"Smoke and Clouds on Paper" | the first puzzle novel in China with the theme of ancient calligraphy and painting restoration

This book is a domestic puzzle novel with the theme of ancient calligraphy and painting restoration.

Wu Molin, a fake painting dealer in Yangzhou in the Qing Dynasty, restored a famous work for the Kangxi Emperor, "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains", and later entered the court to do restoration work for royal paintings and calligraphy, secretly competing with Liu Dingzhi, deputy director of the Department of Graphic Books. During the Yongzheng seizure of the throne, the two made great contributions to the repair of the defaced testament, and led the order to go south to find the earth-shattering treasure. Two restoration craftsmen and a group of jianghu strangers follow the clues hidden in the works of famous calligraphy and paintings of past generations, and approach the truth step by step...

The whole book is full of pictures and texts, and the suspense is interspersed with ancient calligraphy and painting appreciation, calligraphy and painting restoration and other related knowledge, and the plot is ups and downs, which is gripping.

"Smoke and Clouds on Paper" | the first puzzle novel in China with the theme of ancient calligraphy and painting restoration

Thousand-year-old paintings have suffered

Forty-six years of kangxi, guotai and people are prosperous, and the world is peaceful and uneventful.

At the beginning of the year, the Kangxi Southern Tour slowly set off from the capital. There were nearly a thousand people walking, and the dragon was full of pheasant feathers, and it was very lively. On the eve of his departure, the emperor ordered the eunuchs to bring with them more than a dozen Pieces of Song and Yuan Calligraphy and Paintings treasured in the palace. It turned out that the Kangxi Emperor loved to collect ancient paintings and calligraphy in his lifetime, especially the landscape paintings of the Song and Yuan dynasties. Every time he toured the south, the emperor had to carry a few pieces with him for playing with him at all times on the way.

The emperor was full of excitement as he swam through the mountains and rivers. On April 14, the xingyuan arrived in Yangzhou from Suzhou and was stationed at the Tianning Temple Palace.

In Yangzhou in April, it is already the season for grass warblers to fly, the spring breeze is harmonious in the daytime, and the night is gradually cool. Just at night, in a warm pavilion in the palace of Tianning Temple, incense mist is smoked and candles are shining. The emperor opened the yellow silk dragon pattern satin sac, carefully took out a large scroll more than two feet high, pointed to the label of the lead, and said to a concubine next to him: "Concubine Jing, you see, this time you have brought the "Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains", and today it will also open your eyes." ”

Among the thousands of ancient paintings in Kangxi's collection, this one of the Northern Song Dynasty King Xi Meng's "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" was the most loved by him. This is a very large silk landscape painting, and the whole unfolding is three or four inches long.

In "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains", the scene is wide open and closed, the momentum is shocking, but the subtleties are extremely subtle, which can be described as "subtle, to the vast". Every time the emperor exhibited a detailed look, he couldn't help but admire the genius painter's miraculous brushwork from the bottom of his heart. Moreover, this work is not only well painted, but also has a very pleasant name. "Thousands of miles of rivers and mountains" are all within the palm of your hand, and the wonders of the world are only in the hands of the emperor. I wanted to capture Aobai, Ding San Francisco, and Pingtai, after many hardships, and now I can finally sit firmly on the dragon chair and play with the scroll, and I can't help but feel very proud in my heart, and I even have a feeling of looking at the world.

The emperor gently touched the heavy stone blue color on the scroll and said to Concubine Jing, "When this Wang Ximeng made this magnificent miracle, he was only eighteen years old, and it was really unbelievable to think of it." ”

Concubine Jing said, "The emperor was only fourteen years old when he ascended the throne and took charge of the world, and when he eradicated the powerful minister Aobai, the emperor was a real young hero." ”

Kangxi smiled and said, "You can talk, originally it was to appreciate the painting, but it was pulled on the body." ”

Concubine Jing said, "If you talk about painting alone, the concubines prefer those literati paintings with pure ink, although this "Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" is a grand work, but it is strict to the concubines, and the colors are too gorgeous." ”

The emperor pointed to the stone-blue mountain peak in the painting and said, "Ordinary color paintings are also vulgar, but this one, the color is beautiful but elegant." ”

Concubine Jing sniffled, "What the saint says is what it is, but the concubine has a foolish opinion: if we talk about style, the green and green color painting is still not as good as the ink painting, and the ink painting seems to be more gentle and elegant." ”

The emperor liked that this concubine was arguing with himself about the evaluation of calligraphy and painting, and he laughed: "Ink painting is not bad, but in the eyes of Yuan, black and white, too monotonous, and even less dignified and grandiose image." ”

When Concubine Jing saw that the emperor was serious, she also became interested: "Emperor, you are the Son of Heaven, naturally you are fond of the grandeur of the atmosphere, but if you belittle the ink and think that it is monotonous, then the concubines will not agree -- didn't the emperor hear that the ancients had the saying that 'ink is divided into five colors'?" ”

The Emperor narrowed his eyes and said, "Of course, I have heard the saying that 'ink is divided into five colors', but it is just a comparison of the literati." Ink paintings were only produced after the Tang Dynasty, but the ancient works before the Tang Dynasty were all Danqing Heavy Colors, do you think that the sages before the Tang Dynasty were not high in style? ”

Concubine Jing laughed, took advantage of her own favor, and spoke boldly: "Emperor, when you say this, the concubines do not dare to agree." Tang's former famous deeds are no longer in existence, and there may not be no ink works..."

