Zhu Zhongshi looked at everyone's surprised looks, smiled slightly, and said, "I won't say more than anything else, let's take a look at it slowly." ”

Zhu Zhongshi asked Steward Zhang to distribute white gloves to everyone, he took out a key and inserted it into a keyhole under the crystal glass cabinet, and the crystal glass cabinet slowly opened in half a ring.

At this time, everyone was forced to suppress their excitement and try to stay calm, but they could still see their nervousness from everyone's slightly rapid breathing.

Putting on gloves, everyone did not touch the works in the cabinet, nor did they seize the position, the four people divided the four positions of the cabinet, and their eyes were on the picture scroll in the cabinet.

Meng Zitao's position was on the left, and he noticed the painting scroll first, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"Dr. Shi, what's wrong?" Zhu Zhongshi noticed Meng Zitao's expression.

Meng Zitao said: "Have you changed this painting scroll?"

Zhu Zhongshi waved his hand: "No, what I looked like when I bought it, it was what it was, is there anything wrong?"

Meng Zitao said disdainfully: "The previous owner was not a leopard, and it was really funny to use rosewood as a painting shaft." ”

Many friends who like to collect calligraphy and painting know that the quality of the painting shaft can affect the shelf life of a pair of calligraphy and paintings. As a national treasure of our country, calligraphy and painting have a very high collection value, whether it can be preserved for a long time, can be passed down from generation to generation, and the material of this painting has a very close relationship.

If it is a shaft made of sandalwood, it may be stored for a longer time, and if it is a shaft made of other wood, it may not be stored for so long, so there is a lot of attention to the selection of the painting shaft, and some materials cannot be used.

Although Yuan Shijia didn't like Meng Zitao's attitude very much, he also agreed with what Meng Zitao said.

"In ancient times, sandalwood was commonly used, and now it is no exception, and the most used is still sandalwood, because sandalwood itself can avoid moisture and prevent calligraphy and paintings from being damaged due to moisture. At the same time, it can also be full of insects, which also has a protective effect on the scroll. Moreover, the aroma of sandalwood itself is very pleasant, which makes people feel very comfortable after smelling it, and until now, many people like sandalwood. ”

"Those high-grade scrolls are made of jade as the shaft head, with sandalwood as the shaft body, but because its own weight is too heavy, many of them are split from the middle, and the two split half-timbers are put together, which can reduce its weight to a large extent, and at the same time can effectively protect the calligraphy and painting. ”

"Of course, there are also paulownia, fir, and sumac wood as painting scrolls, but its effect is still not as good as sandalwood. The last thing you can do is to use horns as shafts, which will attract insects, and will also make the curls damp, affecting the life expectancy. As for rosewood, it is not that it cannot be used, but rosewood is heavier than sandalwood, and it is generally not recommended to use rosewood for the protection of paintings. ”

Zhu Zhongshi suddenly said: "So that's the case, the person who sold my painting was indeed a big boss, maybe he didn't understand it, so he chose rosewood." ”

"But I think the level of the framers is quite high. Meng Zitao looked a little skeptical.

Ryder said: "Dr. Shi, don't rush to make a decision yet, this is not an original old mounting, how can you judge whether it is true or false based on this." ”

"What do you know!" Meng Zitao snorted coldly, and then took out a magnifying glass to take a closer look.

Ryder was visibly annoyed, but he held back, and his attention was immediately drawn to the paintings in the cabinet.

This is a monumental work, full and wide, describing the high realm after the snow. In the distant view, the mountains are steep, the mountains are abrupt and steep, the stone bones are grandiose, the high and far-reaching momentum, the air swallows the mountains and rivers, and there is infinite scenery in the fun of the dangerous peaks. A pavilion tower rises dimly over the mountain. The painting is high and secluded, and the momentum is magnificent.

In the middle scene, there are strange and ancient trees and pines, surrounded by mountain streams, and are covered by houses and huts. In the near view, several pine trees are tall and leafy, and the dangerous rocks stand upright, and two pedestrians pass out from the path on the right, as if they are coming from the distant mountains, and will go to their homes to rest. The scenery echoes from afar, and the picture is full of strong rhythmic form beauty. The exquisiteness of his skills and the rigor of his painting style can be called exquisite.

To Mencius's admiration, they were all amazed.

Next, the scene was silent, everyone was carefully observing the paintings, and after more than half an hour, Ryder was the first to finish appreciating.

