Chapter 289: Is It Worth It?

The history of the Imperial Guard Record can be traced back to around the year 800, but this copy is not from then.

Looking at the paper quality and the degree of oxidation, the latter half of the musical score should be from the mid-Heian Period in Japan, roughly between the years 1000 and 1100.

China at that time was exactly in the Northern Song Dynasty.

The saying that a page of a Song book is worth an ounce of gold applies just as well to Japan, which is also part of the Confucian Cultural Sphere. Not to mention that this is Imperial Paper and Imperial Ink.

To give an example: it is an Imperial Copy from the Song Dynasty!

After searching carefully, there is no Seal Mark from the Fushimi-no-miya family, but there is a shield-shaped seal on the front flyleaf that looks like this:

As he stroked the already darkened mark, Lin Sicheng's fingers paused slightly: No wonder this book has been so well preserved despite its nearly one-thousand-year history?

It is not only an Imperial Copy, but also a Royal Collection.

At first, Lv Chenglong did not pay much attention and just scanned it casually. Lin Sicheng had already turned past the flyleaf, and he paused for a moment: "Little Lin, flip back and take a look, just at the page before!"

Lin Sicheng paused, then flipped back.

Lv Chenglong squinted his eyes and peered carefully.

Although his main focus is Artifact Research on porcelain, it does not mean he does not understand bronzes and stone inscriptions, or seal carving: this shield-shaped seal is the Oracle Bone Script character for "Cang" (Storehouse).

The structure is neat, the lines are slender and straight, and it is carved extremely well.

Recalling carefully, he did not remember seeing a similar Seal Mark in the Forbidden City. He had no impression of it in the historical materials he was familiar with. But strangely, the more Lv Chenglong looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.

He must have seen it somewhere, and the impression was not shallow.

And this ancient book is in Japanese...

Suddenly, a flash of light crossed Director Lv's mind: Is this a collection seal from the Zhengcangyuan in Japan?

He lifted his head abruptly, just about to say something, when he realized: the two antique shop owners, one fat and one thin, were still standing nearby.

With this thought, he gave Lin Sicheng a wink.

Lin Sicheng nodded slightly.

The so-called Zhengcangyuan is an institution specifically for the Japanese Emperor and the royal family to collect and preserve treasures and Cultural Relics. If one only counts the time of existence, its history is even longer than the Forbidden City.

The treasures stored inside are even more numerous than those in the Forbidden City.

Ten percent came from fine Cultural Relics that were successively introduced to Japan from China during and after the Tang Dynasty, and ten percent came from Western Cultural Relics that flowed into Japan via China. Another ten percent came from imitations made in Japan during various eras based on Chinese Cultural Relics.

The remaining seventy percent came from the War of Resistance Against Japan.

According to statistics: over eight years, the Japanese army looted more than 7.6 million Cultural Relics from the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Resort, the Shenyang Forbidden City, and from various large temples, monasteries, and major collectors.

Yet the Forbidden City currently holds 1.68 million pieces, and the Taipei Palace Museum holds 700,000; combined, that is nearly 2.4 million pieces, not even one-third.

Moreover, what they looted were all national-treasure-level fine pieces: the Mother-of-pearl Inlaid Sandalwood Pipa from the Tang Dynasty, the Mother-of-pearl Inlaid Sandalwood Ruanxian from the Tang Dynasty, unique copies and rare editions from the Song Dynasty, as well as countless jade, bamboo, wood, lacquer, gold and silver wares, and Calligraphy and Painting.

This does not even count the Bronze that was hauled directly to arsenals and melted down to make bullets.

Lin Sicheng had long thought that once he established a firm footing in Beijing, he would take a trip to Japan.

He could do nothing about those collected in museums, but there were three to four million pieces scattered among the Japanese public; even with bad luck, if he put in the effort, he could certainly find a few to bring back.

Thinking this to himself, he turned the flyleaf.

At first glance: it was all Japanese.

