J'ai passé mon bras autour de la taille fine de l'homme fort

Chapitre 4

On one occasion, the painting master was giving a lecture on the art of ink painting. After the theory was explained, the painting master took out a double-line drawing template that he had prepared in advance and immediately painted an ink painting of autumn lotus. After the ink dried slightly, he hung it on the wall for the painting students to appreciate.

It was indeed a fine work, depicting the elegant and graceful autumn lotus. Although painted in ink, it captured the essence of the lotus pods and leaves reflecting the sunlight and the movement of clouds and rain. The students were full of praise and immediately picked up their brushes to begin copying it.

Hua Xue was stroking his beard, surveying the crowd with a smug look on his face. But when he turned his head, he noticed that Cui Bai was completely ignoring him, sitting in the corner of the last row, fast asleep at his desk.

The painter's smile vanished, and his dark face called out, "Cui Bai!"

Cui Bai seemed to be fast asleep, showing no sign of waking up. The Painting Master called out sternly again, but he still didn't respond. Seeing the situation becoming increasingly awkward, I approached him, bent down, and softly called, "Zixi." He frowned slightly, slowly opened his sleepy eyes, looked at me first, then stared at the Painting Master for a long while before finally smiling and saying, "Is the lesson over, sir?"

“It’s over,” Hua Xuezheng said coldly, his voice filled with anger. “But I imagine it was a dry and boring lecture, and it even had a hypnotic effect on you.”

Cui Bai smiled and said, "Not at all. I listened to the whole time when you were teaching, but when you started painting, all the students rushed to watch. I was far away and it was hard to squeeze in, so I decided to take a nap and appreciate the painting carefully after you finished."

"Is that so?" The painting master glanced at him, then looked away, stood with his hands behind his back, gazed at the blue sky outside the window, and said, "Then in your opinion, how is my painting?"

Cui Bai remained seated, leaning lazily back in his chair. He turned his head to examine the autumn lotus carving on the opposite wall, then nodded and said, "Very good, very good... but there's a slight deficiency in one area."

The painter, naturally curious, immediately asked, "Where is that?"

Cui Bai's lips curled up: "Here." At the same time, he picked up the brush dipped in ink from the table and suddenly threw it at the painting. As soon as he finished speaking, the brush had already touched the painting and made a slanted ink mark under an autumn lotus leaf.

This move was so abrupt that the painting students gasped in surprise, glanced back at Cui Bai, and then turned to look at the painting instructor, scrutinizing his expression.

Hua Xuezheng was so angry he could hardly speak, his finger trembling slightly as he pointed at Cui Bai: "You, you..."

"Ah! I was careless and accidentally picked up a brush with ink on it. Please forgive me, sir." Cui Bai apologized as he stood up, rolled up his sleeves, and walked to the front of the painting academy, bowing gracefully once again to apologize.

The painter's face turned pale with anger. He turned around and raised his hand to tear the painting on the wall, as if to vent his frustration.

Cui Bai intervened, smiling, "Please calm down, sir. This painting is a masterpiece, and it would be a pity to tear it up with a single stroke. Since I have made a mistake, I will find a way to make amends."

Then a painting student interjected and asked, "The painting has been stained with ink, how can it be salvaged?"

Cui Bai hung the painting up securely, examined it closely again, and said, "Since the painting is stained and the master no longer wants it, he probably won't mind if I add a few more strokes, right?"

Without waiting for the master painter's permission, he calmly selected a brush from the table, dipped it in the ink on the inkstone, put his left hand behind his back, and used his right hand to wield the brush. Starting from that ink mark, he sometimes dotted, dragged, chopped, and brushed, sometimes turned, tilted, and dragged, occasionally adjusting the ink. In a short while, a white goose with its neck bent and head lowered, preening its feathers, appeared lifelike under the lotus leaf. The extra ink mark he added was drawn into the goose's beak. The brushwork was natural, and there was no trace of deliberate embellishment.

