The Calligrapher and Painter from the Mountain Village

Why doesn't the protagonist read books? Why does he want to write well without reading? The moon is in the sky, and its reflection is in the water. Although you can see it, you can't grasp it, and it all comes to nothing. The books here don't tell the protagonist to go to university, but rather to study the classics, history, philosophy, and literature to cultivate a magnanimous spirit within.

I've been reading on Qidian for over a decade, and this is my first time posting a comment. During the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, students' overly radical rejection of traditional culture led to significant changes later on. Many people now realize that much of this content should not have been discarded, and the author's story is very relevant to this reality.

I started raising the character when it was less than 50 chapters in, and I recommended it every day. Looking back now, I really doubt my own judgment—what kind of rubbish did I write? Calligraphy is just a tool, a tool for humiliating others. The protagonist, relying on the system to quickly master it, achieves nothing but insulting others' years of hard work.

I was annoyed after reading two chapters. The protagonist started off as such a filial son, but as soon as his father died, the villagers manipulated him, and he immediately became a traitor, selling off his ancestral land. You could have at least added some plot coercion; he could have simply given away his ancestral tablet to the villagers as a bribe. I'm dropping this book.

The premise was good, but the author's skill was lacking, which is a pity. The supporting characters were forced to be less intelligent; every single one of them wanted to attack the protagonist the moment they saw him. It was unbearable to read.

The donation stele there is so damn toxic.

I've only read five chapters! How should I put it? The protagonist's father risked his life to protect the ancestral stone tablet, and even made the protagonist drop out of school when he was about to die, all to protect the ancestral stone tablet!

The first few chapters did have some issues, as if they were deliberately trying to incite hatred. The neighbors, the county magistrate, and Expert Huang were all overly stereotypical. Among them, Expert Huang was the one you shouldn't associate with (everyone else did the bad things, but he couldn't even pretend to be a good person properly, yet he was the most cunning).

The author seems to have completely overlooked the simple truth that calligraphy and painting do not equate to a good person.

The writing is mediocre, the dialogue is formulaic, there's forced attempts at being intellectually challenged and pretentious, and the story structure is chaotic. But the number of recommendations is astounding—did you pay for it?