Hearing Chu Chen say this, Wu Ke interrupted with a smile: "Ah Chen, it's not right for you to say that, but I heard the teacher who taught me the guqin before said that the reason why there are broken lines when making zuò guqin in the Republic of China or some traditional crafts is because when they make zuò, the gray tires used are not good, and the tiles used are tile ash, of course, there will be broken lines." ”

Tile ash can be found everywhere, and it is used in combination with lacquer as a gray tire, entirely because of the production cost problem, so many folk guqins are made with this gray tire. Especially after the Ming Dynasty, tile ash appeared more and more, to the Qing Dynasty is more common, it is characterized by the sound is easy to loosen, because the paint ash is easy to fall off, collectors do not like this kind of piano.

Chu Chen laughed and said: "You said that there is indeed a matter, but what I mean is that the cause of the broken lines is complex, and it is mostly related to the lacquer tire treatment and the later preservation environment in the process of making zuò, so we should analyze it carefully, and we can't say that this piano is very old as soon as we mention the broken tortoise lines, you must know that the broken lines on some guqins are still forged." ”

"Broken or fake?" When Wu Ke heard about this, he felt incredible.

Chu Chen said with a smile: "As long as there are interests, of course there will be people who will find a way, and this kind of thing has already appeared in ancient times, and there are many methods, such as baking it with a fierce fire, and then cracking it with ice and snow; Or use egg whites to infiltrate into the ash and paint, steam with retort after making, and then air dry; Or use plaster to make ash and bake, etc., and some even use knives to carve. ”

"However, just like the identification of antiques, the fake is fake, and the difference between the true and false broken lines is still very big after careful observation, and the true broken lines are smooth. The tail of the pattern disappears naturally, and the peak of the pattern is like a sword-like blade; The false broken lines go through processes such as hot and cold catalysis or knife carving. It is inevitable that there will be flaws and flaws. ”

listened to Chu Chen's explanation. Wu Ke hurriedly stepped forward to observe, and found that the lines on it should not seem to be artificially caused, which made her very excited, and said: "Ah Chen, these lines should be naturally formed, so the time for making this guqin should not be short, right?" ”

Chu Chen nodded: "Short is not short, but it is not easy to judge the specific production time of this piano based on the broken lines." Generally speaking, although the turtle pattern is the most precious, according to the records, the age of its formation is only relatively ancient, and it is not clear when it was ancient. ”

"That's it!" Wu Keyan was a little disappointed when she heard this, she looked at the surface of the piano again, and found that there were other lines on both sides, and she lifted her spirit again. Pointing to the pattern and asking, "Ah Chen, is this a broken cow?" ”

"Yes, it's a hair-breaking thing, but it's only in the Middle Ages. In fact, the oldest pattern should be this! As he spoke, Chu Chen pointed to a cut in the headstock.

Wu Ke saw that the shape of this pattern was round and clustered, like a plum blossom petal. Surprised: "This is a plum blossom." ”

Chu Chen nodded and said, "Yes, it's the plum blossom break." Generally speaking, plum blossom breaks are formed at the oldest time. Ancient books say that plum blossoms are not born for thousands of years, so when this qin is made of zuò, it must be at least more than a thousand years. ”

Wu Ke said with some excitement: "That is to say, the age of this guqin must be made in the Northern Song Dynasty at the latest, and it is likely to be a Tang qin!" ”

Chu Chen smiled: "Of course it is possible to say that it is Tang Qin, but why do you have to think it is Tang Qin?" ”

"You're not talking nonsense, Tang Qin is worth a lot!" Wu Ke said as a matter of course.

The ancients often used qin, chess, calligraphy and painting to discuss a person's talent and cultivation, and the qin is the first of the four arts, and it is also the first of the eight tones of traditional music in China. Because the ancients paid the cultural status of the guqin, it also makes the collection of the guqin now only a small number, but the price is not low.

Not to mention Tang Qin or Song Qin, as early as 1998, the valuation of a royal cave Tianxian Laiqin in the Ming Dynasty was as high as 1.2 million to 1.5 million, which shows the value of a good guqin.

As for the Tang Qin, Chu Chen really hasn't heard of it until now, but he thinks that if it is a guqin with good sound quality and some fame, the price will definitely not be cheap.

A year later, that is, in 2003, a piece of Wang Shixiang's old collection of the Tang Dynasty "Great Sage's Relic Sound" piano set a world record for the guqin auction at that time for 8.91 million yuan, and after nine years, when this "Great Sage Relic Sound" piano reappeared, it was finally sold at a price of 115 million yuan, and the price rose nearly 12 times.

Moreover, 115 million yuan is not the highest auction record of the guqin, a Northern Song Dynasty imperial qin "Songshi Jianyi" qin, in 2010 auctioned for 136 million yuan, setting a world auction record for musical instruments.

At that time, Chu Chen also discussed this matter with his friends, and everyone felt that the price of more than 100 million was still a relatively cheap price. Why?

You know, this and the "Songshi Interim" piano is the Northern Song Dynasty Huizong's imperial qin, compared with the market of China's calligraphy and painting at that time, Qi Baishi's calligraphy and painting has been able to auction 400 million yuan, that is, Zeng Gong, one of the eight masters of the Tang and Song dynasties, he also sold a small "bureau post" in 2009 for 109 million yuan.

Do you think the value of a character written by Zeng Gong can be compared with a piano used by the emperor at that time? So from this point of view, everyone thinks that the price of the guqin is still cheap. As for what auction record to say, everyone is very unimpressed with this, if the piano in front of Chu Chen's eyes appears in the auction market now, let alone 136 million, they will not be surprised if it is auctioned for 1.36 billion.

Of course, this is a later story, so I won't mention it for the time being.

When Chu Chen heard what Wu Ke said, he smiled and said, "You are really a little money fan!" ”

"I'm a money fan, you have an opinion!" Wu Ke grimaced at Chu Chen.

Chu Chen smiled: "Of course I don't have an opinion, the higher its value, the happier I am, but why do you just think of it as Tang Qin, can't it be longer?" ”

"How long?" Wu Ke looked a little surprised, and said: "Do you mean to say that the era of this qin is the Northern and Southern Dynasties, or the Two Jin Dynasties?" As for the two Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms, it should be impossible, how can any wood be preserved for so long? Besides, the wood that has been stored for so long will definitely be fluffy, how can this piano be so heavy? ”

Saying that, she checked the weight of the piano, it was indeed not light, and knocked on the surface of the piano again, and found that from the sound point of view, there was no crispy feeling at all, which not only made her feel that the age of this qin could not be farther than that of the Tang Dynasty, but she was even a little skeptical about whether it was a piano from the Tang Dynasty.

Chu Chen said: "Judging from the material of this piano, it really doesn't look like it is old, but the ancient materials are richer than ours at this time, who knows how they deal with it." Perhaps the makers of the time found a way to preserve the piano for a long time? (To be continued......)