After finishing his painting, Cui Bai put down his brush and stepped back, smiling as he asked the painting master for his critique. Everyone looked closely and saw that although he had only painted a goose, he had already incorporated the five shades of ink—burnt, thick, heavy, light, and clear—into a harmonious blend, lively yet not chaotic. His ink technique seemed to surpass that of the painting master. The goose's posture was elegant and graceful, as if it were about to leap from the scroll. In comparison, the autumn lotus painted by the painting master had just now lost its vitality, appearing dull and lifeless.

Moreover, he had not made a draft beforehand, but rather painted freely, which naturally made him superior to the painting master. Some people couldn't help but exclaim in praise, but only after they had spoken did they remember the painting master and hurriedly shut up, though their eyes still showed admiration.

The painting master also stepped forward to examine it closely. He silently stroked his beard for a long time before glancing at Cui Bai and commenting, "The use of ink is acceptable, but adding this goose here makes the upper part of the painting appear cramped, while the lower part has too much blank space, which is inconsistent with the composition."

“Not bad, not bad,” Cui Bai immediately echoed, glancing at Hua Xuezheng and laughing, “I also think that this silly goose is in too high a position, it would be better to bring him down a bit.”

Seeing his expression, everyone knew his words were meant to mock the Painting Master, and they all looked like they were trying not to laugh. The Painting Master's chest heaved, as if he might faint at any moment. Perhaps he couldn't let it out in front of all the painting students, so he finally shook his head heavily, pointed to the door, and said to Cui Bai, "Get out!"

After bowing slightly to the Painting Academy Master without being impolite, Cui Bai stepped out the door, his calm smile undiminished, and walked with an air of nonchalance.

I took a small step and watched him leave. The pleasure he felt from his unrestrained behavior couldn't outweigh the regret in my heart. I had a vague feeling that the day he would leave the art academy would come soon.

Note:

Fish-shaped tokens: These were tokens used by officials of the fifth rank and above to enter the court and meet the emperor, and to enter and leave the imperial city. Depending on the official's rank, they were made of gold, silver, or copper and shaped like carp. They were called fish tokens and were engraved with the official's name, rank, and other basic information. They were carried in a bag and tied to the waist as a symbol of the official's status and position.

Titles for eunuchs: In the Song Dynasty, eunuchs were rarely called "taijian" (太监). They were generally referred to as "neishi" (内侍), "neichen" (内臣), "huanzhe" (宦者), or "zhongguan" (中官). People did not call them "gonggong" (公公) to their faces, but generally referred to them by their official titles. "Zhongguiren" (中贵人) was a respectful term used by people outside the palace to refer to eunuchs.

Gou Dang Guan: This refers to the supervisor or manager of a department. In the Southern Song Dynasty, to avoid the taboo of Zhao Gou's name, it was changed to Gan Dang Guan or Gan Guan Guan.

The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with the Eunuch) Autumn River, Hibiscus, and Two Wild Geese Fly 4. The Empress's Palace

Chapter word count: 3285 Update time: 08-08-21 15:32

About a month later, the painting academy suddenly received an imperial edict from the Empress, ordering it to select a batch of portrait paintings by the academy's officials and students to be presented to the Empress in the Kunning Palace. As dusk approached, the officials in charge of painting and the other officials dared not delay and hurriedly selected the most satisfactory paintings to be sent to the Empress's bedchamber.

There was nothing to do in Japan that day, and the other eunuchs in the painting academy had all gone back to their residences to rest. Only I stayed behind to be on duty. The imperial edict came suddenly, and so, after working in the painting academy for more than a year, I received the task of sending a painting scroll into the inner palace for the first time. Normally, this would not be my turn to do such a thing.

This was also the first time in my years in the palace that I had the opportunity to enter the inner palace where the emperor, empress, and concubines resided from the outer imperial city. The Hanlin Painting Academy was located outside the Right Ye Gate at the southwest end of the imperial city. Led by the eunuch who was delivering the imperial decree, I carried the painting scroll and started from there, passing through the Right Ye Gate, the Right Changqing Gate, the Right Jiasu Gate, and the Right Yintai Gate. In order, I passed through the Secretariat, the Privy Council, the Secretariat Rear Office, and the National History Institute, then through the Imperial Ceremonial Gate, and through the Chuigong Gate into the inner palace. After passing around the Chuigong Hall and the Funing Hall, I finally arrived at the Kunning Hall, where the empress resided.

