Chapter 510: Impossible

The screen dimmed for a moment, then brightened again.

The image of the brush washer vanished, leaving only that iron sand spot blue and white bowl.

Subsequently, a few more images appeared; these were precisely the blue and white pieces Hu Hai had brought back from Hong Kong, which had been detained by Customs.

Lin Sicheng pointed to the long table: "The physical objects are all here; you experts can compare them!"

Compare what? Naturally, compare the material, the craftsmanship, and the oxidation marks.

Setting that aside, just look at the 'Rain' mark on the bottom of the bowl: this should be the earliest piece of porcelain currently existing in Japan. To call it the national treasure of national treasures in Japan is not an exaggeration in the slightest.

Even if just to satisfy curiosity, it is worth researching.

The experts from the Cultural Relics Bureau gathered around with great interest: "Director Chen, Professor Yu, would you like to take a look first?"

Look at what?

If they look any further, their faces will be slapped swollen...

Although tests haven't been done yet to verify if their suspicions are correct—whether this bowl and the pieces detained by Customs are of the same type—they have brains: if they weren't the same type of item, why would this kid keep them all for last and display them together?

This is a finishing move, leaving you with nothing to say.

They have eyes, too: just by looking at the soil encrustation and rust-colored stains, they know these pieces were absolutely dug up from the same place.

If the iron sand spot blue and white bowl was unearthed abroad, then what about these pieces?

And more crucially: if this blue and white bowl was a trial-fired piece by Li Canping after he arrived in Japan, then it is the first generation of Japanese porcelain. At the very least, it is the earliest piece of porcelain in Japanese history currently in existence.

The mainstream academic circle in Japan has always insisted on the view that Japan's porcelain-making craft "borrowed very little from China and was mostly independently innovated." Come, let's look at this bowl now—is it an independent innovation?

At this point, this bowl is no longer just a matter of how much it is worth. It is ironclad proof that the origin of Japanese porcelain-making craft was a complete copy of China's. And what about those pieces detained by Customs?

No matter how they look at it, these pieces and the blue and white bowl all look like things that came out of the same kiln.

What does that equate to? It equates to these also being ironclad proof...

The experts finally understood: why did Department Head Xiao of the Cultural Heritage Department suddenly appear without any prior notification?

He came here for one purpose: to clean up the mess for Lin Sicheng. In the event that the verification failed, he would find a way to get these porcelains out of Customs, and even get that Hu Hai out, handing them all over to Lin Sicheng.

National honor is greater than everything, and it overrides everything.

Furthermore, that Hu Hai hadn't committed a crime in the first place...

Then what did that make them?

The villains preventing Lin Sicheng from winning glory for the country?

The more they thought about it, the more they regretted it; their guts turned green, yet they dared not show it.

Forcing smiles and offering a few polite deferrals, the four experts stepped aside.

Laymen watch the spectacle, experts watch the technique. Upon getting their hands on them, the experts from the Cultural Relics Bureau reached a rough judgment.

Although the vessel shapes were different, the glaze surfaces were different, and the blue and white coloring was different, looking at the glaze layer where it had peeled, as well as the body material of the blue and white bowl: gray yet white, cold yet stiff. Looking again at the interior of the bowl and the other pieces: no matter which one, the body had clearly visible mold-joining lines.

This indicates that these pieces used the same mud-refining and body-shaping techniques: single pool sedimentation, rack drying, rapid dehydration, quick-set mud refining. As well as splicing and embryo repairing, and interface mud piling.

If it were before, they might have had to ponder a bit and check some materials. But Lin Sicheng's hint was obvious enough. With a slight recollection, they could be ninety-nine percent certain:

This was the quick-set technique simplified to the extreme by Li Canping after arriving in Japan to increase production.

In China, whether in the same period, earlier, or later, and whether in official kilns or folk kilns, the mud-refining and body-shaping techniques were much more refined than this. It wasn't that they didn't want to save effort, but that porcelain fired this way had a fatal weakness: it was brittle and easily broken.

Then why hadn't it been discovered before?

Because of Customs, the process of visual appraisal was skipped entirely. All porcelains were sampled one by one and put through machines.

Looking at test materials on a machine and holding the finished product in your hand are two completely different concepts.

That is one reason; the second is: even when handling them, experts first look at the body material, glaze surface, vessel shape, blue and white coloring, and the composition of the body and glaze. If these are all correct, no one would nitpick and analyze whether the process of mud refining and body shaping had been simplified.

Even if someone noticed and brought it up, whether Customs would accept it was another question...

After confirming it once more and finally picking up that blue and white bowl, the experts from the Cultural Relics Bureau finally understood: why did Director Chen, Professor Yu, and the others not even dare to touch them?

These items were not only dug up from the same place, but they were also fired in the same place.

If the blue and white bowl was fired by Li Canping in Japan, then what about these pieces?

Naturally, they were also fired in Japan, and they have nothing to do with Chinese cultural relics.

