Chapter 206 The Abstractionism

Qi Ning instantly came back to reality and realized that there was no abstractionism in this era.

He just saw that this painting of Divine Marquis’s was vague but with smooth lines, seeming to be of artistic conception, so he thought of the abstract paintings involuntarily. In fact, he knew only a little about the abstract paintings.

“Oh?” Seeing that Divine Marquis looked at him, Qi Ning had to say, “That’s a school of painting. Haven’t you heard of it, Divine Marquis?” He knew that it was impossible for Divine Marquis to hear of the abstractionism, yet he had to say so now.

Obviously, Divine Marquis was interested. “I know something about the schools of painting. As far as I know, there are mainly two schools nowadays, the north school and the south school of painting. The north school mainly paints scenery with hills and waters, and the south school is adept at painting living things, such as birds, beasts and characters. There are more than ten groups in each of the north school and south school. For example, the Yingqiu Group and Guan Group in the north school are famous two groups.” At the mention of the schools of painting, Divine Marquis talked with ease and fluency. “The paintings with a desolate atmosphere or empty forests in a free style of a delicate method of the use of ink are made by the Yingqiu Group, while the solid stones, luxuriant trees, towers and pavilions of classic elegance and characters at leisure are the style of the Guan Group.”

Qi Ning thought that he should change the subject earlier. Divine Marquis was the most famous painter, and if Qi Ning talked about paintings with him, he would teach fish to swim.

At the moment, Ximen Zhanying entered. There was no tea table in the room, so she had to put the tea set on the floor. Divine Marquis didn’t care but asked Qi Ning, “Marquis, I have never heard of the abstractionism you mentioned. Is it from the north school or south school?”

“The abstractionism?” Ximen Zhanying couldn’t help saying, “Father, a school of painting that even you have never heard of is either unknown or unpresentable or inexistent as somebody talks at random.”

Qi Ning didn’t want to continue with this subject, but hearing Ximen Zhanying’s provocation, he was unhappy yet still smiled. “Lady Zhanying, you are right. It may be unknown, so you have never heard of it.” He asked, “Do you know how to paint?”

Ximen Zhanying was stunned. She turned away and didn’t say anything.

Qi Ning understood, so he stated with a smile, “Lady Zhanying, you are young. If you don’t know well about the schools of painting, you can’t easily say that others talk at random, right? In fact, the abstractionist school of painting is really existent.”

Divine Marquis asked, “Marquis, what does the abstractionism mean?”

Qi Ning knew that it was difficult to explain, and he just knew a little about the abstractionism, so he hesitated and pointed to the paintings of Divine Marquis. “Divine Marquis, look at these paintings. They are naturally top paintings and the form can be distinguished at a glance. And we can feel the artistic conception from the pattern.”

Divine Marquis nodded slightly.

“These paintings are taken from nature. To put it bluntly, your paintings are painted with great achievements of the ink paintings, but in the final analysis, you drew the things in nature in the paper.” Qi Ning was serious. “All the mountains, rivers, characters, birds and beasts exist in nature, so I said that these paintings are taken from nature, yet you have wonderful painting skills and are superb in painting.”

Ximen Zhanying couldn’t help but ask, “Do you know what painting is? If they are not taken from nature, what can you paint?”

“Don’t interrupt.” Divine Marquis frowned and glanced at Ximen Zhanying. Then he asked, “Marquis, what does abstract mean in the abstractionism you mentioned?”

“Everything around you see, including anybody or anything, the paper or the pen is concrete, with a specific image.” While speaking, Qi Ning saw that Divine Marquis looked as if he was greatly interested, so he had to bite the bullet and explain, “Abstract is compared with concrete. It is something with no specific image existing in unreal imaginations.”

Divine Marquis was stunned. Obviously, he was surprised at this special concept. He pondered for a moment and then asked, “Marquis, the abstractionism doesn’t aim at the concrete things in nature?”

Qi Ning thought that the older, the wiser as Divine Marquis seemed to have understood something. He nodded. “You can say so. The abstractionism tries to paint something that is not concrete. They try to take intuition and imagination as the starting point of creating and repel any symbolic, wording or illustrative technique of expression. They only use the model and even add some colors to make a new picture. Compared with the impressionism which attaches importance to colors, the abstractionism pays more attention to combining models with colors.”

