Daming Military Empire

Chapter 374
On the third day after Zhu Cijiong returned to the capital, the "Beijing News" released an explosive news that the Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty will hold the "Prosperous Daming" calligraphy and painting competition with the United Nations Zijian, the Minister of General Affairs, the Royal Nikko Bank of the Ming Dynasty, and the Royal Xinglong Firm of the Ming Dynasty!
Once this news was announced, almost all the scholars in the entire Ming Dynasty went crazy, and the famous calligraphers and painters from all over the place were so excited that they almost couldn't bear their breath. It is "Flourishing Age of Ming Dynasty", calligraphy and painting competition...

The calligraphy and painting competition seems to be a new thing. There was really no such thing as a calligraphy and painting competition at that time. It’s not that scholars are polite and don’t like competitions. Such a thankless task!
What do you want to say about "Wen Wu is first and Wu Wu is second", so scholars don't like to compete, that is nonsense. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there has been a champion every few years. What is the champion not the first?
Logically speaking, a new thing like the calligraphy and painting competition should not excite scholars so much. Scholars all pay attention to reserve. This calligraphy and painting competition is not an imperial examination, so what is the excitement?
There was a reason why they were so excited. First of all, the rewards of this calligraphy and painting competition were scary enough.

Is it a bit exaggerated to describe the reward as scary?It's really not exaggerating at all, not to mention anything else, just the reward money can scare people:

The bonus for the first prize is ten thousand taels of silver, and not one, but 24, [-] each for calligraphy and painting!

The bonus for the second prize is one thousand taels of silver, one hundred for calligraphy and one hundred for painting!

The bonus for the third prize is one hundred taels of silver, one thousand for calligraphy and one thousand for painting!

Why is this reward scary?You must know that at this moment, one stone of grain is only one tael of silver, one stone of grain is enough for an ordinary person to eat for two or three months, and five bolts of cloth are only one tael of silver. explain:
As long as they win the third prize, the family can live a good life for several years without worrying about food and clothing;

As long as they win the second prize, the family can live a good life for decades without worrying about food and clothing;
If you win the first prize, those generations will not have to worry about eating and drinking!

Of course, if money rewards alone can’t make all the scholars crazy about it, there are plenty of scholars at this time who regard money as dung, so why are the self-proclaimed people crazy?
It's not for profit, of course it's for fame. The glory rewards of this competition are also amazing.

The 24 winners of the first prize will be awarded the titles of 'Daming Calligraphy Master' and 'Daming Chinese Painting Master' respectively, and the current Emperor will personally issue honorary certificates to them!
Among them, the works of twelve calligraphers will be placed in the Imperial College for all students to observe;
The works of twelve masters of traditional Chinese painting will be miniature printed on the new bank notes issued by the Royal Nikko Bank of Ming Dynasty, and will be handed down from generation to generation;

All the works of the second prize winners will be miniatured on postage stamps by the Ming Dynasty Tongzheng Envoy and distributed nationwide;
All the works of the second and third prize winners will also be framed and displayed in all provinces and vassal states of Ming Dynasty in turn for people to observe and learn from!
It can be said that once an award is won, it will be world-renowned and gain both fame and fortune, so although the calligraphy contest is a new thing, once it is announced, it will drive the scholars in the entire Ming Dynasty crazy.

For a time, there were scholars everywhere along the railway line, inside and outside the Great Wall, near the Yangtze River Bridge and the Yellow River Bridge, Dongdaying, and Nandaying. There was no way, because there were requirements for paintings, and only those paintings that represented the characteristics of Ming Dynasty could be awarded.

This also broadened the horizons of those students who kept their ears to the outside world and only read the books of sages. They suddenly discovered that the Ming Dynasty was so powerful that the majestic giant ship, the bridge that spanned the sky, the stretching The tens of thousands of miles of railways and the super big city that can accommodate millions of people all make them proud and proud of it. The prosperity of the Ming Dynasty is really the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty. Such a prosperous age is enough to shake the past and change the present!

Not only the scholars are excited, but many people are also excited:

Like those who sell pens, inks, papers and inkstones, it can be said that they are more excited than scholars. Normally, scholars would write and draw so frantically. As soon as the announcement of this painting and calligraphy competition came out, shops selling pens, inks, papers and inkstones in all parts of Ming Dynasty were immediately crowded with people, no matter how much they bought. , will be swept away soon, can they not be excited!

Like those who run inns, the general business depends on those merchants who come and go. There are only a few people who come and go. It is basically difficult to make the business popular. Suddenly all the scholars came out, full, full, full every day, can they not be excited!

There are also restaurants and teahouses, as well as shops selling snacks in various places, etc., are also full everywhere, and scholars also need to eat and drink, right? Even the ports of Dongdaying and Nandaying have many sellers of small tables, chairs and benches, and the business is also good. To explode, because I can't draw while standing!
Speaking of which, Daming is so big, it’s okay to go to places where trains are needed, but what if there are no trains? The deadline for submission of calligraphy and painting competitions is only half a month. It takes a few more days to get on the train to the capital, and most of this time is wasted on the road. Isn't it very unfair to them.

This problem does not exist at all. The notice clearly states that as long as you pack the calligraphy and painting works, label them with your name and hometown, and send them to any post office, the post office will deliver them to the capital for free, without you having to rush go.

After the scholars who participated in the competition have gone crazy, it's the turn of the household department, the Imperial College, and the Tongzheng Shi, who organized the competition, to go crazy. They are not crazy for fame and fortune, but are driven crazy by the terrifying number of entries. How does it feel to receive hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of works? No wonder it’s not crazy!
Xu Guangqi, Huang Daozhou, and Wu Meicun were forced to go to the palace to ask the emperor for help. The four discussed urgently for a while, and Zhu Cijiong immediately issued an order, ordering the yamen in the capital to immediately select a hundred officials with profound skills in calligraphy and painting. The Guozijian reported that a preliminary selection was conducted for all works, and those entries that were unremarkable or even unsightly were eliminated first.

Later, Zhu Cijiong ordered ten famous calligraphers and painters in Beijing to assist Xu Guangqi, Huang Daozhou, and Wu Meicun to make final comments on the selected entries. People sent 1 taels, that is to say, no matter whether they participated in the competition or not, no matter how high their work was ranked, they have already won the first prize!
(End of this chapter)