Chapter 599: Not Seen This One Before

Lin Sicheng shook his head without hesitation: "I don't know!"

Impossible, who doesn't understand whom?

No matter how confident Lin Sicheng was, could he guarantee that the ink from the time of Gaozong did not contain wood glue?

If he dared to, he wouldn't have been stumped by Zhang Yuanqiao.

Therefore, he was very certain that this was not Zhu Xi's handwriting, and at the same time, he knew who had written it—

Just as Tian Rulong was about to ask, Sheng Guoan shook his head: If he refuses to admit it, can you pry his mouth open and pull on his tongue to make him change his tune?

It is likely because there are outsiders present, making it inconvenient to speak—

Sheng Guoan spoke bluntly: "Lin Sicheng, if these problems all exist, but the Heritage Bureau refuses to allow testing, what should we do?"

Several people were startled in unison: That's right?

This is an item worth hundreds of millions; usually, one doesn't even dare to let it be exposed to too much light, let alone place it under rays for testing?

Without testing, you have no evidence; what will you use to countersue?

Lin Sicheng remained calm and unhurried, swiping to enlarge the photo, which happened to be one of the five pages present in the camera but missing from the catalog: "Director Sheng, look at this sentence: 'The Master's frequent subjects of discourse were the Odes, the History, and the maintenance of the Rites. Respectful and at peace, his words were resilient'—look at these two characters, 'Zi' and 'Gong'—"

Sheng Guoan squinted: The "Zi" character lacks the hook at the bottom, and the "Gong" character is missing a dot at the bottom.

This is very normal in the Song Dynasty, known as "avoidance," which means "avoiding the names of sages and ancestors."

It is further divided into public avoidance and private avoidance, state avoidance and family avoidance: in all official documents, one only follows state avoidance, meaning one only needs to avoid the names and temple names of the current dynasty's emperors.

But in private interactions, academic writings, letters, and biographies or epitaphs written for teachers and elders, there is a great deal to avoid: state avoidance (emperors), sage avoidance (Confucius, Mencius), ancestor avoidance (counting three generations back starting from one's father), and teacher avoidance (counting three generations back starting from one's teacher, plus the founder of the school).

This includes both given names and courtesy names. The easiest method is to omit the character, leaving it blank. If one does not want to be lazy, or fears the reader might misunderstand the context, one must use reduced strokes.

Just like these two characters in the photo: one stroke is missing.

But there are only two here, and they are the very common "Zi" and "Gong." Furthermore, Sheng Guoan is not an expert specializing in Song history; he truly cannot remember which ancestors or teachers of Zhu Xi these two characters belong to.

But he at least knows that it definitely has nothing to do with the emperors of the two Song dynasties—

One "Zi" character, one "Gong" character.

Sheng Guoan secretly took note: "What else?"

"Director Sheng, look at this sentence again—" Lin Sicheng pointed to the second page, "'Nature is Principle. What is called Principle is Nature—when one attains it, it is lively; when one does not attain it, it is merely playing with spirit'—"

These two passages are excerpts from Cheng Yi's discussion on "Nature is Principle," taken from the *Collected Works of the Two Chengs*, *Posthumous Manuscripts*, Volume 22, Part 1—

"

"And this passage: 'After stillness, one sees that all things naturally have a spring-like quality—when one attains it, the heart is clear and without doubt, like a bright mirror on still water—' This is an excerpt from Cheng Ti's *On Sitting in Stillness*: pay attention to the 'Hui' and 'Zhi' in these two passages—"

The "Hui" character is missing the bottom dot, and the "Zhi" character is missing the bottom horizontal stroke.

"Hui Zhi"—this should be someone's courtesy name.

Sheng Guoan took note again: "Is there any more?"

"Yes!" Lin Sicheng swiped and changed to another photo: "*Posthumous Manuscripts of the Cheng Family of Henan*, Volume 4: Xie Shi (a disciple of Cheng Yi) went from Shu to the capital, passing through Luoyang to see Master Cheng (Cheng Yi)—"

"(Shi) asked: 'In ancient times, when feudal lords established states, how much land did the ministers and grand masters receive? The Master said: For ministers and grand masters, one simply speaks of the feudal lord's state; the salary of their ministers is determined according to the land of their lord'—Director Sheng, look at this 'Qing' character, and this 'Zhi' character—"

The ear radical of the "Qing" character is missing a vertical stroke, and the middle of the "Zhi" character is missing a horizontal stroke—

Qing Zhi—no, it should be Zhi Qing, this is also a courtesy name.

Sheng Guoan nodded: "Is there any more?"

"Yes!" Lin Sicheng changed to another photo, "This sentence comes from *Er Xiansheng Yulu*: 'This passage is only because the character "Yuan" is obscure, so the Master explained it'—look at this 'Yuan' and 'Hui'—"

Sheng Guoan widened his eyes: The "Yuan" character lacks the bottom vertical hook, and the "Hui" character is missing a dot in the middle.

