The second note that popped out of Lao Lin's mouth was: It was really dangerous just now. He smiled at me. I guess he meant to be grateful. I was immersed in numbness and trembling and did not recover, and I did not speak. And then we were all silent.

Finally regaining a little strength, Lao Lin suddenly asked, have you heard of a Chinese painter Xu Beihong? The sunlight was dazzling, and the water of the Colored Stone Creek flowed not far away, clattering and clattering. Lao Lin, you ask me this, when I am a fool?

He knows I know. He went on to say that after the "September 18 Incident," China was already fighting the Japanese at that time. Xu Beihong received an invitation from Xu Dishan to hold an art exhibition at the University of Hong Kong. Xu Dishan, the one whose primary school textbook writes peanuts, was the director of the School of Chinese at the University of Hong Kong at the time, but unfortunately he died of illness in 41. I nodded, weak. He went on to say that Xu Beihong officially followed his father to learn painting at the age of 9, and began to sell paintings at the age of 17 to make a living, and was guided by the famous oil painter Zhou Xiang, the representative of the Lingnan School of painting, Gao Qifeng, Gao Jianfu, etc., and later got acquainted with Cai Yuanpei, Chen Shizeng, Mei Lanfang and Lu Xun and other cultural celebrities. The exhibition was already famous when it was held, so this exhibition was also very successful. After the exhibition, because of the delicate relationship with his wife Jiang Biwei and his friend Zhang Daofan, Xu Beihong decided to stay in Hong Kong for a few more days at the invitation of Xu Dishan. It just so happened that Hui Dishan's wife, Chow Chin-chung, knew a German lady Martin who lived in Hong Kong. Mrs. Martin's father was in China during his lifetime, and succeeded Klinder, who was killed by Zhang Jingenhai of the Eighth Gun Team of the Shenji Battalion of Duanwang Zaiyi, as the German minister to China. Mrs. Martin had no brothers or sisters, and when her father was alive, he told her that these calligraphy and paintings were all from the palace, which were very precious and should not be easily displayed. After her father's death, these calligraphy and paintings were passed on to her as an inheritance. She happened to be short of money at the time, so she thought about selling some emergency relief. But she didn't know much about calligraphy and painting antiques, so she asked Xu Dishan's wife to help find a painter to identify and sell. Xu Dishan recommended Xu Beihong.

Xu Beihong and his entourage came to Mrs. Martin's house, she opened several large boxes of Tibetan paintings, because of the age, and Mrs. Martin did not know how to collect ancient paintings, many of the paintings have been moldy and moth-eaten, so Xu Beihong can't help but feel sad. Looking at it, Xu Beihong didn't have a favorite painting. Suddenly, he accidentally found an ancient scroll more than ten meters pressed against the bottom of the box, so he inadvertently picked it up. Slowly opened, he was silent: this is a picture scroll painted with the grand scene of the Taoist Jiao Festival. On the screen, the Emperor of Donghua, the Emperor of Antarctica, and the Emperor Fusang led the gods, fairies, and gods to go to the supreme ruler of the heavenly court, Sanqing Yuqing Yuan Shi Tianzun, Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun, and Taiqing Daode Tianzun, and there are three main gods in the picture, ten god generals, seven male fairy officials, and sixty-seven golden boys and jade girls. From right to left, there is the god general who opens the road and presses the team, the Donghua Emperor who is covered with a halo is among them, and other immortals, flags, umbrella covers, tributes, musical instruments, etc. are all available, surrounded by three emperors in the sound of fairy music, stepping on the auspicious clouds and the wind, a group of wind and thunder in the fairy realm. The 87 characters are beautiful and expressive, the emperor is solemn and majestic, the gods will be majestic, the gods are fairy, and the fairies are beautiful and light; The fluttering white clouds and the soaring ribbon make the whole work have a kind of artistic appeal of "flying poplars in the sky, full of wind on the wall". Xu Beihong couldn't help but praise at that time, and stared at this picture with a daze. After a while, he suddenly said to Mrs. Martin, "Only this one, nothing else." Mrs. Martin was a little surprised, and looked at Xu Beihong puzzled, she didn't know that Xu Beihong liked to collect calligraphy and paintings, and when she encountered a favorite picture scroll, she would collect it at any cost. Mrs. Liao Jingwen also reminded him for this, asking him not to be angry and angry, so as to bargain with the other party, Xu Beihong promised every time but everything could not be done, because he loved art too much. He took out all the cash he had on the spot, totaling 10,000 yuan, and saw that Mrs. Martin was a little hesitant, and then attached 7 of his own fine paintings that he carried with him, and pushed them in front of Mrs. Martin. Xu Beihong's move made Mrs. Martin uncertain. Later, out of trust in Mr. Hui Dishan, and after being appraised by the Hong Kong Art Valuation Council, Mrs. Martin handed over the precious painting to the new owner.

