Chapter Twelve: Kong Yingda Pays His Respects as a Disciple

  Faced with Xiao He's provocation, Du He said calmly: "Facts speak louder than words!"

  Du He was about to start writing, but suddenly realized he didn't know how to grind the ink. In later generations, ink was readily available, and having come to this era, his only chance to write had been last night, with Ling Long helping him grind the ink.

  Inking also requires technique, Du He has no idea how to do it.

  He glanced at Li Xueyan beside him and said in a low voice, "Can you help me grind the ink?"

  Rich young masters all have book boys and maidservants; those who can't even grind ink exist.

  Li Xueyan was also unsurprised, smiling and agreeing readily.

  She stood up and poured a small amount of clear water into the inkstone, skillfully grinding it until the water and ink blended together in an instant, with a perfect balance of light and dark.

  Du He nodded in gratitude and wrote four large characters with a flourish of his brush.

  Li Xueyan watched from the side and burst out laughing with a "heh".

  Four words filled up an entire large sheet of Xuan paper.

  "Sir, look!" He turned the rice paper over and held it up for Old Man Kong.

  Xiao He eats books!

  Four words, without asking the content, the pen is strong and powerful, transforming thinness into richness and grandeur, with a wide and majestic momentum, and a strong and refreshing spirit, which is far from the warmth and elegance of the Tang Dynasty, but has a unique flavor.

  "Let me see!" Old Man Kong excitedly ran over, his speed in no way resembling that of a seventy-year-old man.

  Princess Changle also exclaimed, her two eyes staring at the words written by Du He in shock and dismay, shaking her head blankly: "Impossible, this is impossible!"

  Duhe wrote in regular script, which evolved from ancient clerical script and originated in the Han Dynasty. After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, China was divided into North and South, and calligraphy also split into two schools: Northern School and Southern School. The Northern School retained the style of Han clerical script, with strong and vigorous strokes, while its style was simple and dignified. The Southern School was more elegant and refined, excelling in writing letters. Due to regional differences and individual habits, the calligraphy styles of the Northern and Southern Dynasties were vastly different. Northern calligraphy was strong and powerful, while Southern calligraphy was subtle and delicate, each with its own unique charm, without distinction between superior or inferior.

  By the Sui and Tang dynasties, Kaisho had a new development.

  The Sui unified China, incorporating the culture and art of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. By the early Tang, politics flourished, and calligraphy gradually emerged from the remnants of the Six Dynasties, presenting itself in a new form. At this time, Kaisho can be described as "romantic", with warm, elegant, and powerful brushstrokes, but lacking grandeur and majesty.

  By the Mid-Tang period, Kaisho had another breakthrough. With Yan Zhenqing as its representative, Kaisho established a true standard, set up a model, and became orthodox.

  Duhe's calligraphy was greatly influenced by Yan Zhenqing, with a font that is square and dense, horizontal strokes light and vertical strokes heavy, strong and powerful pen force, majestic and grand momentum, making up for the shortcomings of modern regular script, its realm far surpassing many modern regular scripts.

  Princess Chang Le was famous in the Tang Dynasty for her beauty and skill in painting, she naturally looked down on Du He, but now Du He's calligraphy far surpassed hers by thousands of times, feeling a mix of emotions, she didn't dare to believe it.

  As for old Confucius, he was overjoyed and shouted "Good word! Good word!" with all his might, as if mad.

  Brush-written characters are slow, so when copying school rules, Du He Tu is fast. Although the writing is good, it does not bring out the essence of regular script.

  And these four characters Du He Xinyin deliberately made Xiao He embarrassed, making him lose face, so he carefully wrote, writing out his own level, writing out the essence of later generations' regular script.

  So, old Confucius initially only thought Du He's words were beautifully written, but now he was excitedly losing his rationality.

  "To be able to read such a masterpiece, I can die without regret." Old Kong was so excited that he couldn't calm himself down for a long time, and finally came back to his senses, reverently placing the "treasure" in his hand flat on the table.

