Chapter 279: How Can We Keep Filming Like This?

Xu Gu, born Zhu, monk name Xubai, courtesy name Xu Gu. A famous painter of the Qing dynasty, one of the Four Great Masters of Shanghai, and as renowned as Wu Changshuo, Ren Bonian, and Pu Hua.

He excelled in landscapes, flowers, animals, and birds, especially in painting squirrels and goldfish, and was known at the time as the "Number One Master of Flowers, Birds, and Beasts of the Late Qing."

In all fairness, "number one" is a bit of an exaggeration, but Xu Gu's artistic attainments were extremely high, and his market recognition was also very high; the prices of his works were basically on par with those of Wu Changshuo and Ren Bonian.

If it were a squirrel, it would generally be fifty percent, or even double, higher.

It makes no sense that for a fan surface of the same size, Wu Changshuo's "Painting of the Cold Season" is valued at 360,000 and is more popular in the market, while Xu Gu's "Squirrel Painting," which has historically sold for higher prices, is wanted by no one?

Seeing his bewildered expression, Ye Anning whispered an explanation: "This piece was also auctioned last year, at the Xiling Autumn Auction; the starting price was only 90,000, but it ended up failing to sell!"

Lin Sicheng was completely baffled: "Why?"

"First, the calligraphy style. Xu Gu practiced both the Yan and Liu styles and incorporated clerical script, making his brushwork forceful and cold. But the inscription on this is elegant, wide, and thin. Second, the paper. The fan surface is not late Qing leather paper, but wood pulp paper bleached by chemical methods. Third, the ink. It floats on the surface and hasn't seeped into the paper..."

"At the time of collection, the client who submitted it for auction even had an argument with the appraiser, insisting on putting it up for auction. Then, the auction house wrote the identification features in the catalog, and in the end, it was valued at 90,000 and still failed to sell. This year the client came to submit it again, and the valuation is even lower: 35,000!"

Lin Sicheng was stunned.

Besides being a painter, Xu Gu was also a seal carver and calligrapher. The Forbidden City's overview describes him as: incorporating seal carving into painting, blending the five scripts, with elegance hidden within.

To put it bluntly: he was used to carving seals with a knife, so the characters he wrote tended to be cold and rigid; this was also Xu Gu's daily writing habit.

But he was a calligrapher after all, and possessed the strengths of various schools, which doesn't mean he could only write cold and rigid characters. Sometimes, his work would not only be elegant, but also supple, and even thinner.

For example, this piece:

And for another example, this piece:

Is it not that he could be as thin as he wanted, and as elegant as he wanted?

It is simply that very few of his calligraphic works have been passed down, so in ordinary appraisals, one can only compare them with the colophons and inscriptions on his paintings, and naturally, one feels the difference is too great.

Next, let's talk about the paper: China in the late Qing period certainly could not produce industrialized wood pulp paper, but foreign countries could.

For instance, the type used for this fan surface came from Japan and was known at the time as "Prince Western Paper." Around 1880, it was sold in large quantities in the Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai areas. It was cheap and durable.

Finally, let's talk about the ink: this is imported foreign soot ink, the main component of which is petroleum-based carbon black; it neither seeps nor penetrates, and its stability is extremely high: it is wear-resistant, light-resistant, and UV-resistant.

At first glance, it looks just like it was written just now.

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "But there are two seals on it: a steel seal of 'Appreciated by Jingtang' and a side seal of 'Guardian'."

"The appraiser said: The position of the 'Appreciated by Jingtang' steel seal is wrong; it shouldn't be stamped on the squirrel's back, it should be stamped in the blank space, so it must be a later addition on a copy. 'Guardian' is a side-riding seal, only half is there, and there is no way to verify it..."

Lin Sicheng was silent.

Jingtang refers to Qian Jingtang, a great collector and appraiser in Shanghai during the late Qing and Republic of China periods. After the founding of the People's Republic, he donated thousands of famous calligraphy, paintings, and seals to the state.

And this "Guardian" seal is not impossible to verify; it's just that few people know about it: this is the appraisal and collection seal of Wu Hufan, the "Number One Collector of Shanghai," appraiser, famous painter, and educator during the Republic of China.

