Chapter 986 985 [Must Respect the Law]

"what are you doing?"

"Mr. Zhou, put down the gun quickly!"

"Don't hurt the teacher."

"You have something to say."

"Brother Xuan, don't mess around."

"..."

As soon as the gun was pulled out, everyone was shocked.

Except for Xia Nai and the two bodyguards, everyone else tried to dissuade him, and even Wanrong seemed quite nervous. Zhang Daqian's nephew and apprentices were even more shocked. They wanted to rush to grab the gun, but they were afraid of hurting their teacher.

Zhang Daqian's status in the Chinese painting world is very high, and with the support of the Kuomintang elders including Yu Youren, he cannot be easily moved.

Not to mention Zhou Hexuan, even Chiang Kai-shek did not dare to make mistakes. It would be difficult to deal with the consequences if any problems occurred.

Zhang Daqian was stunned for a moment, with a puzzled expression on his face. He knew that Zhou Hexuan would not actually shoot, but he couldn't figure out why Zhou Hexuan did this, so he immediately asked: "What does Mingcheng mean?"

Zhou Hexuan said: "The Dunhuang murals cannot be touched. In my opinion, let alone the Tang Dynasty murals, even the Song and Yuan murals are best left unpeeled until the technology matures. Now peel off the waste paintings outside , so that the layers of painting inside are exposed. After a few decades, these bright murals will inevitably change color due to oxidation, and future generations will only be able to see a dark mass."

Xia Nai echoed from the side: "Mr. Zhou is right, the outer layer of the mural cannot be peeled off at will."

Zhang Daqian shook his head and sighed: "It seems that we need to have a good chat."

"Yes, we have something to discuss. Mr. Zhou, put down the gun quickly," Zhang Daqian's son Zhang Xinzhi advised, "It's almost noon, let's go out for lunch first, and let's chat while we eat."

Wanrong also pulled Zhou Hexuan's clothes and said, "Brother Xuan, don't get angry."

Zhou Hexuan walked down the slope and put the gun away, but he didn't dare to actually shoot. Taking it away again had no effect except for soreness in his arms.

The people in the camp are very mixed. The Han, Tibetan and Mongolian ethnic groups have different eating habits, so food is cooked in three pots. In addition to the local farmers doing chores, there were dozens of people, and even some horses and camels.

It is normal for Zhang Daqian to spend thousands of taels of gold after two or three years of eating horses and chewing horses. Hiring those soldiers is a big expense.

Everyone sat down around the simple table. Before the food was cooked, everyone had a cup of tea in front of them.

Zhang Daqian spoke first: "Mingcheng, do you know what significance my current work has to Chinese culture?"

Zhou Hexuan asked: "Mr. Daqian, do you know how harmful your current behavior is to Chinese culture?"

"Can you listen to what I have to say?" Zhang Daqian was a little irritable.

"Please speak." Zhou Hexuan said.

Zhang Daqian pointed in the direction of the cave and said with a hint of enthusiasm: "Since the beginning of Chinese painting, there have been figure paintings first, and then Buddhist statue paintings. Landscapes are just a foil. But later, landscapes became independent, and figures gradually became more powerful. Decline. As a result, literati in the Ming and Qing Dynasties regarded landscapes as orthodox and regarded figure paintings as craftsman's paintings. Instead, figures became the foil for landscapes! Cao Yi came out of the water, Wu Dai stood in the wind, added hair on the cheeks, and put the finishing touch. These praises of the art of painting The idioms are all about figure painting. It’s a pity that you can’t see it now! Do you know what this means to the painter?”

Wu Zuoren answered from the side: "It's like the Confucian Analects has become a fragment."

Zhang Daqian's voice became louder and louder: "Since the late Qing Dynasty, Western painting techniques have been introduced to China, and young people have praised the colors, lines, space, and precision of their oil paintings... What's more, they have slandered Chinese paintings for not being able to draw figures at all, but for Landscapes of birds and flowers! Look at what Chinese figure paintings were from the Southern Song Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. You can’t blame the Chinese for being contemptuous of themselves. It’s us who have lost the skills of our ancestors!”

Wu Zuoren was probably so shocked by the Dunhuang murals that he repeatedly echoed: "It's true, those murals are no worse than Western oil paintings."

Zhou Hexuan was a little speechless. The painter he paid to hire was actually helping Zhang Daqian speak.

