Chapter 148: Like a Time Traveler?

Inside a box slightly larger than a palm, there lay a piece of jade slit-ring the size of a fist.

Lin Sicheng stared at it for a long time.

Outside the door, Hao Jun had said that this General Manager Chen had some rather strange habits; the older the item, the more he liked it. Lin Sicheng had assumed that "older" meant at most the Han or Tang dynasties, or perhaps stretching to the pre-Qin period at the very latest.

He had never expected that this General Manager Chen could suddenly jump all the way to the Neolithic period, before even writing had been invented?

Just this piece right here was, at the very least, four or five thousand years old...

The image was carved very realistically: a pig's head and a dragon's body, with a fat head and large ears, big eyes and a wide mouth, a protruding snout, and fangs exposed in the mouth.

The face used intaglio lines to represent the eye sockets and wrinkles, and the central ring hole was smooth. The entire body was Chicken Bone White, with some yellow soil encrustation in parts.

It didn't look too moist, nor was it very lustrous or bright. But precisely because of that, it proved that this item was a genuine piece.

Picking it up and shining a light on it to examine the texture: the jade was fine-grained, with a greasy luster and slight translucency—typical soft jade from Xiuyan, Liaoning Province.

Likewise, the jade quality was average, but this item originated from the Hongshan Culture five thousand years ago and was the earliest dragon-shaped artifact discovered to date.

Historically known as the "First Dragon of China," it belonged to the type of object that "one dares not let others know one has collected, and can only look at in secret."

From this, it seemed that the relationship between this General Manager Chen and Hao Jun was truly close.

The point was: this thing had definitely just been dug up.

If reported, it would be confiscated in a heartbeat, not to mention a massive fine, and it was quite possible one would end up spending a few days inside.

After looking for nearly ten minutes, Lin Sicheng straightened his back.

Seeing him not speak, Hao Jun's eyelids twitched: "Is it fake too?"

"It's real, a Jade Pig Dragon from the Neolithic Hongshan Culture. But it was unearthed less than half a year ago, and then stuffed into a pig's stomach for about three months to cultivate a layer of patina that looks like it has been passed down and handled for many years."

"With a method like this, you can't tell with the naked eye, but if you burn it, you'll know. Of course, to be safe, it is best to send it to a professional institution for appraisal, such as the Shijian; Director Guan there can do it,"

Lin Sicheng stated his conclusion directly, "So, it shouldn't have been in General Manager Chen's hands for more than three months!"

Hao Jun was stunned for a moment and glared at Lin Sicheng: Is this really a good idea you're suggesting?

If it really was a freshly unearthed Jade Pig Dragon, the moment it was appraised, the person would be locked up.

He looked at Chen Yangyan again: "Burn it?"

Chen Yangyan nodded: "Burn it!"

As the words fell, one person took the jade dragon and the other took a lighter. With a "Whoosh—" sound, the flame sprayed out.

As the flame licked the surface, a ring of mist appeared on the dragon's body, and then, a faint smell of burnt hair drifted out.

Even if one hasn't eaten pork, one has seen a pig run; one would still recognize the smell of burnt grease.

Chen Yangyan was fine, sitting as steady as a bell, his expression unmoved.

His son and daughter, however, felt their eyelids twitching wildly: if this were reported by someone, it would no longer be a matter of confiscation or fines, but whether or not they would end up inside.

Hao Jun sighed and stopped calling him General Manager Chen: "Old Chen, my advice is don't return it, just donate it!"

Of course it had to be donated. Because Chen Yangyan couldn't be sure if the person who sent him this item was truly unaware, or if it was a trap set to send him inside?

Chen Yangyan nodded: "Fine, donate it, I'll make contact later!"

As he spoke, he put away the Jade Pig Dragon and opened another box, revealing a bronze mirror.

The vessel was quite large, about twenty-two or twenty-three centimeters in diameter, presenting the rustic feel characteristic of ancient bronze artifacts.

The rust was very light, appearing only in a few tiny spots along the edges, and it was oily and smooth. At first glance, it looked like it had been handled and polished for many years.

In the center was a bronze knob, and the inner circle featured a Persimmon Calyx Pattern with eight petals, also known as "eight exits," corresponding to the Eight Winds.

