Chapter 48: Awed by the Exhibition

October 26, 2021kaychandra

Chapter 48: Awed by the Exhibition

Chen Ke knew that Gongxi Qiao was good at calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting, and had participated in various competitions. However, he really didn’t expect that Gongxi Qiao could reach the height of representing the country.

It wasn’t that he looked down on Gongxi Qiao. On the contrary, in his eyes, Gongxi Qiao was a very capable young man. However, Flower Country was a country that was very concerned about stability, tradition and seniority. Usually, such international activities representing the face of the country were always represented by major renowned masters. How old was Gongxi Qiao this year?

“Were you really invited to be a representative this time?” Chen Ke asked again with some uncertainty.

Gongxi Qiao nodded. “I heard that this time there are more than twenty national teams representing our country at the exhibition.” He saw Chen Ke’s stunned look and explained with a smile, “I heard that several countries are sending their young talented artists to the exhibition, so I have the honor to represent the young people of our country.”

Chen Ke immediately understood. Flower Country was also considered a prestigious country in the international arena. There was no shortage of human and material resources, and it was an ancient country with a cultural heritage of several thousand years. If other countries had young representatives, and Flower Country only had older representatives, wouldn’t it make other countries think that Flower Country had no successors?

But even so, Chen Ke still felt that Gongxi Qiao was very lofty, ah!

What kind of ability would it take to have such an honor?

Not to mention a month without work arrangements, even not working for half a year wouldn’t matter, ah. This was a grand event that even the head of the country might pay attention to!

“Speaking of which, I haven’t seen your work.” Chen Ke dry coughed. The few words written in the crew for filming didn’t count, “I wonder if I can have the opportunity to observe your masterpieces.”

It was no wonder Chen Ke became so cautious. Because he suddenly knew that the artist he was working with was someone who could represent the country, he automatically added soft light and PS effects to Gongxi Qiao, who was now glowing in his eyes, almost even to the soles of his feet.

“This event will be attended by leaders. For security reasons, the specific arrangements of the trip can’t be disclosed. So, apart from my family, only you know.” Gongxi Qiao stood up, “There seem to be some of my paintings and calligraphy in the study. Do you want to go and take a look?”

“Why don’t we take a look.” Chen Ke smiled at his words, hearing the unfinished meaning of Gongxi Qiao’s words. He told him about this out of trust, but he wouldn’t allow the company to use this as an excuse for hype.

This matter was a great honor, but it was a matter of national prestige. Even if Senhe knew about it, they wouldn’t have the guts to use it for hype, and could only cooperate fully.

The two came to the study on the second floor. This was the first time that Chen Ke entered Gongxi Qiao’s study. It was much larger than he expected. The antique bookshelves were divided into different categories with various books. From the covers, there were traces of having been read, instead of being set up to look good.

The wall was clean and fresh. There was only an ink painting of a dragonfly standing on a lotus flower and koi floating in the water. At first glance, the dragonfly and koi seemed to be living things, so people would want to hold their breath for a moment, lest they be frightened away.

“It’s almost all my work.” Gongxi Qiao pointed to the floor-to-ceiling painting tubes in the corner, which all held rolls of numbered scrolls “If you have a favorite, you can choose one to take back.”

Chen Ke: ……

So casually put, it invariably seemed not too valuable.

However, when he opened a painting scroll, he was frozen. He didn’t know how to paint, but the first thing he saw about this painting was that it was beautiful, and the second thing he saw was that the characters in the painting were alive.

The gorgeous girl in the painting stretched out her hands to chase a butterfly, stepping on the scattered petals under her feet. She was so charmingly naive that he couldn’t help but want to smile, and even thought, did the child finally catch up with the butterfly?

Finally, Chen Ke took two paintings with him. He didn’t know that Gongxi Qiao’s traditional figure paintings were very popular, but unfortunately there were very few of his works on the market. His ‘Lady Grooming’ painting even fetched a high price of seven figures at an auction.

In addition, because the signature on this ”Lady Grooming” painting was the name Gong Qiao Ke[1], collectors only thought that it was an idle work of one of the great masters and would never have thought that the author of this painting was a young man.

Originally, such a work of an unknown creator wouldn’t have been so sought-after, because some collectors weren’t fond of art at all and only wanted to collect the works of famous artists to show off. But coincidentally, this painting was praised by several people in the country. There were even historians who said that the author of this painting must know a lot about ancient costumes and tools, because the dressing table, the woman’s costume, and even the bronze mirror in the painting were all things that were highly esteemed by the noble women in the early days of the Tianjin dynasty.

