Although Zhang Ermao had been scared by Ye Chen’s astronomical figures, he was at least an old con man who had been reigning in the antique street for many years and had a lot of experience in the real world, so he quickly adapted to this routine.
So he hemmed and hawed and said to Bernard Aerno, “Mr. Aerno, the painting I am presenting to you today is enough to shock the whole world of Eastern and Western painting!”
He said, “Everyone knows that the Mona Lisa was created by Leonardo da Vinci in the year 150 AD, but let me tell you that this painting is not actually an original by da Vinci, but by a great painter named Zhao Mengfu (fu) in the late Song and early Yuan dynasties of our China.”
Before the words left his mouth, he pointed to the painting in Ye Chen’s hand and said seriously, “Here, it’s the one in Master Ye’s hand! And the one painted by Leonardo da Vinci was copied and modified and created twice from this one, or, to put it bluntly, copied from it.”
Bernard drew tears and said, “How is that possible? Leonardo da Vinci is the master I admire most, and his Mona Lisa is a masterpiece for the ages, how can it be a copy!”
Zhang Ermao blushed and said seriously, “You see, this has touched your cognitive blind spot! Let me tell you, this painting, created by old Mr Zhao Mengfu Zhao back then on the orders of Khan Kublai of the Yuan Dynasty, should have been created at the end of 1275 A.D., more than two hundred years before Leonardo da Vinci, isn’t it obvious who copied who?”
“What a load of nonsense!” Bernard Aerno said with some annoyance, “That’s never possible! And look for yourself, the woman in your painting is also a Western face! How could there be Western-faced women in China in those days?! What do you have to say about such a big one?”
Zhang Ermao didn’t panic at all, and with a heated smile, he hurriedly added: “So you have to be patient and listen to me to finish the situation! That said, in 1275 AD, a major event with far-reaching implications occurred in world history, do you know what it was?”
Bernard Elnor said angrily, “I don’t know!”
Zhang Ermao said very seriously, “Mr. Aylneau, I’m not saying you, you can’t just focus on making money, you have to read more and learn about history once in a while.”
After saying that, ignoring Bernard Aylneau’s expression that almost spat blood, he said with a lofty face, “Let me tell you, this year 1275 AD is the time when the famous Western traveller Marco Polo arrived in China!”
After saying that, Zhang Ermao looked at Bernard Aylneau and asked, “You should always know the Travels of Marco Polo, right?”
Bernard Aylneau was going mad and said through clenched teeth, “I know! But what does this have to do with the Mona Lisa!”
Zhang Ermao shook his head and sighed, “What an uninformed man.”
After saying that, only then did he continue to explain, “Let me tell you, at that time, Marco Polo went through a lot of trouble and came to the capital of the Yuan in the summer of 1275, and was warmly received by Kublai the Great Han.”
“In order to promote cultural exchange between the East and the West, Kublai ordered Zhao Mengfu, a famous painter at that time, to show Marco Polo and his party the high skills of our Chinese painting.”
“At that time Marco Polo happened to have a lady-in-waiting by his side, named Mona Lisa!”
“Mr Zhao Mengfu created this painting using this maid as a model!”
“The whole creation took half a year, from the summer of 1275, until the winter of 1275, when it was painted.”
At that time, Kublai gave the painting to Marco Polo, who treasured it as a treasure and kept it with him, knowing that he would bring it back to the West. Unfortunately, Marco Polo was imprisoned after his return to the West because of the turmoil, and the painting was lost in the turmoil.”
“Two hundred years later, the painting pa*sed into the hands of Leonardo da Vinci, who was so inspired by it that he worked day and night for more than ten years to imitate it before creating the version of the Mona Lisa that the world knows!”
“And after his painting was completed, he gave this Mona Lisa, made by Zhao Mengfu, to his subordinate to take to be burned. His subordinate could not bear to see such a masterpiece fall, so he quietly handed it over to his own relatives, which allowed the painting to be pa*sed down!”
Speaking of this, Zhang Ermao looked at Bernard Elnor and asked seriously, “Mr. Elnor, do you understand now?”