Actually, it was not; this is Chinese Gongche Notation, which was introduced to Japan along with Chinese characters during the Tang Dynasty. Around the Northern Song Dynasty, Japan used Chinese characters as a foundation and used the musical notes from the Gongche Notation as pronunciations to create the Japanese language.

That is why Lin Sicheng said that Japanese is not difficult to learn.

After flipping through it roughly, Lin Sicheng frowned subconsciously: So many musical instruments?

Zhong, Chime, zheng, Flute, chi, sheng, Panpipes, Pipa, Ruanxian, konghou, bili, Jie Drum, Cymbals, hulei... almost all the mainstream musical instruments of the Tang Dynasty were applied.

Reading the score again, the rhythm was sometimes bright and light, sometimes slow and relaxed; it was not ceremonial music for celebrations or sacrifices, but more like Yan Music.

Moreover, the scale was massive; just the instrumentalists alone numbered at least fifty or more, so it was definitely an Yan Music Grand Suite.

It had singing, music, and dance.

To speculate further: it should not be Song music, as the Yue of the Song Dynasty focused on standardization and leaned more toward elegance and refinement. Even for large court banquets, there were rarely more than twenty musicians.

Furthermore, the musical style was wrong; Tang music was inclusive, generous, and leaned toward lyricism. Song music was rigorous, standardized, and focused more on narrative. This book clearly leaned more toward the former.

Continuing to flip down to the end of the volume, seeing the two Chinese characters "Jinghong," Lin Sicheng paused slightly and recalled carefully.

Immediately, his pupils could not help but shrink: Jinghong Dance?

Li Longji: playing the White Jade Flute, performing the Jinghong Dance, the whole hall shining... This was a dance piece created by Li Longji, Tang Xuanzong, in his early years specifically for his favorite Concubine, Mei Fei.

Later, the Xiliang Regional Commander Yang Jingshu presented a local masterpiece, the Buddhist music "Brahmin Music" from Zhangye, Gansu. Li Longji combined and adapted it with the "Jinghong Dance" to create the Rainbow Feather Garment Dance for Yang Taizhen.

This dance piece is recognized in history as the pinnacle of the music and dance of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and it was also regarded as the decadent music that led to the collapse of the dynasty.

Just during the mid-to-late Tang period, more than thirty poets wrote over sixty poems describing the Rainbow Feather Garment Dance. Among them, Bai Juyi wrote the most, a full eighteen poems.

But the original music and original score were lost during the An Lushan Rebellion.

It was not until the 2010s that relevant departments, based on dance figurines from Tang Dynasty tombs, murals, partial dance postures discovered in the Dunhuang Murals, and several Grand Suite scores remaining from the Tang Dynasty, combined with historical materials and poetic descriptions, carried out an imaginative restoration and re-creation.

For example, "Liren Xing" from Chongqing Television, "Night Banquet in Tang Palace" from Henan Television, and "Great Tang Music and Dance" from the Shaanxi Song and Dance Troupe all belong to this type.

Therefore, no one had ever thought that the original score still existed in the world; it is estimated that the Japanese themselves did not think of it, nor did they discover it. Otherwise, there should have been relevant institutions researching it and releasing news simultaneously long ago.

Including Lin Sicheng, in two lifetimes he had never heard that Japan had a surviving copy of the Jinghong Dance.

He never expected that in his lifetime he would actually be able to see the real thing?

The reason why Cultural Relics are precious lies in the cultural value bestowed by history: verifying history, correcting history, and supplementing history. As well as witnessing the development of civilization, inheriting cultural memory, and strengthening national cohesion.

Things like this can no longer be measured by money. Even as steady as Lin Sicheng, his heart could not stop skipping a beat.

He suppressed his impatience, closed the musical score, and then placed it casually on the table.

The shop owner's heart sank: he didn't take a fancy to any of them?

It was truly because Lin Sicheng appeared too calm and too casual. Every book was picked up and flipped through with a wave of his hand.

Occasionally, he would look at the stamps on them, but how many Chinese people could recognize Japanese stamps?

