Lao Dai sighed: "A lot of famous ink in history has been lost, and there is only a little written record left, so that our descendants can not find its secret recipe!" ”

"After talking about pen and ink, the third item is paper!"

Lao Dai took out the box carefully, and there were a few pieces of rice paper in it and said: "There are very few remnants of Eastern Han Dynasty paper, and some unearthed ancient paper has long been lost overseas. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 For example, in the early 20th century, the Englishman Stein stole cultural relics from Dunhuang, and there are several broken letters written on hemp paper. ”

During the Wei and Jin dynasties, the papermaking technology has developed greatly, and the famous calligrapher Wang Xizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty wrote the "Orchid Pavilion Preface" with a kind of "silkworm cocoon paper". Because the original authenticity of the "Orchid Pavilion Preface" has been buried in the underground of Zhaoling by Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, now we can't see the physical object of this kind of paper, but the ancient book says: "It is made of cotton cocoon, the color is like silk, and it is used to write, and the ink is lovely." "As you can imagine, this must be a high-quality paper that is as white as silk, tough and smooth."

"The papermaking of the Tang Dynasty was more abundant in raw materials than before, in addition to using hemp and rattan, it also used bamboo, bark and other papermaking. In addition, there is a kind of "water pattern paper", where you can see the shiny lines and patterns when facing the light. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Hui paper, pool paper and rice paper were famous all over the world. Hui paper is the paper produced in the Huizhou area, and the pool paper is produced in Chizhou. Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, who was quite talented in poetry, calligraphy and painting, once ordered someone to supervise the making of paper in Chizhou for the imperial use. The paper made is thin and smooth, white as jade, which is the famous "Chengxintang paper".

In the Song Dynasty, the paper industry gradually concentrated in Jing County, Anhui Province, and now the so-called "Xuan paper" originated from the paper produced in Jing County. Since the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, there are more raw materials for papermaking, and the variety of colors is more abundant, and the high-quality paper tends to be processed artistically, becoming a work of art that can be appreciated and treasured. ”

"Paperwork will be fine painting and papermaking technology combined, with a variety of vivid and bright landscapes, flowers and birds, dragons and phoenixes as the shading pattern of the paper, with a strong decorative and artistic, such as the Ming Xuande period of frangipani paper, magnetic green paper, gold flower five-color paper, the early Qing Dynasty inner house of the plum blossom jade paper, sprinkle gold five-color wax paper, etc., are expensive processing paper."

Lao Dai took a sip and said: "In today's collection market, ancient paper seems to be less valued than ancient pens, ancient inks and ancient inkstones. However, with the increase in the collection value and auction market price of ancient paintings and calligraphy and rare books in recent years, ancient paper, as an important part of it, has begun to attract the attention of collectors. ”

"One of the important reasons for this is that the counterfeiting of ancient paintings and calligraphy and rare books occurs from time to time, which is difficult to prevent. If the collector has mastered the basic knowledge of the production method, form, and decorative patterns of paper and paper in various eras, he can use it when identifying ancient calligraphy and painting works and editions of books.

In 2006, a "Spring Auction of Ancient Books and Periodicals" held in Liulichang attracted the attention of collectors, and the finale of the auction was the marginal lots of old paper and silk, which were not books or paintings. Old paper silk is a hot commodity driven by the calligraphy and painting craze in recent years, people buy them in order to identify the authenticity of famous calligraphy and painting as original circumstantial evidence, but also used to repair Ming and Qing rare books. ”

The final auction result "50 pieces of plain paper made in the Republic of China" was sold at 3,520 yuan, "plain paper, 4 volumes of woodblock color printing in the Republic of China" was sold for 15,400 yuan, and "Meino paper, 2 volumes made in Japan" changed hands for 1,100 yuan! ”

"As for the rice paper we are familiar with, since the 90s of the last century, the collection and trading of it has been gradually launched, and it continues to heat up. Not only the Ming Xuan during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China sold at a higher price, but also after the founding of the People's Republic of China and even in the 70s and 80s of the 20th century, the price of rice paper products also skyrocketed. ”

The predecessor of China Xuan Paper Group Corporation - Anhui Jingxian Xuan Paper Factory in the 70s of the 20th century for the Chinese painting master Li Keran customized the "Shi Niu Tang" paper, now reached the price of more than 100,000 yuan per knife, that is, more than 1,000 yuan per piece of paper. ”

In addition, in 1999, the "Red Star Brand" 50th anniversary paper produced by China Xuan Paper Group Corporation was sold at 980 yuan per knife, only after less than ten years, and its market price has exceeded 3,000 yuan per knife. ”

It was the first time Wu Tianyuan heard that rice paper was so expensive now, and it seemed that this business was promising. Lao Dai smiled and took out a few pieces of old paper and demonstrated: "There are many ways to fake now, even ancient paper is no exception, for example, after the yellow spot appears in the paper collection, dissolve a small spoonful of refined salt in the heated milk, and after the milk is cool, completely soak the collection in the milk for 1 to 2 hours, and then take it out, gently wipe it with a soft cloth, and then rinse it with water, and the macula will be removed after drying." ”

"There are also paper collectibles dyed with blue ink, where bleach and baking soda are dissolved in water in the same proportion, and then the paper collection is placed and the blue ink is removed after a short soaking. Paper collectibles with wrinkled defects can be soaked in clean water for 15 to 20 minutes, then picked up, blotted with absorbent paper to absorb the surface moisture, and then clamped into the book to press dry. ”

"Once the paper collection is stained with oil, you can use a cotton ball dipped in some gasoline or alcohol and gently wipe it to remove the oil stain. For paper collectibles stained with wax, the wax can be removed by placing them between two sheets of absorbent paper and ironing them with an iron. ”

Lao Dai Zhengse said: "Not only do you want to engage in this business, from the mid-to-late 19th century, until today, intelligence personnel of some countries, especially economic intelligence personnel, have visited the production areas of rice paper, and tried in every possible way to collect information on the production technology of rice paper, trying to imitate it, and obtain high economic benefits by confusing the real with the fake." ”

In World War II, Japan took advantage of the opportunity of invading China, sent spies deep into southern Anhui many times, collected some green sandalwood seeds from Jing County, and transported them back to Japan for careful planting.

After the establishment of New China to the 80s of the 20th century, the country was not opened, and foreigners could not enter the rice paper production area to steal the rice paper skills, and the relevant countries could only buy rice paper in the mainland of the motherland and Hong Kong, and then used modern scientific means to test the various components contained in the rice paper, and then competed to imitate it.

At the beginning of the reform and opening up, the Japanese took advantage of the opportunity of China's local officials and people to warmly welcome foreign guests, without the opportunity of business secrecy, to Jing County "visit and investigate", officials and factory leaders and technical personnel accompanied the visit, each production process explained in detail, so that the Japanese easily obtained the whole process of rice paper manufacturing, as well as the formula of "paper medicine". The loss of national treasures makes people sigh. (To be continued.) )