Whether Banshan Temple could truly become a famous and sacred site, Wang Guan couldn't say for sure, but he did notice that after not seeing him for a while, the Monk Banshan had become increasingly solemn, sporting the look of an enlightened master.

Of course, Monk Banshan already possessed the bearing of a great master, and after half a year of further cultivation, his spiritual attainment must have advanced significantly, lending an even greater air of gravitas to his every gesture.

"Amitabha."

Just then, Monk Banshan broke into a gentle smile, "Donor Wang is joking again."

"The truth, absolutely the truth."

After a round of pleasantries, Wang Guan settled down, accepted the tea offered by Monk Banshan, and took a small sip, immediately feeling a sense of serenity envelop him.

However, this was not due to the tea, but rather the arrangement of the Abbot's chamber, which naturally exuded such a feeling.

The room, constructed entirely of wood, featured a Tang Dynasty style tea table and low desks, along with finely woven meditation cushions placed here and there.

Seated within, one could see the high walls and red tiles outside the window, and several clumps of bitter bamboo swaying in the wind.

As the mountain breeze swept through, one could not only hear the rustling sound of the bamboo branches moving but also catch the faint chime of the wooden fish and the distant temple bell.

Such an environment naturally fostered a feeling of quiet peace, allowing one to relax and feel quite content.

It had to be said, having been constantly disturbed by the clamor of city life, the silence of an ancient temple deep in the mountains was an almost irresistible **for modern people.

Wang Guan enjoyed this quiet atmosphere for a few moments.

"This simply demonstrates that Donor Wang has a karmic affinity with the Buddha."

Monk Banshan then reverted to his usual refrain, "Since you know the noise of the mundane world, why not simply renounce the world and become a monk to escape it?" "I'm about to get married; what kind of monk would I become?"

Wang Guan rolled his eyes.

"Amitabha, what a pity."

Upon hearing this, Monk Banshan couldn't help but shake his head, his eyes filled with lament for a fine young man who would willingly sink into such worldly affairs.

On this matter, Wang Guan felt he and Monk Banshan had little common ground, so he naturally didn't engage further.

His gaze swept across the Abbot's chamber, and he suddenly noticed something.

"Oh?"

At that moment, Wang Guan exclaimed in surprise, "Master, what excellent taste! Did you paint this picture yourself?" Yu Feibai and Tang Qinghua quickly looked over, seeing that indeed, a painting hung on the wall.

Everyone knew Monk Banshan had excellent calligraphy, but they hadn't realized he also understood painting.

"No,"

Monk Banshan shook his head, however. "This was given to me by a guest. They asked this humble monk to consecrate it for blessings."

"Oh."

Wang Guan and the others understood immediately, finding it unsurprising. In these times, whether powerful officials or wealthy merchants, people favored seeking blessings from high monks, and the gifts they brought were often wildly varied.

Calligraphy and paintings were somewhat normal; other items like luxury sedans, expensive watches, pens, and mobile phones were commonplace.

Wang Guan had even heard of someone asking a master to consecrate a bottle of wine they intended to drink.

Regarding this, Wang Guan could only sigh that there truly was a great diversity of people in the world.

Speaking of which, the painting currently displayed seemed to be of birds—a rather strange-looking bird, at that.

Looking closely, Wang Guan was astonished, "It looks like a painting by Bada Shanren."

"That's right. It is a work by Bada Shanren."

Yu Feibai examined it and immediately concurred.

"Bada Shanren. One of the Four Monks of the early Qing Dynasty?" Having managed the Zhengya Xuan for a long time, Tang Qinghua naturally possessed some general knowledge and knew of Bada Shanren's background. As one of the most celebrated painters of the late Ming and early Qing periods, Bada Shanren's reputation was immense. He was highly sought after both in his time and in later generations.

For instance, the great painter Qi Baishi once praised him in a poem, which included the line: Qingteng and Xuege are far beyond the mundane realm.

Qingteng referred to Xu Wei, also known as Tianchi Shanren or Qingteng Laoren. As for Xuege, that was naturally Bada Shanren. He was originally a prince of the Ming Dynasty. After the fall of the Ming, with his nation destroyed and his family lost, consumed by patriotic grief, he shaved his head and became a monk, signifying that he no longer belonged to the secular world and would not accept the rule of the Qing Dynasty.

To this day, people deeply admire Bada Shanren's patriotic spirit. However, the primary reason for his fame lies in his artwork. His brushwork was characterized by unrestrained freedom, yet possessed strength, roundness, and a fresh, lingering charm. Whether in large compositions or small pieces, his work carried a sense of robust fluidity paired with clear vigor. His compositional structures defied convention, achieving completeness within incompleteness, demonstrating immense creativity that had a profound and lasting influence. Masters from the Yangzhou School in the mid-Qing, the Shanghai School in the late Qing, and modern masters like Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian, Pan Tianshou, and Li Kucan were all deeply influenced by his style.

In summary, Bada Shanren’s works held significant appeal in the market; put plainly, they fetched very high prices—tens of millions were normal, and exceeding one hundred million was not unusual.

"Donor Wang has sharp eyes," Monk Banshan commented approvingly at that moment. "Indeed, this is a painting by Bada Shanren."

"This hardly counts as sharp eyesight," Wang Guan replied with a chuckle, shaking his head. "To be honest, among all painters, Bada Shanren’s calligraphy and painting are the easiest to authenticate. Especially his bird-and-flower or insect-and-fish paintings; they are certain to be identified instantly."

