Chapter 585: Even Masters Have Their Youthful Days

Zhu Zi is Zhu Xi, the thinker who, after Confucius and Mencius, has had the most profound influence on China and even the entire East Asian civilization.

From the Yuan Dynasty onwards, Zhu Zi's Rigaku was established as the sole standard for the imperial examinations, lasting until the fall of the Qing Dynasty. This is to say that his ideology shaped the governing logic and bureaucratic system of three dynasties for seven hundred years.

The Two Chengs are Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, the founders and pioneers of Song Li Xue. Zhu Xi first accepted the philosophical ideas of the Two Chengs in their entirety, then developed them into a Zhu School that possessed a methodology and followed a progressive order.

Cheng-Zhu Rigaku originated from this.

To use an analogy: the Two Chengs were the developers of the source code; they wrote the most core, critical lines of code. Based on this source code, Zhu Xi developed a powerful, fully-interfaced operating system that was compatible and ran stably for hundreds of years.

And what this system carried was the seven-hundred-year-old Chinese imperial civilization.

Liang Shiya's Assistant is a banana person, so she didn't feel much. But Liang Shiya is not; she at least knows the influence the Two Chengs and Zhu Xi have in Chinese history.

She stared at those few pages that had already turned gray, old to the point of being unable to be any older, and looked stunned: "Master Zhou, are the small characters written with a brush in those blank spaces in Zhu Xi's handwriting?"

Zhou Zhilin nodded: "The label is indeed written that way!"

What is the concept of a Zhu Xi manuscript?

It's not that they don't exist, but there are only four in the whole world, and each one is a national treasure.

But those four are either poems or Letters; only this one is the most original manuscript of Zhu Xi studying the Cheng family's Rigaku, which established the Zhu School.

To use an analogy: these few pages are the legal source of the operating system of the seven-hundred-year-old Chinese imperial civilization.

If these few sheets of paper are real, every single character on them is worth tens of millions.

The more Liang Shiya thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong, staring at Lin Sicheng, who was motionless and focused: It couldn't be that the one surnamed Lin just happened to pick up this one, could it?

Zhou Zhilin knew what she was worried about, so he walked over and stood next to Lin Sicheng.

If he were to tell the truth, he didn't think a Zhu Xi manuscript could appear at an auction. It would even be impossible for an ordinary person to see it.

Even if it did appear, it would absolutely not be so quiet, and there would not be so little publicity.

So Zhou Zhilin didn't really care.

However, when he saw the item clearly, his heart couldn't help but jump.

There were seven pages in total, with a delicate texture and evenly interwoven fibers, without any spots or impurities.

The chain lines were clear, spaced about a finger's width apart, and translucent under side lighting. The color was yellowish, yet revealed a hint of elegant light brown.

This was typical Jiangnan bark paper; the key lay in the yellowish-brown color: this was the unique "chestnut shell color" formed after the bark paper had undergone seven or eight hundred years of natural oxidation.

The point was the "seven or eight hundred years": one hundred years less and the color would be lighter, one hundred years more and it would be deeper.

Then look at the ink: black with a hint of gray, faintly revealing a luster. It penetrated the paper and gripped the bones, warm and moist without floating.

The ink color was calm, heavy, and three-dimensional; having passed through several hundred years, it had merged with the paper, presenting a mellow, ancient sense of "paper and ink enhancing each other."

Any expert could see that this was the classic Pine Soot Ink of the two Song dynasties; the key lay in that layer of light that appeared hidden yet visible after seven or eight hundred years of natural oxidation: one hundred years more and it would be dull, one hundred years less and it would be bright.

After looking at the paper and ink, look at the layout: mainly four-sided double borders, the printing frame was tall and wide, the center of the page was white, and the upper and lower fine black fish tails faced each other.

The lines were sparse and clear, with characters as large as coins. This was the "large-character edition" unique to the Guozijian printings of the two Song dynasties.

The characters were in the Yan style, but slightly different from common stele calligraphy: the strokes were thinner and harder, the horizontal and vertical lines were straight, the slanting strokes were upright, the turns were distinct, and the structure was rigorous yet relaxed. The overall style was dignified and solemn, handsome and clear.

It lacked a bit of severity and had a bit more elegance. But it was precisely this addition and subtraction that exactly explained that this was a Guozijian printing among the official Southern Song Dynasty printings.

