Chapter 224: Chronicles of the Heavenly Palace in the Capital

The walls stand a hundred fathoms high, the cliffs as if shaved by a blade.

The river water kicks up spray, gently lapping against the brownish-yellow stone cliffs. Sunlight spills down at an angle, and the river surface flashes with silver-scale-like fragments of light.

The ancient plank road hangs on the precipice, with withered black moss remaining in the seams of the blue stone steps. Iron chains form a long railing, and an iron bridge spans from east to west.

The number one ferry crossing in southern Shanxi: Yumenkou.

In ancient times, it was also called Longmenkou.

Legend has it that when Dayu was controlling the floods, water spirits here became a menace, so he opened the Dragon Gate and chiseled out a heavenly ladder. Those stone steps on the cliff are said to be the heavenly ladder for the water-monster fish spirits to ascend to immortality after taking human form.

It is only a legend, but since ancient times, the Dragon Gate Ferry has been a vital throat-passage between southern Shanxi and Shaanbei.

After passing the ferry, the water current gradually slows, and the terrain suddenly opens up. The sheer cliffs disappear, replaced by one oasis after another.

These are all mudflats left behind after the Yellow River changed course in ancient times, and the land is very fertile. Improvement and trial planting began in the nineties, with peanuts as the first choice.

As a result, the crops grew better year by year, and now it has become a planting model for intercropping chili peppers, chives, melons and vegetables, and even medicinal herbs.

The few waste porcelain pits that Zhao Da and Zhao Er inquired about are right here; the nearest one was dug up three years ago.

But after years of cultivation, what could be picked has been picked, and what could be broken has been broken. Let alone porcelain shards, the two brothers didn't even find a speck of porcelain slag.

"Master, we first went to the County History and Records Office, and then went to the Museum, but there were no records left. We only managed to ask an old retired staff member, who said that in the first few years of leveling the land, Han Dynasty pottery, Tang Porcelain, and Purple Clay Ware from the Jin and Yuan periods were unearthed..."

"Because they were all coarse pottery and coarse porcelain, no samples were kept for photos... but the old staff member said they were basically daily-use vessels transported from Xiangning to Shaanbei and Guanzhong... Afterward, we made a special trip to Xiangning County; the ancient kiln site is only twenty-some kilometers from here..."

Zhao Da reported in detail, and Lin Sicheng nodded incessantly.

Xiangning County began firing pottery very early; an ancient pottery kiln site from the Upward Firing Culture (Neolithic) period was excavated in the seventies, and it continued until the Republic of China. Ceramic kiln sites from various dynasties and periods have been discovered repeatedly, and their scale is not small.

Especially in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, there were thirty-seven folk kilns with historical records alone.

Having fired for so long, the craftsmanship and manufacturing level were much higher than in the surrounding areas, so they must have sold them outward. Being so close to the ferry, it is not strange that several waste porcelain pits were left on the river beach over the years.

"Did you ask if there are any Ceramic Clay Mines nearby?"

"We asked, there are two places: one in Guzhen, Hejin City, and one in Xipo Town, Xiangning County. Although they belong to different counties, the two towns are connected, and in ancient times, the firing of pottery, porcelain, and Purple Clay Ware in Xiangning County all drew soil from these two places. According to the Hejin Industrial Bureau, the ceramic clay reserves are several billion tons..."

"Neither is far from here; the Xipo Ceramic Clay Mine in Xiangning is about twenty kilometers away, and Guzhen is even closer, just about ten kilometers... We took samples of both and are preparing to send them back..."

Having been sent out for four days, the two brothers did not stop for a moment and really did inquire about quite a lot.

"Hard work!"

Lin Sicheng smiled and took the two glass jars. He opened them and rubbed the contents, secretly thinking: as expected, sedimentary silty ceramic clay from the Yellow River basin and weathered pottery clay from the southern foothills of the Luliang Mountains.

The latter is rich in aluminum, the former high in calcium.

Lin Sicheng was more than ninety percent certain that the porcelain shards the fat boss sold him were fired using these two types of ceramic clay.

"It's too late now, and the road isn't safe! Boheng, drive them to the Municipal Museum tomorrow and hand them over to Senior Brother Qin."

"Yes, Master!"

Zhao Xiuneng looked at his watch: "Junior Brother, Professor Wang, should we go take a look at the ceramic clay mines!"

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "It sounds close, just ten kilometers or so, but it's all dirt roads, and there are mountains. I reckon by the time we arrive, it will be dark!"

"Right, no need to rush for this little bit of time!" Wang Qi Zhi nodded, "Let's go back to the city first and come again tomorrow!"