  Kong Yingda paid his respects to Mr. Du, and if Mr. Du would not refuse, he was willing to serve him on both sides, just to learn from Mr. Du's skin and hair. He actually made a deep bow to Du He, and it seemed that he intended to make Du He his teacher.

  Du He was stunned, and all the students in the school were also stunned.

  Kong Yingda was nearly seventy years old and a famous Confucian scholar of the Tang Dynasty, while Du He was only fifteen years old and a notorious young dandy.

  The gap between the two is enormous.

  This time, Kong Yueda's apology is truly sincere and cannot be faked.

  Du He was also flustered for a moment and hurriedly helped him up, saying: "Sir, you're killing me with your politeness. As a respected sir, I, Du He, can't accept such great courtesy."

  This old fellow talks nice, but he doesn't think that at nearly seventy years old, it's uncertain who will be serving whom.

  Kong Lao Tou was indeed notorious for his stubbornness. He wouldn't give up until he achieved his goal, and he repeatedly made bows, almost to the point of being unreasonable.

  Du He was also moved, this old man Kong although stubborn, but this desire for culture is impressive.

  Du He refused because of his young age.

  Kong Lao said, "Learning has no age or status, the one who understands is first. Your calligraphy has a majestic and unrestrained beauty, surpassing mine in many ways, making you a suitable teacher. Ying Da sincerely wants to become your apprentice, hoping for your guidance."

  Facing old man Kong's sincerity, Du He also felt a bit embarrassed. Letting a seventy-year-old man kneel down to see him would really make Du He fear for his own life.

  "That's it, sir. I'm just a young and inexperienced student, and these two characters are the only ones I write beautifully. From now on, you teach me literature, and I'll teach you calligraphy. As Confucius said, 'When three people walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher. Choose the good ones and follow them, and change the bad ones!' We complement each other's shortcomings, no need for such a big ceremony."

  He thought of a compromise!

  Kong Lao heard this and also felt it was reasonable, so he stopped.

  Du He let out a long sigh of relief.

  "Sir, can this treasure be given to the students for observation?" Old Kong finally didn't bow again, but he couldn't agree to change his words "sir".

  Du He could only listen and obey, but in his heart, he was also somewhat pleased. Kong Yingda could be called the greatest Confucian scholar of the time, and this greatest Confucian scholar wanted to make himself his teacher, which showed that he was indeed a genius.

  Watching Old Man Kong carefully put away those four characters like a treasure.

  Du He sneered at Xiao He and said with a playful tone: "Please!"

  Xiao He's face turned alternately pale and red, he didn't want to be teased by Du He, but how could he swallow this thick book.

  "Just a joke, don't take it seriously, Brother Du!" Changsun Can couldn't help but stand up to help Xiao He out of the awkward situation.

  Chang Sun Chong said that if Du He Ruo continued to calculate, it would only make him appear petty. He glanced at the other party and smiled calmly, no longer pursuing the matter.

  Du He sat back in his seat, Fang Yi Ai expressed her admiration for him in a soft voice from behind.

  Du He didn't bother with him and smiled at Li Xueyan, "Without your ground ink, I wouldn't have written such good characters."

  Li Xueyan glared at him with a pleased expression, saying in a low voice: "You're so poor!" But her face was filled with an inexplicable smile.

  "Really beautiful!" Du He exclaimed in a low voice, and also found himself liking her smile more and more.

  Li Xueyan heard Du He's praise and her face turned so red that it seemed like blood was about to drip from it.

  Du He no longer teased her and instead looked forward, unexpectedly discovering that Princess Chang Le was looking at her with a complex gaze.

  Du Hebao met his inquiring gaze.

  Princess Chang Le turned her head and ignored him.

  Du He didn't think much of it either.

  At this time, Kong Yingda had already resumed his lectures, and Du He quickly put his mind on learning.

  As Father Du Ruhui said, Kong Yingda's pedantry is something that cannot be learned at all, but his talent is worth learning.

  He didn't know that today he had made such a fuss and actually created a great calligrapher who would be revered for generations to come.

  ;