Chen Shiming's Novel Stone Ox Chronicles and Dreams

The first hundred chapters of "Story of the Stone Ox·Dream of Paintings" take Chen Yansheng's "Xiao Niu'er" painting life as the main line, unfolding a long scroll of fireworks and artistic practice in Shu. From childhood to youth (chapters 1-30), the inkstone student inherited the ink tradition of a family of painters. He was inspired by using branches as brushes on the banks of the Shiniu River. He studied fine brushwork with ladies from famous Sichuan masters and incorporated the colors of Dunhuang into his brushwork. While wandering on the road to Shu, I met Mu Yi. The two bonded over paintings and explored the theme of Red Mansion together. Although they were trapped in their livelihood and rejected by the world, they still opened Chengxin Pavilion to spread their art. In middle age (31-70 chapters), he became more sophisticated in his inkstone skills and created a painting style integrating Red Mansion and Dunhuang. He became famous for "The Zen Intention of the Red Mansion at Shiniu Mountain". He took the lead in building Chengxin Pavilion as a painting garden, and recruited disciples such as Wang Tielin and Huang Ying to pass on his art and the principle that "the quality of painting is the quality of one's character". After the natural disaster painting garden was renovated, he realized that "pen and ink are life", and his works added life and depth. In his later years (chapter 71-100), Yansheng compiled "Yansheng Painting Theory", taught his disciples under the locust tree to reminisce about the past, and held office to assist students in art exhibitions. At the age of 88, he passed away while painting "Zen Scenery in the Red Mansion" at his desk. When he was dying, he saw the ghost of the Red Mansion painting inviting him. In the last chapter, it is written that the rays of light gather before his soul, his Ruyi pen carries his soul into the painting, and the vegetation and trees of Shiniu Mountain are condensed with ink, laying the groundwork for his ascension to immortality and subsequent chapters in the immortal world.