Xu Beihong himself later said: Although this painting does not have the artist's signature, the depiction lines are beautiful and elegant, and the artistic conception is profound and vast, which makes people can't help but wander outside the object; Although all the figures dancing on the silk ribbon are all drawn in white, the whole picture scroll looks full of brilliance, which is an artistic masterpiece from the famous artists of the Tang Dynasty! Since he bought this painting, Xu Beihong has loved it, carried it with him, and took it out to observe and appreciate when he had time.

Later, Zhang Daqian, who was famous for his "splashing color", came to Nanjing and planned to prepare for the National Art Exhibition. Zhang Daqian: Do you know? "South Zhang and North Qi", it is Zhang Daqian and Qi Baishi. I slowly raised my interest and nodded. He went on to say that when he heard that his friend was going to Nanjing to prepare for the exhibition, Xu Beihong was overjoyed, changed his itinerary in advance, and returned to Nanjing from other places. As soon as he returned to Nanjing, he made an appointment with Zhang Daqian, Xie Zhiliu and other friends in the art world to have a drink at home. During the party, Xu Beihong proudly took out the ancient painting purchased from Mrs. Martin. When the scroll unfolded, Zhang Daqian and others, just like Xu Beihong saw this painting for the first time, were deeply attracted at once.

Rao is Zhang Daqian is well-informed, and he can't help but be amazed: "This painting is the same style as the murals of the late Tang Dynasty, it's not that the Tang people can't paint such works!" The source of Wu Zongyuan's works in the Northern Song Dynasty is here! "Wu Zongyuan is a great painter in the Jingde period of Song Zhenzong, who studied Wu Daozi's method, and his brushwork is like flowing water, and he works with people, Buddhism, and ghosts. Xie Zhiliu also expressed his approval, saying that this is "the great judge of the late Tang Dynasty, the grandmaster of the Song Dynasty". Everyone agrees that this painting may be the only Tang Dynasty figure scroll that can be seen in China today, with the feeling of "Wu with the wind", and it is very likely to be the true copy of Wu Daozi, the "painting saint", and is known as a rare treasure. After the party, Xu Beihong officially named the painting "Eighty-Seven Immortal Scrolls" and stamped the seal of "Beihong's Life". Xu Beihong believes that this painting is a national treasure of exiled China and the best existing Chinese figure painting in the world. He once said that this painting can be compared with the top famous paintings in Europe. But speaking of Wu Daozi, there is also a story, once Wu Daozi went to visit a monk and wanted to ask for a cup of tea, but the monk was very impolite. He was so angry that he drew a donkey on the wall of the monk's house and left. At night, the donkey on the wall turned into a real donkey, and the house was full of stumbling, making the monk's room a mess and a mess. The monk had no choice but to beg Wu Daozi to wipe off the donkey on the wall, so that he would be safe. It shows that he is also a temperamental person.

After the 77 Incident, after the Central University moved to Chongqing, Xu Beihong was teaching at the Central University at that time, and then settled in Chongqing. Wherever he went, he carried the painting with him and was inseparable. Later, Xu Beihong also went from Chongqing to Kunming to hold a charity exhibition of the labor army. But at that time, Japanese planes often bombed, and every time the air raid siren sounded, people had to drill bomb shelters. As a result, one day, after the bombing by enemy planes, Xu Beihong ran out of the air-raid shelter and returned to his apartment. It was found that the wooden cabinet where the scroll was kept had been pripped open, and the "Eighty-Seven Immortal Scrolls" had been stolen. Xu Beihong collapsed to the ground at that time, and since then he has not thought about tea and dinner, and has suffered from a serious illness because of this, and he is still muttering to himself about this picture scroll during his illness. Two years later, in the summer, Xu Beihong was hospitalized with high blood pressure. At this time, Lu Yinhuan, a student of his teaching staff at the art department of Central University, came to visit him. She told Xu Beihong that her husband, the famous erhu player and cellist Yu Peng, had recently befriended a friend who had found an ancient scroll in his Chengdu apartment that resembled the teacher's lost Eighty-Seven Immortal Scrolls. Then the next day, a friend surnamed Liu, who claimed to be a general, whom Xu Beihong met by chance at the art exhibition, suddenly visited, and also said that he had found the "Eighty-Seven Immortal Scrolls" in Chengdu, and said that if he was given 20,000 yuan, he would have a way to help Xu Beihong get the painting back. The two told Xu Beihong the news one after another, and Xu Beihong was convinced. He couldn't hide his excitement and asked people to immediately withdraw money and stuff it to General Liu. He also said that there would be another reward after the completion of the matter.