In any case, after the shop owner took them to the provincial capital and consulted many experts, not a single one could explain the significance.

The fat boss was also a bit discouraged, thinking he had made a wasted trip and could forget about the introduction fee today.

The two were sighing inwardly when Lin Sicheng tapped the table: "Boss, name your price!"

Huh?

The two felt a surge of energy; the fat boss winked, meaning for him to feel free to ask for a high price.

The shop owner, however, was somewhat hesitant: don't let this young man's youth fool you, he is nine times out of ten an expert. But the fat man's eye for antiques was poor, so he hadn't noticed.

He couldn't think of slashing the price, but it couldn't be too low either.

He thought for a moment, then held up three fingers and shook them.

Not speaking, making me guess, right?

Fine.

Lin Sicheng smiled: "Three hundred?"

The shop owner rolled his eyes; three hundred wouldn't even cover the transport costs for picking up these few items.

"Of course it's thirty thousand!"

Thirty thousand was certainly not expensive; just the second volume of "Yuedian Music," plus the "Fushimi-no-miya" Seal Mark on the frontispiece, was worth nearly three hundred thousand.

But Lin Sicheng shook his head: "Too high!"

The shop owner feigned difficulty, gritted his teeth, and said: "Twenty-eight thousand, not a penny less!"

Lin Sicheng still shook his head, but he didn't have the time to bicker with the fat boss and let him squeeze out the price like toothpaste: "Eight thousand, if that works, it works; if not, we're leaving."

The shop owner was stunned: as expected, an expert.

In this line of work, besides having a sharp eye, you have to be able to read people. And he had observed for a long time, yet he couldn't tell at all if this young man was more expectant or more confused about these books.

But the strange thing was, his offer was incredibly straightforward and generous?

Looking at the table again: the paper of the books was indeed quite old, but the entire text was in Japanese; who the hell knew what was written in them?

To an average customer, they would glance at them and leave without even asking the price. Even when he first acquired them, they were just thrown in as a bonus when he bought those two pieces of porcelain.

Therefore, the shop owner was unsure: was eight thousand a profit, or had he missed a treasure?

After thinking for a while, he decided to sell.

"Eight thousand it is!"

Sighing, the shop owner shoved the three books into a box and pushed it forward: "Can I ask, what are these books?"

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "I don't know either, I just saw the paper looked quite old!"

The shop owner curled his lip: didn't he just say he knew Japanese?

But he didn't press further, took the machine to swipe the card, and wrote out a receipt.

Lin Sicheng left his phone number and told the shop owner to call him directly if he had any more items like this.

The fat boss nodded and saw the two out the door.

Watching Lin Sicheng and Lv Chenglong turn the corner, the fat boss complained: "Old Yin, didn't I tell you: the man drives a Mercedes-Benz worth over a million? You, on the other hand, sold it for eight thousand; couldn't you have asked for more?"

Ask for more? What if the man didn't want them anymore?

The shop owner laughed and said nothing more.

Pangzi, we both entered this trade together; why is it that I opened a shop, while you are still setting up a street stall?

Because I know: it doesn't matter if your eye isn't sharp enough, but you must know when to quit while you're ahead. Those three broken books, if I don't sell them now, who else could I sell them to?

I can't just keep waiting, waiting for a Japanese person to come here?

I'd probably have to wait until my next life...

He took out his wallet, counted out eight bills, and slapped them into the fat man's hand. After the people left, he pulled down the rolling shutter and took out his phone to make a call.

"Uncle, those two books I didn't want before, are they still there? Yes, the two Japanese books where the ink is so faded it's almost invisible."

"Alright, I'll come pick them up in a couple of days... What, there's porcelain too? I don't want the porcelain..."

The two left the Guan Gong temple and entered the mutton soup shop across the street.

They asked for a private room, and just as they sat down, Lin Sicheng opened the box: "Director Lv, take another look."

"I don't even know Japanese, what kind of look can I take?"

