Next to the carved drawing was a short inscription in the seal script.
It was a short essay titled “Innocence,” in which several words were written in a way that was very different from today. Not only were the television viewers unable to understand it, but several judges who were not good at the seal script could not understand it.
So the seal script judge Cheng Zikun read it carefully before reading it aloud to the other judges, “The child has a home, which is a hut built next to a banyan tree. The grass forces the wood to be lost, and the rafters have gone old. The green pavilion is without embellishment, and net worms weave hundreds of lines…”
TL’s Note: This is not a completely accurate translation and would sound way more poetic in Chinese! This ancient Chinese format is just really hard to translate…
After listening to the entire piece read aloud, the ten judges had a basic understanding: this short work described an innocent child’s home, set beside a banyan tree. The tall grass covered the threshold, and the door was breaking down. The blue-black windows were no longer see-through, and spider webs were everywhere…
The content and Liu Man’s drawing complemented each other, and the essay possessed the style of the Han Dynasty’s prose, with retro and simple wording that was concise.
Her inscribing skills were also quite profound. Unlike the meticulousness of other woodcarvers at the scene, every stroke her hand made was casual. She did not hesitate when she made each cut, controlling her strength adequately. To her, carving words with a knife was like writing on paper with a brush; nothing was different.
The judges from the inscription group scrutinized her carving with a magnifying glass in amazement. Such smooth wood carvings would have been impossible without years of practice.
But then again, the inscription was good, the painting was interesting, the essay was well-written, and the overall layout was beautiful, but what did any of this have to do with “Han Dynasty’s Style”??
Chen Jianqiu could not help but pose the question in everyone’s mind.
Liu Man explained, “Last Friday, I visited the Film and Television Base of Weiyang Palace with Zhou Budai. The place completely restored the former Weiyang Palace. From the magnificent palace, I could almost see the monarch in person, hundreds of officials worshipping him, and those dignified and beautiful palace concubines chatting and laughing at the night banquet. However, this kind of life is too far away from us. Even today, how many people can live such a luxurious and extravagant life? I think ‘Han Dynasty’s Style’ does not only include the glory and prosperity of the Han Dynasty but also the appearance of ordinary people.”
Another judge asked, “Then, did you see the child’s living environment in the film and television base?”
Liu Man shook her head, “I imagined it. I think there must be a dark and ugly aspect of Weiyang Palace, but I discovered nothing after walking through the entire film and television base. The experts and architects restored the palace’s beautiful aspect, but they forgot the large number of “lower-ranked people’ in the imperial palace. They may be lower-ranked slaves, eunuchs, felons in the prison, or abandoned concubines in the cold palace. Hence, I imagined that I was an innocent child living in the corner of the imperial palace. My home has blue-black opaque windows, doors with blurred patterns, rafters with gold paint falling off of their heads, and dead grass that has been dried by the sun…”
Liu Man’s words convinced the judges but were waves of shock to Yu Zhan. He had doubts before, but he was a hundred percent sure now that Liu Man was the little girl. He stared at her face in disbelief, trying to find what she had in common with that little girl.
The two looked nothing alike.
But their tone and expression while speaking were identical.
No wonder he felt that girl looked like Liu Man in the dream. It was not a delusion.
Cheng Zikun said, “No wonder you wrote ‘Changle Weiyang, never forget.’ I wondered how one could be ‘forever happy’ under such an environment, but you were referring to ‘Changle Palace’ and ‘Weiyang Palace.’ Writing about ‘Han Dynasty’s Style’ from the perspective of the lower ranks in the imperial palace is a unique idea.”
TL’s Note: “Changle Weiyang” has the meaning of being forever happy if you read it as “Chang Le Wei Yang,” but they can also refer to the two palaces.
Chen Jianqiu said, “Indeed, your sword is eccentric and does not follow the ordinary path,” So far, the judges had only seen other works praising the celebrities of the Han Dynasty or its greatness using the highest commendation.
TL’s Note: Saying “[someone’s] sword is eccentric” means they are solving a problem with an unusual solution or treating a matter from a unique perspective.
Because of Su Xuezhen’s incident, Wang Qinghai had stayed low-key and dared not speak casually, but he suddenly asked Liu Man, “Your subject does not require wood-carving, and you could have drawn with a brush. Why did you choose wood inscription rather than writing on paper?”
Wang Qinghai indicated that Liu Man was suspicious of deliberately flaunting and showing off her skills.
Chen Jianqiu, to the side, was annoyed to death by Wang Qinghai and wondered why the Vice President of the Association Ouyang Cen did not also cancel his qualifications as a judge. Since it was a free-response evaluation, they naturally had to show their unique skills. If they pretended to be low-key and hid their skills, there was no need for them to participate in this exhibition.
Facing Wang Qinghai’s challenge, Liu Man said calmly, “Because the topic is ‘Han Dynasty’s Style.’ The lower-class people in Han Palace were impoverished and usually had no access to paper. I treated myself as if I were a child writing and drawing. What would I do with no paper? I could only carve and draw using a knife. Besides, I think everyone has scribbled on the table when they are young. My carving on the table aligns exactly with my protagonist’s nature.”
Liu Man’s explanation was truly convincing. A judge from the seal-cutting group smiled and said, “So your work is an innocent child’s graffiti?”
Liu Man nodded and said yes.
The judges whispered to each other before writing down their scoring and comments for Liu Man on the paper. Then, they went to review the next piece of work.
After that, the judges did not encounter any work that particularly interested or refreshed them—until they saw Zhou Budai’s calligraphy work in cursive script.
Zhou Budai’s piece was named “Western Regions.”
TL’s Note: The western regions were westward of ancient China’s central plains. Chinese like to call them the “Western Regions,” but a more well-known name is “Turkestan.”
He cleverly wrote the names of the twenty-eight countries of the Western Regions into a rhyme poem with seven characters in each line, with exactly fifty-six characters. The poem alternated between flat and slanted characters, and the rhythm was strict.
“Wonderful. Very wonderful!”
“The cursive script is also written exquisitely!”
The judges were in awe.
Zhou Budai memorized the names of twenty-eight countries in the Western Regions, which few people could do, not to mention his ability to write a poem using fixed characters and rhymes within such a short time.
The judges had no doubts about Zhou Budai, so they straightforwardly scored and wrote comments.
At noon, all the authors’ works had finally been reviewed. It was time for scores to be totaled next, and the staff members entered the venue to help the judges and save time.
The authors still had to stand waiting motionlessly before their tables. Because elders, such as Su Yi and Ouyang Cen, and upper management could not tolerate the long periods of standing, someone carried over chairs and hot tea so they could take a break.
The host and videographer from the TV station seized the opportunity to interview authors they were interested in.
They first rushed toward Liu Man.
“Hello, can I ask you a few questions?” The host looked slightly excited as she faced Liu Man at such a close distance. She felt excited even if she was a woman!
Liu Man nodded, “Of course.”
The host took out the manuscript with questions she had prepared beforehand and asked, “May I ask, when did you start learning calligraphy and seal-cutting?”
“I learned seal-cutting first, approximately between the age of three and four.”
“I’m in disbelief. Nowadays, many children between the ages of three and four have parents chasing after them to feed them.”
Translated by: Sydney
Vandez Translations 
How is that gonna fly with people that knew her in the past?
LikeLike