[A few days after their return, the package appears sometime after Itachi returns to his room following his morning workout so that whenever he ventures out again after his shower, he’ll find it leaning there just to the side of his door. When Itachi examines it more closely, it will become immediately obvious that it’s some sort of soft paper that has been rolled and held closed with a ribbon. Attached to the roll is an envelope that contains a note folded inside. The envelope declares "Read me first!" in a very familiar scrawl, and should Itachi do as instructed, the note reads as follows:
Itachi,
It is not the custom of my culture to celebrate every birthday with a gift. Gifts are given occasionally, but only for years considered to be milestones. I don’t know if it’s the same for you, or if your customs are more similar to the majority here who celebrate every year in that way. Of all the traditions I’ve learned of here, I have to admit I don’t mind this one so much.
Still, you should know I didn’t intend this as a birthday gift until I realized its completion coincided so closely with the date. I want you to know that because if you don’t wish to receive any birthday gifts, this one doesn’t count.
I told you before our separation—before MY separation—that I would spend the time away perfecting my mastery of your language, enough to impress you with my command of Japanese calligraphy even. I regret to inform you that I did not become fluent in Japanese in one month. (I DID study though. A little.) And it was only half of a failure because in my free time in the evenings I diligently practiced my calligraphy. I think we both know that the art of it requires too much patience for me to ever truly excel, but I did find it surprisingly soothing.
Your fluency in my tongue far exceeds mine in yours, and so I hope you’ll find this piece of Chinese calligraphy acceptable until a time when I can butcher the beauty of calligraphy in your characters as well as in mine.
Oh, by the way, I didn’t write this! It’s a parable that I felt was fitting.
-Wei Ying
[Despite his jokes, when Itachi unfolds the paper to find a modestly sized hanging wall scroll, it’s immediately clear that Wei Wuxian’s calligraphy is far from the chicken scratch he usually writes. It’s still amateur to anyone truly practiced, but each stroke has been drawn with precision and care and the work is lovely overall. Beside the writing, a simple painting depicts two figures sitting alongside a river, one of them with a large instrument in his lap. The painting has been done with minimal strokes and isn’t as detailed as Itachi knows Wei Wuxian’s drawings can be, but the style matches the calligraphy well.
The context of the painting becomes immediately clear once Itachi reads and translates the text.
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Itachi,
It is not the custom of my culture to celebrate every birthday with a gift. Gifts are given occasionally, but only for years considered to be milestones. I don’t know if it’s the same for you, or if your customs are more similar to the majority here who celebrate every year in that way. Of all the traditions I’ve learned of here, I have to admit I don’t mind this one so much.
Still, you should know I didn’t intend this as a birthday gift until I realized its completion coincided so closely with the date. I want you to know that because if you don’t wish to receive any birthday gifts, this one doesn’t count.
I told you before our separation—before MY separation—that I would spend the time away perfecting my mastery of your language, enough to impress you with my command of Japanese calligraphy even. I regret to inform you that I did not become fluent in Japanese in one month. (I DID study though. A little.) And it was only half of a failure because in my free time in the evenings I diligently practiced my calligraphy. I think we both know that the art of it requires too much patience for me to ever truly excel, but I did find it surprisingly soothing.
Your fluency in my tongue far exceeds mine in yours, and so I hope you’ll find this piece of Chinese calligraphy acceptable until a time when I can butcher the beauty of calligraphy in your characters as well as in mine.
Oh, by the way, I didn’t write this! It’s a parable that I felt was fitting.
-Wei Ying
[Despite his jokes, when Itachi unfolds the paper to find a modestly sized hanging wall scroll, it’s immediately clear that Wei Wuxian’s calligraphy is far from the chicken scratch he usually writes. It’s still amateur to anyone truly practiced, but each stroke has been drawn with precision and care and the work is lovely overall. Beside the writing, a simple painting depicts two figures sitting alongside a river, one of them with a large instrument in his lap. The painting has been done with minimal strokes and isn’t as detailed as Itachi knows Wei Wuxian’s drawings can be, but the style matches the calligraphy well.
The context of the painting becomes immediately clear once Itachi reads and translates the text.
伯牙子鼓琴，鍾子期聽之，方鼓而志在太山，鍾子期曰：「善哉乎鼓琴！巍巍乎若太山。」少選之間，而志在流水，鍾子期復曰：「善哉乎鼓琴！湯湯乎若流水。」鍾子期死，伯牙破琴絕絃，終身不復鼓琴，以為世無足為鼓琴者。
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