Lv Chenglong shook his head: "I'm just curious: how did treasures from the Zhengcangyuan in Japan end up in our country?"

To tell the truth, Lin Sicheng didn't know either.

But he remembered that in 2011, when the Shanxi Cultural Relics Bureau was conducting protective Artifact Restoration on the site of the former Japanese military headquarters in Taiyuan, they unearthed quite a few Cultural Relics.

There were Hizen Porcelain Sea-slug Glaze Plate and Satsuma Kiriko Glass Cup from the Edo Period (late Qing, early Republic), as well as Eastern Sea Industrial Money from the Muromachi Shogunate (Ming Dynasty).

There were even older ones: around 2020, during the third-phase expansion of the Tang Dynasty Chang'an City West Market ruins, roof tiles from the Asuka Period (592-710 AD) of Fujiwara-kyo (the first capital in Japanese history) were unearthed.

It is speculated that they were left behind during the Nara Period (710-784 AD) when Japan sent envoys to the Great Tang to learn construction techniques.

But old as they may be, they aren't as special as these music scores: they have both the collection seals of the Fushimi-no-miya family and the collection seals of the Zhengcangyuan, which leaves only one possibility: they were brought out during the War of Resistance Against Japan by a Japanese general of imperial descent, very likely from the Fushimi-no-miya family.

Counting them up, there seems to be only one person who fits these conditions: Kitashirakawa-no-miya Yoshihisa, the adopted son of the 121st Emperor of Japan, the Komei Emperor.

He once served briefly as Emperor before being deposed and placed under house arrest. He served as a commander during the First Sino-Japanese War, and later contracted malaria while occupying Taiwan, dying of the illness a few days later.

This is just a blind guess; it doesn't matter whether it's true or not.

Compared to that, he wanted more to translate the music scores and even restore the Jinghong Dance.

If he could find one or two more related volumes, that would be even better.

Lv Chenglong took another look: "Are all three of these music scores?"

"Yes!" Lin Sicheng nodded, "As for what specific pieces they are, I'll have to find a professional to conduct some Artifact Research!"

Lv Chenglong did not doubt him: as the saying goes, there is a specialty for every trade; even a genius cannot know everything.

The two returned to the hotel, and Lin Sicheng made a call to Zhao Er.

Afterward, Lin Sicheng called Huang Zhifeng, Tian Jie, and Gao Zhangyi into the room for a small meeting.

We officially join the group tomorrow, so some issues need to be communicated in advance.

After the meeting, the few of them chatted for a while, and just as they were about to disperse, the doorbell rang twice.

Checking the time, it should be Zhao Da who had arrived, so Lin Sicheng let Fang Jin go open the door.

Just as it opened, Fang Jin gave an "Eh": "Professor Wang."

The group turned their heads in unison: wasn't it exactly Wang Qi Zhi?

Following behind him was Ye Anning.

But they had only just parted ways this morning?

Seeing the look on Wang Qi Zhi's face, they all guessed he had business, so the few of them immediately took their leave.

As soon as the people left, Wang Qi Zhi got straight to the point: "What did you scavenge this time?"

Lin Sicheng was stunned for a moment: he had called Zhao Da and hadn't mentioned any items, only telling him to bring over two cases for books.

He figured that as soon as Zhao Er mentioned needing cases, Professor Wang guessed he had scavenged another treasure.

As for Cousin Ye, she probably just overheard a bit and was purely joining in the excitement.

Lin Sicheng took a box out from under the coffee table: "It's so far, having Boheng come would have been enough, Teacher, there was no need for you to make a special trip."

"Zhao Er is a bit rash; I don't feel at ease. If it were Zhao Da, I certainly wouldn't have come."

After replying, Wang Qi Zhi took out the musical score and flipped through it.

Then, he looked completely bewildered: "Japanese books?"

"Yes, only the one in the middle is in Chinese, but it was also passed down from Japan!"