“The impressionism?” Divine Marquis asked in surprise. “What does it mean?”

Qi Ning was astonished. He had talked freely and unconsciously mentioned the impressionism. Then he replied in a hurry, “That’s…another school of painting.” He didn’t want to go too far from the subject, so he pointed at the painting in his hand. “Divine Marquis, I said that this painting is like the abstractionism, and I mean that its model is unconstrained with no concrete imagine, but it can show some touching implications.”

Divine Marquis opened his mouth yet didn’t say anything. He raised his head slightly, as if lost in thought.

In fact, Qi Ning had just roughly explained the technique of painting of the abstractionism. He knew that the abstractionism was not a single school of painting but a style of the techniques of painting, including geometric abstraction and lyrics abstraction. He knew something about it, while he couldn’t explain it.

However, Divine Marquis had never received such a mode of thinking before.

It meant that he reached the peak under the inertial mode of thinking, but he didn’t jump out of this circle.

As a matter of fact, the abstractionist school might not be wiser than the school of ink painting, yet Qi Ning’s words opened an unprecedented way for Divine Marquis’s thinking, and the shock it brought him was beyond Qi Ning’s expectation.

Ximen Zhanying seemed to listen to a sealed book and didn’t know what Qi Ning said.

After a moment, Divine Marquis reached out his hand and received the painting from Qi Ning, saying slowly, “I drew this picture casually, and I didn’t think about anything at that time but just wanted to express my feelings. I didn’t know what I would paint then. Later, I put it aside randomly.”

“This is the artistic conception,” Qi Ning expressed in haste. “Divine Marquis, you didn’t care about the concrete form in nature but expressed your emotions in the paper. I don’t dare to say that it is an abstract painting, yet it has that meaning.”

Divine Marquis nodded slightly and seemed to understand something. “I see.” He sighed. “It’s like practicing martial arts. Before we reach the peak, we still rigidly adhere to moves, but after we master the moves and enter the realm of warriors, it will be another state.” He squatted down and put that picture on the drawing board cautiously. Then he raised his head after checking it carefully. “Marquis, how did you know this school of painting? I started to draw randomly at the age of nine, and I have been painting for almost forty years. I know many different schools of painting, while nobody thinks of the way of painting you mentioned.”

Qi Ning had prepared an answer earlier. “I have read a book many years ago, and something was in it, yet I don’t have enough aptitude, nor do I have natural gift in painting, so I didn’t care about it.”

“Marquis, do you remember what book it is?” Divine Marquis opened his eyes wide and asked anxiously, “Is it a single copy of the ancient book? Much good information of the ancestors has been missing, while the later generations don’t know that.”

Qi Ning pretended to think for a while. “It seems to be an ancient book. I turned pages conveniently and then threw it aside. I can’t find it later, nor do I remember the book’s name.”

Divine Marquis looked depressed and sighed. “What a pity. It must be a priceless book.”

“Divine Marquis, if you want it, I will go back to rummage through chests and cupboards and look for it, but I am not sure if I can find it.” Seeing Divine Marquis’s disappointed expression, Qi Ning comforted him yet thought, “It’s impossible that there is such a book unless I can go and come back from the previous life after finding the book about the abstractionism.”

Divine Marquis walked forward and looked excited. He grabbed Qi Ning’s arm and stated, “Marquis, do help me and look for it. If you can find it, I won’t be stingy no matter how much I should pay.”

Qi Ning couldn’t help but glance at Ximen Zhanying again. She was frightened and moved backward unexpectedly.

“Divine Marquis, don’t be anxious. I will try my best.” Qi Ning had to say that. Judging from Divine Marquis’s reactions, he was really immersed in painting. It was no wonder that he could become the most famous painter, one of the top experts of four kinds of arts.

He had thought that such a superb great master in painting wouldn’t change because of his words, yet it appeared that he had underestimated the influence of the abstract paintings. In fact, he couldn’t feel somebody’s shock and excitement beyond expression as he suddenly heard of another mode of thinking when he reached the peak in one aspect but could hardly break through.

