Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 983

983. The Madman with Clear Eyes (8)

Da Vinci’s painting skills were so renowned that they would leave a significant mark on history. His depictions of the human skeletal structure and various organs possessed a precision and realistic proportion that closely resembled reality. He even illustrated the muscle fibers that made up the body and organs. Because of this, Da Vinci, who had been worried about whether proper printing would be possible, neatly folded away his concerns after seeing the Empire’s banknotes. Later, Da Vinci was very satisfied with the first test version that came out after some time.

“I now understand why they use the word ‘groundless worry’!”

Da Vinci, very satisfied with the results, rubbed his hands together and his eyes sparkled.

“Is that so? Then what else shall I draw?”

At the same time, Hyang wore a subtle smile and summoned a court eunuch, giving an order.

“Bring Da Vinci to me.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.”

The eunuch left, and Hyang, left alone, lightly rubbed his hands together and muttered.

“Da Vinci must be fully revved up, so I have to keep him working hard. Yes!”

After some time, Da Vinci entered and paid his respects. Hyang lightly returned the greeting and commanded Da Vinci.

“Your help has been truly invaluable for the newly revised and published basic anatomy textbook of the Medical Academy. You truly are Leonardo da Vinci.”

“You flatter me, Your Majesty.”

“There is another area where you can display your outstanding painting skills.”

Da Vinci, emboldened by Hyang’s praise, confidently replied.

“Just give me your orders! I will do my best!”

“This will not be an easy task for you either.”

“I am Leonardo da Vinci. Just entrust it to me!”

Hyang’s smile deepened at Da Vinci’s bold words.

‘I’ve caught him! A big one!’

“Then I will trust you and entrust it to you.”

What Hyang entrusted to Da Vinci was to draw the herbs that would go into the herbal encyclopedia.

-There are more than a few examples where the shapes of medicinal herbs and poisonous herbs are similar.

-It is not easy to distinguish them unless you are a skilled herbalist or doctor.

-Because of this situation, there are many cases where ignorant people confuse medicinal herbs with poisonous herbs and suffer harm.

-Therefore, we plan to publish an herbal encyclopedia that will be helpful not only to doctors and herbalists but also to ordinary people.

“That’s why I said it wouldn’t be easy for you.”

Da Vinci’s eyes shone even brighter at Hyang’s words. One of the fields he was most interested in was ‘natural science.’

“Just entrust it to me!”

“Still, if you need help, ask for it. I will definitely help you as long as it’s not too unreasonable.”

“Your grace is boundless!”

In this way, Da Vinci took on another large and beautiful task.

* * *

“This is a bit…”

Da Vinci, who had been checking the list of herbal specimens and the actual specimens in the Medical Academy’s herbal specimen room, no longer showed the high spirits he had displayed in front of Hyang.

‘Too many, way too many!’

The specimen room, which was 50 lengths [approximately 150 meters] long and made of four floors – the title of specimen hall (標本館) was more fitting – was densely packed with a huge number of cabinets. And the drawers of the cabinets were filled with specimens of herbs.

It wasn’t just herbs. In some cases, poisonous herbs that looked similar to the medicinal herbs were also placed as specimens right next to them.

“Here is the list of specimens.”

“This is the list?”

Da Vinci muttered to himself without realizing it when he saw the list file—no, the list book—that the manager handed him.

“If you hit someone with this, their head would just break.”

“Everyone says that. So everyone uses the index card catalog over there.”

In the place the manager pointed to, there was a ‘somewhat’ small cabinet. On top of the drawer handles, the consonants of the Korean alphabet [Hangul] were engraved one by one.

“Hmm…”

Da Vinci’s eyes lit up as he opened the drawer. Inside, nameplates with the names of the herbs written in the order of the Korean alphabet were placed. And on the nameplate, the cabinet and drawer number where the specimen was located were written.

“It will definitely be easy to find the herb you want to see. Who thought of this?”

“The Supreme Emperor.”

“……”

Da Vinci, who was silently looking at the nameplates, asked the person in charge again.

“How many herbs are there in total here?”

“Don’t know?”

“Huh?”

“I counted up to about 10,000, but after that, they kept coming in, so I gave up. In addition, I gave up on naming them with the Korean alphabet. Now, I just translate the names given by the residents of the discovered area into Korean.”

“It keeps increasing? Is that possible?”

“Herbs from the mainland, North Ji, Daeseol Island, and Shinji, as well as herbs from other countries, keep coming in.”

“Why the ones from other countries?”

“What if an imperial citizen who went there gets sick? You have to find herbs to use there.”

“Ah…”

Da Vinci, nodding at the manager’s explanation, looked even more bleak.

‘I can never complete this alone! It’s impossible!’

Da Vinci muttered softly as he pondered how to find a solution.

“I can’t die alone…”

It was the first imperial language sentence he learned after coming to the Empire.

* * *

Da Vinci immediately wrote several letters to be sent to Italy.

“…Therefore, it is difficult to succeed with my abilities alone. I would like to call some people. Here is a list of those who will receive the letters.”

“Hmm…”

‘There are quite a few names I heard in art class and liberal arts class?’

Hyang, looking at the list of recipients, asked Da Vinci.

“Are they all good people?”

“I don’t know their personalities, but they are good at their skills.”