Lin Sicheng took out the bound volume, "Especially this one; the first half is part of the ancient Japanese court Yue, the 'Yuedian Collection', and the second half is the 'Jinghong Dance', a grand court Yan Music ceremony passed to Japan during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Moreover, it has the collection seals of the Fushimi-no-miya family and the Shosoin..."

Upon hearing Fushimi-no-miya family and Shosoin, Ye Anning's eyes lit up: "Lin Sicheng, should we put this up for auction?"

It just so happened that Poly also had a branch in Japan.

Lin Sicheng was stunned for a moment: "Cousin Ye, this is the Jinghong Dance from the Tang Dynasty!"

"I know, you just said: Tang Dynasty court Yan Music Grand Suite."

Lin Sicheng sighed: one couldn't blame Cousin Ye for being so slow.

Hundreds of pieces of court music were passed to Japan during the Tang Dynasty and subsequently lost in China, yet preserved intact in Japan; unless one specifically studies Chinese classical music, who could remember every single one without error?

Including Director Lu, who had also seen the "Jinghong" Annotation in Chinese characters on the last page of the score at the time, but hadn't thought about it deeply at all.

"Cousin Ye, this is a dance piece created by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang for Concubine Mei, and later he used this melody, combined with Western Regions Buddhist music, to co-create the 'Rainbow Skirt Feather Garment Dance'."

"Regardless of which one it is, the original scores in China were already lost during the An Lushan Rebellion. It is even possible that not even Japan knows they have these remnants. So I don't know if this is the only copy in the world..."

Lin Sicheng explained patiently, and Ye Anning's eyes widened bit by bit. Her face slowly turned red: to take something like this to auction, and to take it to Japan to auction?

Was there something wrong with her brain?

But if Lin Sicheng hadn't told her, she truly wouldn't have known this item was so important.

To put it elegantly, this is a lost pearl in the ocean of history. To put it seriously: this is ironclad proof that Japanese civilization originated from China.

Not to mention the early 2000s, even in the 2020s, in various academic settings, various lectures, and even various websites and forums, there is still a group of domestic professors and Experts whitewashing for Japan: claiming Japanese Yue did not originate from Tang sounds, but developed independently in Japan.

Lin Sicheng had never been able to understand: it wasn't until the Song Dynasty that Japan used Chinese characters and Gongche Notation to create Japanese writing; did this independent music of theirs fall from the sky?

Wang Qi Zhi had long been shocked out of his wits, his mouth hanging open for a long time: he had guessed Lin Sicheng scavenged something good, but he never thought it would be an overseas unique copy?

"No... for something like this, you just let Zhao Er come to pick it up?"

Lin Sicheng opened his mouth, thought about it, and simply closed it.

Zhao Er's temperament was indeed a bit rash, and it was indeed a bit inappropriate. But looking at it from another angle: explaining things too clearly was not necessarily a good thing.

It wasn't that he feared his apprentice had bad intentions, but that "if a secret plan is not kept, disaster follows": from the perspective of culture, history, and even the nation, the value of these three musical scores was no lower than the value of the Xu Weili Documents.

"Let's go, let's change locations!" Wang Qi Zhi carefully put the musical scores into the box, "I'm not leaving tonight either; tomorrow I'll have Deputy Bureau Chief Chen (Chen Peng) send two plainclothes officers over!"

Lin Sicheng was caught between laughter and tears: "Teacher, isn't that a bit much?"

The Chixia Cup and the Xu Weili Documents, weren't those also brought back from Hangzhou by him and Gu Ming?

Wang Qi Zhi really wanted to curse a few times: what do you mean "a bit much"? But the words reached his lips and he swallowed them back.

Lin Sicheng dared to fight even Grave Robbers who carried guns and explosives; what else could make him afraid?

He pointed his finger vaguely: "Regardless of whether it's a bit much or not, next time, tell me the first moment you get it, and I'll arrange the rest!"

"Teacher, such a small matter, I can't trouble you every time!"

Wang Qi Zhi: Heh!

He actually hoped Lin Sicheng would trouble him more often: how damn prestigious would that be?