Chapter 358: Chapter 337 Enjoyed by both Refined and Vulgar_1
In the beginning, everyone’s attention was entirely captivated by the calligraphy posted by Chu Kuang. The elegant and clear regular script had a sense of proper beauty and peaceful circumstance. Even people who didn’t understand calligraphy could appreciate the exquisite features of this piece.
It flowed like clouds across the sky.
Every stroke was as ethereal as a wisp of cloud.
Lately, due to the matter of autographed books for “The Murder on the Orient Express”, many people were discussing whether Chu Kuang really had a solid foundation in calligraphy. By sharing a piece of calligraphy at such a time, Chu Kuang made an extremely powerful statement!
“This handwriting is breathtaking!”
“Whoever previously said that Chu Kuang was just an ordinary person with good handwriting, forget about whether ordinary people can master brush writing, even as a participant who has practiced brush writing from a young age, I absolutely cannot achieve the level of elegance that Chu Kuang has. I even have the feeling that my calligraphy teacher is not as good as Chu Kuang!”
“What beautiful regular script!”
“I never expected Chu Kuang to be skilled in regular script. The writings of ordinary regular script masters are almost indistinguishable from one another with no variations at all. After mastering the basic strokes and a bit of practice, anyone could write this kind of font. But top-tier regular script masters can create a scrutinisable masterpiece with each stroke, adding unpredicted excellences in the most casual way. Chu Kuang’s calligraphy has reached the level of top-tier masters!”
“This piece of writing is so handsome”
“I thought you, Chu Kuang, were just talented at writing; you could even effortlessly crossover various genres of novels. It took me a while to accept this setup, and now you’re telling me that you’re actually a calligraphy expert as well?”
“No wonder they say Chu Kuang is a genius!”
“Chu Kuang, the old rascal! How are others supposed to survive with this monster around? His regular script is vigorous and upright yet not lacking in femininity. It’s definitely not an amateur level; he’s clearly a calligrapher who has been delayed by novel writing.”
“…”
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Indeed, there were many people who could appreciate the value.
Anyone with a little knowledge of calligraphy could see what level Chu Kuang’s calligraphy was at. After all, this was calligraphy evaluated at the professional level by the System. People who could make a living with their calligraphy, how could their brush writing be bad?
Even professional calligraphers gave their evaluations.
After all, Chu Kuang is a celebrity. Many well-known influencers in the calligraphy field rapidly retweeted Chu Kuang’s “A Tranquil Night Abed” and shared their own views:
“Chu Kuang’s writing already has a sense of harmony.”
“He can consider developing in the calligraphy field.”
“I would consider buying a calligraphy collection by him.”
“This style of regular script must have the hard work of more than a decade.”
The assessments from everyone were fairly objective. Even those who mentioned Chu Kuang’s decade of hard work did not overstate. Without the System’s prize as a boost, if Lin Yuan wanted to achieve this levelling of calligraphy by his own practice, he would likely need to train for more than a decade.
In the meantime.
Those so-called sensible netizens were dumbfounded. They previously swore that Chu Kuang was just an ordinary person with attractive handwriting, only skilled at autographs. They claimed that even his autographs were nothing spectacular. However, this piece of regular script literally swelled their faces!
This is an ordinary person?
Is this called “nothing special”?
Even professional calligraphers, who have published calligraphy collections, commented that Chu Kuang’s writing has already become masterful. How could they persistently claim that the reason Chu Kuang’s writing was good was only because of the hype attributed to his celebrity status?
It was also at this time.
Suddenly someone posted a thread: “I just looked it up, this poem ‘A Tranquil Night Abed’ doesn’t seem to be some ancient poem, pretty sure the author is Chu Kuang the old rascal himself. The quality of the verse is really damn top-notch!”
A poem by Chu Kuang himself?
Everyone noticed the content of ‘A Tranquil Night Abed’ quite early on, with some even noticing it immediately. However, due to more people initially discussing calligraphy, everyone didn’t think much about the verse itself. In fact, some even thought it was a poem written by some ancient sage, until a netizen highlighted this poem that finally caught everyone’s attention.
