A story is told of a King who summoned the nation’s best living Calligrapher and demanded of him that he make a drawing to symbolize the Kingdom. The Calligrapher reassured his lord as to his loyalty and left to undertake his task.
Days passed; then weeks. The King sent a messenger to the Calligrapher’s remotely located studio to find out what was happening. The messenger returned with the report that the drawing was not ready. Months came and departed. Every envoy to the Calligrapher was curtly dismissed with the same information; that the drawing was not yet complete.
After years had passed, the King could contain his impatience no longer and stormed off to the Calligrapher’s studio himself. The Calligrapher is sitting there, quietly and evidently quite at ease. The King is furious, ‘Where is my drawing?’ he shouts. At this the Calligrapher bows silently, pulls a large sheet of paper towards him, sets a variety of jars before him, picks up a brush and, within two minutes, has executed the most wonderfully sinuous design to represent the Kingdom.
The King can scarcely control his rage, ‘If it is so easy, why have I had to wait so long?’. Still maintaining his silence the Calligrapher goes to the back of his studio where there is a large alcove with doors reaching from the floor to the ceiling. He opens the doors and out onto the floor pour thousands of study drawings.
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