Chapter 293: A Couplet
It was customary to adorn the Seekong altar with a new couplet written in calligraphy on the eve of every New Year. However, this year, the Wise One, Xiao Quanren, had taken ill and was unable to write the couplet. What were they supposed to do?
Xiao Dizhang knitted his eyebrows in a quandary as this was an important custom and would affect the good fortune of the village for the coming year.
“I heard that someone from Chen Village is good in calligraphy as well. Why not invite him over?” a villager suggested.
But someone else immediately refuted his proposal. “Preposterous! The Seekong altar belongs to the Xiao family. If we invite people from the Chens to write the couplet for us, wouldn’t we be mocking ourselves? We can’t do that, absolutely not!”
The statement was spot on, and it gained the support of everyone as the Seekong altar had a great significance to the Xiao clan. On many important occasions, people with other surnames were even not allowed to set foot in the Seekong shrine. Therefore an outsider writing the couplet for the altar was out of the question.
“Why not go to town and get someone to print a copy of a couplet using a computer?” someone else suggested.
Xiao Dizhang shook his head and said, “The couplet must be raised before 12 o’clock tonight. We won’t have enough time for that. Besides, it’s already so late, and the shops in town are all closed. Which shop would be willing to open and do that for us?”
“Hmm…”
The predicament put the crowd in a somber mood, and many wondered how they would be able to resolve such a significant problem, if at all. Recalling what Xiao Dizhang had said earlier, they realized the importance of continuing the practice of calligraphy. The Wise One would not be with them forever, and when the time came, they couldn’t just alter the traditions at the Seekong altar according to their whims and fancies.
“Don’t worry, everyone, since Xiao Luo has been to university, he should know how to do everything, and that surely includes calligraphy. Let’s ask him to write a couplet in place of the Wise One. That’ll solve the problem, won’t it?” Xiao Qiudong said.
Xiao Qiudong was a vindictive sort, and his motive was simply to put Xiao Luo in a tight spot and embarra.s.s himself in front of everyone. He was fixated with the idea of proving to everybody that attending university was nothing to shout about. It irked him that the crowd had so many good things to say about Xiao Luo and how knowledgeable he was. Now he saw the opportunity to prove them all wrong.
“Yes, how did we forget Xiao Luo?!”
The crowd came alive again, filled with a sense of hope. They turned to Xiao Luo with a look of antic.i.p.ation in their eyes.
Xiao Dizhang looked at Xiao Luo doubtfully and asked, “Xiao Luo, can you do calligraphy?”
“Uncle Dizhang, are you intentionally mocking Xiao Luo? He is a glorified university graduate, the most educated person in our village. If he doesn’t know calligraphy, who else does?”
Xiao Qiudong deliberately raised his voice above the crowd and patted Xiao Luo on the shoulder. “My brother, don’t conceal your talents in such a moment like this. The clan needs you now,” he said.
Xiao Ping gritted his teeth, knowing what Xiao Qiudong was up to. Since when were university graduates supposed to be all-rounders capable of doing everything? Didn’t he call Xiao Luo out so that he would embarra.s.s himself in front of his clansman?”
Xiao Ping tried to find a way out for Xiao Luo and said, “Xiao Luo, it’s okay if you don’t know calligraphy. Very few people know calligraphy these days, so this isn’t something to be embarra.s.sed about.”
Xiao Qiudong glowered at him and shouted, “What do you mean by that, Xiao Ping? Do you think that I’m embarra.s.sing Xiao Luo on purpose?”
“Are you not?” Xiao Ping nervously mumbled his reply, but Xiao Qiudong had heard what he said.
Enraged, Xiao Qiudong sneered at poor Xiao Ping, “What kind of att.i.tude is that?! Do you still want the money?”
“I…”
His stinging statement was deeply humiliating, and Xiao Ping couldn’t find the words to reply. He only raised his head and glared at Xiao Qiudong in anguish.
Old man Xiao Quanren coughed. “A-he-hem… Qiudong, don’t talk like that in front of the Seekong altar. We are all like family, and Seekong will be very displeased if he watches this from above,” he said.
Xiao Dizhang echoed him and added, “Yes indeed, please settle the personal affairs between you in private. Right now, we should be only be talking about the couplet.” He turned his head to look at Xiao Luo and asked again, “Xiao Luo, can you do it?”
“I’ll try.”
