Wu Ke listened to what Chu Chen said, and looked at him with a strange expression.

"What, do I have flowers on my face?" Chu Chen touched his face and asked in some surprise.

Wu Ke said with a smile when he heard this: "If you can grow flowers on your face, it will be a miracle for the ages, I just think it's strange, why do you have to say that the age of making this qin must be earlier than the Tang Dynasty?" Did you find any clues? ”

Chu Chen smiled: "Do you want to know any clues, don't you just look at the inscription on the back?" ”

"That's right! How did I forget that there is such a thing as jì and inscriptions! ”

Wu Ke suddenly realized, and then hurriedly turned the body of the piano over.

The structure of the guqin is still very particular, and the upper part of the "headstock" is called the forehead. The lower end of the forehead is inlaid with hardwood with strings, called "Yueshan", also known as "Linyue", and is the highest part of the qin.

There are two sound grooves at the bottom of the piano, the larger one in the middle is called "Dragon Pond", and the smaller one in the tail is called "Fengnuma". This is called going up the mountain and going down, and there are dragons and phoenixes, symbolizing all the things in heaven and earth.

There is a strip of hardwood on the forehead side of the mountain, which is called "Chenglu". There are seven "string eyes" on it, which are used to tie the strings. There are seven "pianos" for tuning. At the side end of the headstock, there are "phoenix eyes" and "guards".

From the waist down, it is called the "tail". The tail is inlaid with a shallow grooved hardwood "gum" to set the strings. The trim on both sides of the gum is called the "crown horn", also known as the "scorched tail". The seven strings start from the exposed part, pass through the mountain and the dragon's gum, and turn to a pair of "goose feet" at the bottom of the piano, symbolizing the seven stars. There are thirteen "emblems" on the surface of the piano, symbolizing the twelve months of the year and a leap month.

Generally, the name of the piano is engraved on the part of the dragon pool, but Wu Ke was a little dumbfounded at first glance. Because although there is an inscription on it, it is a gold inscription. She couldn't read it at all.

Chu Chen saw Wu Ke looking at him, so he said with a smile: "This dragon pond is engraved with the word 'winding beam'. Engraved on the left and right are the four words 'lingering sounds'. ”

The aftermath is lingering, and its language originates from a story in "Liezi": During the Zhou Dynasty, a woman named Han E went to Qi State, and when she passed by Yongmen, she ran out of money and food, and had no choice but to sing and beg for food. Her mournful song echoed in the air, like a lonely goose. Three days after Han E's departure, her singing still reverberates between the beams of the house, which is unforgettable.

After listening to Chu Chen's explanation, Wu Ke's eyes widened. Dumbfounded, he exclaimed: "Achen, you mean, this is the winding beam of the four famous pianos?" ”

The four famous qins in ancient China refer to the "trumpet bell" of Duke Huan of Qi, the "winding beam" of King Chuzhuang, the "green qi" of Sima Xiangru and the "Jiaowei" of Cai Yong. These four pianos are known as the "Four Famous Pianos".

Chu Chen nodded and said: "That's what it says on it, at least the name of this guqin should be 'Winding Beam'." ”

Wu Ke was very stunned and said: "Wasn't the Liang Liang broken by the order of King Chuzhuang?" It's an imitation, right? ”

It is said that "Winding Liang" was a gift from a man named Hua Yuan to the king of Chuzhuang, and the date of its production is unknown. Since King Chuzhuang got the "winding beam", he played the piano and made music all day long, and reveled in the piano music.

Once, King Chuzhuang did not go to court for seven consecutive days. Leave all the major national affairs behind. Princess Fan Ji was extremely anxious, and persuaded King Chuzhuang: "King, you are too immersed in music! In the past, Xia Wei loved Yu Xizhise. and incurred the scourge of death; The king misheard the sound of the delight, and lost the country. Now, the king is so fond of the 'Beam' harp. If you don't come to court for seven days, are you willing to lose your country and your life? ”

King Chuzhuang fell into deep thought when he heard this. He couldn't resist the temptation to "go around the beam". had to endure the pain and cut love, and ordered someone to beat the piano with iron Ruyi. The body is broken into several sections. Since then, the famous piano "Winding Beam", which is envied by tens of thousands of people, has never sounded.

Obviously, a legendary qin that had been broken into several pieces appeared in front of him again, and the appearance of the qin did not look like it was more than 2,600 years ago, Wu Ke certainly had reason to suspect that this qin was indeed an imitation.

Chu Chen nodded and said: "If you look at the legend and the oxidation of the material, this qin may indeed be an imitation, but we can't take it for granted that whether it is true or false, we must find the corresponding evidence." ”

Wu Ke asked, "Then how can we identify its authenticity?" ”

Chu Chen said: "Generally speaking, it depends on its pattern and style, in addition, there are materials, inscriptions, and the like. ”

Wu Ke nodded: "Oh, we've seen the pattern, so now it's time to see its style?" By the way, how many styles of piano are there? ”

The piano is a musical instrument that is full of cultural connotations. In terms of the shape of the piano alone, it can be said that the whole body is a rhyme.

The qin is generally about 3 feet 6 inches and 5 inches long (about 120-125 cm), symbolizing 365 days a year (365 degrees Celsius). It is generally about six inches (about 20 cm) wide. It is generally about two inches (about 6 cm) thick.