A few days later, Liu really came to Xu Beihong with a well-framed picture. When Xu Beihong opened the scroll, he was excited to find that this was the "Eighty-Seven Immortal Scroll" that he had lost for more than two years. Xu Beihong couldn't hide his excitement, and immediately wrote a poem: "It's difficult to see the immortals, but you can watch it with your partner." Life is always a taste of Fei, in exchange for Jindan Fan Gu'an. He took out another 200,000 yuan to General Liu, and took out a few of his own paintings as a token of thanks. And General Liu took the money and the paintings, and disappeared from then on. The money Xu Beihong gave to General Liu was almost all of his savings. At this time, he was sick and hospitalized, and he couldn't even pay the hospitalization fee. But Lu Yinhuan felt strange afterwards. Later, after several investigations, she found that the real name of General Liu was Liu Hanjun, who was not a Kuomintang general at all, and had a relationship with Xu Beihong when he held an art exhibition in Singapore. By chance, he learned from others that Xu Beihong had a Tang Dynasty character scroll, which was a priceless treasure. Liu's greed paused. So he followed Xu Beihong to Chongqing. At that time, the soldiers were in chaos, Xu Beihong was very strict, and Liu had no idea where to start. Until Xu Beihong arrived in Kunming to live temporarily, Liu was on the upper floor opposite Xu Beihong, rented a house, and monitored Xu Beihong's every move at all times. As a result, when the sky struck, Xu Beihong and his family hurriedly entered the air-raid shelter. The so-called General Liu took the opportunity to slip the door and lock it into Xu Beihong's house, stole the treasure "Eighty-Seven Immortal Scrolls", and also stole more than 30 works of Xu Beihong. Liu brought Xu Beihong's works to Nanyang and sold them in the name of donations for the Anti-Japanese War, making a windfall. And the "Eighty-Seven Immortal Scrolls", the thief did not sell it, but used Xu Beihong's student Lu Yinhuan to direct and act in a scene where the original was returned. At that time, the main reason was that he understood the value of this painting, and knew that if this painting was in the hands of people who did not know the goods, the pearl would be secretly invested, and the national treasure would be destroyed by the dust.

I followed Lao Lin's words and said, this shows that Liu has a good conscience and a moral bottom line. Lao Lin snorted coldly. Lao Lin continued, when Lu Yinhuan investigated the whole matter and told Xu Beihong about it, Xu Beihong's reaction was surprising. "It doesn't matter if he stole it, as long as he can return to Zhao, I am very grateful. After all, this is not my own, but the Chinese nation. However, what saddened Xu Beihong was that the words "Beihong's life" on the painting he had covered before, as well as the previous inscription, were all dug up. He had to re-stamp it. Since then, this "Eighty-Seven Immortal Scroll" has been treasured by Xu Beihong's side. After the liberation, Xu Beihong died of illness, and his wife Liao Jingwen, in accordance with Xu Beihong's last wishes, donated Xu Beihong's lifelong collection, including the "Eighty-Seven Immortal Scrolls", to the country. Xu Beihong's former residence was later converted into Xu Beihong Memorial Hall, with Xu Beihong's wife Liao Jingwen as the director, which is also the first personal memorial hall for artists in New China.

The story is so wonderful that I can't help but forget the pain on my body. But Lao Lin's next sentence scared me a lot.

Lao Lin said, do you know? The true handiwork of "Eighty-Seven Immortal Scrolls" is in my box.