Why were the ancients so keen on Feng’s calligraphy and painting instead of Ma Shiying’s?

Why is Ma Shiying, the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty, inferior to the prostitutes of Qinhuai? It is said that Ma Shiying painted very well. It should be pretty good. Why do you say that? At that time, people were looking for Ma Shiying in Jiangnan. I liked his paintings very much. If you like it, buy Ma Shiying back or exchange it with other calligraphy, paintings and antiques. Please ask the experts to modify the name of the signature: add two dots to the character horse and change it to the character phoenix, add a radical to the strokes and change it to the character ying and change it to the character jade or 英. In this way, he became Feng, so much so that people in Jiangnan were willing to hang paintings signed by Feng in their living rooms and study rooms. When visitors look at the painting, they will ask: Who is this Feng? The host replied calmly: prostitutes by the Qinhuai River. Customer: Ah! What a painting!

Since ancient times, there has been no treacherous person without talent, and great treacherous people can go a step further. Cai Jing and Qin Hui are very talented, while Cai Jing and Qin Hui are very cunning, but their lyrics are very good. Yan Song, the treacherous minister of the Ming Dynasty, was also full of talents. Not only is he good at green calligraphy, but his calligraphy is also excellent. During the Southern Ming Dynasty, the country was on the verge of collapse, and Ma Shiying, the first minister of the cabinet, was also full of talents. Although Ma Shiying's reputation as a traitor is not as loud as mentioned above, he was despised by scholars and history books because of his greed and contempt. He once again quoted Dacheng and retaliated with Japanese events, but failed to gain power.

A question arises here. People who are obsessed with verification will inevitably ask: Although the signature can be changed, how can the seal be changed? Let's put it this way: In the past, people were used to looking at paintings, not like people today. When they see calligraphy and painting, they will look at it like they are dissecting a corpse, or sniff it like a police dog. That's not the style of an ordinary painter, is it? The style of a small calligraphy and painting dealer, a large calligraphy and painting dealer probably will not and should not do that. If you have seen too much, you can know the truth at a glance just by looking at the weather. This; secondly, there was a time when the lighting of the Chinese house was not as good as it is now, even in the hall. Therefore, the calligraphy and paintings hung by ordinary people play the role of wall decoration. You can take a rough look at them. Third, people used to play calligraphy and painting without being as nervous as they are now. Unless there's a rare and exotic product, they just hang around. No one is going to check whose work is hanging in your home. So, I think it was Feng at first sight.

See Ruan Kuisheng’s notes on this matter. Ruan is strict, even if it is a legend, he has his intention. What is the intention? Looking at the Southern Dynasties from the bottom of the Peach Blossom Spring, dynasties changed at that time. Facing the Qing court's tough war, the literati class became divided. Some were martyred, some lived in seclusion, and some surrendered. Those who surrendered to the enemy, but the brothel girls on the Qinhuai River, showed the national integrity advocated and practiced by the scholar-bureaucrats.

In other words, people in Jiangnan would rather hang the calligraphy and paintings of prostitutes than the paintings of Ma Shiying, the chief minister of the dynasty. It can be seen that people have standards of right and wrong, good and evil. There is no doubt that prostitutes are humble because they are usually looked down upon, so they pay more attention to what they do. On issues of right and wrong, educated women do not want to lose to scholar-officials and men. Prostitutes have a humble status, but compared with greedy, short-sighted, and corrupt officials, people are still willing to choose prostitutes' handwriting.

The prostitutes by the Qinhuai River in the late Ming Dynasty stood out among the eight beauties. The beauty of their talents is self-evident. It will definitely lead to a trend where it becomes fashionable for women in brothels to learn talents. For example, Wang Zhong, a great scholar in the Qing Dynasty, was a native of Yangzhou and once lived in Jiangning. After passing the former residence of Qinhuai prostitute Ma Xianglan, he had feelings for her and wrote the essay "Jing Nanyuan Diao Ma Shou Zhen". He admires Ma Xianglan very much. I tasted his paintings and he likes them very much

Words are thousands of miles away, but paintings are in people's hearts. Proud people don’t just show it to others, proud people don’t do that. Don’t just show up and compliment others. s works.