The piano was first made according to the shape of the phoenix's body, and its whole body corresponded to the phoenix's body (it can also be said to correspond to the human body), with a head, a neck, shoulders, a waist, a tail, and a foot.

Chu Chen shook his head and said: "The shape of the guqin was originally the shape of the ritual vessel "Cheng", which was tied to five strings, and it is said that it was an artifact made by the Shennong clan to communicate with heaven and man. There are many styles of the qin, and there are more than 100 kinds of styles of the qin recorded in the "Juntian Qin Record", the most common ones are Zhongni style, Fuxi style, Lianzhu style, banana leaf style, Luoxia style and other styles. ”

Wu Ke took a closer look at the guqin in front of him, and then said: "Then what is the style of this guqin, the guqin that my father bought for me before is Zhongni style, this guqin is not like mine at all, it looks like the bronze Cheng you bought, is this qin really winding the beam?" ”

Chu Chen said: "It's really hard to say whether it is around the beam, but from the perspective of the style of the qin, it should be the earliest guqin style, as for the Zhongni style you said, it is a style that only appeared in the late Tang Dynasty, mainly because of the popularity of Cheng Zhu Lixue at that time, the promotion of Confucianism, and the admiration of Confucius, so there was a style of Zhongni, which was not popular until the Song Dynasty." ”

"That's right!" Wu Keqian really thought that the Zhongni style was created by Confucius, and then she asked: "Then which dynasty did the style of this guqin have?" ”

Chu Chen spread his hands and said: "I really don't have a deep study of the guqin, so I don't know if this is the style of the guqin at that time in the Zhou Dynasty." ”

"That'...... Let's talk about the texture and inscription of this instrument! ”

Wu Ke said: "I heard the teacher say before that the ancients cut the qin, generally for the upper tong and the lower Zi, with the softness of the paulownia wood, with the rigidity of the catalpa wood, with the combination of yin and yang, the sound is wonderful." If this piano is made of paulownia wood, then for more than 2,600 years, even if the paulownia wood is well preserved, it is impossible to still be like this piano. ”

Chu Chen opened his mouth and said: "Well, you are right, but if it is really around the Liangqin, it is not even clear in the record, let alone the materials used." ”

"Then only the inscription remains?" Wu Ke frowned, and then said, "But there is also the possibility that the inscription will be engraved later!" ”

"Although the inscription may be engraved later, it still has some reference value for identification."

As he spoke, Chu Chen carefully looked at the inscription just now.

"Judging from the inscription, it seems that it has been carved for a long time, but as long as it has been experienced for hundreds of years, it must have such an effect...... Hey, there seems to be an inscription here in Fengnuma! ”

As Wu Ke spoke, he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be a looming inscription in Feng Nuan's location, and hurriedly reminded Chu Chen.

"This is 'Wu Jun Ruming'! Who is this man? "The inscription is engraved on the left and right sides of Fengnuma, because it is a official book, so it is not like the golden text just now, Wu Ke can see it at a glance.

Chu Chen explained: "This person should be Yu Ruming, a literati in the Song Dynasty, who was from Wu County at that time, that is, our current Su City. ”

Yu Ruming of the Song Dynasty wrote a book "Guqin Shu", which has a record of the Liangqin: "Huayuan dedicated the king of Chuzhuang to the qin around the beam, the drum, its sound curling, around the beam, the cycle endlessly. ”

After listening to Chu Chen's explanation, Wu Ke said: "Could it be that this guqin is imitated by Yu Ruming?" ”

Chu Chen replied: "What you said is also possible, but it is more likely that Yu Ruming deliberately carved it, I don't believe you look at the comparison of the two inscriptions of Longchi and Fengnuma, the two inscriptions can obviously be seen that the artistic conception of 'Wujun Ruming' is much lower." ”

Generally speaking, collectors will cherish something like the Four Great Guqins, and it is impossible to damage it, but in this world, it is inevitable that there will be some people who seek fame and reputation, and deliberately do so in order to pass on their reputation.

Wu Ke hurriedly took a closer look and found that it was really like what Chu Chen said, if according to the artistic conception, the inscription of Fengnuma could not be compared with that of Longchi at all.

Seeing this situation, Wu Ke immediately said excitedly: "Ah Chen, then this guqin may be a Liangqin!" ”

However, as soon as the words fell, she immediately overturned her inference and said: "However, is it really possible that the guqin more than 2,000 years ago has been handed down?" Could this be an imitation of the Zuò made in the Tang Dynasty or the Northern and Southern Dynasties? ”

For Wu Ke, she also hopes that this guqin can be the "winding beam" among the four famous qins, but if this guqin is genuine, it is too subversive of her world view, which makes her feel very contradictory.

In fact, if it weren't for the ability to give the time and value of making this guqin, Chu Chen would find it hard to believe that this guqin would be the "winding beam" among the four guqins, but even if he knew that this guqin was winding the liangqin, he couldn't tell why a guqin more than 2,600 years ago could be handed down to the present.

Wu Ke asked, "Ah Chen, do you know any other methods for identifying the age of the guqin?" ”

Chu Chen shook his head: "I really don't know much about the identification of the guqin, except for these four points, I really can't think of any other way." (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you to the "Leg God Abula" for the monthly ticket