‘In other words, they are good at their abilities, but they are nasty people.’

“You know that all these letters must pass inspection, right?”

“I keep that in mind.”

Hyang pondered for a moment and soon nodded.

“I will ask the Emperor. But keep in mind that it may not be possible.”

“Yes.”

However, Da Vinci never thought that his request would be rejected.

‘The Supreme Emperor is stepping in, so it will be rejected? No way!’

And things went as Da Vinci expected. Hyeon readily accepted Da Vinci’s request, and Da Vinci’s letters headed to Italy. The painters who received Da Vinci’s letters sparkled their eyes at the contents of the letters.

-Guaranteed a fairly long employment period.

-Less than the amount received per case in Italy, but guaranteed payment

(However, taxes must be paid)

For painters who could not escape poverty without commissions from nobles, a fairly long employment period and guaranteed salary were attractive conditions.

“I’d rather starve to death than go to that pagan land!”

There were also those who strongly refused like this. However, a considerable number of painters boarded ships heading to the Empire alone or with their families and disciples. There was also a proposal to solve the problem of livelihood, but it was because Da Vinci subtly stimulated the painters.

The best example was Michelangelo.

-Hey, kid! Are you satisfied with bragging that you are the best in a place where I am not?

-If you really want to be recognized as the best, come to the Empire! There is a job commissioned by the Empire this time.

(Omitted)

-Of course, it would be okay to make a name for yourself by only drawing portraits or sculptures of nobles, or murals of cathedrals, but which is more valuable: paintings or sculptures that only high-ranking people see, murals that can be seen once a week, or becoming a participant in a book that anyone can see regardless of their status, and that people will continue to see in the future?

-Or are you afraid that everyone except a few people who praise you will rate you as worse than me? Ah! Did you say that sculpture is superior to painting?

“This arrogant and conceited old man! Is he senile from old age! I’m worse than him! I’ll go there right now and smash his nose!”

Michelangelo, crumpling the letter roughly, immediately packed his bags and boarded a ship heading to the Empire.

“Hey, what about the commissioned portraits! What about the sculptures!”

“I’ll complete them in the Empire and send them!”

* * *

As the famous Renaissance artists arrived in Seoul, the illustration work for the herbal encyclopedia sped up. It was the Italian art world where hyperrealism had already taken hold by Hyang. Thanks to the arrival of those at the pinnacle of it, the illustrations to be included in the encyclopedia became incredibly realistic.

“But is this printable? No way?”

The painters, who showed a similar reaction to Da Vinci, were surprised to see the printed materials that were printed on a trial basis.

“It works…”

Meanwhile, the painters of the Empire also began to change due to the painters from Italy. Hyperrealism began to influence ink paintings and portraits.

Perspective began to be applied to paintings that emphasized ‘the beauty of blank space’ and ‘imagery,’ and a subtle fusion occurred. It was the birth of a style of painting that later art historians would call ‘Third Gandhara Art’ or ‘Seoulism.’

* * *

“They say row when the water comes in [seize the opportunity]? We can’t miss this time!”

Hyang, sensing that now was a time that should never be missed, moved busily.

“I want to create a new book because there are so many talented people gathered.”

“A book? What kind of book is it?”

Hyeon and the ministers sparkled their eyes at Hyang’s words. Although the colors had faded a lot, most of the ministers were from the Sadaebu [scholar-officials]. Since ‘book’ was mentioned, it was natural for them to be interested.

“An encyclopedia.”

“An encyclopedia? Are you talking about a dictionary? It doesn’t seem like painters and dictionaries go well together.”

Hyang continued, responding to Hyeon’s reaction, who seemed a little disappointed.

“I chose the wrong word. It can be seen as a Yujip (類集) [a classified collection of literary works], or it can be seen as something like a museum brought from Europe in the old days.”

“Ah!”

Hyeon and the ministers nodded their heads at Hyang’s explanation. But the question immediately followed.

“But what is the reason for creating a Yujip? There are already textbooks for those who study at the academy, and various kinds of encyclopedias already exist or are being made, right?”

“Of course, there are. I also acknowledge the excellence of each and every one of them. But each and every one of them is ultimately like a tree. We need a forest. No, we need a map that describes what the forest looks like.”

Hyeon and the ministers nodded their heads at Hyang’s words. But they didn’t fully understand. Hyang, confirming that, added.

“It will be a book that makes everyone in this world recognize the Empire. It will make everyone recognize that ‘all the knowledge in this world is gathered in the Empire.’ It’s not just a few sentences, but a book that includes pictures so that people can understand it properly. Of course, it’s not as in-depth as a textbook or encyclopedia, but it’s a book that even a layman can understand to some extent.”

Han Myeong-hoe immediately took the words.

“If it is completed properly, it will be a book that will be evaluated as a Peng (鵬) [a mythical bird of enormous size].”

“That’s right. If it is completed properly, the Empire will cover the world with knowledge, not guns and cannons.”

‘One of the first things the Japanese translated during the Meiji Restoration was an encyclopedia, right? Diderot’s Encyclopedia? Britannica? Screw you! The standard for encyclopedias will be the Imperial Encyclopedia! And the standard of the world will not be London in Europe or Washington in the United States, but Seoul in the Empire!’