"When the Master paints bamboo, he has thousands of bamboos in his mind, and he paints them as he pleases, with ink dripping freely and naturally. I wish to take a bamboo from the painting and use it as a fishing rod in the breeze-filled river."
Zhu Ping'an carefully looked at Master Sun's painting of bamboo in the wind and was amazed at Master Sun's painting skills. Master Sun expressed the bamboo's character vividly with just a few strokes. Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but stand up and bow to Master Sun.
I wish to take a bamboo from the painting and use it as a fishing rod in the breeze-filled river.
Zhu Ping'an paraphrased the line "I take a thin bamboo and use it as a fishing rod on the river in the autumn wind" which was written by Zheng Banqiao when he resigned from office, and he was also moved by the character revealed in Master Sun's poem.
"Zihou, you are exaggerating." Old Master Sun stroked his beard and shook his head.
"No, I was inspired by it." Zhu Ping'an's honest face was full of sincerity. He pointed to the bamboo painting on the stone table and continued, "The bamboo in your painting is slender and lofty, which is the spirit of bamboo; it is majestic and bold, which is the life of bamboo; it relies on the stone but is not confined by the stone, which is the joint of bamboo; it focuses on color but is not stuck in outline, which is the quality of bamboo."
God, life, festival, quality.
These are the four flavors of bamboo, and they are also what Master Sun had in mind when he was painting. Zhu Ping'an said them all out, which touched Master Sun's heart at once.
Of course, Master Sun would not show it. He continued stroking his beard and shaking his head. However, the look in his eyes when he looked at Zhu Ping'an was more satisfied.
"This painting has not yet been inscribed. I have been thinking over it for a long time but still can't come up with a conclusion. Fortunately, Zihou, you are here, so please write the inscription for me so that I can have a little leisure time." Old Master Sun stroked his beard and smiled, indicating Zhu Ping'an to write the inscription for the painting of bamboo in the wind that he had painted.
From what Master Sun said, Zhu Ping'an also knew that Master Sun had just taken a short rest on the table, and had really fallen asleep while considering the inscription.
Now, hearing Master Sun asking him to write an inscription, Zhu Pingan couldn't help but smile bitterly and shook his head, "I'm afraid I'll ruin my teacher's painting."
"Don't be polite, Zihou. This old man would rather eat without meat than live without bamboo. If it's destroyed, just let him paint again. He has to paint bamboo every day anyway. Besides, Zihou is now the top scholar, so whatever he writes will be worthy of his painting."
The master's wife came over with a smile, brought the brewed tea, and said she would pour tea for the two of them.
"Teacher's wife, let the students come." Zhu Ping'an stood up, took the teapot, and poured a cup of tea for Master Sun, the teacher's wife, and himself.
"Why are you being so polite, kid?" The master's wife looked at Zhu Ping'an who was pouring tea with a smile on her face.
Master Sun picked up the tea that Zhu Ping'an had poured, took a sip, savored it, then looked at his master's wife and smiled, "Madam's tea-making skills are getting better and better."
Then, the master's wife rolled her eyes at him and scolded him for being disrespectful to the elderly.
Zhu Ping'an watched from the side and couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips. His mentor and his mistress were truly a model of ancient couples. Not only could they treat each other with respect, but they could also have the little romance that modern couples have.
"It's okay, Zihou, just write the inscription with peace of mind." Old Master Sun looked at Zhu Ping'an, stroked his beard and said another sentence.
Since his teacher and his wife had said so, Zhu Ping'an could not refuse to write the inscription, so he had to accept it. After accepting the inscription, under the observation of Master Sun and his wife, Zhu Ping'an was grinding ink while thinking about what to write.
Master Sun was very curious about what his disciple would write, so he watched quietly by the side, stroking his beard.
The same goes for the Master’s wife.
After Zhu Ping'an had ground the ink, he carefully looked at Master Sun's painting of bamboo in the wind. There were towering strange rocks, a shallow pond, and several bamboos in the wind, some thin and some thick, some short and some long. There were also several clumps of bamboo shoots under the bamboos. After looking at it for a while, Zhu Ping'an's eyes lit up and he already had an idea in his mind.
