with its ruse and drives Mani away. Nonetheless, when the king comes
across the pool with the dog, he recognizes Mani’s skill and invites him to
compete with the others.
They set to work, each hidden behind a veil. One day, the ruler of China
and high officials come together to judge their work.
And having each master lift the veil and spread the drape...[the guests]
were honored with enjoyment of the whimsical decorations and wondrous
creations that [the masters] had been grudgingly hiding from each other. In
truth, each master had crafted such inventions and [works of] originality
that it would befitting if [their] images were to be displayed as evident signs
of the adornments that the perpetual decorator and the eternal artist [i.e.
God] made manifest in the gardens and meadows of the highest paradise
which He embellished with miraculouscolors. The forms of their wondrous
works were as lucid and clear as the result of their perfect prowess andflair.
Nobody’s distinct work was depicted in [that of] another. And the origin-
ality of no master’s superior expertise was replicated on the wall of other
artists. (However, the Chinese master, the artist with the seal of Mani), was
well versed in assembling the techniques of painting and design. He showed
that, with various [illusionistic] tricks and variegated colors, it was possible
to embellish the beauties that the Artist of Imagination [i.e. God] did not
impart on the Tablet of mind and the arts that the Painter of Perfection did
not render on the slate of intellect. Furthermore, the other master’s[novel]
designs and the illustrations that they each had rendered in secrecy [were]
also manifest on Mani’swall...In other words, that peerless master gave the
wall such a burnishing that [even] pure water has never been so transparent.
And he gave his every image such a bright appearance that the world-
illuminating mirror has never furbished plants andflowers in that tone.^16
Mustafa‘Ali conflates the ultimate Sufiartist with the ultimate illusionist,
rendering the skill to depict with perfect verisimilitude, as with the dog,
part and parcel with that of the inward gaze of the Sufi. The next hemistich
reveals his mirror as a trap for the lesser artists.
With their pure, natural quality, Mani’s
Designs became a mirror for his enemies.
He gave [his] world[-renowned] pictures such a light that
From end to end they began to manifest God’s providence.^17
Yet the praise he receives from the king brings him to the attention of the
sages of the age, who“envied his rise and pursued aggressively the rules of
the arts of spying and hypocrisy.”Like Nizami, Mustafa‘Ali transforms the(^16) Akın-Kıvanç, 2011 : 279–280. (^17) Akın-Kıvanç, 2011 : 280.
164 Deceiving Deception