There was also a poem in the painting, a poem describing the innocence of the harem daughter. The words were extremely well written, comparable to master calligraphers.

But nobody in the painting and calligraphy world would admit that the painting was theirs, and the few who did know about it kept their mouths shut. So, the painting was speculated on repeatedly, and in less than a year, its value increased by a few more zeros.

This time, Gongxi Qiao was invited because of this painting. Mr. Xia, the most famous calligrapher and painter in Flower Country, was part of the Flower Country delegation. When he saw Gongxi Qiao’s calligraphy at a calligraphy competition, he immediately recognized the resemblance between the handwriting and the poem on the “Lady Grooming” painting. After some inquiries, he finally confirmed that Gongxi Qiao was the artist behind the painting.

Although he was surprised by Gongxi Qiao’s youth, when he saw Gongxi Qiao’s other works, he had a feeling of self-satisfaction. Fortunately, he was a man who valued talent and wasn’t jealous of Gongxi Qiao’s talent at such a young age, but rather admired it.

So later, he often exchanged calligraphy tips with Gongxi Qiao, and they both benefited a lot from each other.

This time, Gongxi Qiao was able to represent the country in the exhibition because of his recommendation. Originally, there were many people who opposed the idea, but when he presented Gongxi Qiao’s works and said that Gong Qiao Ke was Gongxi Qiao, the opponents also shut up.

Some of them were several times older than Gongxi Qiao, but the price of their works wasn’t as high as Gongxi Qiao’s.

Gongxi Qiao didn’t know that there were so many stories behind his being able to be one of the representatives. After he spent two days filming the public service announcements arranged by the National Station, he squatted at home to draw a couple of pieces to use for this international art exchange, and selected two more pieces of his previous works as the representative works for this exhibition.

Gongxi Xiong and Qiao Lanfen were so excited about this event that they couldn’t sleep. Gongxi Qiao followed the delegation on the plane out of the country ahead of them, and they booked plane tickets and got admission tickets to follow along later.

The exchange conference was so grand that the official media of each country paid great attention to it, and on the day the delegation left the country, it was reported on the National Station news broadcast.

However, for the people, they were only concerned about the outside world’s evaluation of this exchange. As for who those old men and women in the delegation were, they didn’t care.

And when the news broadcast reported this news that night, it didn’t even last one minute. Viewers in front of the TV only saw the camera sweep over a dozen people, and only the national flag on their jackets got a big close-up.

“In total, more than twenty countries participated in this international cultural exchange. I heard that a talented painter from Longboot country is a beautiful boy. He’s also participating in this exchange, here are pictures with the truth.” A netizen posted a picture of this genius painter, and the blond young man immediately drew numerous female netizens’ praise, and some even said he was as beautiful as an angel.

“Although it’s expected that the beauty of our Flower Country delegation isn’t as good as Longboot Country, I still hope that our artists can raise our country’s prestige. At any rate, our nation has a history of several thousand years.”

For the lovely netizens, beautiful young people could make them lick their screens, but in the greater importance of right and wrong, they still preferred their country’s old face, and even a dozen beautiful teenagers couldn’t make them change their mind.

Their Flower Country’s netizens were just so cool and principled.

The exchange conference happened to be held in the capital of Longboot Country. Because of the ten-hour plane ride, the elderly artists were a bit overwhelmed. Fortunately, the hotel arranged by the organizers was very comfortable and not too far from the airport.

Gongxi Qiao, who had been a celebrity entertainer for more than a year, often traveled to and fro by plane, and with his youth, he still looked in good spirits when he got off the plane.

When the receptionist of the organizer saw that there was a young man among the representatives from the Flower Country delegation, and that he was very good-looking, he secretly compared Gongxi Qiao with the genius painter from his own country.

The officials of the Flower Country delegation and the officials of the Longboot Country shook hands and posed for pictures in front of the media before they went to the hotel together.

The friendly reception by the officials of the Longboot Country gave enough face to Flower Country, and the officials of Flower Country and the media of Flower Country were very satisfied. In their country’s news content, they were very generous by praising the Longboot Country a lot.

Everyone rested for the night at the hotel before bringing everyone together for a small meeting. The surface content of the conference was to spread culture, promote international exchange and deepen understanding between each other.

The hidden meaning was probably that everyone should not be afraid to show their talents, and it would be better to show off to the delegations of other countries.

