Da Vinci’s paintings were of such exceptional skill that they would leave his name in the annals of history. His depictions of the human skeleton and various organs possessed a precision and realistic proportion that were astonishingly close to life itself, even capturing the very grain of the muscles that composed the body and its organs. It was for this reason that Da Vinci, who had initially worried whether such detail could be faithfully printed, was able to set aside his concerns completely after seeing the Empire’s banknotes. When the first test edition of the anatomy textbook was published, he was thoroughly satisfied.
“Now I truly understand the meaning of ‘needless worry’!”
Delighted with the result, Da Vinci rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming. “So, that’s how it is? In that case, what shall I draw next?”
At that same moment, Hyang wore a curious smile as he summoned a eunuch. “Bring Da Vinci to me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty, the Emperor Emeritus.”
After the eunuch departed, Hyang, now alone, rubbed his hands together lightly and muttered to himself, “Da Vinci’s engine should be thoroughly warmed up by now. Time to put him to work. Of course.”
When Da Vinci arrived and paid his respects, Hyang offered a slight nod in return and began. “Your assistance in the newly revised and published foundational anatomy textbook for the Medical Academy was truly invaluable. You are, without a doubt, Leonardo da Vinci.”
“You praise me too highly, Your Majesty.”
“There is another place that calls for your exceptional artistic talent.”
Buoyed by Hyang’s praise, Da Vinci’s confidence swelled. “You need only give the order! I shall do my utmost!”
“This next task will not be easy, even for you.”
“I am Leonardo da Vinci. Merely entrust it to me!”
At Da Vinci’s bold declaration, Hyang’s smile deepened. Hook, line, and sinker! A huge catch!
“Very well. I shall trust you with this.”
The task Hyang entrusted to Da Vinci was the creation of illustrations for a new herbal encyclopedia. He laid out the reasoning: many medicinal herbs bear a striking resemblance to poisonous ones, making them incredibly difficult to distinguish for anyone but a seasoned herbalist or physician. As a result, countless ignorant people suffered after confusing the two. Therefore, the Empire planned to publish an illustrated guide to herbs that would be useful not only to doctors and herbalists but also to the general public.
“This is why I said it would not be an easy task, even for you.”
At Hyang’s words, Da Vinci’s eyes shone with even greater intensity. ‘Natural science’ was one of the fields that fascinated him most.
“Please, entrust it to me!”
“Even so, if you require assistance, do not hesitate to ask. As long as the request is not too unreasonable, I shall ensure you receive aid.”
“I am overwhelmed by Your Majesty’s grace!”
And so, Da Vinci shouldered yet another grand and beautiful burden.
***
“This is… a bit much.”
Standing in the specimen room of the Medical Academy, Da Vinci examined the catalog of herbal specimens and the samples themselves. The triumphant confidence he had displayed before Hyang had completely vanished.
This is far, far too many!
The specimen hall—a title more fitting than ‘room’—was a four-story structure, a staggering fifty jang (about 150 meters) in length, packed to the brim with an immense number of cabinets. Inside each drawer of those cabinets, specimens of medicinal herbs were arranged in dense, neat rows. Nor was it just medicinal herbs. In many cases, specimens of poisonous plants with similar appearances were placed right beside them for comparison.
“Here is the list of specimens,” the curator said.
“This is the list?”
Looking at the catalog—no, the tome—that the curator handed him, Da Vinci muttered in spite of himself, “If you hit someone with this, their head would simply crack open.”
“That’s what they all say. Which is why most people use the index over there.”
Where the curator pointed, a ‘relatively’ small cabinet of drawers stood. Above the handle of each drawer, a consonant of the Jeong-eum script was engraved.
“Hmm…”
Da Vinci opened a drawer, and his eyes lit up. Inside, neatly arranged according to phonetic order, were nameplates for each herb. Each plate was inscribed with the cabinet and drawer numbers where the corresponding specimen was located.
“This certainly makes it easy to find a specific herb. Whose idea was this?”
“His Majesty, the Emperor Emeritus.”
“…”
Da Vinci stared silently at the nameplates for a moment before asking another question. “How many specimens are in this collection in total?”
“I don’t know.”
“Pardon?”
“I counted up to ten thousand or so, but new ones keep coming in, so I gave up. For that matter, we’ve also given up on systematic naming. Now, we just transcribe the local names given by the residents of the region where they were discovered.”
“They keep increasing? How is that possible?”
“Because they are constantly arriving from the mainland, the northern territories, Daeseoldo, New Frontier, and even from foreign lands.”
“Why from other countries?”
“What do you think an Imperial citizen does if they fall ill in a foreign land? They must find local herbs they can use, must they not?”
“Ah…”
Nodding at the curator’s explanation, Da Vinci’s expression grew even more grim. I can never complete this alone! It’s impossible!
As he racked his brain for a solution, he muttered softly, “I can’t die alone…”
It was one of the first sentences he had mastered after coming to the Empire.
***
Da Vinci immediately penned several letters destined for Italy.
“…Therefore, success in this endeavor is beyond my capabilities alone. I would like to summon some people. Here is a list of the recipients for the letters.”
“Hmm…” Hyang mused, scanning the list of names. There are quite a few names I remember from my art and liberal arts classes.
He looked up at Da Vinci. “Are these all good people?”
“I cannot speak for their character, but their skills are excellent.”
