaping death that time, his temperament changed drastically. He gave up many techniques and focused on painting tigers.
He even changed his name to Han Yu Sou, which means a lonely, poor and redundant old man.
In his later years, Han Yusou's tiger painting skills had reached perfection. It is said that in order to invite him to paint, the prime minister exempted his hometown from taxes for three years.
After the tiger painting was completed, it was unrolled in front of everyone, and a roar frightened many guests so much that their faces turned pale. The painting is still hanging in the Prime Minister's Mansion, and is a treasure guarded by heavy soldiers.
If this painting of a tiger descending the mountain is indeed an authentic work by Han Yusou, then its value would be an underestimate. It is no exaggeration to say that it is priceless.
"Unfortunately not!"
Wang Jianxiong said with a hint of regret, "When I was young, I was lucky enough to be there and see Han Yusou's original work."
"The charm and true meaning of his paintings are unfathomable, like the moon in the sky, far away but unattainable."
"Compared with it, this painting is at best a poor imitation of a babbling baby. It is not decent at all."
Qi Fengzhang still did not give up. He believed that calligraphy and painting were inseparable from the art of epigraphy, and the seal on the painting was clearly Han Yusou's inscription.
According to the routine of authenticating calligraphy and painting, looking at the signature seal accounts for a large part of the process of determining authenticity.
"Han Yusou had an eccentric temperament. In his later years, he no longer adhered to seals, but left his name with a few lines of poetry."
"Most of the so-called authentic works circulating in the market are consignments, with seals and signatures engraved in his name."
Wang Jianxiong was amazed and sighed at the painting.
"Although this painting is not an authentic one, it is from a famous artist and is worth a lot of money. Hang it on the wall!"
The old man closed his eyes, recalled the momentum of the tiger in the painting, and suddenly took two steps forward.
His skinny body suddenly burst out with amazing momentum.
From the coccyx upwards to the lumbar vertebrae and cervical vertebrae, the entire dragon spine seemed to be awakening from hibernation.
His skin, which looked like dry tree bark, was instantly covered with a layer of silver paint, like a statue cast in pure silver.
As Wang Jianxiong inhaled and exerted his strength, mottled and interlaced golden lines appeared on the surface of his silver skin.
The silver and gold patterns are clearly the process of upgrading from a silver tiger to a golden tiger.
As the owner of the hall, Mr. Wang has reached the highest level of Jade Tiger Skill, which is the "Silver Tiger" level.
Now, as he looked at the scroll, he had some feelings, and it turned out that he had accumulated a lot of experience and was using his decades of skills to break through to the Golden Tiger level.
How can things in the world go as we wish...
The tiger in the painting seemed to be infected, and its fur stood up, becoming more ferocious and vicious, but it dimmed again after just a moment.
Qi Fengzhang’s eyes widened. Could he understand it just by observing the scroll?
In just a short moment, Wang Jianxiong's skills reached a higher level.
As I was amazed, I heard the old man sighing, "The true meaning of the painting is still a little lacking."
The momentum that had just erupted suddenly dropped and disappeared without a trace in an instant like the ebbing tide.
The gold and silver colors on his body were also fading at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Wang Jianxiong sighed endlessly, wishing that the painting in front of him was the original work of Han Yu Sou.
That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I could have returned to the Golden Tiger level in one go.
However, the painter's realm was far from perfection, and the tiger's momentum was slightly insufficient, causing him to fall short.
"This is fate! You can't force it."
Wang Jianxiong shook his head, looking uninterested.
"Master, I will definitely send someone to help you find the original work of Han Yusou."
Wang Jianxiong thought that this was easier said than done. Even though the Prime Minister held tremendous power, he still had to humble himself and ask for a painting.
Qi Fengzhang's family is very powerful in Gongliang City, but it is nothing in the entire country.
It is no exaggeration to say that Han Yusou He, a famous figure of the time, is truly able to look down upon kings and princes.
(End of this chapter)