In the cordial, peaceful and friendly atmosphere of the meeting, Minister Liu, the official in charge of the delegation, politely proposed that they would like to enjoy the artists’ works in advance and for them to hold onto those works, and then arrange for the staff to hang them in the exhibition hall.

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In fact, they were worried that these noble artists had come up with some works that weren’t suitable for this exchange. They could avoid any unnecessary disputes by seeing them in advance.

Gongxi Qiao as well as other calligraphers and painters understood this well in their hearts. However, they all understood Minister Liu’s difficulties, so they cooperated in handing over their works before going downstairs to the restaurant together to enjoy the food.

This time, in order to take care of the tastes of the delegations, the Longboot Country not only prepared sumptuous national cuisine, but also made famous dishes from other countries and offered them to all the delegates in the form of a buffet.

As Flower Country had a long history of food culture, a group of reporters from the National Station sent by Flower Country took great care to photograph these dishes and also interviewed the Flower Country delegates about their views on the food. For this international exchange, they were going to go back and make a two-episode documentary, so they couldn’t miss such an important food segment.

Gongxi Qiao, who had the dual identity of a popular entertainer and a talented artist, became the focus of the interview. In fact, the reporters were shocked when they found Gongxi Qiao’s figure in the delegation. Luckily, they had seen a lot of big events and held themselves back, and then secretly rejoiced in their hearts that the documentary would definitely have ratings superior to the rest after it was aired.

“The Flower Country dishes made here taste very good, and their national specialties are also very delicious.” Gongxi Qiao took a pair of unused chopsticks from the plate, picked up the dish from the untouched corner and handed it towards the cameraman with a smile, “You try it, too.”

The cameraman looked at the food handed to his mouth. His eyes were dazzled by Gongxi Qiao’s smile, and he ate the food dizzily. The female reporter next to him looked at him sourly – why was the handsome man feeding not her, but the unattractive cameraman?

Old Xia, sitting next to Gongxi Qiao, smiled at the situation. Young people just loved to play. Obviously he could make a name for himself with his brilliance, but he had to go and make some movies. Young people nowadays, he really couldn’t understand them.

Waiting for the camera to move away, Old Xia only said with some regret, “Xiao Qiao, ah, your works are so soulful. Why don’t you do art properly, instead of making films?”

“Painting and calligraphy are my hobbies, acting is my job.” Gongxi Qiao smiled and poured Old Xia half a glass of milk, replacing the watermelon juice in front of him. “Your blood sugar is high, you can’t drink this.”

Old Xia glared, but also knew that Gongxi Qiao was doing it for his own good and could only sip the milk with some disgust. He was about to speak when he saw a group of people walking in.

Seeing the national logo on the jackets of these people, the smile on Old Xia’s face faded. He said with some emotion, “If we don’t guard our own culture well, it’s possible that in the future, others will be cheeky enough to snatch it away.”

Gongxi Qiao looked back at the group of people. Knowing that the old man valued cultural heritage, he smiled and advised, “The villain steals things from others and thinks they are his own. Even if he is shameless, others still have eyes. Old Xia, why do you have to let such things affect your mood?”

Old Xia forced a smile. “You’re right, it will only get better in the future.” He had a selfish motive in recommending Gongxi Qiao this time.

Gongxi Qiao was a popular star now, and he had heard that Gongxi Qiao had many fans and had won an award some time ago. When the young people in their country learned that Gongxi Qiao was also one of the representatives, it would surely draw more people’s attention to traditional painting and calligraphy, and even interest in it. In the long run, there would be no worry that this piece of culture couldn’t be promoted.

Old Xia played with this idea and Flower Country officials also had this layer of consideration, so finally they boldly invited Gongxi Qiao.

Old Xia had mixed feelings about Gongxi Qiao’s entry into the entertainment industry. He wanted to use Gongxi Qiao’s identity to promote traditional calligraphy and painting culture, but was worried that certain habits in the entertainment industry would affect the young Gongxi Qiao, whom he admired the most among so many juniors.

At around 3pm, the representative works of each country were hung in the exhibition hall. It was still in the stage of secretly arranging security personnel because there were important officials from various countries and industries coming to visit.

The media of various countries was also busy interviewing representatives of other countries and giving an all-round compliment to each other’s countries at no cost.

As the youngest and most handsome representative of the Flower Country delegation, Gongxi Qiao was particularly welcomed by the media of other countries. In this world, no matter what circle, people with good looks were always treated with extra preference.

When the interpreter from the Flower Country party looked at Gongxi Qiao answering the questions from other countries’ media in fluent international language, he felt that he was worthless as an interpreter.