To put it bluntly, the Southern Song imperial printing was influenced by Emperor Huizong's Thin Gold Script.

Looking again at the engraving and collation, the knife technique was precise, the intersections of the strokes were clean and neat, and there were very few textual errors.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhilin's brows furrowed into a "chuan" shape. Because no matter how he looked at it, he couldn't see any traces of imitation, forgery, or artificial aging.

The paper was Song paper, the ink was Song ink, and everything including the edition, format, and signs of aging conformed to the characteristics of Southern Song official printings.

Looking further down, Zhou Zhilin's eyelids couldn't stop jumping twice: three of the pages each had a seal: one "Tianlu Linlang", one "Zhu Cha Ting Zhang", and one "Jixi Dian Bao".

Tianlu Linlang was the imperial library established by Qianlong in the Zhaoren Hall of the Qianqing Palace, mainly collecting rare books and classics from the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties.

The last seal was the Imperial Collection Seal of the Jixi Hall, the Southern Song imperial library. The one in the middle, "Zhu Cha Ting Zhang", was the book collection seal of the Ming Dynasty collector and antique dealer Xiang Yuanbian.

And nearly thirty percent of the Qing Dynasty imperial book and Calligraphy and Painting collections came from the Xiang family, so the value of this seal was not below the first two.

The key was that Zhou Zhilin couldn't tell if it was real or fake.

No, that's not right; to be precise: no matter how he looked at it, these three seals all looked real.

Whether it was the content and format of the seal script, the traces and depth of the cinnabar paste, or the different degrees of color difference formed by the oxidation of cinnabar due to different components and ages.

Zhou Zhilin was completely confused: It couldn't be that these few pages were really a Song Dynasty printing, right?

Then what about Zhu Zi's commentary? Was that real too?

Involuntarily, his heart thumped "thump, thump, thump," and Zhou Zhilin subconsciously turned his head to look at Liang Shiya.

No verbal communication was needed; Liang Shiya understood at a glance: This thing seems to be real?

No matter how rare it was, it was only seventy million, which was not even one percent compared to the technology Lin Sicheng had extorted from several companies. So Liang Shiya's feelings were not as deep as Zhou Zhilin's.

What she cared about was Lin Sicheng; from beginning to end, and end to beginning, Lin Sicheng had already looked at it three times.

There were several people surrounding them, but whether it was Ye Anning, or Huang Zhi and Huang Lan, they all waited quietly. They neither made a sound nor moved around.

The key was the expressions of these people: surprised, excited, curious, yet revealing a few traces of solemnity.

If this thing were fake, why would they be excited?

In a flash, she gave a look, meaning for everyone not to speak. After waiting for another ten minutes, Lin Sicheng finally straightened his back.

Huang Zhi couldn't wait: "How is it?"

"Fake!"

"Ah?" Huang Zhi looked stunned, "Then why did you look for so long?"

Last time at the Public Security Bureau, during the time Lin Sicheng had a conflict with his sister, that painting by Zha Shibiao was so difficult to appraise, yet Lin Sicheng didn't even use one-third of the time he used today to appraise and explain it.

The key was that today's Lin Sicheng was much more serious than last time, focused and meticulous.

Huang Zhi had thought that these few fragments were genuine, which was why Lin Sicheng was so serious.

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "It's just that these few pages are a bit complicated, so I looked for a while longer. But it is definitely not a Song Dynasty printing, and it has nothing to do with Zhu Zi or the Two Chengs."

Huang Zhi was straightforward: "How much is it worth?"

"Hard to say, it depends on whether someone makes a mistake!" Lin Sicheng thought for a moment, "But no matter how much money it costs, don't you go thinking about it!"

Huang Zhi understood: "You mean, someone will be fooled and take it for a real Zhu Zi Manuscript?"

Lin Sicheng nodded.

Not to mention anything far away, just look at the expression of Expert Zhou nearby: he glances at Lin Sicheng, then looks at those few pages of paper. Then he glances at Lin Sicheng again, and looks at those few pages of paper again.

It is as if he is saying: It looks quite real to me?

But it is not his fault: this thing is imitated extremely cleverly, and it is imitated extremely realistically. The more of an expert one is, the more of an insider one is, the easier it is to make a mistake.

If it were an ordinary person: A Zhu Zi Manuscript, are you kidding me?

How many lifetimes of virtue would one have to accumulate for such a good thing to fall to one's own lot?

