The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

Different identities have different focus.

Xia Nai was concerned about the degree of damage to Dunhuang murals, Wanrong, Lin Fengmian, and Wu Zuoren were concerned about the art of murals, while Zhou Hexuan was observing the conditions of various caves.

Zhou Hexuan discovered that all caves that Zhang Daqian had not copied were basically dirty and messy. These caves were once used as cavalry stables, and some even had food troughs in them. When it comes to destruction, the warlords did more damage.

The caves that Zhang Daqian copied were thoroughly cleaned, and each cave was filed and numbered by him. At least it looks more comfortable, and it can be considered a contribution to the rescue of Dunhuang murals.

Until Zhou Hexuan entered another cave...

"Son of a bitch!"

Xia Nai stared at a painting wall and gritted his teeth, almost fainting from anger.

I saw a line of calligraphy written on the exquisite Tang Dynasty mural: "...I found that there are Tang paintings on this complex wall. I ordered my son to use his mind and lead the painter... It took three days to peel off the outer layer. It restored the old view. I was happy to praise it. , because of the title above. The capital of Shu has a thousand beards."

Zhou Hexuan was also furious. He looked back at Wanrong, Wu Zuoren and Lin Fengmian, but found that they didn't care too much.

Zhou Hexuan finally understood why Zhang Daqian's destruction of Dunhuang murals was still controversial in the 21st century. Those who strongly condemned it were basically people from the archaeological field; while those who defended Zhang Daqian were mostly art professionals.

Especially in the eyes of the painters of the Republic of China, Zhang Daqian inscribed in the blank spaces of the murals, which did not damage the beauty of the murals. This is like a collector stamping an inscription on an antique calligraphy and painting. It is an elegant act that should not be condemned, but can be used as a compliment.

In the eyes of professional archaeologists like Xia Nai, Zhang Daqian's inscriptions on Tang Dynasty murals are no different from tourists writing "XXX came here for a visit."

"Where is Zhang Zhengquan?" Xia Nai was so angry that he didn't even say Zhang Daqian's name, but called him by his real name.

Zhang Yifan was very dissatisfied with this. He was not only Zhang Daqian's student, but also Zhang Daqian's nephew. He thought Xia Nai showed great disrespect for his master.

After passing several more caves, I finally met Zhang Daqian himself, as well as his son, five painting monks, two apprentices and several local farmers who were hired to do odd jobs.

Xia Nai saw Zhang Daqian standing on the ladder, and the ladder was placed directly on the painting wall without any protective measures. He suddenly became even more angry: "Come down, come down quickly, how could you do this!"

"What's the fuss about?" Zhang Daqian was very unhappy.

Xia Nai pointed to the ladder and said, "This is a cultural relic. It cannot be squeezed or touched at will. You will cause big problems if you do this."

Zhang Daqian said: "I am just protecting and organizing cultural relics."

"That's nonsense. You don't even have the basic concept of protecting cultural relics." Xia Nai said angrily.

Zhang Daqian frowned and said, "Who are you?"

Zhou Hexuan introduced: "This is Mr. Xia Nai, a doctor of archeology from the University of London and commissioner of the Central Museum."

Zhang Daqian was too annoyed to continue copying, so he could only go down the ladder and greet Zhou Hexuan: "Why is Mingcheng here too?"

Zhou Hexuan had met Zhang Daqian before in Tianjin, when Zhang Daqian was Miss Zhao Si’s traditional Chinese painting teacher.

"Someone wrote a letter to accuse you of destroying the murals." Zhou Hexuan said directly.

Zhang Daqian said disdainfully: "Xiao Xiao only knows what he is talking about."

Zhou Hexuan smiled bitterly and said: "Mr. Zhang, there is indeed something wrong with your approach. How can you directly inscribe on the mural?"

"What happened to the inscription on the mural?" Zhang Daqian asked.

Xia Nai really got it right. As expected, Zhang Daqian didn't even have the most basic concept of cultural relic protection. In his opinion, Dunhuang murals are no different from antique calligraphy and paintings. Qianlong could inscribe postscripts and seals on the "Han Shi Tie", but why couldn't Zhang Daqian inscribe commemorative inscriptions on the Dunhuang murals?

This is absolutely unreasonable. Just look at the attitudes of the three painters Wan Rong, Lin Fengmian and Wu Zuoren.