As the group spoke, Zhao Er called the hotel again to prepare to book rooms.

Just as he was about to hang up, Lin Sicheng's cell phone rang.

It was a number from Xijing, but he didn't recognize it, so Lin Sicheng answered it casually.

A man's voice came over the phone: "Teacher Lin, you are in Hejin, right?"

The voice was somewhat familiar; Lin Sicheng paused, then suddenly realized: Zhuang Zijing, Zhuang Yi's older brother.

"General Manager Zhuang, how did you know?"

"Zhuang Yi went to the Museum to play with Assistant Ye, and I drove her there. After we arrived, we happened to run into Museum Curator Gao, whom I happen to know, and after chatting for a bit, I learned that you had come to Hejin!"

Zhuang Zijing smiled, "It just so happens I have some business back in my hometown, so Zhuang Yi and I came back too... Teacher Lin, meeting by chance is better than an invitation; you must give me a chance today to play the host..."

Having known each other for five days, this was already Zhuang Zijing's third invitation.

And it wasn't at all that Zhuang Yi went to find Ye Anning to play as he said; she must have gone specifically to find him. Hearing that he had come to Hejin, Zhuang Zijing must have chased after him without stopping.

Lin Sicheng paused slightly: "General Manager Zhuang, is there something you need my help with?"

"Indeed!" Zhuang Zijing smiled politely, "To be honest with you, Teacher Lin, there are indeed a few items I would like to ask you to appraise! As it happens, I brought them along..."

Lin Sicheng let out a laugh: General Manager Zhuang has quite a few "happenings"...

Zhuang Zijing had mentioned it several times, and the previous times it really was inconvenient. Since there was nothing else to do today, he might as well take a look; it wouldn't take much time.

Lin Sicheng did not decline and agreed.

Only at the end did Zhuang Zijing say that the banquet had already been prepared at the old family house on the edge of the city, and it was authentic Hejin local cuisine.

Lin Sicheng hung up the phone, and Zhao Xiuneng made a "tsk" sound: "Hejin local cuisine, I'm afraid it's casserole dishes? This isn't easy to prepare; I reckon this General Manager Zhuang had his family prepare it the moment he knew we arrived in Hejin."

"He certainly is persistent!" Wang Qi Zhi nodded, "But at least he's a local; keeping some friendly relations might help with something later on."

Lin Sicheng was noncommittal.

It was just a few items, a matter of convenience.

The group got into the car and followed the county road into the city.

Though it was said to be on the edge of the city, it was actually in the city center, right next to Jiulong Park. Nine hills stood like nine stars arching over the moon, surrounding a large lake in the middle.

Entering the residential compound and passing through the apartment buildings, there were finally a few scattered villas. The brother and sister were standing at the door of one of them.

Ye Anning pursed her lips again: can one really not talk about someone without them appearing?

At noon, just seeing the Jiulong Tower under construction not far away, she subconsciously thought of Zhuang Yi and muttered to herself: we won't run into her again this time, will we?

As a result, before it was even fully dark, they really ran into them?

Muttering to herself, the group got out of the car.

Zhuang Zijing was only twenty-seven or twenty-eight, but he was very thoughtful in his dealings, covering every detail, all smiles and conversation.

Zhuang Yi's parents did not come back this time, so there were only the brother and sister at home, and Zhuang Zijing had also invited two distant uncles to keep them company.

After a few pleasantries, they entered the living room, and just as they sat down, the dishes were served one after another.

The dishes were made by the two aunts, authentic Hejin casserole home-style cooking; I don't know if they taste good yet, but they smell fragrant just by the scent.

Lin Sicheng does not drink alcohol, and Zhuang Zijing did not drink either. Thinking that there were still things to do tomorrow, Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng did not drink much either.

But they couldn't help their high alcohol tolerance; the two of them only drank about fifty or sixty percent, while Zhuang Zijing's two uncles were already slurring their speech.

After letting the aunts help them back to their rooms to rest and inviting the others to the living room, Zhuang Zijing brought out several boxes.

Opening one, Lin Sicheng's eyes widened: Good heavens, is this more than just a few pieces?

It was a fairly large storage box, the kind with a linkage mechanism, filled to the brim with three layers.

Looking closer, there were hairpins, earrings, Step-shake Ornaments, necklaces, headbands, bracelets, rings, and thumb rings. There were even forehead stickers and chest jewelry.

Gold and silver, jade and copper, Engraving Flowers and Mother-of-Pearl Inlay, bamboo, horn, and Ivory... almost every common jewelry material was here.

Lin Sicheng watched for a good while, then raised his head and looked at Zhuang Zijing.