“This poem is so impressive!”
Initially, it wasn’t that notable, but after being reminded by some people, everyone took a closer look and found that this poem was indeed exquisitely written. It seems to be a simple five-word quatrain, but it fully depicts the sentiment of longing for home…
The verse seems like a painting!
A traveler, unable to sleep in the foreign land at late night, finds the inn courtyard particularly desolate. The serene moonlight coming through the window lands on his bed, bringing a cold shiver of the autumn night. On first glance, in his dreamy mood, it seems as if a layer of white frost has fallen on the ground. However, on a closer look, the surroundings tell him that this is not frost.
It’s moonlight.
The moonlight inevitably prompts him to look up and he sees a round, plain moon hanging in front of the window. The autumn night sky is so clear, the autumn moon is extraordinarily bright, but also cold. Especially for a lonely traveler, it easily provokes homesick thoughts.
Compounded by a bleak predicament, time passes quickly.
Gazing at the moon, feeling sorry for himself, as if his brief dream just ended, he thinks about everything that has happened back home, about his family. His head gradually lowers as he is immersed in these thoughts and the moonlight seems lonelier…
“What a beautiful sentiment.”
“What a tranquil night of thought!”
“The text is pure and simple. The whole poem doesn’t have any peculiarly novel imagination, nor does it have finely crafted and gorgeous diction. It simply uses a narrative tone to express the sentiment of a traveler missing home. However, it is profound and thought-provoking, firmly captivating the reader. From ‘doubting’ to ‘looking up’, then from ‘looking up’ to ‘lowering the head’, it vividly reveals the poet’s inner activities, outlining a vivid image of thinking about home on a moonlit night, expressing the feelings of Chu Kuang, the old rascal, when he misses his home in the quiet moonlit night.”
“Are you the class representative above?”
“The class representative did a good summary.”
Of course, not everyone can understand the aesthetic of this poem. Someone curiously said, “I find the verse quite simple, without any peculiarly novel imagination or finely crafted and gorgeous diction. Especially the last line ‘lowering the head to think of the homeland’ is too colloquial. How can this end up being a merit of Chu Kuang?”
Don’t even mention it.
Once this voice rose, those sensible netizens became more excited, rushing out to say, “Exactly, I don’t see anything astonishing about this poem. I wonder why so many people are complimenting it. Just because Chu Kuang is a successful novelist and is very good at calligraphy, don’t elevate his poetry too high. We should still be rational.”
The sensible netizens love to parade their sensibility.
So they still acknowledged Chu Kuang’s calligraphy.
However, when they started trying to downplay ‘A Tranquil Night Abed’, someone shared the post. The sharer was none other than the widely recognized poetry master of Blue Star’s Qin Province, Mr. Quan: “Chu Kuang’s four-line poem is written with a fresh and simple elegance, straightforward as speech, intricate and profound in its conception, spontaneous and completely unpretentious. Its content is simple, yet very rich; easy to understand, but inexhaustible to taste. In fact, Chu Kuang left unsaid much more than what he already disclosed. This is a marvelous state of effortlessly achieving perfection, a talented writer indeed displaying his brilliant talent.”
Unexpected!
Even a renowned poetry master like Gong Quan publicly praised the level of ‘A Tranquil Night Abed’, making even readers who initially had no sense for the verse fall into deep thought, wondering whether they may lack comprehension and thus fail to appreciate the brilliance of this poem?
Fortunately, such people are in the minority.
As a planet with a highly developed culture and art, one of the greatest benefits of Blue Star is that ordinary people have some ability to appreciate. Because everyone has grown up immersed in such an environment, their basic cultural literacy is pretty good.
Still not convinced?
The netizens could only say one phrase, “Are you saying you understand poetry better than a poetry master like Gong Quan?” ‘A Tranquil Night Abed’ is indeed not grandiose. It is quite down-to-earth and populist. Some people naturally prefer audacious poems like “I am the killer of all flowers after blooming” and might not resonate as much with more grounded poetry. But the great thing about Li Bai is his ability to be enjoyed both by the refined and the vulgar!