The emperor pretended to be angry, hugged Concubine Jing, and said, "Good you are a concubine, you laughed and fell, but it seems that you are a Yangchun white snow, and you are a Lower Riba person, today let this Lower Riba people teach you this Yangchun White Snow!" ”

Jingfei twisted her waist and giggled, trying to break free of Kangxi. When the two men quarreled, they ignored the filigree enamel oil lamp on the table next to them. The emperor was not careful, his crotch hit the corner of the table, the table shook violently, and the oil lamp fell in an instant, and the oil of the lamp was sprinkled on the map of the Thousand Mile River and Mountain, and the flame immediately flew to more than a foot high.

Concubine Jing suddenly screamed, and the emperor also returned to his senses, and in a hurry, he pulled up the cloth curtain on the bed of the luohan and threw it at the painting, and the flames gradually extinguished, and the eunuch waiting outside the door of the warm pavilion listened to the sound inside, and pushed the door in, seeing this scene, he also froze.

The emperor originally had a long face, but at this time he was angry, his face was getting longer and longer, and his face was getting colder and colder. JingFei peeked at it, only to see that his eyes seemed to be spewing fire. Concubine Jing had never seen the emperor so angry, and for a moment she was so frightened that she didn't know what to say, but the eunuch reacted quickly, and when she saw this situation, she immediately fell to her knees and trembled: "Long live Grandpa to stop being angry, take care of the imperial body, don't be angry and damage your body." No matter how golden this painting is, it is not as golden as the golden gui of the long life..." Concubine Jing also knelt down and said, "Long live, long live, it is the concubine who is clumsy and clumsy, and accidentally knocked over the oil lamp, please your majesty to cure the sin of the concubine..."

"Smoke on Paper": The light of cultural relics restoration is illuminated into the creation

◎ Qian Feiyao

The first puzzle novel in China with the theme of ancient calligraphy and painting restoration

The ancients used "smoke clouds" to refer to calligraphy and painting, and Dong Qichang once said: "The beauty of painters is all in the change and extinction of smoke clouds." "Clouds and smoke are blinding, suspenseful, and the story of "Smoke and Clouds on Paper" begins with a masterpiece and dispels the doubts behind ancient paintings and calligraphy.

Wu Molin, a qing dynasty Yangzhou calligraphy and painting restoration craftsman, repaired the defaced "Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" for Kangxi, and later entered the palace to do restoration work for the royal calligraphy and painting, and was appointed as the head of the Tubi Department. Wu Molin is ostensibly a restoration craftsman, but in fact he is a fake painting dealer, and the calligraphy and paintings he copied are fake and real, but he cannot escape the eyes of Liu Dingzhi, deputy chief of the Department of Graphic Books in the palace. The two secretly competed in the palace, and then made great contributions to the restoration of the stained edict in the Yongzheng conquest, and led the order to go south to find the earth-shattering treasure. Two restoration craftsmen and a group of jianghu strangers follow the clues hidden in the works of famous calligraphy and paintings of the past generations, and in the process of treasure hunting, step by step approach the truth behind history...

"Smoke and Clouds on Paper" is the first novel in China to take the restoration of calligraphy and painting as the theme, it integrates a variety of elements such as ancient calligraphy and painting appreciation, calligraphy and painting restoration, puzzle solving, etc., not only has a traditional cultural heritage, but also has the characteristics of a suspense novel that is interlocked and revealed layer by layer. These elements can be successfully fused together to create a unique suspense work of ancient calligraphy and painting, thanks to the author's identity as an ancient book relics restorer.

As a national paper cultural relics conservator, Li Yidong is always cautious in the face of precious ancient books, and does not dare to breathe loudly against the yellowing and brittle paper that is as thin as a cicada's wings. However, in literary creation, under the pseudonym of "North and South", he acted wildly in the creation of novels, and wantonly exerted his enthusiasm for cultural relics restoration and ancient calligraphy and painting to the fullest.

The light of cultural relics restoration shines into the creation

Ancient book restoration since ancient times is the work of craftsmen, calligraphy and painting mounting work is boring and test patience, professionalism and strong, engaged in this work of a few people, they often alone with the old paper pile as a companion, inevitably cold and lonely. There are also few records of the restoration of ancient books in history, and it is only through the hook and comb of scholars that some understanding of the deeds of restoration craftsmen in history have been gained. For example, the Thirteenth Scroll of the Buddha's Name Sutra written by Tang Has an inscription: "Shamen Dao Zhen Xiu this sutra, year 19, bath (customary) surname Zhang." "Daozhen was a monk who managed the Buddhist scriptures at the Dunhuang Sanjie Temple in the early Song Dynasty, and he collected the damaged ancient scriptures of the temples to repair them, rebuilt the Sanjie Temple's tibetan scriptures, and was the only restoration craftsman recorded in the Dunhuang literature. Since ancient times, I don't know how many such ancient book restorers have paid their own efforts for the preservation of traditional Chinese culture!