He indeed did not know whose names or courtesy names the six characters with missing strokes belonged to, but he at least knew what these two characters meant.

Zhu Xi's courtesy name was Medium Ash, and also Yuanhui; he is known to the world as Master Huian.

No matter how much Song Li Xue reached its peak, there is no reason to avoid one's own name; these two characters missing strokes only represent one result:

These annotations were written by Zhu Zi's disciples or descendants.

Whether it is the second or third generation of transmission, whether they are blood relatives or not, they can only be Zhu Zi's juniors. But whoever it is, it at least shows that these annotations were definitely not written by Zhu Zi himself.

Sheng Guoan frowned: "Lin Sicheng, who is Zi Gong?"

"The Southern Song Li Xue scholar He Ji, courtesy name Zi Gong, pseudonym Beishan, known as Master Beishan. In his youth, he studied under Huang Gan (Zhu Xi's son-in-law and disciple), receiving the orthodox transmission of Zhu Xi—"

"And Hui Zhi?"

"Wang Bai, a Song Dynasty Li Xue scholar, a disciple of He Ji!"

"And Zhi Qing?"

"Zhi Qing is Huang Gan, also known as Ji Zhi. He was a disciple of Zhu Xi and also Zhu Xi's beloved son-in-law. Before Zhu Xi passed away, he designated him as the successor of the Dao lineage—"

Sheng Guoan took a sharp breath: Zhu Xi passed it to Huang Gan, Huang Gan passed it to He Ji, and He Ji passed it to Wang Bai—this is a single line of transmission, passed down for three generations.

Since these people's names all have avoidance, it means that the person who wrote these small annotations in the manuscript is at least a fourth-generation disciple of Zhu Xi.

With such a clear line of inheritance and so many clues, Sheng Guoan did not believe that Lin Sicheng, who could recite the *Imperial Academy Catalog* of the Ming palace collection and the Qing Dynasty inner court painting catalogs *Shiqu Baoji* and *Bidian Zhulin*, did not know who wrote these characters.

The two looked at each other, four eyes staring straight at Lin Sicheng; Lin Sicheng had nowhere to hide.

"It's not that I can't say it, I'm afraid that after I say it, you won't be able to resist researching it; what if you research it and find a problem?"

Lin Sicheng had an indifferent attitude, "I don't care, I have no position and no rank, but Director Sheng, Director Tian, you are both on the payroll!"

"Impossible!" Tian Rulong shook his head decisively, "My hands and eyes are on my own body, can I not control them?"

"Hehe—" Lin Sicheng let out a laugh, "Director Tian, is that what you said?"

"Yes!" Tian Rulong patted his chest, "That's what I said!"

"Fine!" Lin Sicheng nodded, "Zhu Xi passed it to Huang Gan, Huang Gan passed it to He Ji, and He Ji passed it to Wang Bai. But Wang Bai did not have Li Xue disciples, only poetry, prose, and calligraphy disciples—"

"But he had a fellow apprentice named Jin Lüxiang, who followed him to study poetry, prose, and the Five Classics in his youth, respecting him as a teacher. Later, Wang Bai paid respects to He Ji as a teacher, and Jin Lüxiang hitched a ride and also became a disciple under He Ji. Although the two were fellow apprentices, in front of Wang Bai, Jin Lüxiang always performed the rites of a disciple—"

"Then let's talk about Jin Lüxiang, who had great talent for Li Xue and was a core scholar and theorist of the Zhedong School and Jinhua School during the Song and Yuan periods. He not only studied well himself but was also very good at teaching: the famous Yuan Dynasty scholars and Li Xue masters Xu Qian and Liu Guan were both his disciples—"

Tian Rulong was stunned: "These characters were written by Jin Lüxiang?"

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "I didn't say it!"

No—the clue is so clear, what difference does it make whether you said it or not?

Tian Rulong looked puzzled: "Lin Sicheng, what is there to be afraid of?"

Lin Sicheng gave a "heh": You go back and tell your Museum Curator that—

He changed the subject: "Let me tell you another piece of trivia: Jin Lüxiang's surname is not Jin, but Liu. Both the Yuan Dynasty's *Chronological Biography of Master Renshan (Jin Lüxiang)* and the Qing Dynasty's *Records of Song and Yuan Scholars: Renshan Records* contain records: Jin Lüxiang, originally surnamed Liu, courtesy name Jifu, from Lanxi, styled Master Renshan—his father was Mengniu, who died young."

"So, his father was named Liu Mengniu—and then look here, look here: 'Thinking of dreams' has evil and righteousness. If the heart harbors righteousness, the dream is also righteous; if the heart harbors evil, the dream is also evil—this sentence comes from the *Collected Works of the Two Cheng Brothers*, *Er Xiansheng Yulu*—"

Tian Rulong widened his eyes; this wasn't a question of which master's quotes it came from, but the character "dream" (meng).

