Semi-cursive 1 ?
Miyamoto Shinshou was irked!
Many of the Japanese celebrities and businesspeople in the audience were also quite angered by this person’s arrogance! He was outright challenging Master Miyamoto Shinshou’s calligraphy! He actually started writing in a similar semi-cursive style as Master Miyamoto? Just how bold was this guy? Just how defiant could he be? Since you know calligraphy, then how can you not know that in the domain of writing in semi-cursive, there isn’t a living person in this world who could stand on equal footing with Master Miyamoto?!
But what left them in even more disbelief was yet to come. After Zhang Ye wrote the second character, the third, and the fourth, they realized again—
It was an ancient story!
It was a descriptive piece!
Damn!
It was in the exact same format as Master Miyamoto’s work. He was actually going to write a descriptive piece as well!
A similar ancient background!
Using the same semi-cursive!
A similar descriptive story!
Isn’t this provocation?
A provocation towards a world-famous calligraphy master?
They simply could not believe it!
But while some people were scolding Zhang Ye in their mind for thinking too highly of himself, Miyamoto Shinshou, who was standing about five meters away from Zhang Ye, was the first person to be stunned!
The second person to be stunned was a Korean businessperson who knew calligraphy!
The third person was Li Xiaoxian. Her jaw dropped!
Then they were followed by China’s richest man, Qian Haitao!
The people in the crowd were getting stunned one by one!
“Xiaoxian?”
“What’s the matter?”
“Master Miyamoto, what’s wrong?”
“What happened?”
“Old Qian? Boss Qian?”
But those people did not say a single word to them. They just stared straight at the Xuan paper in front of Zhang Ye with horrified expressions on their faces!
Zhang Ye’s brush flew across the page.
In the ninth year of Yonghe 2 , the fiftieth year of the sixty-year cycle 3 , at the start of late spring, we have gathered at the Orchid Pavilion on the ubac of Mount Kuaiji for the purification ritual. All the literati, young and old, have convened. Around here are towering mountains, deep wood and tall bamboo, as well as clean and wild rapids reflecting the surroundings. We sit next to each other by a winding creek, floating goblets. Though missing the company of music, wine and song and conversation fill our hearts with joy.
Zhang Ye placed the brush to the paper again and swayed with the movement of the nib. He also showed all kinds of colorful expressions on his face as he did so.
Be it calmness.
Be it sighing with emotion.
Be it sadness.
Or be it joy.
Today, the sky is clear and bright; a gentle breeze blows. Gazing up at the immense universe, looking down at the wonders of nature; as eyes wander, so do minds. Indeed, it is pure joy for all the senses.
Finally, Li Xiaoxian could no longer hold it in!
“Oh my God!” Li Xiaoxian exclaimed.
Xu Meilan said in surprise, “Th-These words—”
Zhang Yuanqi was smiling. Her smile was one of delight!
Chen Guang said dumbfounded, “Are those words really written by Zhang Ye?”
Even Jiang Hanwei, who was not on good terms with Zhang Ye, could not help but gasp!
Many of them did not know much about calligraphy. Even if they were presented with a bunch of calligraphy pieces, they wouldn’t understand what was written. Whichever brush strokes were used, whether it was written in regular script or clerical script, most of them would not get it. But when they saw Zhang Ye’s calligraphy, a lot of them were overcome with shock!
There was no reason!
Absolutely no reason!
Even they did not know why they felt this way!
They were just shocked!
It was a shock that came from within themselves!
How could this be?
Why was it like this?
The Japanese celebrity team was also dumbfounded!
“How could that be!”
“This—”
“Oh my God!”
Each and every person at the venue looked absolutely stunned!
But Zhang Ye did not stop writing.
Nor did he notice the expressions of those in the audience.
A lifetime flits by as friends are made. Some tell all stealing embraces in the bedchamber; others indulge in hedonism. Interests are endless and tempers vary. We enjoy momentary happiness when we find it, but we never anticipate growing old. And as we grow weary of our loves, feelings changing, giving rise to grief. What we just enjoyed turn to relics and makes us yearn. Life may be long or short, but it must come to an end. As the ancients said, “Birth and death are major events.” How agonizing!
