The Landscaper

 

"Once upon a time there was a painter of great talent who was sent by the emperor of China to a distant and newly conquered province, with the mission of bringing to his return painted images. After a long journey in which he thoroughly visited all the territories of the province, the painter returned, but nevertheless bore no image. This brought surprise to the emperor, who ended up getting angry with the painter.

At that time, the artist requested that he be left with a wall canvas. In it, the painter drew in great detail everything he had seen and toured on his journey, after which the emperor came to see him. Then the painter explained to him each of the corners of the great landscape he had drawn and explored in his travels. At the end, the painter approached a path he had drawn that seemed to be lost in space. Gradually, the painter went down the path, getting into the drawing and getting smaller and smaller until disappearing after a bend. And when it disappeared, it was the whole landscape, leaving the wall completely bare."

This story of Chinese origin is a complex thing to understand. To do this we must put ourselves in the position of the painter and what he does throughout history: on the one hand he observes reality, but on the other, and as seen at the end when he joins his work, it is an intrinsic part of it. It is an allegory that although we may be observant of what happens in the world we want or are not part of it: if something happens in that reality affects us, since we are part of it, while what happens to us is not far from reality.

ManHistories