Following that were two circles of Serrated Pattern, and between the serrations, twenty-four seal-script characters were inscribed.

Lin Sicheng held a Magnifying Glass and read them one by one: "Pure and white to serve the lord, resentful of the dark and hidden, not to be proclaimed. Brightening the mysterious tin to let the grace flow, cautious and loyal to receive joy."

But just after reading it, Lin Sicheng's eyelids couldn't stop twitching: A Great Han Pure and White Mirror?

The first half came from Xunzi's "Not Being Base": "A gentleman cleanses his body and those who are the same will unite..." The second half came from the Legalist text "Caution in Punishment and Inspection." It meant "pure, honest, and upright, cautious and firm," and "governing according to human sentiment."

To put it bluntly: this was a posthumous eulogy bestowed by the Emperor upon a minister after his death during the Han Dynasty.

So, Hao Jun brought him to see the Heavenly Son Inkstone, and while he didn't see the Heavenly Son Inkstone, he had found a bright mirror bestowed by the Emperor of the Great Han?

And the vessel was this large?

"The Master Who Embraces Simplicity" says: "A bright mirror of nine inches or more hung on the back of a corpse can illuminate the netherworld." "True Instructions: Agreement on the Prosperous Period" also states: "Hang a bright mirror on the back so that the soul does not rise..."

Looking at the craftsmanship: the decoration was in Relief Carving, and the back of the mirror was cast in three layers: the knob area, the main pattern, and the inscription.

Looking at the Persimmon Calyx Pattern leaves: a combination of line engraving and mold printing, the Double Yin-Yang Clamping Technique of the Western Han Dynasty.

The characters were extremely small; within one centimeter, there were at least forty or fifty strokes, yet they were carved with extreme neatness. This was also the Water Reflection Engraving Method of the Western Han.

Turning it over to look at the mirror surface: the mirror was smooth, with every fiber visible, adopting the unique Gold-Mercury-Tin Method. That is, the line in the inscription: "Brightening the mysterious tin to let the grace flow..."

A Western Han Qingbai Mirror, there was no room for doubt.

And how many generations would it have to be passed down for the bronze to present a texture of "being passed down for a thousand years"?

Fifty, or sixty generations?

Of course that was impossible.

Using a high-magnification lens to look at the two remaining spots of rust, one could still see the traces left by chemical etching to wash away the rust layer. Therefore, the time since it was unearthed was even shorter: if it had been more than two months, Lin Sicheng would dare to pick up the mirror and chew it to pieces.

The point also lay in those twenty-four characters of the inscription: "Pure and white to serve the lord, resentful of the dark and hidden, not to be proclaimed. Brightening the mysterious tin to let the grace flow, cautious and loyal to receive joy..." If condensed into one word: Respect!

What was even more critical was that the posthumous edict of Zhang Anshi locked in the studio contained such a mirror.

It was quite a coincidence that the posthumous title bestowed upon Zhang Anshi by Han Xuan happened to be "Respect"...

For a moment, Lin Sicheng didn't even know what to say.

This time he looked for quite a while, nearly half an hour, before Lin Sicheng turned off the Flashlight.

He didn't speak, a strange expression on his face, wanting to say something but holding back.

Hao Jun was stunned: "Is it fake again?"

"No, it's real, a Western Han Qingbai Mirror!" Lin Sicheng nodded, then thought for a moment, "General Manager Chen, may I ask a presumptuous question: was this just acquired, and is it even more recent than the Jade Pig Dragon?"

In an instant, Chen Yangyan recalled the Jade Pig Dragon from just a moment ago: "General Manager Chen, was it just acquired? It shouldn't be more than three months old, right?"

"So, is there a problem with this thing too?"

With a "thump," his heart couldn't help but skip a beat, and Chen Yangyan nodded: "Yes!"

After a slight pause, he pointed at the Bronze Mirror again: "But Professor Hao, do you have any impression of the Qingbai Mirror?"

Hao Jun shook his head immediately.

It was only natural he had no impression, because to date, only one had been unearthed: from the tomb of Zhongshan Prince Liu Sheng in Mancheng, Baoding.