Huang Zhi sighed: "I would like to be fooled, provided I had seventy million."

He certainly has seventy million, but he is not Huang Lan, he is not missing a screw in his head.

He certainly won't bid, he just wants to watch the excitement.

"The auction is the day after tomorrow!" Huang Zhi looked at the label, "Lin Sicheng, are you coming?"

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "I'll come!"

If one gets fooled, it might well be a hundred-million-dollar mistake.

For someone who can afford that much money, buying those few things of his is just a flick of a finger.

"Lin Sicheng, since this thing is so real, why doesn't the organizer promote it vigorously!"

"It might be playing hard to get, or feigning refusal to welcome. Of course, it is also possible that they don't quite dare to promote it vigorously."

Lin Sicheng smiled, "To put it bluntly: this thing only has few flaws, not that it has no flaws. If the promotion goes overboard, what if it attracts a few old experts from the Forbidden City?"

Huang Zhi suddenly realized: "Tsk, the scheme is quite deep, isn't it?"

As the two were talking, they left the display case.

Liang Shiya stood where she was, motionless.

Playing hard to get, feigning refusal to welcome—was Lin Sicheng's remark intentionally said for her to hear?

For example, he actually wants to bid, but intentionally acts uninterested.

It really is hard to say. —

Watching Lin Sicheng's back, Liang Shiya was lost in thought: "Master Zhou, if these few pages of manuscripts are Zhu Zi's Authentic Handwriting, what is the approximate valuation?"

Zhou Zhilin replied without hesitation: "Compared to the current valuation, at least ten times more!"

Ten times seventy million, that would be one hundred million dollars?

If Lin Sicheng could get that much money, what the hell is she supervising for?

"Master Zhou, then based on your experience, what is the percentage of certainty?"

Zhou Zhilin thought very seriously: "Sixty percent!"

Liang Shiya is the employer; Zhou Zhilin does not dare to speak too definitively. If asked for the truth: he has at least eighty percent certainty.

Because the paper is right, the ink is right, the seal is right, and the version and format are also right.

More crucially, he has truly studied Zhu Zi Manuscripts, and two of them at that.

One is the remnant manuscript of the "Collected Commentaries on the Analects" collected by the Kyoto National Museum in Japan.

That was in the mid-eighties, when his teacher, Mr. Liu Zuochou, was invited to visit Japan and went specifically to the National Museum to catch a glimpse of Zhu Zi's Authentic Handwriting.

Although it was also a remnant manuscript, it had a full twenty-plus pages; he and his teacher not only looked at it, but also took photos.

After returning, his teacher studied it for nearly a year. Then he went specifically to Taiwan to borrow and read the Zhu Zi calligraphy copy collected by the Taipei Palace Museum, the

"Fengshi Tie".

This time, not only did he take photos, but he also handled it.

After returning, his teacher consulted various materials, compared them repeatedly, and left behind a large amount of notes.

As the closing disciple, Zhou Zhilin obtained all of his true teachings, including these notes.

He considers himself to be someone who, if it comes to the understanding of Zhu Xi's manuscripts, no one can surpass him, including the so-called experts of the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City does indeed have Zhu Xi's Authentic Handwriting, but it is only a poetry scroll.

And the two copies he and his teacher studied, although they are not the original manuscripts where Zhu Xi established Zhu Learning, one is a commentary on Confucian classics, and the other is a calligraphy copy; compared to the creative environment and the state of mind during creation, they are certainly closer than poetry.

The more he thought about it, the greater Zhou Zhilin's certainty became. He looked at Liang Shiya: "Miss Liang, I would like to invite a friend to come and take a look!"

Liang Shiya's heart stirred: You mean, you want to find a friend to come over and bid?

This is a good thing.

As long as they can cause trouble, as long as they can drag Lin Sicheng's feet, the United Association will support it one hundred percent. Li Zhenghao even guaranteed: under thirty million US dollars, Liang Shiya does not need to apply to the representative committee; she can make the decision herself.

However, there is a prerequisite: there must be significant results. If the Technology Authorization Agreement can be ruined without spending money, all thirty million will be treated as a bonus for Liang Shiya and her team.

But if you say you spend tens of millions just to drag out the progress of Lin Sicheng raising funds, this reason is certainly not enough.