…
At Yao Jiancai’s house.
“These words are amazing!”
“Hot damn!”
“Did Uncle Zhang get possessed?!”
…
At Central TV.
“How godly!”
“Holy shit!”
“Zhang Ye has broken into the realm of the gods!”
“These words are earth-shattering!”
“Did he really write them?”
…
In the Chinese calligraphy world.
“Master Wu! This—”
“How could there be semi-cursive written to such a level!”
“There’s actually someone in this world who can write such beautiful semi-cursive? How is that possible! If I may say something disrespectful, not even the ancient masters achieved such great semi-cursive!”
“So this is Zhang Ye’s level of calligraphy?”
“How did he get so good at it?”
“Enough of that, just look at that zhi 4 character!”
“Which zhi?”
“All of them! Look at it closely!”
“What! Why do they all look different 5 ?”
“Christ!”
…
In the Korean calligraphy world.
“Master Kim, what do you make of this?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ah? Why not? How good is the calligraphy?”
“I’m not qualified to critique this calligraphy piece.”
“What?”
“I just know that there’s another calligraphy master in this world!”
…
In the Japanese calligraphy world.
“Who on earth is this person!”
“He’s a celebrity in showbiz.”
“How’s that possible! How can a celebrity possibly make a calligraphy piece of such beauty!”
“Bro Yamada, compared to Master Miyamoto, which of them is better at calligraphy?”
“Bro Isarai, you really can’t see the difference?”
“I, I—just where did this guy pop out of! Why have I not heard of this guy before in the calligraphy world?!”
…
At the venue.
Silence!
There was only silence!
Everyone was looking at the stage in shock. The longer they stared, the more stunned and amazed they were!
Only Miyamoto Shinshou had a different reaction. He could see much more than those people in the audience!
The zhi character!
All he could see was the zhi character!
This first one was written 6 within “at the start of late spring”: The “dot” stroke was written in an almost horizontal way, while the “horizontal” stroke was barely visible. The “throw away” stroke joined with the closing “press down” stroke sharp and restrained. The spacing between the strokes was properly proportioned.
The second one appeared within “we have gathered at the Orchid Pavilion on the ubac of Mount Kuaiji”: The “horizontal” and “throw away” strokes appeared as almost one line, while the “press down” stroke made a slight double curvature and closed off with a gentle exit, appearing tight above and relaxed beneath.
The third one appeared within “Though missing the company of music”: The “dot” stroke resembled a goose’s head, and the pause at the turning point between the “horizontal” and “throw away” strokes was obvious. The “press down” stroke was drawn downward with implied meaning.
The fourth one!
The fifth one!
The sixth one!
All of them were different!
Every zhi character was written differently!
This level of skill was nothing short of godly!
As Miyamoto Shinshou continued looking at the writing, his eyes almost popped out!
What on earth was this essay?
What on earth was this calligraphy?
Zhang Ye was writing faster and faster. His wrist was flicking very quickly as the words flowed.
Every time I read past compositions, I sense the same melancholy in the ancients. I cannot read them without mourning, unable to express my feelings. Equating life and death is absurd, as is equating a long life with dying young. Future generations will look to us, just as we look to our past. How sad! So we record the people present and their poems. Though times will change, the thoughts and emotions will stay the same. Future readers shall be touched by the collection.
He signed it.
And set down the brush.
He finished writing it in one go.
Zhang Ye took a deep breath before he slowly calmed down. He finally saw the people in the audience. Miyamoto Shinshou, Xiaodong, Zhang Yuanqi, Li Xiaoxian, Chen Guang, Ning Lan, the Chinese businesspeople, the Japanese businesspeople, the Korean celebrity team, and even the camera operators and host were all stunned!
This was “Preface to the Orchid Pavilion”!
The world’s best semi-cursive!