Chapter 51: Enlightened by Gazing at Peach Blossoms

  Li Ding's face flashed a hint of embarrassment, but soon he was at ease again. The Zhang family had some money, but not more than the Li family. Moreover, if it weren't for Li Ding making an appearance, Lu Min wouldn't have come to the Zhangs' banquet, and Liu Xiu naturally wouldn't be here either. Even if he did come, without considering Li Ding's face, Liu Xiu might not necessarily have been able to write on the spot.

  Although it's a bit beneath him to be so obvious, Li Ding was truly delighted with the piece and had already accepted it subconsciously. It would be inappropriate for him to change his mind now. He just found it strange that Liu Yuanqi's son, who was said to be dull-witted, could produce such excellent calligraphy.

  "Really, what great teacher has your father invited for you?" Li Ding said calmly to Liu Xiu, ignoring Zhang Fei's furious gaze. Liu Bei couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as he watched, remembering how Li Ding had never been so polite to him before, and now it was as if he hadn't even seen him. He raised his hand to stroke his brow, falling silent.

  "There is no famous teacher. After being ill for several months, I couldn't go out and play, and could only observe the rain marks on the wall. Somehow, I gained some insight into brushwork, but at that time, it wasn't very clear to me. Later, when I arrived at Peach Valley, I saw the peach blossoms in the valley, and suddenly everything became clear." Liu Xiu bowed solemnly and said: "Speaking of which, I must also thank Mr. Li. If it weren't for Mr. Li's recommendation, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to study under Master Lu with Xuande, and if we hadn't entered Master Lu's school, we naturally wouldn't have seen the peach blossoms in Peach Valley, nor would we have achieved any small success in calligraphy."

  The calligraphy of the Han Dynasty took seal script and clerical script as official scripts, while regular script, running script, and cursive script emerged as popular scripts. However, their basic strokes still carried a clerical flavor, and in terms of structure, they were not yet rigorous, with an emphasis on simplicity. This continued to evolve in terms of structure and stroke intent until the emergence of Wang Xizhi and his son, who particularly excelled in transforming the robust style of his father into a more elegant and refined beauty, thus opening up a new era of calligraphy that rivaled his father's, with both father and son leading the way for over 300 years.

  By the early Tang Dynasty, Emperor Li Shimin's fondness for Wang Xizhi led to a surge in popularity of his calligraphy style, while Wang Xianzhi's style was devalued. As a result, the mainstream style of Tang calligraphy became characterized by Wang Xizhi's simplicity and further explored structural composition, eventually giving rise to the rigorous and structured Kaisho script. By the time of the Tang Dynasty, the structure of calligraphy had reached its peak, leaving no room for breakthroughs in the Song Dynasty, which could only innovate through penmanship and aesthetic appeal. Therefore, the Four Great Calligraphers of the Song Dynasty focused mainly on semi-cursive and cursive scripts, emphasizing the beauty of lines. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were no significant breakthroughs in calligraphy. Tang Bohu's calligraphy combined structural rigor with elegance, making him stand out among Ming Dynasty calligraphers, but his reputation was overshadowed by his fame as a painter, and few people knew about his calligraphy.

  Liu Xiuzhi's beautiful calligraphy in the style of Tang Bohu is not only rare in the Han Dynasty when most calligraphers were still in the stage of quantity over quality, but also outstanding in the Song Dynasty which emphasizes the interest of brush and ink. It would make Lu Zhi, Lu Min and Li Ding and others amazed and surprised, which is expected.

  Li Ding raised an eyebrow, stroking his beard in silence. What Liu Xiu said sounded quite mysterious, but Li Ding didn't think so. Although painting and calligraphy are minor arts, they emphasize intuition, which is well-known to everyone. Often, gains can be made from impossible situations, and Li Ding himself had such experiences. Therefore, he didn't think Liu Xiu was talking nonsense. Although he felt that with Liu Xiu's qualifications, it seemed unlikely that he would understand these things, but since Liu Xiu attributed all this to him, it also made him feel pleased and proud, so he didn't bother to investigate the truth behind it.

  He hesitated for a moment, then stretched out his hand and humbly patted Liu Xiu's shoulder, somewhat ashamed: "De Ran, the enlightened one is self-enlightened, what does it have to do with others? That was your opportunity. Looking at it this way, over the past decade or so, you were like a piece of unpolished jade hidden in stone, only bursting forth today, astonishing everyone with a single cry... Ah, I'm ashamed, having considered myself a renowned scholar, yet unable to see your worth."

  Liu Xiu was somewhat surprised. He didn't actually like Li Ding, not only because Li Ding was self-interested, but also because he thought Li Ding's way of observing people wasn't quite reliable. Liu Bei's eyebrow had broken, and his fate changed? This sounded too mysterious. What about his own eyebrow that had been hit by a wooden clog by that woman? Would it affect his destiny? However, at this moment, Li Ding was able to say in front of so many people that he had misjudged, which still surprised him - because originally Li Ding hadn't misjudged, the previous "him" might have really been just a stone without any jade inside. But he could see that Liu Bei, who was also a young man from the countryside, had potential, even if it was just luck. In his past life's impression, the more prestigious people were, the less willing they were to admit their mistakes, let alone in front of others.