Now it's good, someone is volunteering to do the work—

Out of caution, Liang Shiya still advised: "Master Zhou, I think it's best if you find someone else to take a look."

Zhou Zhilin nodded: After all, it is seventy million, not seventy.

He will not only invite people to look, but he will also invite more professional and authoritative people to look.

"Thank you, Miss Liang, I will! Of course, it certainly won't delay your commission!"

3

Liang Shiya was noncommittal: Actually, these two things do not conflict.

As long as it is related to antiques, and as long as Lin Sicheng is there, Zhou Zhilin and He Jian will certainly be there too.

Turning the thought over, she propped up her chin: "Master Zhou, they seem to have encountered something interesting again!"

Zhou Zhilin glanced over: Lin Sicheng is looking at a painting.

"Master Zhou, would you like to go over and take a look?"

"Very well, Miss Liang."

After replying, Zhou Zhilin looked at the label on the display stand again: the auction was the day after tomorrow, so there were still two days left; it should be enough time.

The key was the funding: seventy million was a significant amount, but it could be scraped together if necessary. However, for the sake of balancing risk, it was still better to find a Partner.

With these thoughts turning in his mind, the group walked over.

Seeing Liang Shiya getting closer and closer, Ye Anning sighed inwardly.

Huang Zhi and Huang Lan exchanged a glance; one was secretly amazed, while the other looked full of admiration.

When they had come over just now, seeing Liang Shiya standing still, Huang Zhi had curiously asked: "Lin Sicheng, that General Manager Liang is quite interested in those fragments; is she thinking of bidding on them?"

Lin Sicheng, however, had said: "General Manager Liang is not interested in the fragments, much less any antiques or Calligraphy and Painting. What General Manager Liang is interested in is him."

He also said that as long as it was something he had looked at, General Manager Liang would always have that Expert Zhou take a look at it.

Huang Zhi did not believe it and wanted to make a bet with Lin Sicheng: if Lin Sicheng lost, he would give Huang Lan a painting. There was no limit on the price, but it had to be by a famous artist.

If Huang Zhi lost, he would give Ye Anning a membership card.

Clearly, Lin Sicheng had won: Huang Zhi saw it very clearly; while still several steps away, Liang Shiya gave Zhou Zhilin a look. Zhou Zhilin nodded slightly and moved close to Lin Sicheng's side.

He had no choice but to move close: the painting was only that big, in a display case barely a meter long; if he didn't stand next to Lin Sicheng, he wouldn't be able to see anything.

Huang Zhi wanted to sigh: this bet was lost truly unjustly.

Just as he was feeling this way, Zhou Zhilin let out an "Eh?": "Shitao's Nest Lake Map?"

Immediately, he took a glance and said with extreme certainty: "General Manager Lin, don't look anymore; this painting is a fake!"

Lin Sicheng was noncommittal: "Master Zhou, this painting is indeed a fake, but I feel it seems to have come from the hand of a famous artist."

A famous artist?

Zhou Zhilin looked at it carefully and immediately shook his head: "Although it is imitated very closely, it only imitates the surface: the brushstrokes are immature and stiff, and the artistic conception is cloying and vulgar. The brushwork reveals a sense of fawning and sycophancy."

"Although the colors are bright, they float on the surface. The lines are rigid, indecisive, and lack the strength and boldness that flow in one breath and pierce through the paper."

"The key is the calligraphy: it is too exquisite, too pretty; it has too much cleverness and elegance, but loses Shitao's profound vastness and raw, natural simplicity—"

Lin Sicheng subconsciously raised his head, a flash of something strange in his eyes.

Zhou Zhilin did not mind: "General Manager Lin, am I wrong?"

"No!" Lin Sicheng said with extreme sincerity, "Master Zhou is absolutely right!"

He was not being sarcastic, nor was he being perfunctory, but was offering heartfelt praise.

Because the shortcomings that Zhou Zhilin mentioned did indeed exist.

From this, it could be seen that this Expert Zhou was a true Expert. His Appraisal ability might even be a little higher than Liu Yiling's.

However, even experts make mistakes when they are supposed to.

This painting was indeed a fake, but ninety-nine percent of it came from the hand of a famous artist.

The brushstrokes were indeed immature and appeared stiff, and there were many shortcomings. But the reason was not complicated: famous artists also have their younger days.

The reason a famous artist is a famous artist is that they painted one painting after another, rather than becoming a famous artist overnight—