It was equivalent to having already taken several slaps to the face. If they dared to push forward any further, they would only be slapped even harder...

Deputy Director Ma frowned: "Sicheng, when Director Lu said earlier that our testing wasn't finished, was he referring to this?"

That really wasn't it.

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "If it were only the simplified mud-refining and body-shaping techniques, and the composition structure and main firing techniques hadn't changed, these current instruments really wouldn't be able to detect it."

"Of course, one could measure the Mohs hardness: after simplifying the mud-refining and body-shaping procedures, there is a fatal weakness: the hardness is very low, and it shatters upon a single touch. But who can guarantee that domestic folk-kiln blue and white porcelain can't be brittle? So, that's not what Director Lu was talking about..."

Lin Sicheng stepped off the podium and flipped over the blue and white pieces detained by Customs, revealing the bottoms.

"What Director Lu was talking about are these marks on the bottom!"

"After the Wanli era, national strength gradually declined, and the Great Ming had no capacity to protect Joseon. The Tokugawa Shogunate at the time ordered Joseon to pay tribute."

This included the potters and technology from the Joseon Gangjin Celadon Institute (the Joseon Tribute Kiln, located in Jeollanam-do, near Saka, Japan), which fired tribute porcelain for the Great Ming. That is how Japan's porcelain industry developed."

"At the same time, at the request of Li Canping, the Saka Domain sent ships to import large quantities of porcelain clay and glaze materials from Jingdezhen, and purchased the craft formulas. The raw materials for firing these blue and white pieces came from there."

"But identical raw materials, identical formulas, and identical techniques do not mean the porcelain fired in Japan is without a single flaw. The answer is on the bottom: 'The porcelain body can use imported materials, and the glaze can use imported materials, but surely the mud pads for the base, the bedding sand, the spur marks inside the sagger, and the saggers themselves weren't all imported too?'"

Lin Sicheng pointed to the bottom of the blue and white vessel: "This is what Director Lu meant when he said the testing wasn't complete..."

The experts lowered their heads, staring at the spur marks, mud pads, and the traces left by the bedding sand, not knowing what to say.

Actually, one could see it just by looking with the naked eye: there was black sand on the foot rim; this was clearly the residual sand grains from crushed pottery stone used for bedding during kiln firing. Chinese porcelain uses everything, but it never uses pottery stone. Because this stuff is stone, rather than wasting effort crushing it, it's better to just throw in a handful of porcelain clay. Secondly, besides the coarse sand, there were gray spots: these were the marks left after pottery stone was crushed and molded into spurs to be used for bedding during firing.

Because Japanese pottery stone has an extremely high iron and titanium content, even after the spurs were removed after firing, iron-gray spots would still remain.

By the same logic, Chinese porcelain clay is everywhere; there is no need to go far to find something, using pottery stone to mold spurs.

Isn't it better to use porcelain clay with the same composition as the body? You wouldn't have to worry about leaving any marks at all.

Then why hadn't it been discovered before?

Because testing only takes relatively complete and intact parts. Whether it is sand marks or pad-firing marks, they are considered flaws and will affect the test results. When sampling, one naturally would not take from these places.

Thinking of this, the scene of Director Lu being exasperated and flying into a rage appeared in many people's minds.

No wonder he requested to re-sample and do it all over again? Because only by re-testing these parts can the difference be seen.

No wonder he said Deputy Director-General Song was not solving the problem? Because he had reminded them more than once: re-sample at the bottom.

But at the time, everyone felt he was being unreasonable and didn't pay any attention to what he meant by "the bottom."

They didn't even give him a chance to speak. Before he could finish his sentence, a bunch of labels were slapped onto him: being unreasonable, ignoring politics, making wild accusations, talking to himself...

Looking back now, no matter how you look at it, it seems like Deputy Director-General Song and the experts invited wanted to cover things up.

So, it really isn't Director Lu's fault for blowing up: those who do Artifact Research have relatively simple minds, and they inevitably look at problems directly.

For example, Deputy Director Ma; if it were him, he would probably blow up even faster: You ask me where the problem is, I told you. You ask me how to solve it, I told you too. But not only do you not solve it, you even want to kick me out; isn't this "not solving the problem, but solving the person who raised the problem"?

The problem is, what now?

Riding a tiger and unable to get off; it's even more like half-cooked rice than half-cooked rice.

A group of experts looked at each other, looked at the ones invited by Customs, and then looked at Song Jingqiu sitting above.

Lin Sicheng knew what they meant, but having reached this point, how could there be any reason to retreat?

Director Lu and his teacher might agree, but he would not.

He nodded: "Teachers, let's take samples and test them, take them from the bottom!"

The four people beside him felt a jolt in their hearts: surely they couldn't really let this kid press their faces to the ground and rub them hard?

Professor Liu gave a sheepish smile: "Student Lin, it's so late, and the teachers are tired, why not do it tomorrow?"