This is a matter of concept. Before the popularization of archaeological knowledge, it was impossible to distinguish right from wrong. It's like talking about nationalism with people in the Tang Dynasty. It's nonsense. Direct force to persuade is more practical.

Zhou Hexuan said: "Mr. Zhang, I have something to discuss with you."

"You tell me." Zhang Daqian said.

Zhou Hexuan said: "I admire Mr. Zhang very much for saving and organizing the Dunhuang murals, but please do not peel off the outer layers of paintings."

Zhang Daqian said angrily: "How can we clean it up if we don't peel it off? Just say that more than 80% of the Xixia murals have been damaged. If I don't rescue them quickly, I won't be able to save the late Tang Dynasty murals inside."

Zhou Hexuan said: "It is okay to peel off the Song Dynasty painting layer, but please be sure to retain the Tang Dynasty and Wei Jin painting layers."

Zhang Daqian said: "If you don't peel off the layers of paintings from the Tang Dynasty, you can't see the layers of Wei and Jin paintings. If you can't see the layers of Wei and Jin paintings, how can I save it?"

Xia Nai interjected angrily: "You saved the Wei and Jin paintings, but you completely destroyed the Tang and Song paintings outside!"

Zhang Daqian said: "I have already copied the painting layers of the Tang and Song Dynasties."

"Can the mural be the same as your copy?" Xia Nai shouted.

Zhang Daqian asked: "What's different?"

Xia Nai said: "The murals are cultural relics, what you copy is just the content."

Zhang Daqian said: "In my opinion, as long as the content is copied, the mural can be saved."

Xia Nai pointed at the other person's nose and said, "You are an eternal sinner who destroyed cultural relics!"

"You have a brain disease!" Zhang Daqian was also a little angry and said a sentence in Sichuan dialect.

The more they talked, the more excited they became, and they almost started fighting. It was impossible to tell the difference between a chicken and a duck.

Zhang Daqian's nephews and students gradually gathered around him. If the conflict continued to escalate, they would probably beat up Xia Nai.

Zhou Hexuan is also in a difficult situation. If Zhang Daqian destroyed the mural just for his own selfish gain, he would just take out a gun and kidnap people back to Chongqing. The problem is that Zhang Daqian does not think that he has done anything wrong. Instead, he feels that he is protecting ancient art.

Zhang Daqian is also selfless. Historically, in order to copy Dunhuang murals, he sold more than 200 beloved ancient paintings and owed a huge debt of 5,000 taels of gold.

The difference between Xia Nai and Zhang Daqian is whether the artistic value or the archaeological value is more important?

Zhou Hexuan obviously prefers Xia Nai, because cultural relics are gone once they are damaged, and artistic research can be left to later generations.

Zhou Hexuan tried hard to persuade: "Mr. Zhang, murals are not only works of art, but also cultural relics that cannot be reproduced. Although you copied the content, the peeled off layers of the painting directly turned into dust. Future generations can only see your copy, and You cannot see the original mural. From an artist's perspective, would you rather see the original "Lanting Preface" or would you rather see the imitation by later generations?"

Zhang Daqian said: "This is different. As long as you want to study the Wei and Jin painting layers, the outer layers of Tang and Song paintings must be peeled off."

Zhou Hexuan said: "Perhaps in a few decades, science and technology will have made great progress, and those peeled off painting layers will be preserved. Wouldn't everyone be happy if we can both preserve the outer layer and study the inner layer?"

Zhang Daqian sneered: "How is it possible to have such technology?"

Zhou Hexuan said: "The ancients in the Ming and Qing Dynasties could not believe that airplanes could fly into the sky."

"You are arrogant," Zhang Daqian pointed to the surrounding murals and said, "You can go to other caves to see how much the murals have been destroyed by bandits, warlords and foreigners. If I don't rescue them quickly, maybe in ten years, I can’t even find a place to copy it!”

Zhou Hexuan said: "This is because the protection work is not in place. I am willing to pay to hire someone to guard it here."

Zhang Daqian asked: "What if the Japanese occupy Dunhuang and strip away all these murals?"

Zhou Hexuan said angrily: "If the Japanese can occupy Gansu, then China will not be far from being subjugated. By then, it will be useless to keep the Mogao Grottoes."

Zhang Daqian said angrily: "It's unreasonable! You go, don't delay me copying the murals."

"well!"

Zhou Hexuan sighed, pointed a gun at Zhang Daqian's head, and said helplessly: "Mr. Zhang, please come back to Chongqing with me."