Chapter 230: Traditional Chinese Painting in the True Sense

"A traditional Chinese painting in the true sense?"

Ning Fei's words were like a single stone stirring up a thousand ripples.

Sure enough, a flood of bullet comments instantly drowned the live-stream room.

"Did Temple Master Ning just say that all his previous drawings were just casual sketches?"

"He calls those simple?"

"Can someone fill me in? How many times has Temple Master Ning actually painted on stream?"

"I remember he painted on an oiled paper umbrella when he made one, and then there were the blueprints for Qingfeng Temple and the Wenyan Deer Enclosure."

"Now that you mention it, Temple Master Ning has never actually sat down just to paint."

"Looks like it. Whenever he painted before, it was for some specific purpose, not just for the sake of painting."

"Still, some traditional Chinese painting students said before that Temple Master Ning's skill is incredible."

"Suddenly I'm really excited!"

"What is Temple Master Ning going to paint this time?"

The viewers chatted enthusiastically, and the atmosphere in the live-stream room grew lively.

However, some people were keen to nitpick his phrasing.

"What does he mean by 'a traditional Chinese painting in the true sense'? Is he saying what everyone else paints isn't real traditional Chinese painting?"

"Temple Master Ning was talking about his own past drawings. Stop trying to start drama."

"Heh, is traditional Chinese painting really that easy to do well? I'm waiting to see him get slapped in the face."

"I think that was a bit arrogant of him too."

"Even modern masters of traditional Chinese painting wouldn't dare claim what they produce is traditional Chinese painting in the true sense."

"Let's see what he can actually do. If it turns out to be mediocre, don't blame my keyboard for being merciless."

All kinds of voices rose and fell across the live-stream room.

Ning Fei was not looking at the bullet comments.

His mind was still immersed in that moment on the wooden boat when he had seen the River God Sculpture.

Ning Fei stepped into the courtyard and sat before the table where he had drawn the blueprints the previous day. He smoothed a sheet of premium Xuan paper flat across the tabletop.

"This is Sujin Xuan paper, one of the finest varieties of Xuan paper."

"Xuan paper is divided into three kinds: raw, sized, and semi-sized. Raw Xuan is unprocessed and highly absorbent, which easily produces rich variations in ink tone."

"Sized Xuan is treated with alum water, so ink does not bleed easily, allowing for neat, delicate detail work."

"Raw Xuan is suited for freehand landscapes, while sized Xuan is best for meticulous, richly colored landscapes."

"What I'm using is sized Xuan paper."

"This paper is soft, white, fine, and even, with excellent properties for holding ink and defining brushstrokes. Holding ink means the color stays lustrous and vivid on the page, while defining brushstrokes means the brush marks remain crisp and clear."

In the courtyard, Ning Fei smoothed out the Xuan paper as he explained in a quiet voice.

Inside the pavilion, Ning Fei wore a white Taichi Sun and Moon robe. A thick sheet of white Xuan paper lay before him with brushes and ink at the ready. Coupled with his calm expression, an air of classical elegance and gentle poise radiated from him.

To put it poetically, he was "a modest gentleman, gentle as jade."

To put it plainly: "Now that is pure class."

The chat briefly fell quiet.

The scene was breathtakingly handsome.

Many viewers rushed to share Ning Fei's live stream with their friends. Word spread like wildfire through university girls' dorms, where squeals of "Ah, he's so handsome!" and "That's my husband!" rang out one after another.

At that moment, Ning Fei focused his mind and picked up his brush.

Many legends surrounded the river god. In mythological lore, the title specifically referred to the water deity in charge of the Yellow River. In ancient times, after Yinglong assisted the Yellow Emperor in defeating Chi You, Yinglong had been appointed to govern the world's rivers and had even fought a battle against the river god.

Naturally, Yinglong was a dragon forged in battle, while the river god was little more than a shut-in, so Yinglong had won a decisive victory.

Other legends said that when Da Yu tamed the floods, he obtained both the Water-Repelling Sword and the Water Flow Chart from the river god, who had aided him tremendously.

Supposedly, the Jade Emperor had placed the river god in charge of all the rivers in the world, but since the river god didn't know how to manage them, he turned to Da Yu for help.

Yet the River God Sculpture Ning Fei had seen today had given him an entirely different impression.

It depicted an immortal with an ethereal demeanor, whose eyes were filled with benevolence and righteousness.

The river god blessed and protected an entire body of water; how could such a deity be as pathetic as the rumors claimed?

Ning Fei set his brush to the paper and began to paint.

"Traditional Chinese painting, or ink wash painting, used to rely solely on black and white. Today, however, ink wash painting incorporates a wide array of colors. Meticulous bird-and-flower paintings, for instance, are brilliantly colorful and visually striking, having once stunned the entire world."

"What I'm going to paint today is an advanced form of ink wash painting."

Ning Fei arranged his inks, each vibrant shade ground fine and smooth.

Then, the brush in his hand moved.

He started with black ink. As the tip touched the Xuan paper, it left behind blooming traces that diffused gently across the surface.

In the blink of an eye, shapes began to emerge on the once-blank Xuan paper.

