Examples of poetry and painting

In the Song Dynasty, there was an entrance examination for the Academy of Painting. The exam is a propositional painting, and the topic is an ancient poem: "Step on the flowers and return to the horseshoe."

The examination room is so quiet that the candidates are thinking hard. Some people think that the focus of poetry is the word "stepping on flowers". So I drew some petals and let a young man ride on them. Isn't that what he thinks? Show the happy mood after the spring outing.

After analysis, some people think that the focus is on "horses". Whether you step on flowers, go home or horseshoe, you can't do without "horse". So he carefully drew a good horse, and a young man galloped past the flowers on his horse, looking very imposing.

Some people think that "horseshoe" should be the focus, so they highlight the flying horseshoe on the drawing paper and draw petals beside it. He thought that the horseshoe wouldn't "smell" if the petals had been raised!

Among the many candidates, only one painting is very special. There are no petals on his scroll. He painted a handsome boy riding a good horse at sunset. Horses are galloping, horseshoes are flying high, and some butterflies are flying around horseshoes.

After the candidates hand in their papers, the examiner selects them one by one. He will smile when he sees pictures of butterflies flying around. This painting is considered the best.

Why is it best? The examiner made a comment, and the candidates also admired it.

The key to the examinee's success lies in his careful analysis of the topic, his comprehensive understanding of the meaning of the poem, and his finding clever ways to embody the meaning of the topic.