Author: Erzi Congzhou

"That is to say, there are actually physical objects made of hard yellow paper in the mainland." Anzhai Eiichi murmured.

"Yes." Zhou Zhi nodded: "In addition, the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" and "Quick Snow and Clear Posts" hidden in the Palace Museum are also filled with hard yellow double hooks."

"There is a question." Xu Zhantang was confused: "If the painting is made of paper coated with wax, it can certainly increase the transparency, luminosity and toughness of the paper, but how to apply ink? It will also be difficult to frame, right?"

"This question..." Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "Actually, a traditional craft has already given us the answer."

"ah?"

"The traditional craft I'm talking about is called mounting." Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "There is a special craft in mounting, which is printing."

"For some precious ancient calligraphy and paintings, future generations want to add appreciation seals on them. Instead of stamping them directly and crudely, they first stamp the seal on the rice paper, and then cut out the seal and paste it on the calligraphy and painting.

Then, the white paper area without the printed text is removed through a special process, so that the printed text is transferred to the calligraphy and painting."

"In ancient times, wax oil minerals were also used in ink pads. Without special craftsmanship, the printing paper would not be able to be pasted on calligraphy and paintings. This process is called 'lost wax'."

"Similarly, this problem also exists in calligraphy and painting. Ancient paintings, especially gongbi, often go through five renderings and nine dyeings. Each color is reinforced with alum, and there are often more than a dozen processes before and after the second color.

, to complete a painting.”

"After the painting is completed, a large amount of water will be used when mounting it. At this time, the color has solidified on the paper fibers. As long as you pay attention to the technique and only wash away the excess gum, it will not cause harm to the painting."

"Then there is a whole set of processes such as re-consolidation and mounting. It is this set of calligraphy and painting preservation techniques that allows us to repair the thousand-year-old scrolls many times without damaging the artwork itself."

"And the so-called 'wax' of the hard yellow wax paper is not a simple wax, but a complex formula. It is a water-soluble resin. Its effect is actually similar to that of gum. It has some characteristics of wax, but it does not

It affects the inking of calligraphy and painting.”

"So, Mr. Xiao Zhou is very familiar with the hard yellow wax paper, so he believes that the Mahavamna Sutra is authentic?"

"Yes, the surviving paper from the Tang Dynasty is very precious. This fragment is the standard Tang style in terms of calligraphy style, and the paper is also a precious paper from the Tang Dynasty, so I think it must be authentic. As for other identification criteria,

Sister Wanqiu must know better."

"For the identification of calligraphy and painting, we generally use two identification methods, carbon 14 identification and spectral identification." Lin Wanqiu said with a smile: "Carbon 14 identification is to take some trace characteristics on the calligraphy and painting, such as ink marks, paper, and ink pads, to conduct carbon 14 attenuation measurement.

"Spectral identification uses spectral analysis instruments to check whether there are traces of the use of modern chemicals on the scroll."

This is also a commonly used method in the literary and art world after technological advancement. The former is used to determine the age of an artwork, and the latter is used to determine whether it is a fake.

"Judging from the identification results, there are no modern chemical agents on the scroll, and its chemical element composition is consistent with the known chemical characteristics of the Tang scroll artworks that have been restored in ancient times."

"Judging from the carbon 14 identification, the earliest date of the scroll was the Tang Dynasty, and it was subsequently restored twice in the Song Dynasty and Ming Dynasty."

"Is it possible that this is a fake made by people from the Song Dynasty or Ming Dynasty using paper and ink from the Tang Dynasty?" Hou Zhongjin thinks this is also an issue worth considering.

Unexpectedly, both Lin Wanqiu and Zhou Zhi laughed, and Lin Wanqiu said: "Zen Master Kukai's status in the island country is certainly high, but in China at that time, then..."

"Judging from the fact that there are no inscriptions before or after this long scroll, and only a few lesser-known seals from private collections, this work may not have received much attention at the time."

Lin Wanqiu is from Hong Kong. During this time, she returned to China and traveled around. She probably got some education, and now she is secretly mocking the people from the island.

But what she said is right. If the Song Dynasty and Ming Dynasty people were to use precious hard yellow paper from the Tang Dynasty to make fakes, it would have to be Zhang Zhi, Zhang Xu, and Su Sun. How blind would they be to make fakes of Monk Kukai?

!

Coupled with these two appraisals, it can be confirmed that it is authentic.

Lin Wanqiu said with a smile: "You have written a good article, Mr. Kui. You can come up with an identification word for the jar with the dragon pattern just now, so I can use it tomorrow."

"No need to wait for tonight." Zhou Zhi took Lin Wanqiu's notebook and pen and started writing:

A large vase with Kui dragon pattern from Xuande period of Ming Dynasty.

The jar has a straight mouth, round shoulders, a bulging belly, and a flat bottom. It is decorated with blue and white patterns all over the body. The neck is decorated with a Ruyi cloud pattern, the shoulders are decorated with a flower hook pattern, and the belly is painted with a Kui dragon holding a lotus pattern. The Kui dragon has an elephant trunk, double wings, and a curly grass tail.

, vigorous and vigorous, with a lotus petal pattern painted around the bottom. Inside the double circle of blue and white at the bottom is the regular script inscription "Xuande Year of the Ming Dynasty".

The blue and white color of this vessel is rich and bright, the carcass is firm and pure white, the painting is very interesting, the layout is comfortable and elegant, and the subject matter is extremely rare. It is the best among the blue and white vessels of the early Ming Dynasty.

After thinking about it for a while, Zhou Zhi wrote below:

The Kui dragon pattern on Xuande porcelain is derived from the Hindu Capricorn fish. The Sanskrit name "makara" originally refers to "sea dragon" and is the mount of the goddess Ganges and the god Varuna.

Believers regard the goddess as the embodiment of purity and forgiveness. The sea god Varuna represents justice and truth. According to Hindu and Buddhist statues and rituals, Capricorn fish specializes in guarding the passages and entrances of palaces and temples.

Therefore, the Kuilong pattern that has been a theme in Chinese art since the Yuan Dynasty should have been gradually included in Chinese art themes with the popularization of Buddhism. By the Xuande Dynasty, it was first used as the main pattern on porcelain.

Compared with the Kuilong on other Shang and Zhou bronzes, it is quite different.

He handed the notebook back to Lin Wanqiu: "Sister Wanqiu, what do you think?"

Lin Wanqiu looked at it and said with a smile: "Very good, that's it. Then let's go to the banquet and have a good chat?"

The standard of the banquet was quite high. Lin Wanqiu booked a large restaurant in the five-star Regent Hotel on Hong Kong Island as the venue for the banquet.

There were a lot of guests, and this was actually a promotion meeting. Zhou Zhi was lucky enough to sit in the front row with the big guys, and met many celebrities and big stars who came to help.

The celebrities are about to go to the mainland for a charity performance, and the charity performance is organized by Li Qiyan, and the most important collection in this auction belongs to Li Qiyan, so you taste it, you taste it carefully...

It is very simple for Zhou Zhi to understand. In his mind, Hong Kong Island is similar to Jiachuan. Everyone looks up but never looks down. There are only so many people coming and going, and it is all about one person's worldliness...

The famous short and fat host was co-hosting with Lin Wanqiu, who had changed into an evening gown. His wit and humor made the guests laugh.

However, Zhou Zhi felt it was necessary to remind Lin Wanqiu and Li Lehai that this guy seemed to be a pervert.

After the ceremony, there was a dinner. In fact, this was just a social gathering. After a while, we arranged to chat in some circles, and Lin Wanqiu and Li Lehai acted as introducers like butterflies in flowers.
Chapter completed!