"He's drawing buildings!"

"Those are rows of houses and stalls. It looks like an ancient marketplace."

"The architectural style is from the Song dynasty!"

"He really knows how to paint!"

Ning Fei's brush continued to dance rapidly across the paper.

His artistic style was grand and majestic, brimming with freedom and unrestrained grace.

"Traditional Chinese painting is categorized into figures, landscapes, flowers, beasts, insects and fish, fruits and vegetables, and birds."

"Its techniques include meticulous brushwork, freehand, outlining, coloring, ink wash, and more."

"Coloring can further be divided into gold-and-green, blue-green, splashed color, light color, and so on."

"It mainly relies on the variation of lines and ink tones, expressed through techniques like hooking, dotting, dyeing, varying shades of density and lightness, dryness and wetness, light and shadow, orientation, presence and absence, density and spacing, as well as the deliberate use of negative space."

Ning Fei spoke at an unhurried pace as he painted.

His gaze remained fixed upon his brush.

Then Ning Fei dipped his brush into the inkstone, letting the weasel-hair bristles soak up the ink before beginning his next stroke.

This time, his movements were no longer sweeping and grand. Instead, they grew far more controlled as the tip of the brush lightly dabbed the Xuan paper.

"He's painting people!"

"Heavens, people are the hardest thing to paint in traditional Chinese painting! Think about it—in most traditional paintings, to pursue artistic conception, human figures are often just silhouetted backs, rarely depicted in vivid, concrete detail."

[Painter Liu Tianzhi]: "This is truly master-level work. I only came to watch the fun, but now I'm completely convinced."

"Holy crap, Liu Tianzhi? The real one? The rising master of traditional Chinese painting, Liu Tianzhi?"

"Is that the guy who took first place on the painting variety show Huaxia Mountains and Rivers?"

"Yeah, that's him! Huaxia Mountains and Rivers is a variety show hosted by Huaxia TV Channel 3 that invited the new generation of young traditional painters, and Liu Tianzhi won the championship."

"He actually drew out the man himself?"

[Painter Liu Tianzhi]: "Everyone, please don't flatter me. After seeing this master's work, I truly feel unworthy by comparison."

"For real? Master Liu, you're being way too modest."

[Painter Liu Tianzhi]: "I'm not being modest at all. Look at this Taoist priest's painting. First of all, it is completed in one breath without the slightest hesitation. That shows he has the 'intent' clearly formed in his mind, and 'intent' is the most vital element in traditional Chinese painting."

"Look at his brushwork next. His technique is superb—every hook, dot, and dye of his brush falls in the exact right place. In that regard, I truly fall far short."

"And finally, the most important part: his painting carries a divine charm."

"As everyone knows, my teacher is Lin Shanhe. I have only ever seen this kind of divine charm in my teacher's paintings."

"Alas, if he had entered Huaxia Mountains and Rivers to compete, I wouldn't have stood a chance at the championship."

Liu Tianzhi's remarks completely stunned the viewers.

No one had expected that this newly crowned variety show champion, currently at the height of his fame, would hold Ning Fei in such high esteem.

Liu Tianzhi had studied traditional Chinese painting since childhood. He was gentle, polite, and possessed astonishing artistic talent.

Ever since he was young, he had carried the title of 'successor to traditional Chinese painting,' and he had joined Huaxia Mountains and Rivers only to promote the culture of Huaxia's traditional art.

He was honest and humble.

And his master, Lin Shanhe, was undeniably the foremost grandmaster of traditional Chinese painting in Huaxia. Highly respected across the art world, every piece he produced saw wealthy collectors eager to spend millions or even tens of millions to acquire it.

Hearing Liu Tianzhi praise Ning Fei in such terms, how could the viewers not be astonished?

Back on the stream, Ning Fei remained entirely engrossed in his painting.

In a single stretch, he painted fifty to sixty figures.

Painting figures was difficult enough, but painting so many in one go was as hard as ascending to the heavens. Struck speechless by the sight, Liu Tianzhi scrambled off in a rush to find his master, Lin Shanhe.

In Ning Fei's painting, every single figure had distinct expressions and postures, with not a trace of repetition among them.

It was as if such a scene were truly playing out before his inner eye.

"These people... seem to be afraid of something?"

Noticing the clues, viewers commented in surprise.

"Look at that woman beside the rattle-drum stall! She's shielding her child and looking up in terror."

"Look closely at the side of the road! Five government runners are stripping off their robes as they charge forward."

"Everyone else looks terrified!"

"Wait, a few people are praying!"

"Look at the two inside that house—their expressions are so devout."

"Good grief, what on earth is Temple Master Ning painting?"

"I can actually feel their fear through the painting."

"I thought I was the only one! For a second there, I felt like I was standing right inside the painting!"

Discussions erupted among the viewers over Ning Fei's painting.

Ning Fei then switched brushes, dipped it into blue-green ink, and painted several trees amid the market and buildings, bringing even more life to the overall scene.

Next, he took up another brush.

This time, he dipped it into blue ink.

The viewers had been desperate to know what the people in the painting were facing, and at last, they were about to discover the answer.