Zhang Daqian said boldly: "Once I complete the research on Dunhuang murals, it will definitely cause a sensation in the world of painting, make our Chinese painting proud, and even change the atmosphere of the painting world in the next hundred years. Lines will be valued again by Chinese painters, and the outlines of mineral pigments will The method of dyeing will be revived, the style of traditional Chinese painting will change from simple simplicity to precision, the complex atmosphere will replace the small freehand brushwork of traditional Chinese painting, and the portraits of women will change from sickly to strong... By that time, who will dare to say that traditional Chinese painting is outdated. , who dares to say that Chinese painting is inferior to Western oil painting?"

Dunhuang murals are like the Taixuan Sutra in "Xia Ke Xing", which is a peerless secret book.

From the Republic of China to the 21st century, all painters who could persist in copying at the Mogao Grottoes for a year and a half have made rapid progress in their painting skills. Not only that, Dunhuang murals have the same effect on architectural designers, costume designers, dancers, sculptors and other professions - this is a huge wealth belonging to all mankind.

"Mr. Daqian's words are very wonderful. I would like to stay and copy the murals together." Wu Zuoren's blood boiled after hearing this.

Zhou Hexuan automatically ignored Wu Zuoren's scene-stealing, saying: "No matter what the reason is, cultural relics cannot be destroyed."

"Extremely pedantic!" Zhang Daqian said disdainfully.

Xia Nai pointed at Zhang Daqian's nose and asked, "Do you dare to say that you have no selfish motives in this?"

Zhang Daqian raised his head and smiled and said: "I am not a saint, how can I not be selfish? My selfishness and the public intention of the Chinese painting world stand together. I am not only studying the painting art of the Jin and Tang Dynasties for myself, but also studying it for all painters in China! By then , when Chinese painters face Western painters, they no longer have to lower their heads and cover their faces. We can say that Chinese paintings are the best paintings in the world!"

"Don't think of yourself as too great," Xia Nai sarcastically said. "If all Chinese painters agree to destroy cultural relics in order to study painting techniques, then I will be ashamed of them!"

Zhang Daqian angrily rebuked: "You are not a painter, you know nothing! Studying and discovering Dunhuang murals is equivalent to a renaissance in the field of Chinese painting!"

"The Renaissance cannot destroy cultural relics. You are a shame to the Chinese painting world!" Xia Nai showed no sign of weakness.

Seeing that the two were about to fight, Zhou Hexuan quickly stopped them: "Okay, okay, please calm down and listen to what I have to say."

"Say it." Zhang Daqian said angrily.

Zhou Hexuan asked: "Mr. Zhang, do you agree with the protection of cultural relics?"

Zhang Daqian said: "Of course I agree."

Zhou Hexuan asked again: "Are Dunhuang murals cultural relics?"

Zhang Daqian was anxious: "You can't say that..."

Zhou Hexuan interrupted: "You only need to answer, yes or no. Let me ask again, are Dunhuang murals cultural relics?"

Zhang Daqian closed his eyes and said, "Yes."

Zhou Hexuan continued to ask: "Did you damage the mural when you copied it? Please don't explain, just answer, yes or no."

"Yes!" Zhang Daqian turned his face away.

Zhou Hexuan added: "All Chinese cultural relics are the common wealth of all Chinese people. Individuals cannot excavate and destroy them at will. I would like to ask, Mr. Zhang, do you have an approval document from the government?"

Zhang Daqian argued: "The bearded man (Yu Youren) supports me..."

"Do you have government approval? Yes, or not!" Zhou Hexuan suddenly shouted.

Zhang Daqian hesitated to speak. He was silent for a few seconds and suddenly said: "No."

Zhou Hexuan stood up and shouted: "You don't have government approval, so what qualifications do you have to peel off Dunhuang murals! Don't talk to me about protecting cultural relics, studying art, and talking about the level of the nation. Am I announcing that I want to study the restoration of Ru kiln?" With the porcelain making process, you can steal the national treasure from the Forbidden City for study? Or even destroy it to study its molecular structure? Zhang Daqian, let me tell you, your behavior is illegal! As a Chinese citizen, I order you to immediately Stop your bad behavior, otherwise I will fulfill my duty as a citizen and help the government to arrest you! Yongzhen, Guozhen, tie this man up and send him back to Chongqing for trial!"

After hearing this series of words, everyone was stunned, while Sun Yongzhen and Zhu Guozhen held down Zhang Daqian's shoulders.

"I...you...slander!"

Zhang Daqian was furious and said with trembling words: "I...I will go back to Chongqing right now and ask the Ministry of Education to issue an approval document for me!"