Dusk had fallen, and the Empress was not in the palace. According to the maids of Kunning Palace, the Empress had gone to Funing Palace to see the Emperor, and it was unknown when she would return. I asked an inner eunuch to bring the scroll into the palace, as I needed to report to the Empress in person, so I dared not leave without permission and stood outside the palace to wait.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. Finally, the Empress returned. I knelt and paid my respects. When she saw that I was a stranger, she paused for a moment. A maid introduced me to her, and she then remembered me, nodded, and shortly after entering the palace, ordered someone to summon me inside.

Empress Cao, dressed in a bright red, wide-sleeved palace gown, sat upright in the hall. A layer of yellow and red gauze undergarment was slightly visible at the cuffs and collar. The long red silk skirt draped smoothly and gently without a single unnecessary fold. A white gauze shawl with yellow patterns trailed silently on the ground, making her posture appear even more serene and peaceful.

After bowing to her again, I took the opportunity, in the brief moment of straightening up, to glance at her face. This presumptuous act stemmed from my curiosity about the Empress Dowager's true appearance, while also being carefully controlled to a lengthy duration that would go unnoticed.

Her skin was fair and radiant, her eyebrows were light and distant, and she possessed an elegant demeanor. At this moment, her eyelashes were half-lowered, and she seemed to be deep in thought, with a hint of worry between her brows.

The palace officials hung up the scrolls of portrait paintings one by one, and the Empress calmly rose and slowly moved to examine them one by one. After a long while, having seen all the scrolls, she remained silent, but turned to me and asked, "Are all the recent masterpieces of portrait painting from the Imperial Painting Academy among these?"

I said yes. She looked again, as if suddenly remembering something, and asked, "Are there any paintings here by the student Cui Bai?"

I answered no, and she smiled slightly: "I don't think so. It is said that his painting skills are poor, he has no ambition, and he is arrogant and conceited, even looking down on the senior members of the painting academy... But that's a bit strange. How could someone so useless get into the Hanlin Painting Academy?"

I hesitated for a moment, but still told her the truth: "Since the establishment of the Painting Academy in our dynasty, everyone has admired the painting style of Huang Quan and his son Huang Jucai. Whenever there is a competition, the Huang style is used to determine the winner. Cui Bai's skills are excellent. If we talk about meticulous double-outline painting, he is definitely superior. Therefore, it was relatively easy for him to enter the Painting Academy. However, he is unconventional and doesn't seem to appreciate the wealth and status of the Huang family. Instead, he praises Xu Xi's unrestrained style. He loves to sketch from life and captures every scene he encounters. He can capture the essence of things and has the style of Xu Xi. After entering the Painting Academy, his paintings of flowers, bamboo, and birds are not always done with double-outline and color filling. He often borrows Xu Xi's ink-wash method or Xu Chongsi's boneless method. In a single painting, meticulousness and boldness coexist, and the colors are elegant, unique, and have a rustic charm. However, during competitions, this style is not recognized by the adults in the Painting Academy. Cui's works are often ignored and rarely receive praise."

The Empress nodded and said, "He knew that his painting style was not popular, yet he still insisted on painting in this way?"

I replied, "Yes. He won't easily change his mind once he's made up his mind."

The Empress smiled faintly and said, "He's quite stubborn. But it wasn't easy for him to get into the painting academy. With such arrogance, isn't he afraid of being expelled?"

I knew that someone must have already spoken ill of Cui Bai to the Empress. I hesitated whether to mention Cui Bai's feelings to her, but the Empress's gentle tone made me feel very favorable towards her. Moreover, she looked at me with a kind expression and waited for my answer, which gave me the courage to answer directly: "Entering the Painting Academy was the last wish of Cui Gongzi's father, so he obeyed. However, studying Huang's style in the Painting Academy alone went against his aspirations... His temperament is also incompatible with the style of the Painting Academy, so being expelled from the Painting Academy is not something he is afraid of."

The Empress pondered for a moment, then ordered, "Send some of Cui Bai's paintings here in two days."

I immediately obeyed. She looked me over again and asked, "How old are you? Have you studied painting?"