After the founding of the People's Republic, he was hired by the Shanghai Cultural Relics Management Committee, serving as a member of the Shanghai Cultural Relics Preservation Committee and the Shanghai Cultural Relics Appraisal and Acquisition Committee. The full text of this seal is "Cultural Relics Guardian," used exclusively for the official transfer of cultural relics.

So this painting must have been in the old collection of Qian Jingtang, and donated to the Shanghai cultural relics department after the founding of the People's Republic. Afterward, Wu Hufan appraised it, and it was put into storage.

As for why Qian Jingtang stamped the seal on the squirrel's back, and how this piece leaked out, Lin Sicheng does not know. But at least he can be certain that these two seals are definitely real, and this painting is also real.

Especially these two seals; they are much more useful than any famous colophons or seals, which is why Lin Sicheng dared to say that this fan surface could fetch at least a million.

In a flash, the bidding had only reached 70,000, with only the last two people left.

Lin Sicheng nodded: "Senior Sister Ye, bid!"

Ye Anning's eyes brightened slightly: "Okay!"

After waiting a moment, one person gave up, and the auctioneer began to call the price; after only one call, Ye Anning raised her number plate.

After two more rounds of bidding, the hammer finally fell at 78,000.

The siblings looked at each other: a fan surface with Weng Tonghe and Xu Gu, and it's already 200,000; how much money did these two borrow?

The auction continued, Zhao Zhiqian, Bian Shoumin, Ji Xiaolan, Liu Yong, Wen Zhengming, Jiang Tingxi, Yun Shouping... one more famous than the last.

Very few failed to sell, and among them, there were many that Lin Sicheng felt had problems, but they still managed to go through several rounds of bidding, and quite a few even broke their highest valuations.

Just like the imperial couplets by Qianlong and Kangxi, one sold for 420,000, and the other sold for 600,000.

A few more pieces were auctioned, and then it entered the first small climax: the Qing dynasty court painter Xu Yang's "Painting of Returning to the Village."

This person is very famous; the renowned "Prosperous Age" scroll (also known as "Prosperity of Gusu," ten meters long, collected in the Liaoning Museum), as well as the world-famous "Qianlong's Southern Inspection Tour" scroll (160 meters long, collected in the National Museum of China), were all created by him.

Checking past auction records, the average price of Xu Yang's works should be around 150,000 per square foot; last year at the China Guardian Spring Auction, "Painting of Copying the Tiger Divine Spear Record" sold for 430,000.

The year before last at the Council Autumn Auction, "Painting of Clear Conversations in the Immortal Wilds" sold for 1.2 million.

But the starting price for this piece alone was 8 million, and it broke 10 million within one minute of the start.

The reason is very simple: it has an imperial inscription by Qianlong and bears his seal marks.

Then, looking at the appraisal and collection seals: "Treasure of Qianlong's Imperial Inspection" (red), "Precious Collection of the Stone Moat" (red), "Third Compilation of the Precious Collection" (red), "Sanxitang Fine Appraisal Seal" (red), "Benefit Descendants" (white), "Treasure of Jiaqing's Imperial Inspection" (red), "Jiaqing Appraisal" (white), "Treasure of Xuantong's Imperial Inspection" (red).

Two of Qianlong's seals were stamped, two of Jiaqing's seals were also stamped, and one of Xuantong's. Besides that, it was recorded in the "Precious Collection of the Stone Moat" twice, and also recorded in Sanxitang twice.

But there was no excessive entanglement; once it reached 10.8 million, no one raised their plate again. Including the handling fee, it was 12.43 million.

Compared to this, the imperial calligraphy by Qianlong and Kangxi that had just been auctioned, which also bore imperial seals, were like a joke...

A few more pieces were auctioned sporadically, and it reached the second climax of today's auction: the Qing Four Wangs.

Wang Yuanqi's "Landscape Painting Imitating Yellow River Mountain Bridge" sold for 2.53 million, plus commission, 2.91 million.