"Teacher Lin, please forgive me. I knew you were busy, so I brought everything I could!"

Zhuang Zijing was quite embarrassed, "These were all collected by my father in his early years. Before, the masters in the shop used them as design samples and made some imitations to sell for a few years. But they haven't been very popular in the last two years, so I thought about finding an expert to appraise them, and sell what I can..."

No wonder there were so many.

But don't say that, there really were good things.

Lin Sicheng first picked up a pair of Gold-gilding silver rings.

Silver wire Gold-gilding, woven together. The dragon ears were attached to the back, with no horns or claws, and behind the neck was a fish body.

This style is called "Fish Transforming into Dragon," originating from the Tang Dynasty, flourishing in the Song, including the Yuan and Ming; all four dynasties did not forbid commoners from wearing them, and they were specifically used to tie hair.

When scholars passed the imperial examinations during the Song and Ming dynasties, the emperor would sometimes bestow these hair rings, symbolizing "Fish leaping over the Dragon Gate."

The Qing Dynasty was different; let alone dragons, even Gold-gilding items were not allowed.

The signs of aging were very heavy, and in some places, the gold lacquer had worn away, revealing the silver underneath, but the workmanship was very good.

After looking at it for a moment, Lin Sicheng put it down: "The craftsmanship is good, the Gold-Mercury Amalgam Technique from Shuozhou, it should be around the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, roughly from the Zhengde to Wanli periods..."

Zhuang Zijing was suddenly delighted: "Ming Dynasty?"

"Yes, Ming Dynasty, but it's folk craftsmanship!"

Having asked others to look at it before, Zhuang Zijing of course knew it was folk craftsmanship, but he didn't know exactly whose craftsmanship it was, and the dating was vague.

He had never been confident in his heart, so he hadn't sold it.

Now he knew: mid-Ming, Shuozhou silver-copper Gold-gilding; he just needed to price it according to the market in recent years.

Zhuang Zijing thanked him and solemnly set it aside.

Lin Sicheng took out another bracelet:

It was still Gold-gilding silver filigree, and still in the shape of a dragon. But compared to the previous piece, the workmanship was more delicate and the craft more complex.

Not to mention anything else, just looking at the hollowed-out dragon body and the weaving method of the silver filigree, one knew that this piece was much harder to weave than the other.

Lin Sicheng watched for a long time and handed it to Zhao Xiuneng: "Senior Brother, look, does it look familiar?"

Zhao Xiuneng received it in his hand, his eyes lighting up: "Zaozuochang gold and silver workshop?"

Hearing "Zaozuochang gold and silver workshop," Zhuang Zijing's heart jumped, but then, Lin Sicheng poured a bucket of cold water on him!

"It is indeed the handiwork of an old palace craftsman, but the degree of aging is average, at most seventy or eighty years. It should have been woven by an old artisan after leaving the palace!"

Lin Sicheng returned it, "Republic of China!"

Zhuang Zijing didn't mind and continued to take things out: "Teacher Lin, take a look at this comb!"

"A modern imitation! Mother-of-Pearl Inlay craftsmanship from Jishan (under Yuncheng), no more than ten years old!"

With just one glance, Lin Sicheng shook his head: "General Manager Zhuang, let me do it myself. Don't worry, I will definitely pick out all the good ones for you!"

Zhuang Zijing gave a sheepish smile and didn't say anything more.

Taking out another piece, Lin Sicheng squinted: Mother-of-Pearl Inlay filigree Kingfisher Feather Inlay bracelet?

At first glance, it was brilliant with gold, bright as new. Looking closely, it was graceful and luxurious, elegant and exquisite; the pink was pink, the green was green, and no matter how you looked at it, it looked like a modern imitation craft.

But don't doubt it; well-preserved gold products, or those just dug out of a tomb, are basically in this condition.

Just like the gold and silver vessels in Liu He's tomb, when they were unearthed, they looked like they were newly cast...

Holding it in his hand, although it wasn't very heavy, he could clearly feel the weight of the gold texture.

The key was the craftsmanship: both the inner and outer bodies were gold, but pressed extremely thin, and then flowers and birds were carved on them.

The inside of the gold bracelet was woven with gold wire; looking at it under the light, although the holes inside were dense, they were all of the same size.

Looking at the patterns again, they were carved first, then inlaid, and then polished. The coloring was also designed extremely well; the pink was shell, the yellow was gold, and the green was kingfisher.

To tell the truth, with this craftsmanship and this level of detail, even a machine couldn't make it; it was undoubtedly pure handiwork.

Lin Sicheng paused and exchanged a look with Zhao Xiuneng.