  This alone made him have some goodwill towards Li Ding.

  "By the way, I have another question to ask you, De Ran... please explain it to me." Li Ding pulled Liu Xiu's hand and said sincerely: "You say that by seeing the flaws in the strokes, one can understand the brushwork, and by seeing the peach blossoms, one knows the beauty. This I can understand, but just this, it seems still not enough to make you have such a big breakthrough?"

  Liu Xiu had a clear mind, and for this question, he had thought of the answer long ago. He just hadn't found the right opportunity yet, but now was undoubtedly the most suitable one. He looked at Lu Min with some shyness, who was sitting upright and looking a bit timid, and said: "Actually... it also has something to do with Mr. Lu."

  Lu Min raised her head in surprise: "Me?"

  "There is also the venerable sir." Liu Xi, facing Li Ding's astonished gaze, said somewhat awkwardly: "The gentleman's father and son move with decorum and gravity, dignified and composed. From this I have come to understand that in writing characters one should value evenness above all, neither leaning nor inclining, only then can it accord with the middle way."

  "Ah——" Li Ding suddenly enlightened, sizing up Lu Min who was still puzzled, and suddenly burst out laughing. Indeed, the Lu father and son were always polite and courteous, as stable as Mount Tai's stone, which was indeed similar to the steady and serious pursuit of calligraphy. However, using this as a metaphor seemed... somewhat unimaginable. Li Ding thought of something clever and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

  Lu Min felt a bit embarrassed, but Liu Xiu's words did not have any derogatory meaning. His calligraphy was steady and elegant, indeed making people think of the calmness of a gentleman. He smiled slightly and shook his head without speaking.

  Li Ding was in a great mood and encouraged Liu Xiu a few more words before returning to his seat. Zhang Fei had gone to great lengths to ask Liu Xiu to write a calligraphy piece, but it was snatched away by Li Ding. Originally, he wanted to ask Liu Xiu to paint another beautiful woman for himself to appreciate, but after seeing Liu Xiu finish writing the calligraphy and directly retreat downstairs, he didn't have the intention to pick up his brush again, and it wasn't good to force him, so he had to hold back his own eager heart and think of other ways. He secretly took a glance at Liu Bei, saw that Liu Bei was staring in the direction of the song and dance performance with a lost expression, and couldn't help but laugh to himself, thinking that this matter would likely fall on Liu Bei's shoulders.

  He had no idea that Liu Bei was not thinking about the opera at all, but was annoyed by Li Ding's disregard. Liu Xiu pulled him forward to toast, but Li Ding only talked to Liu Xiu from start to finish, without even looking at him once. Then Liu Xiu wrote a poem and stole the spotlight, leaving him as a bystander, which made his heart chaotic and empty.

  Everyone talked about literature and art, the atmosphere was relaxed and harmonious. After the banquet, the wine and meat were removed, and fragrant tea was served instead. Lu Min and Li Ding, Zhang Tu's husband, wanted to discuss the real purpose of this banquet, so Liu Xiu and others excused themselves and followed Zhang Fei to the side courtyard. Zhang Fei had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, enthusiastically leading the way in front, saying: "De Ran brother, it seems that you are very fond of the peach blossoms in Mao's villa."

  Liu Xiu nodded silently.

  "My study is also in the Peach Garden, and I must say that our garden has no fewer varieties than the Mao family's. Unfortunately, the climate here is not as good as in the mountains, and most of the peach blossoms have already fallen." Zhang Fei said with regret: "Next year when the flowers bloom, I will definitely invite you to come and appreciate them, drink wine, and discuss literature and art."

  "It's a beautiful place, I see what you mean." Liu Xiu followed Zhang Fei into a courtyard and indeed saw over ten peach trees. However, since it was near the end of summer, the flowers had already fallen off, leaving only green peaches hidden among the lush leaves.

  "Hehe, actually no need to wait until next year, just a few more months and the peaches will be ripe. Eating peaches may not be as elegant as admiring flowers, but it's also practical." Zhang Fei laughed: "When the time comes, using peaches to accompany wine is also a wonderful thing."

  Liu Xiu smiled and didn't answer, following Zhang Fei into a small building. Two maidservants came out to greet them, one of whom was the beautiful woman who had led the dance earlier. As soon as she saw Zhang Fei and his companions, she hastily knelt down and paid her respects: "Young Master, everything is ready."

  "You all stand by and wait." Zhang Fei made a stern gesture with his hand, then changed his expression and politely extended his hand to invite: "Brother De Ran, please, offer your valuable opinions."

  Liu Xiu stepped up to the hall, looked around and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. The three walls were fully adorned with various beautiful women in different postures, interspersed with several calligraphy works. In the middle of the hall, there were three desks, one of which was a large desk, on which pens, ink, paper and inkstone had already been arranged, and the light yellow mulberry paper emitted a soft glow.