Xiao Luo stepped forward with a wry smile on his face.
Xiao Qiudong wasn’t done, and in a tone of contempt, he said, “Xiao Luo, don’t force yourself if you can’t do it, I only spoke randomly just now. Forget it if you can’t do calligraphy, no one will mock at you okay. The Seekong altar is sacred to the clan, and the couplet has to be properly written. If it comes out twisted and crooked like it’s been bitten by a dog, it will absolutely not go on the altar.”
As soon as he said that, everyone stared at him in disgust. They saw in him a vile, loathsome insect, nothing more than an annoying housefly.
Xiao Luo totally ignored him as if he did not exist, then he picked up the brush, and begun dipping it in ink.
The brush felt strange and unfamiliar in Xiao Luo’s hand as he a.s.sumed an awkward posture when dipping the brush in ink, and it amused Xiao Qiudong no end. Trained calligraphists such as Qiao Quanren, were particular about every aspect of the art. It was all about the elegance and grace with which one held the brush, that gave a distinguished bearing to the calligrapher. A mere glance at how Xiao Luo held it was enough to tell any onlooker that he was a novice.
Old man Xiao Quanren was observing him by the side and couldn’t help grimacing as doubt formed in his thoughts. “I guess Xiao Luo is only forcing himself!”
Xiao Dizhang was also concerned and asked, “Xiao Luo, are you really up to this?”
“I’ll try my best.”
Xiao Luo closed his eyes as he contemplated what to write, and at the same time, he expended 500 points in exchange for calligraphy skills. Suddenly, the brush in his hand felt natural to him, like it became a part of his body, and many characters and phrases flashed in his mind.
He wasn’t doing this to get back at Xiao Qiudong at all. On the contrary, he just wanted to ensure the Seekong altar’s traditions could carry on, and in that way, contribute something back to the community.
Xiao Luo put brush to paper and wrote the first character: “Zu.”
“Hmm, is that the ‘semi-cursive script?’ That isn’t the typical ‘semi-cursive script,’ perhaps its ‘standard script?’ But it still looks different from the conventional ‘standard script,"” Xiao Quanren muttered to himself, as his eyes lit up. These were evidently no ordinary characters.
Xiao Qiudong, who earlier had a smug look on his face, suddenly froze with an expression of disbelief. “This brat can actually write in calligraphy?”
Ji Siying appeared a little anxious, feeling the need to add another entry into her little diary again.
Xiao Luo was fully absorbed with the task as the brush in his hand slithered around like a serpent. His novice’s demeanor was replaced by a dignified bearing of a calligraphy master. He wrote the entire couplet in clean and elegant strokes without the slightest pause.
The first line: “The virtue of our ancestors endures in the splendor of the sun and moon.”
The second line: “The merits of our clan sparkle across the land and rivers.”
He laid down his brush and admired his work, while the villagers around him were enchanted with what they saw. They didn’t know what calligraphy truly meant, but they felt a profound sense of awe at its beauty and majesty.
Xiao Quanren glanced at Xiao Luo, and his old, wizen eyes were filled with admiration. He was overjoyed and said, “A very well written couplet—the sun, the moon, the land, and the rivers; how majestic it is. And the style of your writing, smooth as the flowing water, yet full of vigor and grace. To be so skillful in the arts at such a young age… not bad, not bad at all, hahaha.”
Xiao Quanren was not only the village shaman but also an accomplished scholar, so naturally, his comments carried with it some authority.
“You’re without a doubt, a university graduate, Xiao Luo! Impressive work!”
“Brilliant calligraphy!”
“Son, you need to be admitted to the same university as Uncle Xiao Luo when you grow up. Do you hear me?”
Everyone was full of praise for Xiao Luo. His excellent effort earned him praise from the Wise One, and such a commendation literally elevated him the status of a demi-G.o.d among the villagers.
Xiao Qiudong was looking a sorry sight, with his plan gone awry and the entire crowd turning against him. He didn’t know what went wrong this year, he was outdone by Xiao Luo at every turn. How he missed the last several years when he was the one that outcla.s.sed Xiao Luo entirely.
“Wise One, can this couplet be attached to the altar?” Xiao Dizhang asked.
Xiao Quanren gazed at the couplet like someone admiring a precious relic, and the appreciative smile on his face said it all. “If this couplet does not meet our expectations, then the couplets that I had written in the past will be even less qualified.”
…