Li Yidong, the author of "Smoke and Clouds on Paper," once showed a little-known side of his daily work under the lens of the CCTV documentary "The Resurrection of ancient books." The documentary interviewed dozens of domestic front-line experts and scholars on the protection of ancient books, recording their efforts and persistence behind the restoration of ancient books. As a young post-80s ancient book restorer, Li Yidong stood in front of a painting with serious color shedding, and concentrated on the full color of the portrait. Between the ancient book restorer and the work, it is like a dialogue that crosses the historical dimension, and only he can understand it.

In the novel, he projects his work experience as an ancient book restorer and his understanding of ancient calligraphy and painting onto two Qing Dynasty court restoration craftsmen, Wu Molin and Liu Dingzhi. These two craftsmen have different understandings of the techniques of calligraphy and painting restoration and the appreciation of calligraphy and painting, they are one of the city craftsmen, the other is high and pedantic, but they both have fanatical and sincere feelings for calligraphy and painting. The contest between them is an artistic struggle; the rupture between them and the imperial court is a game between power and art; in their treasure hunting and puzzle solving, they are looking for insights about art.

The author not only shines the light of cultural relics restoration into the creation, lighting up the blank space of the domestic novel on the restoration of ancient calligraphy and paintings, but also three-dimensionalizes the image of many unknown and unscripted calligraphy and painting restoration craftsmen in history with a bold idea, so that their faces are lifted from the old paper pile, laughing and cursing at us, and presenting them vividly. At the same time, we also think in the author's text: What is the value of art? Throughout the ages, why are those restoration craftsmen willing to sit on the cold bench, why are they obsessed with a thin piece of paper, and why do they bother to repair the old as the old?

A fusion of suspense elements and calligraphy and painting restoration techniques

Although "Smoke and Clouds on Paper" is classified as a suspense type novel, the theme and content of the novel are extremely literati and traditional cultural heritage. In this novel, we can not only fully experience the reading pleasure of suspense and plot ups and downs, but also feel the strong traditional cultural and artistic characteristics. The author presents the techniques and doorways of the ancient calligraphy and painting restoration techniques through the forgery and restoration plot of the craftsman Wu Molin, and then through artistic processing, the story is more watchable.

For example, in the book, it is written that Wu Molin imitated Zhu Yun's "Mandarin Fish Diagram" in order to please Liu Dingzhi, and the author integrated the old tricks in the plot: "Wu Molin returned home, closed the door, took out the paper and pen, conceived for a moment, waved the ink, and not long after, he drew a mandarin fish, and imitated Zhu Yun's calligraphy, and inscribed the famous model." He took out a large wooden box from the cassette, rummaged through zhu yun's fake seal, and pressed the seal clay to cover it. His counterfeiting technology has been perfected in the environment, but half an hour, like a cloud flowing water to create a fake painting, a little glance, feel that the paper and ink is a little less old, so in the kitchen boiled a pot of lard, the painting hung on the stove, with a slow boiling lard, smoked for one night. By dawn, the mandarin fish figure was indeed wrapped in a layer of old gas. ”

Another example is when the author writes that Wu Molin repaired the "Map of a Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" for Kangxi: "Wu Molin breathed a sigh of relief, and the overnight work was nearing the end, and there was still a key step left. Just this step, we also have to make sure that no one sees it, if the emperor knows the procedure of this step, it is difficult to guarantee that he will not be angry. Only to see him sneak a little spit with his fingers, rub a little mud in his arm socket, and then use this mud to rub it repeatedly on the newly replenished silk, and the bright color slowly lost its fire. He carefully studied for a while, not very satisfied, and then rubbed his fingers on the scalp for a long time, scraped off a little bit of oil, smeared on the silk, repeated dozens of times, the newly supplemented silk was actually rubbed by the head oil out of a little soft light of the pulp, and at this time, it was complete. ”

These professional calligraphy and painting restoration techniques are both unfamiliar to the average reader, but also interesting, attracting us step by step to the unique field of calligraphy and painting restoration craftsmen.

Another surprise of this work is that the author has created a number of calligraphy and painting works for the puzzle plot of the novel. The author graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and is familiar with the characteristics of ancient Chinese calligraphers and painters and genres, so the calligraphy and paintings he created in the novel to solve puzzles and plot needs not only add color to the work, but also allow readers to get a glimpse of the author's Danqing skills and talents.

Smoke on Paper

"Smoke and Clouds on Paper" | the first puzzle novel in China with the theme of ancient calligraphy and painting restoration

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