In other words, they’re talented but have terrible personalities.
“You are aware that these letters must also pass through a censor, are you not?”
“I am mindful of that, Your Majesty.”
After a moment of consideration, Hyang nodded. “I will present your request to His Majesty the Emperor. However, be aware that there is a chance it may be denied.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
But Da Vinci did not for a second believe his request would be refused. The Emperor Emeritus is involved. A refusal? Not a chance!
And events unfolded exactly as he had predicted. Hyeon readily approved the request, and Da Vinci’s letters were dispatched to Italy. The artists who received them found their eyes widening as they read the contents. The terms were enticing: a guarantee of a remarkably long period of employment and, while the pay per piece was less than they might receive in Italy, the payments were guaranteed (though subject to tax). For artists who constantly struggled to escape poverty without commissions from nobles, this was a bewitching offer.
Some refused outright. “I would rather starve to death than set foot in that land of heathens!”
However, a considerable number of artists—some alone, others with their families and apprentices—boarded ships bound for the Empire. The solution to their financial woes was a powerful lure, but Da Vinci had also cleverly provoked their artistic pride.
His letter to Michelangelo was a prime example.
Hey, brat! Are you satisfied, parading yourself around as the best now that I am gone? If you truly wish to be judged as the greatest, then come to the Empire! There is a commission I have received here.
(…)
Of course, you could remain there, making a name for yourself by painting portraits of nobles, sculpting statues, or creating frescoes for holy temples. But which is more valuable? A painting or sculpture seen only by the elite, or a fresco seen once a week, versus having your name immortalized as a contributor to a book that will be seen by everyone, regardless of station, and will continue to be seen by generations to come?
Or could it be that you are afraid? Afraid that everyone, save for the few who sing your praises, will judge you as inferior to me? Ah, and did you not once argue that sculpture is superior to painting?
“That arrogant, insolent old man! Has he gone senile with age? To say that I am less than him! I will go there this instant and shatter that ego of his!”
Crumpling the letter, Michelangelo immediately packed his belongings and boarded a ship sailing for the Empire.
“Friend! What about the portraits you were commissioned for! The sculptures!”
“I shall complete them in the Empire and send them back!”
***
And so, with the arrival of some of the most renowned artists of the Renaissance in Seoul, the illustration work for the herbal encyclopedia gained tremendous speed. The Italian art world had already been shaped by the hyper-realistic style Hyang had introduced. With the arrival of artists who stood at the pinnacle of that movement, the illustrations for the encyclopedia achieved a staggering level of realism.
“But is it really possible to print this? No, surely not?”
The artists, who initially showed the same disbelief as Da Vinci, were left wide-eyed with astonishment when they saw the first test prints.
“It actually works…”
Meanwhile, the presence of the Italian artists began to transform the painters of the Empire. A wave of hyper-realism started to influence ink wash painting and portraiture. Perspective began to be applied to traditional works that had long valued ‘the beauty of blank space’ and ‘the expression of inner spirit.’ This resulted in a sublime fusion. It was the birth of an artistic style that future art historians would call the ‘Third Gandhara Art’ (The original Gandharan art (c. 1st-7th centuries CE in modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan) was a famous fusion of Greco-Roman and Buddhist artistic styles.) or ‘Seoulism.’
***
They say to row when the tide comes in. I can’t let this moment pass!
Sensing that this was a golden opportunity, Hyang moved quickly. “With so many talented individuals gathered, I wish to create a new book.”
“A book, Your Majesty? What kind of book?”
At Hyang’s words, Hyeon and the ministers’ eyes lit up. Though their old ways had faded, most of them came from scholar-official backgrounds. It was only natural that the mention of a ‘book’ would pique their interest.
“An encyclopedia.”
“An encyclopedia? Do you mean a dictionary of characters? Artists and a dictionary do not seem to fit together.”
Sensing Hyeon’s slight disappointment, Hyang continued, “I chose my word poorly. You could think of it as a classified collection, or like the natural histories brought from Europe in the old days.”
“Ah!”
Hyeon and the ministers finally nodded in understanding, but a question immediately followed. “But for what reason must we create such a collection? We already have textbooks for students in the academies, and various illustrated guides are either available or in production.”
“They exist, of course, and I acknowledge the excellence of each one. However, each of them is ultimately a single tree. We need a forest. No, we need a map that depicts the shape of the entire forest.”
Hyeon and the ministers nodded, though they hadn’t fully grasped his meaning. Seeing this, Hyang elaborated.
“This will be a book that makes all the peoples of this world acknowledge the Empire. A book that will make everyone admit that ‘all the knowledge in the world is gathered in the Empire.’ And not just with a few sentences, but with illustrations, so that they can truly understand. It won’t delve as deeply as a textbook or a specialized guide, of course, but it will be a book that allows even a layman to gain a proper understanding of any subject.”
Han Myeong-hoe was the first to respond. “If it is completed as you say, it will be a book praised as a Bung (a giant mythological bird)!”
“Indeed. If it is completed properly, the Empire will cover the world not with guns and cannons, but with knowledge.”
During the Meiji Restoration, one of the first things the Japanese translated was an encyclopedia, wasn’t it? Diderot’s? Britannica? To hell with them! The standard for encyclopedias will be the Imperial Encyclopedia! And the standard of the world will not be London or Washington, but Seoul!