Chapter 50: Enlightenment

Jingyun Bell and Changxin Palace Lantern, these are the only two national treasures preserved in Donghuang in Jia Wenyan's reproduction list this time.

Shi Guang never expected that this time it would be so exciting.

Although this is not the first time she has rushed to work, the works she has produced so far are all modified or even "original works" such as the all-porcelain terracotta warriors and the national gift porcelain sets.

People outside are talking about how shocking Jia Wenyan's novel and original porcelains are.

But as an insider, Shi Guang knew very well that although these porcelain works were exquisitely crafted, they were far less difficult to produce than the cultural relics that Jia Wenyan had previously reproduced.

Originality allows for errors and can even create a unique aesthetic.

But replica works are different. Replicas emphasize the one-to-one restoration of the original.

In terms of craftsmanship alone, the difficulty of making a replica is much higher than that of an original work.

However, due to the close proximity of the Lunar and Solar New Years this year, if Jia Wenyan wanted to realize her plan, she could only complete the reproduction of more than 20 cultural relics in less than a month.

Although the processing time of many cultural relics can be further cross-arranged, the average workload of one cultural relic per day is still a bit too large.

Shi Guang didn't understand why Jia Wenyan arranged everything so tightly.

After all, in his eyes, activities of this level are definitely worth spending more time polishing.

But he was certainly not stupid enough to question Jia Wenyan's decision on this matter.

He knew very well that instead of worrying about these trivial things, he should seize the time and complete his task.

Time is so tight, although he doesn't know how many replicas of cultural relics Jia Wenyan can complete, he can be sure that this is definitely not a small number.

Although he couldn't compare himself with a "demon" like Jia Wenyan, if Jia Wenyan took out a bunch of finished products at once, while he still got nothing.

Doesn't it make him seem a little useless?

So from the moment I made up my mind to participate in this New Year's Eve event, I became extremely excited.

The cultural relic he chose was a carved porcelain basin from the Qing Dynasty.

Judging from the pattern on it, it is believed that this should be a porcelain pot for growing peonies.

He carefully studied every detail of the "flower pot". However, just when he thought he had understood the data thoroughly.

Jia Wenyan, who was in seclusion, suddenly came out and stuffed a tablet into his hands.

Shi Guang: "What is this?"

"3D model of the carved porcelain flowerpot. You can use it as a reference when replicating it."

"3D modeling of a porcelain basin?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Guang quickly shifted his gaze down to the tablet computer.

One can switch the screen's perspective to observe the entire porcelain basin from a 360-degree perspective.

Shi Guang: "Director Jia...did you do this?"

"I guess so. I have summarized the details I observed. Remember to compare this 3D model with the drawing on the second page."

"Oh, oh, I see."

Having received help, Shi Guang nodded and replied. Although he had not had time to look at the drawings in detail, from the few glances he took at the model, he had already found many details that he had previously paid attention to.

The drawings made by Jia Wenyan were far more detailed than he had imagined, which made him extremely curious about Jia Wenyan's daily reproduction process.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally mustered up the courage to look up at Jia Wenyan and said:

"I'm sorry, Director Jia. I can't help but ask you, when you usually make replicas of cultural relics, do you also model the details of the cultural relics like you are doing now?"

Shi Guang asked sincerely.

Although he didn't know the specific details yet, from the moment he saw the drawings that Jia Wenyan gave him, he began to think about whether he should take the time to sign up for a computer class to learn modeling while he was still in school.

However, Jia Wenyan unexpectedly hesitated for a moment after hearing this and then continued:

"I don't usually think about this so much. I just think that since you are a novice, preparing a model for you should help you avoid many detours."

"If you have such ideas... it's not a bad idea to learn. But I think it will take a lot of time for us to master the modeling. We should take advantage of the time to improve our skills instead of doing these things."

Shi Guang: "So this modeling is..."

"I asked the people at Zhenxin Animation to make it according to my design. If you need it, you can also draw the design yourself and ask them to help you make it three-dimensional."

"But I still think that if you can draw the blueprint well, you can start the reproduction work."

"After all, the process of replicating cultural relics can be considered as "modeling" on another level, right?"

Time: "..."