"Mr. Ryder, I wonder what you think of this painting?"

Ryder said: "I have studied the life of Wang Wei before, and he studied Li Sixun's green and golden landscapes in art, but in order to express the Zen principle of emptiness and silence in his paintings, he vigorously advocated 'ink and wash first', which is a technique of painting simply with ink color. ”

"The so-called 'five colors of ink' generally refers to the multi-layered variation of ink color, 'dry, wet, thick, light, and burnt' to symbolically represent the painted object. Obviously, ink painting is more suitable for the literati's pursuit of elegance, plainness, and naturalness than heavy color painting. ”

"He pioneered the 'ink breaking method', which is to use thick ink to break the light and light ink to break the thick while the ink color is not dry, and penetrate and cover each other to achieve the effect of moisturizing and fresh. The various characteristics of this painting are very consistent with the historical description of Wang Wei's calligraphy and painting style. ”

Jiang Haoyan expressed his agreement with Ryder's point of view, and said: "This painting also has the seal of Dong Qichang's collection, and judging from my experience, there is no problem with the inscription, style and color of the ink, it should be genuine, and Dong Qichang's connoisseurship must be beyond doubt." ”

Meng Zitao sneered: "Dong Qichang is really powerful, but he also has times when he is dazzled. ”

Ryder also sneered and said, "I wonder what Dr. Shi's opinion is?"

Meng Zitao said: "Obviously, the painting method is wrong. ”

"What is the reason?" Jiang Haoyan didn't know why he was disgusted when he saw Meng Zitao before, but now of course he is on Ryder's side.

Meng Zitao said: "In Tang Dynasty landscape paintings, there is generally no need to use the method, to put it simply: the painter first sketches the form of the mountain stone, and then colors it with green and green, and the work is completed." It is generally believed that the method of landscape painting first appeared in the Five Dynasties period. ”

Although Wang Wei's "Snow Creek" uses ink to set off the environment, the immature rubbing of the mountain stones also reflects the shadow and texture of the mountain stones. But if you look at the rocks here, there is already an obvious 'axe splitting' technique, who invented this method, I guess I don't need to say more. ”

Yuan Shijia took over and said: "This technique was invented by Jing Hao in the Later Liang period, and from this point of view, this painting should have nothing to do with Wang Wei, but just imitated Wang Wei's technique." However, although this work is not the original work of Wang Wei, I think it should also be the work of a painter from the Five Dynasties period. ”

Next, Yuan Shijia gave a detailed explanation, but Meng Zitao did not refute it, but agreed.

As for the conclusion that the painting was not made by Wang Wei, Zhu Zhongshi was very open, and applauded: "It is worthy of being an idiot for Yuan painting, what he said is reasonable and well-founded!"

Yuan Shijia modestly expressed politeness.

Zhu Zhongshi looked at everyone: "Do you have anything else to add?"

Both Ryder and Jiang Haoyan said no, while Meng Zitao seemed a little hesitant.

Zhu Zhongshi saw it in his eyes and said with a smile: "Dr. Shi, if you have anything to say, just say it." ”

Meng Zitao said: "I also agree with Mr. Yuan's judgment, but I think that some details of this painting are a little weird, and there seems to be something hidden in it. ”

Speaking of this, Meng Zitao looked at Zhu Zhongshi, which seemed to be asking, whether to say it here.

Zhu Zhongshi smiled: "You just say it." ”

Meng Zitao pointed to a place in the scroll and said: "I don't know if you have noticed, the author is suspected of painting a crow here, which is obviously inconsistent with the overall painting style, and it seems too abrupt." ”

"Where are the crows?" everyone was stunned, and it was not until with the help of a magnifying glass that they found a place that looked like crows in the bushes.

"It's so vague, maybe it's not a crow, it's just a casual mixture. Ryder disagreed.

Meng Zitao said lightly: "Don't you have bad ears? I just said the word 'suspicious', besides, don't you see the location of these two people? Calculate the distance between them and the crow, don't you think it's a coincidence? In addition, the ground under the feet of these two people is obviously darker than the next one, is this also a coincidence?"

After listening to this painting, everyone hurriedly looked at the two people on the scroll who seemed to be preparing to go back, and sure enough, it was the same as what Meng Zitao said.

Yuan Shijia muttered: "That is to say, they are likely to have just come out of the place where the crow is, if this black ground means that these two people are guilty, does it mean that they just killed someone where the crow is, or buried the body?"