Both were very certain that although this thing looked new, it was definitely an old object, at least from the mid or late Qing Dynasty. It was just that it had been preserved relatively well.

Then the question arose: in that environment of the Qing Dynasty, besides the Imperial Household Department, where else could have such good craftsmanship and such exquisite workmanship?

The key was that those few Kingfisher Feather Inlays were clearly Enamel.

During the Qing Dynasty, the craft of Enamel Kingfisher Feather Inlay was only available in the palace; commoners had no way to imitate it...

After looking at it carefully two more times, Lin Sicheng raised his head: "General Manager Zhuang, where did you find this piece?"

"Taiyuan, it's been seven or eight years..." Zhuang Zijing looked up and recalled, "My father saw that this thing was quite beautiful, so he bought it back at a high price. But when he brought it back to the shop, he realized it was Mother-of-Pearl Inlay craftsmanship, and the masters couldn't imitate it..."

More than just Mother-of-Pearl Inlay?

The Mother-of-Pearl Inlay craft originated very early and can be traced back to the Shang and Zhou periods. But gold Mother-of-Pearl Inlay was not realized until the Ming Dynasty, and the earliest cultural relic discovered so far is from the Jiajing period.

Although the technique was not lost, it was not generally difficult. Not to mention having to inlay Enamel on Mother-of-Pearl?

With this craftsmanship, entering the Forbidden City would be no problem...

Lin Sicheng returned it: "The craftsmanship of the Imperial Household Department Zaozuochang, although it is late Qing, since it has both gold Mother-of-Pearl Inlay and Enamel Kingfisher Feather Inlay, if it goes to auction, it will easily fetch over a million..."

"How much?"

As if he had misheard, Zhuang Zijing widened his eyes, "Teacher Lin, how much did you say?"

Lin Sicheng found it a bit strange: with a family that ran a chain of jewelry stores, he wouldn't dare say hundreds of millions, but tens of millions were certain; there was no need to be this shocked, right?

As if guessing what he was thinking, Zhuang Zijing grimaced as if in pain: "When my mom offered it to me back then, I thought it was too new and didn't want it, so it ended up going to Zhuang Yi..."

"Haha..." Lin Sicheng let out a laugh, "Which piece did General Manager Zhuang take?"

Zhuang Zijing looked miserable and pointed at that pair of Gold-gilding silver rings.

Indeed.

Although that piece was silver, it looked like an old object at first glance. On the contrary, this Bracelet looked new no matter how one looked at it.

But if we are talking about price, that pair of silver rings would be at most one hundred thousand...

Lin Sicheng returned it: "Miss Zhuang, keep it well. After all, it is an old object from the palace, and it is a relatively rare gold item; it will definitely rise in value in two years, and doubling in price is not a problem!"

Zhuang Yi took it into her hands and said thank you sweetly.

Ye Anning felt as if her teeth were about to go sour.

After flipping through things roughly again, they were basically all modern imitations, though the craftsmanship was quite good.

After looking at the jewelry, he looked at a few horn and Ivory items; except for an Ivory Hairpin from the Republic of China period, there were basically no other old things.

Then there were a few pieces of Jade, which were even newer.

But without exception, whether it was jewelry or jade carvings, they were all handicrafts with quite good workmanship.

From this point alone, one could tell how much the old General Manager Zhuang loved to study. Being able to open a chain of stores was truly no accident.

After finishing the rough look, it was already nearly eleven o'clock. Lin Sicheng wanted to take his leave, but Zhuang Zijing stopped him.

"Teacher Lin, I came in a hurry today, and the finance department is still in Xijing. I will personally deliver the appraisal fee to you tomorrow."

"General Manager Zhuang, we are all friends..."

But before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Zhuang Zijing: "Friends are friends, and rules are rules. If you don't accept it this time, how could I have the nerve to look for you next time!"

Lin Sicheng paused: To actually require the finance department to make a special trip, how much was Zhuang Zijing planning to give?

He sighed: "General Manager Zhuang, just a token amount will do!"

"Don't worry, Teacher Lin, I understand!"

Zhuang Zijing smiled and pushed over another box: "Knowing that you came to Shanxi this time specifically to look for ancient craftsmanship, I asked around while I was at it. It's a coincidence, but I really did find a book. If you find it satisfactory, just accept it..."

Ancient craftsmanship?

Lin Sicheng said a polite word and flipped it open, but after just scanning it for two glances, his heart gave a "thump."

What is this, "Records of the Capital's Heavenly Palace"?

If he remembered correctly, this book should have another name: "Construction Standards of the Capital's Heavenly Palace," a comprehensive scientific and technical work on construction from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

To put it simply: the Forbidden City was built according to this book.