Taste Journey

Author: Dong Qiao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-10-01
Features: Recently fulfilled a wish, and encountered a Qibaishi folding fan in the market. The camphorwood fan handle is engraved with landscapes by Yu Zian, a renowned fan artist from the late Qing Dynasty. On both sides of the fan, there are paintings and calligraphy that reflect the old man's artistic spirit. The painting depicts a sparse cluster of lush green hyacinths, while the calligraphy consists of delicate and intimate lines of verse. It is exquisitely elegant. Qibaishi wrote a few sentences: "The old master Banqiao once wrote, 'A beauty above the balcony, books on the rack, the candlelight grows cold as the moon rises at first. Stealing a glance through the embroidered curtain to admire her flowing hair.' I jokingly changed 'admire her flowing hair' to 'adding a love-knot quilt,' complementing 'the candlelight grows cold.' How about that? I consider myself meddlesome! The change of just three characters reveals a profound transformation. Zheng Banqiao lifts the embroidered curtain, quietly admiring the beauty's lush, flowing hair, stirred by romantic thoughts; Qi Baishi gently adds a quilt embroidered with love knots, moved by deep affection. Comparing them, Banqiao's realm, though dramatic, ultimately loses to Qi Baishi's subtle touch—his addition of 'the candlelight grows cold' fits perfectly, and the person in the embroidered curtain would never blame him for being meddlesome. From 'admiring her flowing hair' to 'adding a love-knot quilt,' it is the reflection of worldly experience and the journey of literati refining their appreciation of calligraphy. When the world grows cold, human emotions remain warm. The old master's rendition of such old dreams deconstructs the countless knots in our hearts. These two self-selected collections are thus titled The Journey of Taste and Deconstructing Old Affections.