"Okay, I was overthinking it."

Time said secretly in my heart.

According to his thinking, he believed that he could use 3D modeling to more carefully analyze the cultural relics he wanted to replicate.

But he obviously forgot that all these details can only be achieved after he has discovered and memorized all the details of the cultural relics.

In other words, instead of having the time to model, he might as well just get started and implement the design drawings he has already observed.

The model that Jia Wenyan gave him was nothing more than "annotations" prepared by the teacher to make it easier for students to understand the article.

If he were to learn modeling for this reason, it might be putting the cart before the horse. But speaking of it...

"Is this what Mr. Jia imagined in his mind when he was reproducing the cultural relics?"

Shi Guang lowered his head and looked at the design drawing marked next to the model.

Although this hand-painted design cannot fully display all the characteristics of the porcelain basin at one time like 3D modeling.

But after just a quick glance, he concluded that Jia Wenyan's design was far more detailed than the finished 3D model.

Well... they are both eyes and brains, so why is there such a big difference?

Shi Guang looked at the design drawing in his hand and began to doubt his life.

He thought he had been meticulous enough, but when he looked at Jia Wenyan's design drawings.

Not to mention the most accurate drawing, the details he discovered were not even as good as the model produced by Zhenxin Animation based on Jia Wenyan's drawing.

After Jia Wenyan left, the more Shi Guang looked at the design drawings on the tablet, the more he could feel the gap between the two of them.

Even the piece of porcelain on the table, which he was originally quite satisfied with, was referred to as a "lump", an obviously ambiguous unit, after he saw Jia Wenyan's detailed arrangement.

As for the blueprint he had drawn himself, he crumpled it up and threw it into the trash can early on.

At that moment, he was still thinking that if he could make faster progress, he would go and help Jia Wenyan with chores, and he completely put aside his previous "arrogant" thoughts.

Within a month, even if there is only one, he must reach Teacher Jia's standards.

From that day on, he overturned the porcelain blanks he made again and again.

"This arc is wrong."

"This color is too white."

"This should have deformed very slightly during firing."

…

Time denies one's own achievements time and time again.

Although many of his works have already exceeded his usual reproduction standards, for some reason after seeing Jia Wenyan's design drawings, he could easily notice the "too glaring" difference even if he just glanced at his own porcelain blanks from the side.

From his work during the day to his dreams at night, the image of the porcelain basin kept echoing in his mind.

He got up from the bed again and again, and went to the workshop to carefully compare the differences of his just "flash of inspiration".

This was a feeling he had never experienced before.

At the beginning, he was only concerned with the shape of the porcelain basin itself, but as time went on, when he became more and more "satisfied" with the shape of the porcelain basin he fired, the porcelain basin in his eyes seemed to be no longer just a piece of porcelain waiting to be carved.

He felt as if he saw a woman in a peony flower dress on the porcelain basin.

The long skirt with white background and red flowers gently touched his heartstrings in the breeze.

Although it was just a very blurry shadow, as his replication progress continued to improve, the "imaginary" shadow became clearer and clearer without him noticing.

That was a working state he had never experienced before. Jia Wenyan had only given him a design drawing, but he seemed to have learned from Jia Wenyan all the key points to pay attention to in replicating this cultural relic.

"Is this the difference between guidance from a famous teacher and an ordinary teacher?"

"Even if ordinary teachers use their eloquence, they may not be able to make students understand. However, a true master teacher only needs to give a little guidance, and students can understand all the corresponding knowledge on their own."

Time said secretly in my heart.

From the production and firing of porcelain blanks to the subsequent carving and seal engraving, time is witnessing my growth as the progress of the reproduction continues.

But every time when he was happy about his progress, he would see Jia Wenyan replacing countless cultural relics not far away.

He thought about comforting himself by saying that he was "slow and steady in his work", but given the time he had, no matter how hard he looked, he could not detect any "error" in Jia Wenyan's replica.

The huge contrast from quantity to accuracy almost made him want to give up.

It is under this double pressure that Shi Guang has made great progress in both the observation and production of cultural relics. At the same time, they are also welcoming the much-anticipated New Year's Eve as one replica of cultural relics after another comes out.