Upon seeing this, Master Sun couldn't help but sit up straight. From Zhu Ping'an's eyes, he knew that his talented disciple had already thought of the title.
The master's wife also put down the work in her hands and turned her attention to Zhu Ping'an.
Under the watchful eyes of his mentor and his wife, Zhu Ping'an stopped grinding the ink, took a brush from the pen holder beside him, dipped the brush into the ground ink, and began to write the inscription.
Soon, a poem appeared on the painting of bamboo in the wind, which happened to be written in the blank space of the painting. The powerful characters on the paper seemed to be riding the wind and waves, carrying a righteous spirit that complemented the vigorous bamboo.
Hsinchu
The new bamboo is taller than the old branches, all thanks to the old trunk for support.
There will be new births next year, and ten-foot-long dragon descendants will circle the Phoenix Pond.
Zhu Ping'an wrote "New Bamboo" by Zheng Banqiao of the Qing Dynasty on the painting of bamboo in the wind. Zheng Banqiao of the Qing Dynasty was one of the best poets who wrote about bamboo. This "New Bamboo" is very suitable for the current scene. The new bamboo is taller than the old bamboo branches, all thanks to the old trunk for support. This sentence means that the new bamboo can be taller than the old bamboo, but it is inseparable from the support of the old bamboo. The implication is that a person can surpass his teachers and predecessors because they have been nurtured and cultivated by their teachers and predecessors.
This poem just goes on to express his respect and gratitude to his mentor, Master Sun.
The dragon grandson here in "One Hundred Thousand Dragon Grandsons Circling the Phoenix Pond" does not mean that Zhu Ping'an offends the royal dignity. Dragon grandson is another name for bamboo shoots. In many places in the south, bamboo shoots are called dragon grandson, and using it in poetry does not involve any taboos.
In previous dynasties, many people used dragon grandson to write bamboo shoots, such as Mei Yaochen's poem "Han Chiguo's Lost Bamboo Shoots" "The dragon grandson sprouts a foot long in spring, and the purple brocade wrapped in jade leaves the mud and sand", or 6 You's poem "Summer" "The young swallows leave the nest temporarily, and the mother dragon grandson has already let go."
As soon as Zhu Ping'an finished writing, Mr. Sun stroked his beard and read out the poem written by Zhu Ping'an in a low voice.
The new bamboo is taller than the old bamboo branches, all thanks to the old trunk for support. From this poem, Master Sun read Zhu Ping'an's respect for teachers, and from Zhu Ping'an's words and deeds, especially the fact that he stood in the yard like a log for so long just now because he was afraid of disturbing his sleep, Master Sun could also feel it.
"Next year, there will be newborns, and the ten-foot-tall dragon grandchildren will circle the Phoenix Pond. Phoenix Pond..." After reading the poem, Master Sun repeated the word "Phoenix Pond" again, then narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhu Ping'an with a complicated expression and said, "Zihou, you have the ambition to assist the world."
The reason why Master Sun repeated the word Fengchi and said that Zhu Ping'an had the ambition to serve the world was because of the two words Fengchi.
Fengchi is also called Phoenix Pond. In ancient times, Phoenix Pond referred to the pond in the Imperial Garden. The Secretariat of State established during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties was located in the pond. People called it "Phoenix Pond", which was in charge of the secrets of the country. In the Tang Dynasty, the prime minister was called Tongzhongshumenxia Pingzhangshi, so people used "Phoenix Pond" to refer to the position of prime minister.
The handwriting reflects the person, and the poem also reflects the person.
Master Sun was well-read and learned, so he naturally knew the story of Phoenix Pond in detail, which is why he said that Zhu Ping'an had the ambition to serve the world.
"Uh, Master, you're overthinking it."
Zhu Ping'an touched his nose and smiled bitterly. This was truly a coincidence. Although he did have this ambition, he really didn't want to express it in this poem.
Old Master Sun stroked his beard and smiled without saying a word.
The master's wife looked at Zhu Ping'an and couldn't help but smile, comforting him, "What's there to be embarrassed about? Young people should have ambitions."
Well, it's already been conceived, and there's no point in explaining it. (To be continued.)8