Wang Hui's "Water Village Painting" sold for 3.11 million, plus commission, 3.58 million.

But when it came to Wang Hui's "Accumulated Snow on Wu Mountain," it soared all the way up.

Zhao Boheng clutched his number plate, looking completely bewildered: his master had instructed him that he could bid as much as he wanted under 6 million. But in the time it took him to just get a number plate from under his chair, the bidding had already broken 8 million.

What is the point of bidding anymore?

Looking at those familiar faces, Lin Sicheng didn't know what to say: he had guessed when he saw these people enter that there would probably be a bloodbath today, but he didn't expect it to be this tragic.

Sighing secretly, the price soared to 8.5 million, fewer and fewer people raised their plates, and finally, the hammer fell at 8.68 million. Including the commission, it was close to 11 million.

Lin Sicheng took a look: he didn't recognize the person, and he didn't know if it was arranged by some family in advance.

After that, Lin Zexu's "Important Letter Album to Zhu Weibi Regarding Jiangnan Water Transport" and Yun Shouping's "Imitating the Ancients Landscape Album" were auctioned respectively.

Wang Qizhi and Zhao Xiuneng just watched; they were even worse than Zhao Da. Although Zhao Da didn't manage to raise his plate, at least he managed to fish it out. They didn't even have time to take out their plates before the price soared past their psychological price limit.

The Lin Zexu Letter sold for 2.64 million, and the Yun Shouping painting album sold for 1.12 million.

After a few more pieces were auctioned off one after another, it was finally the turn of the Zheng Banqiao "Xingshu Qilü Shi".

When the image was displayed on the screen, the venue went quiet for a moment, then became noisy again.

"The paper of this painting is wrong..."

"The ink is also wrong..."

"During the preview the day before yesterday, many people said it was a fake..."

Hearing the discussion, Ye Anning squinted her eyes, meaning it was settled; nine times out of ten, they could get it at the starting price.

Lin Sicheng sighed.

Before, he had felt the same way, but looking at those who had just bid on the "Snowy Peaks of Mount Wu", each one was more of an Expert than the last.

Never mind the starting price; if he could get it for three times the starting price, Lin Sicheng would be satisfied.

Looking at the screen, Lin Sicheng held up four fingers.

Ye Anning opened her eyes wide: Four what, 400,000?

But the starting price was only 120,000?

But she only hesitated for a moment before taking out her phone and sending a text message quickly.

Just as she finished sending it, someone raised a paddle. Then a second person, a third, a fourth...

The venue suddenly went quiet, and even the auctioneer on stage was stunned for a moment.

The Experts had appraised it; this was a fake, so why were people still bidding?

But the time was extremely short, no more than a few seconds, and he snapped back to his senses and began to call out the prices.

Scanning the room, Lin Sicheng sighed again.

The person who raised the paddle worked at a cultural branch under the Beijing Cultural Relics Store, the second person was at the Beijing Research Institute of Culture and History, and the third was at the National Painting Gallery. Lin Sicheng knew them all, including those who hadn't raised their paddles yet but looked eager to try.

By seniority, he even had to call two of them Senior Brother. Not to mention their expertise, their discretionary power was also extremely high.

To succeed today, he had to use a special trick.

After thinking for a moment, he beckoned and lowered his voice: "Sister Anning, which of your two friends is bolder?"

"Definitely A-Zhi (Qin Ruozhi)."

"You do this, tell them to do this, and this..."

Ye Anning nodded continuously.

The two had their heads together, their voices extremely low; the brother and sister just assumed they were discussing what to bid on again and paid no attention.

After whispering for a long while, Ye Anning sent another text message.

And in just two or three minutes, the bidding had reached over 180,000, having risen by half compared to the starting price.

"182,000... 184,000... 186,000..."

The auctioneer was calling out the price when suddenly, Qin Ruozhi stood up, her voice extremely crisp: "400,000."

The venue went silent abruptly.

Everyone was a bit dazed, including the auctioneer and the guests.

After being stunned for a good while, the auctioneer recovered: "This young lady, if you like this piece, you can just raise your paddle and add the increment (the same amount for each bid). If you are determined to win it, you can communicate with the Assistant in the venue..."