At the time, during construction by troops, it was accidentally crushed by a bulldozer and shattered into more than ten pieces. Furthermore, the rust was quite severe, and most of the inscriptions were lost, with only the three characters "Jie Qing Bai" barely visible.

There is another one still buried in the tomb of Han Hun Marquis Liu He. Therefore, this is the only complete one in the world.

Lin Sicheng explained patiently: "The key is that it was just unearthed, and the traces of rust removal are very heavy. More importantly, the craftsmanship is extremely complex, and the technological content is extremely high..."

He paused, picked up the Bronze Mirror, and then picked up the High-intensity Flashlight: "Trouble you, Senior Brother Hao, to pull the curtains."

Hao Jun was stunned for a moment and was about to stand up when Chen Yangyan waved his hand: "Daoqing!"

The young General Manager Chen hurriedly got up to find the remote control.

The curtains slowly descended, the living room grew darker and darker, and Lin Sicheng held the Bronze Mirror up toward the wall, then signaled to Hao Jun: "Senior Brother Hao, shine it!"

Hao Jun hurriedly picked up the Flashlight and cast a beam of light.

Suddenly, a halo of light appeared on the wall.

At first, the few of them didn't pay much attention, thinking to themselves, it's a bronze mirror, what would you call it if it didn't reflect light?

But immediately after, the pupils of the few of them shrank "snap."

Because of the angle, the halo was slightly distorted. But the problem was, within the halo, there were circles of patterns?

And they were extremely clear: in the center was the knob, followed by a circle of Pearl Pattern, then the Persimmon Calyx Pattern, and then the Serrated Pattern.

Even those twenty-four seal script inscriptions were projected clearly?

They turned their heads abruptly: That's not right, is it?

Lin Sicheng held the mirror with both hands, the light aimed directly at the mirror surface, which was smooth, flawless, and extremely bright. Let alone patterns, there wasn't even a speck on the mirror surface.

And the back of the mirror with the patterns was on the side opposite the light, so the light certainly couldn't shine on it. But the problem was, when the Flashlight hit the smooth mirror surface and reflected onto the wall, what appeared was the pattern from the back of the mirror?

The few of them looked at each other in dismay, at a loss, and a sense of absurdity arose in their hearts simultaneously: it was as if Lin Sicheng had performed a magic trick for them?

Even Hao Jun tilted his head and looked behind the back of the mirror.

But the back of the mirror was still that same back, dim and dark, with no light passing through it at all.

"This thing, can it transmit light?"

Staring at the halo on the wall for a long time, Hao Jun seemed lost in thought: "But how is that possible: the mirror body is so thick, almost half a centimeter?"

"It's not light transmission, it's curvature refraction reflection!"

Lin Sicheng explained patiently: "Because the mirror body with inscriptions and patterns is thicker, and the places without inscriptions are thinner. So, due to the uneven thickness, the bronze mirror developed casting stress, causing the mirror surface to be slightly convex, and elastic deformation occurred during the polishing of the mirror, ultimately resulting in a smaller curvature in the thick areas and a larger curvature in the thin areas."

"Consequently, the difference in curvature corresponds to the decorations. When light shines on the mirror surface, the reflected light in areas with larger curvature is more scattered, and the projection is darker. The reflected light in areas with smaller curvature is more concentrated, and the projection is brighter. Therefore, one can see brighter characters and patterns appearing in the reflected image."

"Convex surface, curvature reflection?"

General Manager Chen listened and only half-understood, but Hao Jun understood. He stood to the side and squinted: "It's very flat, I can't tell?"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "It's only convex by a few microns, of course the naked eye can't tell. That's why I said the craftsmanship is extremely complex and the technological content is extremely high!"

It was more than just complex craftsmanship and high technological content.

Chen Yangyan could be considered well-informed, and Hao Jun was an expert among experts, but they hadn't even heard of such a thing, let alone seen it.

Especially the principle Lin Sicheng mentioned: casting stress, curvature refraction... they suspected that even with current technology, it might not necessarily be possible to create it. And then substituting the Western Han Dynasty from two thousand years ago, B. C.: an era relying purely on manual labor and human effort, could such an object be created?

It just felt like this mirror had traveled through time to the Han Dynasty...