"Exactly," Yu Feibai nodded repeatedly at once. "I feel the same way."

"Why?" Tang Qinghua asked, showing some surprise. She knew of Bada Shanren but apparently not in enough detail to not ask such a question.

"It's simple," Wang Guan said with a smile. "Bada Shanren's bird-and-flower and insect-and-fish paintings have extremely distinct themes and outstanding characteristics. If you pay close attention, whenever you see the eyes of his birds or fish, they always look like they are rolling their eyes—nine times out of ten, it’s a work by Bada."

"Rolling their eyes?" Tang Qinghua paused, then compared the image with the painting on the wall and immediately grasped his meaning. Bada Shanren’s paintings indeed featured this very distinct trait. When depicting the eyes of birds or fish, he favored symbolic representation, exaggerating the eye size somewhat, but making the pupil just a tiny dot, leaving the rest as white.

This feature of showing a 'white eye' was actually an expression of his dissatisfaction with the Qing rule, yet unable to resist openly, he expressed his disdain and longing for the Ming Dynasty this way. Of course, this very distinct characteristic also provided considerable convenience for authenticators. One could likely confirm it was a Bada Shanren work at a glance, and the next step would be verifying its authenticity. However, anyone daring to bring a piece for consecration here should probably possess a genuine work. After all, with Monk Banshan’s discerning eye, if someone presented a fake for him to bless, he would certainly decline tactfully; he wouldn't want to lose face.

"Bada's paintings require careful appreciation," Wang Guan said, rising and walking toward the wall to examine it more closely. He held some respect for Bada Shanren, as, geographically speaking, they were from the same hometown. Bada Shanren spent most of his life wandering, but he ultimately retreated to Nanchang in his later years. Today, a Bada Shanren Memorial Hall stands in Nanchang. His extensive travels allowed his works to draw inspiration from nature, employing concise brushwork to create a style that was grand and original, achieving a lofty and sweeping aesthetic.

When painting fish and birds, he would definitely depict the 'white eye.' When painting landscapes, he often favored scenes of desolation and sparse wilderness—remaining mountains and depleted waters—where his sorrow and sense of constraint overflowed onto the paper, embodying the spirit of having few ink blots but many tears, as the mountains and rivers remained those of the former dynasty.

"Is it genuine, or a forgery?" Yu Feibai asked curiously at the same time. Even if they could rule out modern fakes, it could still be an imitation from the Qing or Republican periods. One needed to remember that by the mid-Qing, a century after Bada Shanren's death, his fake paintings were already widespread. Wu Changshuo in the Republican era even lamented that Bada Shanren’s works were increasingly counterfeited, reaching an unbearable level.

During the Republican era, driven by overseas demand, particularly from Japan, the proliferation of Bada forgeries became rampant. Imitations were made of his birds-and-flowers, landscapes, and calligraphy. Among the many copies, those forged by the famous painter Zhang Daqian were considered the most skillfully executed and realistic; he could not only copy but also create entirely new compositions based on Bada’s style. And because they were so convincing, many of these imitations remain in museums both domestically and abroad today.

Now, the market for Bada Shanren’s works is even more mixed. Numerous fakes have been included in various catalogues. Moreover, with the boom in China's art auction market in recent years and the rapid rise in the value of calligraphy and painting, the number of Bada Shanren forgeries appearing at auctions has been increasing annually. Although dozens of Bada Shanren works surface at auctions, insiders suggest that genuine pieces account for less than two or three-tenths of the total. The more honest forgeries date back to the Republican period; the less honest ones directly pass off recent imitations as genuine. Furthermore, some counterfeits are executed with surprisingly poor skill, their brushwork rough and clearly identifiable as fake.

Of course, the piece displayed here was certainly not obviously fake. On the contrary, it possessed considerable charm. The painting depicted a roughly textured, ancient tree trunk with a strange bird perched upon it. The strange bird rested on the branch, its wings tightly folded, but its head cocked to one side. In its peanut-sized eye, there was only a sesame-seed-sized pupil; the rest was largely blank white. This posture, this expression of showing the white of its eye, seemed to scorn someone, radiating an aura of aloof arrogance and cynicism. The overall tone of the picture conveyed a robust simplicity amidst desolation—this was Bada Shanren’s unique style, making it easily recognizable.

In fact, Wang Guan believed that a large part of Bada Shanren's universal fame stemmed from his pioneering this distinct artistic style. Compared to other mediocre painters, his works had a high recognition rate; seeing such a style immediately brought Bada Shanren to mind, and his fame naturally accumulated into an unstoppable phenomenon. However, a similar style does not guarantee authenticity; further careful appraisal was needed.

"The signature looks very genuine," Yu Feibai commented habitually, examining the inscription on the work. After all, a signature was like a person's name; usually, it could reveal some subtle clues. Especially Bada Shanren's late-life signature, where 'Bada' and 'Shanren' were often written vertically together. The first two characters resembled the character for 'cry' and also the character for 'smile,' while the latter two characters resembled the character for 'this' (zhi), subtly implying 'to cry and to smile,' the meaning of being caught between laughter and tears. In any case, such a signature was highly flavorful and difficult for ordinary people to imitate... 〖Book Network ∷ Fast Update ∷ No Pop-ups ∷ Pure Text ∷ www.〗RT