"Is that so? I understand!" Qin Ruozhi smiled embarrassedly and sat back down, "Trouble you, please remind me when it reaches 400,000!"

The auctioneer was stunned again, and all the guests were stunned: Isn't this just causing trouble?

Especially those who had just raised their paddles, feeling as if they had swallowed a fly: How could they continue bidding like this?

Their psychological price point was only around 300,000, and this person had already shouted 400,000, so should they still raise their paddles?

The auctioneer felt even worse; he had already anticipated what would happen next.

Sighing, he reached out his hand and made a gesture of invitation.

But strangely, no one raised their paddle?

Qin Ruozhi looked around, and seeing no one move, she gently raised her paddle.

The auctioneer sighed again: "188,000!"

Except for her, still no one raised a paddle.

Did he know it would be like this?

The auctioneer sighed again and began to call the price: "180,000 for the first time, 180,000 for the second time, 188,000 for the third time..."

Until the hammer fell, still no one raised a paddle.

Lu Meng was confused: "Brother, what is going on here?"

"What else could be going on? Those who just raised their paddles all feel this piece of calligraphy isn't worth 400,000, so naturally, they stopped bidding!"

"So that's it? Then what happens next, does it sell for 400,000?"

"How is that possible? Since the final call was 188,000, it can only sell for 188,000. To put it bluntly: a buyer can indeed offer a high price, but they must communicate with the organizer, and the auctioneer must call it out; what she reports doesn't count..."

Zhen Zhen looked at Qin Ruozhi, "Of course, if you think there's a bargain to be had, or you don't believe she can really go up to 400,000, you can still add from 188,000. But if it goes over your psychological price and she doesn't follow, then it's equivalent to being stuck with it yourself."

Lu Meng was stunned: It can be like this?

"Isn't this causing trouble?"

Lu Zhen didn't make a sound: It certainly counts as causing trouble, and there is a suspicion of malicious price-hiking. If it were found to be related to the seller, she would definitely be cleared out.

But Qin Ruozhi definitely wasn't, and the organizers knew she wasn't.

Because this piece was only up for auction purely for the seller to create news and disgust people. Not to mention he hadn't arranged any shills, he hadn't even come himself.

So Lu Zhen was also very strange: It was clearly a fake, so why were so many people bidding on it?

In a flash, the staff maintaining order in the venue walked over, presumably to warn Qin Ruozhi. Qin Ruozhi nodded repeatedly, likely saying she was here for the first time and didn't understand, and probably gave some guarantees.

It counted as a small interlude, and the auction continued.

Lin Sicheng and Ye Anning put their heads together again, whispering.

"Xu Beihong's 'Magpies Chirping in the Willows'... didn't you say yesterday that the painting didn't look quite right?"

"Don't worry, there's someone backing it, but keep it low-key, just bid once."

"Oh, oh..."

Ye Anning nodded and took out her phone to send a text message.

After a short while, the image on the screen changed:

Below it were two lines of notes: Xu Beihong (1895–1953), Magpies Chirping in the Willows.

Accompanied by an Identification Certificate from Madam Liao Jingwen (wife of Xu Beihong).

The starting bid was 250,000, but there were very few takers, only three or four people.

When the bidding reached 280,000, no one raised their paddle anymore; just as the auctioneer called out the price, Qin Ruozhi raised his paddle.

The room went quiet.

The auctioneer was stunned for a moment, then announced the bid as per custom: "282,000!"

Just after he finished, someone else raised their paddle, adding 2,000.

However, it wasn't the previous bidder, but a new buyer.

But strangely, Qin Ruozhi didn't follow up.

The auctioneer announced the price again, called it out three times, and the wooden gavel went "Clang!"

The person who had just raised their paddle stared at Qin Ruozhi, his face turning green: You dared to bid 400,000 for a fake piece of calligraphy by Zheng Banqiao, so why aren't you following up on this one, which is so authentic?

But 284,000... I'm a shill, okay?

Damn it, how is this supposed to continue?

(End of chapter)