Meng Zitao shook his head: "I don't think it's right, because these two things are painted on the painting, and it is meaningless, and it is impossible for people at that time to arrest the criminals with this painting." ”

"Dr. Shi, what do you think that means? Zhu Zhongshi couldn't help but ask.

Meng Zitao said: "My idea is very simple, it is nothing more than what gold and silver treasure they buried in the crow's place, and the origin of this gold and silver treasure should be abnormal, as for whether it was stolen or how it came from, it is not something I can think of." ”

Listening to Meng Zitao's analysis, Ryder's eyes widened, and he looked incredulous: "Could it be that this is a treasure map!"

Meng Zitao glanced at him: "This is all my speculation, if you really think so, you spent time and money looking for it but didn't find it, then don't blame me." ”

Ryder smiled: "Doctor, you misunderstood, how could I think so, and this is on the land of your country, and I am not a bandit, how can I do such a thing?"

Meng Zitao suddenly laughed: "Haha, it's really funny, of course the robber said that he was not a bandit!"

When Ryder heard this, his expression suddenly became gloomy: "Mr. Shi, what do you mean by this?"

Meng Zitao sneered: "Hmph! Don't you know what I mean? Could it be that the cultural relics smuggled out of our country every year are bought by ghosts?"

Zhu Zhongshi smiled and started the round: "I know that Dr. Shi, because of your work, you often preside over archaeological work, and you have a bad impression of foreigners, but Mr. Ryder is a legitimate businessman, and as far as I know, there should be no problem with the origin of his collection." ”

Zhu Zhongshi's words made everyone react, no wonder Meng Zitao has always been not very friendly to Ryder, it turns out that this is the case.

Although there is a round of wishes, Ryder is still angry in his heart: "Dr. Shi, please don't generalize, most of us foreigners are quasi-law-abiding, in your country's words, just a rat feces, a pot of porridge, besides, it's not our organization that smuggles cultural relics." ”

Meng Zitao said disdainfully: "If there is no trading, there is no killing, and the same is true for the exchange of cultural relics, if it weren't for the fact that you are doing everything possible to obtain the cultural relics of our country, they will still smuggle them out?"

Ryder said angrily: "You are a strong word......"

"The two of you are angry, it's not early, let's go eat first. ”

With the persuasion of the master, the two still didn't quarrel again, but they didn't have a good face to show each other.

After lunch, Meng Zitao received the payment, and then he was ready to leave, but before leaving, he was left alone by Zhu Zhongshi.

"Zhu Lao, I don't know what is the matter with you?"

"I'd also like to hear your opinion on that painting, especially about that treasure. Zhu Zhongshi asked with a smile.

Meng Zitao snorted: "Zhu Lao, you think too much, I just guessed casually." ”

Zhu Zhongshi smiled and said: "Dr. Shi is erudite and talented, even a little guess can be thought-provoking, let's discuss it casually, how about it?"

Meng Zitao shook his head: "It's better not to do it, it's not good to talk nonsense." ”

Zhu Zhongshi smiled and said, "Doctor, I have a bronze ban from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty here, why don't we discuss it now?"

The forbidden is actually a seat for placing the wine honor, which can be divided into rectangular and square, with and without feet. Among them, those with feet are called "forbidden", and those without feet are called "forbidden". It began in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty and died in the Warring States Period.

The reason why it is called "forbidden" is because the Zhou people summarized the reasons for the demise of the Xia and Shang dynasties, and they were all indulgent in drinking. In the history of our country, Yu may be the first emperor to propose a ban on alcohol, according to legend, "the emperor ordered Yi Di to make wine and beautiful, into Yu, Yu drank and was willing, so Yi Di and the will of wine, said: 'Later generations will have to die with wine to their country'."

The late monarchs of the Xia and Shang dynasties both collapsed because of their addiction to wine. In view of this, Zhou issued China's earliest prohibition of alcohol, the "Wine Decree", in this case, although the princes and princes were allowed to drink alcohol during sacrifices, and even drank illegally, but the case of the wine vessel was branded with the mark of China's first "alcohol prohibition" era - called "wine ban".

Whether it is handed down or archaeological excavations, the bronze ban is extremely rare, so whether it is Meng Zitao or Shi Baixing, who he is playing now, he can't resist this temptation, not to mention, this is still the task of Meng Zitao's trip, of course he hurriedly agreed. 10