“By the way, Marquis, what does the impressionism you mentioned mean?” Divine Marquis asked him modestly, while Ximen Zhanying was astonished to see that.

Ximen Wuhen’s status in society and at the imperial court was honorable, and anybody would show respect for this big shot after seeing him, not to mention the people in the mansion of Divine Marquis.

In the mansion of Divine Marquis, there were many powerful martial arts masters, but everybody worshiped Divine Marquis Ximen like God. Even his biological daughter Ximen Zhanying was in awe of him.

Although Divine Marquis was easy to get along with at ordinary times, he had alarming momentum even when he was not angry, and he didn’t reveal his emotions on his face. He could be the leader of the mansion of Divine Marquis and had the situation well in hand both at the imperial court and in society, feeling just like a fish in water, while the ordinary people couldn’t make it.

However, Qi Ning’s confusing words that Ximen Zhanying still couldn’t understand made Divine Marquis so emotional, which was beyond her expectation.

Although the misunderstanding had been solved that night, Ximen Zhanying didn’t have a good opinion of the playboys who wasted money in houses of ill repute. In her eyes, these people just liked to pursue beautiful girls, and they were ignorant and incompetent losers.

Even though it had been proven that Qi Ning would never be the blood-sucking murderer that night, and he had just passed there, Ximen Zhanying knew that it was the election of the beauty queen on Qinhuai River that night. A young nobleman was still on the street at midnight, and she knew that he didn’t do anything good.

She was prejudiced by first impressions and thought that Qi Ning was a playboy who just knew romance but had neither learning nor skill, so she disdained him to the bone. Qi Ning and Divine Marquis drank together today, while she was forced to serve this playboy, which made her furious, yet she controlled herself and couldn’t vent it.

Moreover, Qi Ning provoked her several times, which made Ximen Zhanying disgusted with him.

However, after Qi Ning deduced something from the case at the table, Ximen Zhanying changed her attitude toward him, while she still thought that his deduction must be from his subordinates, so she still didn’t like him.

At the moment, seeing that Qi Ning’s words made Divine Marquis emotional, she couldn’t help but glance at him and wonder if this Marquis of Honor was really capable, as she knew well about his father. If the words were not shocking or even touched Divine Marquis, he wouldn’t have such reactions.

At the same time, Qi Ning had a headache. He finally explained the abstract paintings to Divine Marquis, while this old man still wasn’t satisfied but asked about the impressionism. If he continued to explain, it would be more complicated, so he had to say, “Divine Marquis, in fact, I still don’t fully understand it. After I find that book, I will explain it to you in the future if there is a chance. What do you think?”

“There will be chances.” Divine Marquis smiled instantly. “Marquis, we feel like old friends at the first meeting and talk happily. You need to visit me here frequently in the future. Hmm, I know that you have a lot of jobs to do, so I won’t delay you. If you are free to see me, I will wait for good news from you.”

Qi Ning was stunned and thought, “This old man is so anxious. He said that he wouldn’t delay me, yet he just wants me to go back quickly to find the book for him.”

He was afraid that if he stayed, Divine Marquis would discuss the schools of painting with him and they would talk more. This old man was from the mansion of Divine Marquis, and if Qi Ning was careless, he would probably say something wrong and the old man would find it, so he smiled. “In this case, I have to say goodbye now. I will come to see you another day, Divine Marquis.”

“Okay!” Divine Marquis looked at Ximen Zhanying and ordered, “Zhanying, send Marquis back to his mansion. Be sure to do it as an apology because you misunderstood him last time.”

Ximen Zhanying was anxious. “Father, you tell me to…”

“It’s not your father, but Divine Marquis told you to send him,” Divine Marquis Ximen said in a deep voice.

Ximen Zhanying could do nothing but cup her hands. “Yes, Sir.”

Qi Ning walked over and looked at Ximen Zhanying with a smile. “Lady Zhanying, Divine Marquis is so warm-hearted, and I will show disrespect if I refuse him. Thanks for sending me back. With you around, I won’t be captured by somebody for no reason on the way.”

“You…” Ximen Zhanying gritted her teeth and glared at Qi Ning while thinking, “Qi, don’t be too complacent. Everything changes. If you are caught by me someday, I will let you suffer a living death.”