Moonlight Dream

Author: An Gongzi Xing Qinye Se

More than a month ago, I participated in the test drive event of Wuling “AIR ev Qingkong” in Suzhou. The small car drove in the streets and alleys of Suzhou like a shuttle, making me praise it. Later, I had a dream and I will tell you about it.

Three drums, four quarters of a day, high sun and low moon. The time is autumn, winter, spring, and summer, and boats and cars go north, south, west, and east.

In the antique mirror, people’s faces get old in order, but the world’s events are not uniform. If you want to find stability in it, have a pot of turbid wine and a meal of coarse food.

These eight lines of poetry were written by a talented man in Wu. His surname was Tang, his name was Yin, and his alias was Bohu. He was clever and knowledgeable, excelling in calligraphy, painting, music, and literature. He was well-versed in lyrics, essays, and poems. He was unruly and had a lofty ambition. He was born in Suzhou, and his family lived in Wuqiu.

It is said that there are six gates in Suzhou: Feng, Pan, Xu, Chang, Lou, and Qi. Of the six gates, Chang Gate is the most prosperous, the hub of boats and cars. It is said, “Three thousand emerald sleeves dance up and down the tower, and golden water flows east and west for millions.” The market never closes at dawn, and various dialects can be heard from afar.

On this day, Tang Jieyuan sat on a boat at Chang Gate, and many literati came to visit him, eager to obtain his calligraphy and painting. Tang Jieyuan drew some ink paintings and wrote some poems. Those who heard of him came in greater numbers.

There was also a talented man named Wang Shuyuan on the shore, who could create palaces, utensils, characters, birds, beasts, wood, and stones with a small piece of wood. Each of them had their own personality and style. Once these wood and plants were carved by him, their value doubled, and they could be called a stroke of luck. That day, he was carving a boat with a seed. When people saw it, they said goodbye to Tang Jieyuan and flocked to Wang Shuyuan. Watch as Wang Shuyuan’s pen moves like a swimming dragon, carving on wood that is less than a tenth of an inch, and it is done with ease. Suddenly, a boat sprang up in his hands.

The boat is about eight-tenths in length from bow to stern and a height of about two barleycorns. The middle compartment is the cabin, covered by a woven mat, with eight small windows on both sides. When the windows are open, you can see the carved railings. When they are closed, the right side is engraved with “The mountains are high and the moon is small, and the water recedes to reveal the stones.” The left side is engraved with “The gentle breeze is blowing, and the water is calm.” The inscription is in Qing Dynasty calligraphy.

Three people sit at the bow of the boat. The man in the middle, who wears a tall hat and has a long beard, is Dongpo. He holds a scroll in his right hand and touches the back of the man on his right, Lushi, with his left hand. Lushi holds the end of the scroll in his left hand and points to it with his right hand as if discussing something. Dongpo has his right foot exposed, while Lushi has his left foot exposed. Both knees are covered by the folds of their skirts. The man on the left, Foyin, is different from Su and Huang in appearance. He lies on his right knee with his right arm on the boat and leans on his left knee with a rosary in his left hand.

Everyone admired the exquisite carved nucleus and asked Wang Shuyuan for one, which made Tang Jieyuan feel angry and left the boat.

“People call me Tang Bohu, a master of poetry and painting. It’s surprising that you have some skills in this regard. Now that you have stolen my limelight in Wu, I must challenge you. I have a painting on paper. If you can respond to my challenge, you will be known as the talented people in Wu.” After finishing, Tang Bohu instructed a boy to unfold a large fan and dipped it into ink. He wrote the words “Air ev” in several colors and then drew the outlines of a few carts with varying shades of white, blue, gray, and brown. The painting was simple yet exquisite, transparent yet shining with brilliance.

Then, with a small pen in hand, he drew a dazzling integrated light that passed through the entire small car, then added a Wuling flying logo, and quickly drew a rearview mirror with a sense of suspension, connected with the front light in between, responding to each other.

Everyone looked at the small car painted by Tang Jiayuan with confusion, not knowing what was special about it. Tang Bohu clapped his hands, and the boy on the boat took down a clam of the size of a basin. Tang Bohu broke off a small piece from it and threw it into a grinding bowl, asking the boy to grind it 81 times with a pestle. The clam gradually turned into snow-white and flawless powder. Then he took out a pearl the size of a longan from his soft bag and threw it in as well, allowing the boy to grind it another 64 times. The snow-white powder, which had been white as salt and snow, was now sparkling.

Tang Bohu spread the powder everywhere, added water, mixed, and dipped the pen in to colour the lights of those small cars one by one, which lit up instantly. The 49 LED beads in the Wuling logo were delicate and bright. The integrated and dazzling light was composed of 120 LED lights, which were dynamic, smooth, and particularly bright, with a stronger visual impact and a strong sense of technology.

This stunning performance of lighting up the painted cars stunned the crowd, all of them praising the work.

Tang Bohu put the pen back and saluted Wang Shuyuan with a challenging look.

Wang Shuyuan did not back down, and he took out some olive pits. After a few cuts, the Air EV vehicle drawn by Tang Jiayuan was standing out in front of everyone. After a few more cuts, the chassis structure of the small car was displayed in front of everyone, with the front MacPherson independent suspension and the rear three-link suspension structure clearly visible. Then he made small doors, which opened and closed flexibly, impressing everyone. Looking at these small cars, some had two seats, some had four, and all of them had thirteen thoughtful storage spaces inside – one net pocket, six storage compartments, four cup holders, and two cup grooves, all finely presented.The more exquisite part is the 10.25-inch dual screens, with a width ratio of 8:3 and full coverage. There is a small window in the back seat, shaped like an aircraft porthole, putting you in a head-first cabin.

Looking at those four cars, the back seat can be folded, and there is a huge trunk at the back, which is presented before everyone’s eyes.

Tangjieyuan’s miraculous lighting has already amazed the public, and Wang Shuyuan’s skill brings the details of each car to life in a small space, appearing both static and dynamic, leaving the audience impressed. However, the competition between them is still ongoing, and suddenly the boat started to shake. People on the boat and on the shore fell into the water, and when they opened their eyes again, it was already the day of the launch of the Wuling “Air EV Sunny Day.”

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.