The reporter interviewing Gongxi Qiao was from Mulberry Island. Although both countries were similar ethnicities and were considered neighbors, the relationship between the two countries had always been delicate due to old grudges.

However, no matter how many old grudges, after the female reporter from Mulberry Island saw Gongxi Qiao’s appearance, her tone instantly became much friendlier. Because, most of the young people in this country had a problem. That was, a good face meant a good person.

“Has Mr. Gongxi ever thought of going to Mulberry Island for a cultural exchange?”

The Flower Country party interpreter was inwardly laughing: you don’t even know what artwork someone has, and you’re expecting them to go to your country?

Gongxi Qiao showed an extremely perfect smile. “If there is a chance, maybe at the end of this year my work will appear in Mulberry Island. For example, ‘The Greatest Warrior’.”

When the female reporter heard this, a joyful smile appeared on her face. “Great, there will definitely be many people in our country looking forward to the arrival of your work.”

“Thank you.” As the investor of ‘The Greatest Warrior’, Gongxi Qiao felt that he was really dedicated for not even forgetting to promote it at this time.

The poor reporter still didn’t know that Gongxi Qiao was talking about a movie, not a book or painting.

At 5:30 p.m., the invited dignitaries from all walks of life gradually arrived, and the originally empty exhibition hall suddenly became lively. The national station reporter who followed them to film paid close attention to the expressions of foreign visitors and did not miss any of their looks of admiration.

However, soon they found that there were more close-up shots than they could manage to take.

In the Flower Country exhibition, there were thirty-six works, including calligraphy and paintings, each of which was a highly collectible work in their home country. But for many foreign friends who didn’t know Flower Country culture, the most attractive one was ‘Palace Banquet’.

This palace banquet painting was 3.5 meters long and 1.8 meters wide, depicting a luxurious palace banquet scene. The expressions of everyone in this painting were very vivid, the costumes were exquisite, and the dancers dancing on the lotus stage were even more graceful, as if they were fairies about to ride the wind.

The men and women watching the banquet were all elegant and full of smiles, and the wine jars on the table were so exquisite that the viewers couldn’t help but fantasize how wonderful it would be to be in such a splendid scene.

A Flower Country historian who was invited to see this painting was so excited that his hands almost shook. Wasn’t this the grand scene of the ‘Tianjin founding banquet’ written about in ancient literature?

This painter should have called it ‘Tianjin Palace Banquet’ instead of ‘Palace Banquet’, ah!

At this moment, this old historian almost shouted in his heart.

The Tianjin dynasty was a very grand piece of Flower Country history. The dynasty only lasted for a little more than two hundred years before it changed, but it was recognized by historians for how brave the founding emperor was and how talented his strategists were.

Unfortunately, when the birds are dead, the good bows are put away.[2] After Emperor Yuan ascended to the throne, the strategists and military generals who fought beside him died, scattered or were imprisoned. Not many of them were able to get a good end.

Many documents described the characteristics of those capable people. The people in this picture, weren’t they those capable people who were famous throughout the ages?

Based on the order of the costumes of the people in the painting, as well as the subtle differences in their official uniforms, this historian could be sure that this was definitely the collective painting of the founding banquet of the Tianjin dynasty.

No, the second table on the right was empty. Which person was absent?! The historian’s eyes widened and he began to recite in his head the list of famous people at the beginning of the founding of Tianjin.

Xi Qing didn’t have much interest in the so-called art exchange, but this time it was an official invitation, so he had to appear in the exhibition hall with several other representatives of prestigious families.

As a member of the entourage, Special Assistant Gou also came along to join in the fun. As an amateur who didn’t know anything about art, his first concern was the works of his own country, so he took the official guidebook issued and found his way directly to the Flower Country exhibit.

But why were there so many people gathered in the Flower Country exhibition area, and a group of media staff were coming forward carrying cameras?

What kind of earth-shattering work had appeared that caused such a big sensation?

He looked back at the expressionless boss and hesitated about whether he wanted to squeeze up to see the excitement.

T/N:

Gong Qiao Ke: It’s spelled 宫桥客 gōng qiáo kè (palace bridge guest). The “gōng” and “qiáo” characters are different than the ones in Gongxi Qiao (公西乔) but spelled the same in pinyin. I wasn’t able to tell if this pseudonym has any special significance.When the birds are dead, the good bows are put away: Idiom that means when a dangerous thing has lost its usefulness, it is gotten rid of. An English equivalent suggested by Baidu was “When the dog is beaten, the lion is tamed.”

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