Lin Sicheng didn't speak, he looked at Deputy Director Ma.

If it isn't done today, by tomorrow, even if he wanted to do it, there would be no way.

Believe it or not, perhaps before dawn, Customs would release them? Not only would not a single item be missing, but even Hu Hai would miraculously be released. And perhaps, without any reason at all?

But that's not how logic works...

Deputy Director Ma also didn't speak; he raised his hand and looked at his watch.

If in Beijing, who has ever gotten off work before twelve o'clock?

The experts from the Cultural Relics Bureau were even more direct. As soon as Lin Sicheng's voice fell, before the Dean could even speak, they started moving: some taking samples, some turning on the machines.

The four experts were stunned: No... Deputy Director Ma, say something?

The previous tests were done by you; whether it was a missed inspection or an incomplete plan, it is all your responsibility. Are you not going to cover it up at all, just admitting mistakes like that?

What's even more excessive are those Researchers: the leaders haven't even spoken, and you're already working?

Get it straight, your superior is Deputy Director Ma, not Lin Sicheng...

Seeing what they were thinking, Deputy Director Ma ignored them: being unforgiving when you have the upper hand, and wanting to slip away when you don't—how can there be such logic?

Who hasn't made a mistake? If you don't even have this bit of accountability, what kind of research are you doing?

If he hesitated for even a second, it would be a disrespect to his professional ethics.

The leaders of Customs were slow to realize:

Although the atmosphere just now was quiet, it was mostly just shock and suspicion.

But now, it was silence, the kind of silence that was eerie.

Most people were moving, including Deputy Director Ma, but no one spoke, only the "buzzing" sound of the machines.

Even if one were slow-witted, one could discover something was wrong. What's more, Lin Sicheng had said it clearly: the Cultural Relics Bureau missed the inspection.

Looking at the ones invited by Customs, each of them had a livid face. Song Jingqiu could already foresee the result later:

As soon as the test data comes out, it will verify whether these porcelains of Hu Hai's are made in Japan, and whether they were dug up from abroad. As long as they are not on the prohibited list, Customs must return the items and release the people.

But the problem is, the items are easy to return, and the people are easy to release, but what happens after?

After dragging it out for so long, causing such a big commotion, and putting on such a big show, could it just end like this?

His heart couldn't stop jumping, and Song Jingqiu looked at Chen Feng.

Chen Feng lowered his eyes.

Song Jingqiu understood immediately: "Department Head Wu, Department Head Xiao, the testing won't be finished for a while, it will be at least twelve o'clock.

How about this, I'll arrange a simple midnight snack, and the two of you, along with Department Head Chen and Bureau Chief Li, can take a rest. Once there are results, I will report to you leaders?" Results, report?

Believe it or not, as soon as we leave, this test will be stopped right there?

Department Head Wu shook his head and pointed at the Researcher operating the machine: "Thank you, Department Head Song. The comrades are all working overtime, so I shouldn't be eating and drinking. Let's go together after the testing is done."

Song Jingqiu's expression stiffened: No... Department Head Wu, have you been infected by Director Lu, why are you speaking so bluntly?

Department Head Xiao smiled: "The leaders are waiting for the results, so let's wait a while."

Song Jingqiu felt a tightness in his heart: Department Head Xiao's leader, which leader is that?

The key is, what time is it now?

Song Jingqiu didn't dare to persuade them anymore.

Chen Feng and Li Shichen looked at each other: things have reached this point, playing games is meaningless, it's better to tell the truth.

Presumably, the two Department Heads can also understand the difficulties of Customs.

"Department Head Wu, Department Head Xiao, I'll tell the truth: the nature of this matter is a bit complicated, otherwise the General Administration wouldn't have specifically sent me and Bureau Chief Li over." "Two, how about this: we both take a step back, the cross-examination won't be done for now, and we will release the items and the people immediately."

As he spoke, Chen Feng pressed his palms together: "Two leaders, please help!"

He thought that since things had reached this point, Wu Hui and Xiao Heng should agree. Because it would be a win-win, and no one would lose anything.

The Forbidden City and this kid's goal is to get the people and the items. So if the items are given to you and the people are given to you, isn't that the end of it?

Department Head Xiao's goal is to ensure that the project Lin Sicheng still has in his conception can eventually land. In the end, it is still for these Cultural Relics.

Department Head Wu's goal is even simpler: he is the representative of the review unit, roughly equivalent to a judge in a civil court. If the plaintiff and defendant reach a settlement, he is happy to save the trouble. But the strange thing is, neither of them had any intention of expressing their stance?

Chen Feng's heart jumped: "Two leaders, did I say something wrong?"

It is not that what was said is incorrect, but rather that it is fundamentally impossible.

Even if they could agree, Lin Sicheng would not agree.

You actually expect someone who can hold a bomb and dares to risk his life against desperate criminals to bow his head and bend his back after suffering a grievance?

That is impossible.