In a single sentence with four "dream" characters, no matter which one it is, none of them have that dot in the middle of the "evening" (xi) component.

The manuscript first avoided the taboo names "Yuanhui," "Huizhi," "Zigong," and "Zhiqing," and finally avoided the character "dream," making the answer obvious.

These annotations are the work of Jin Lüxiang.

But Tian Rulong couldn't understand, what was there that couldn't be said?

Just as he was about to ask, Sheng Guoan pulled him back. His lips moved slightly, spitting out two terms, his voice too low to be heard.

But Tian Rulong heard it; the first term was Calligraphy and Painting Museum, the second was National Library of China.

Tian Rulong was somewhat puzzled; he knew the Calligraphy and Painting Museum, which was the Wenhua Hall in the Forbidden City, a place specifically for exhibiting and storing Ming and Qing Calligraphy and Painting, ancient books, and collections.

But what did the library mean?

After a moment of reflection, he was suddenly stunned: the only authentic poetic work by Zhu Zi, the *Cheng Nan Chang He Shi Juan* (Poem Composed at Cheng Nan with Brother Jingfu), is housed in the Forbidden City's Calligraphy and Painting Museum.

This is public knowledge.

There are two more that aren't public: the *Ci Shu Tie* from the Chunxi era, and the *Shang Shi Zai Er Zha* (two volumes, front and back).

But whether public or not, they were all confirmed after decades of research and verification by generations of experts at the Forbidden City and renowned scholars at the National Library of China.

The key is that no matter what method is used, Sheng Guoan cannot distinguish the difference between the characters in these photos and the characters on the three authentic Zhu Zi works housed in the Forbidden City.

If these were ghostwritten by Jin Lüxiang in Zhu Zi's name, then what about those three in the Forbidden City?

And that's not all: it's not just the Forbidden City that houses authentic Zhu Zi works; other places have them too.

The Taipei Palace Museum has even more: the *Yi Xi Ci Ce* (Book of the Yi Xi Ci), which is the only surviving large-character authentic work by Zhu Zi.

The *Xiang Wang Tie*, *Qiush Shen Tie*, *Zhi Yan Xiu Shao Fu Tie*, and even the *Zhu Xi Chi Du Ce*.

These were all passed down from the Ming and Qing imperial courts and finally brought to Taiwan in '49; every single one of them has a seal stamped by Qianlong.

There are also the Nan Bo, the Shanghai Museum, and the Liaoning Provincial Museum—no matter which museum, no matter the type, any authentic Zhu Zi work has the exact same handwriting as the one before our eyes.

Regardless of the start of the stroke, the end of the stroke, the structure, or the intent of the brush—Sheng Guoan cannot see any difference.

But who would dare say that the authentic Zhu Zi works collected by these museum institutions are fake?

If you don't believe it, try it, and they'll greet your ancestors back eighteen generations—

Tian Rulong kept his mouth open, unable to recover for a long time.

Really, he really wanted to slap himself: why did you have to be so loose-lipped?

Lin Sicheng had already given such a blunt reminder, yet you insisted on asking; now, are you going to ask or not?

Because this is no longer a matter of whether he can control his eyes and hands, but a matter that must be reported upward.

Even if it's just a guess, it must be reported.

Tian Rulong could already imagine the Museum Curator's rhetoric: discovering a problem is not scary; what's scary is not daring to face it, not daring to verify it, and not daring to solve it.

What if, just say what if, the Museum Curator says: "It just so happens that Director Tian has a deep understanding of this area, so please put in the effort—"

Should Tian Rulong research it or not?

Whether he researches it or not, those old seniors will greet his ancestors of the Tian surname—

Staring at Sheng Guoan, Tian Rulong mumbled with his lips, but before his tongue could straighten out, he was rebuffed by Sheng Guoan: "Don't look at me, how many years have I been retired?"

Tian Rulong was stunned: Sheng Guoan is sixty-eight this year, and after retiring, he was rehired by the Forbidden City.

Why would someone who isn't even taking care of their own grandchildren step up to take the bullet for you?

Sheng Guoan patted his shoulder: "Don't panic, once Lin Sicheng's Center is up and running, and the Japanese Imitation Ru Ware project is launched, the museum leadership won't be willing to press you into service—"

Oh right—Japanese Imitation Ru Ware?

Isn't that more meaningful than verifying whether the Zhu Zi manuscript is real or fake?

At least it doesn't offend anyone—

Tian Rulong's heart settled.

The two discussed a few words and explained it to Zhang Zongxian.

Zhang Zongxian is not an outsider; on the contrary, not only does he have a scholarly family background, but he also studied under famous masters.

Having traversed the collection world for more than half a century, what kind of strange and peculiar Cultural Relics hasn't he seen?

But he truly didn't expect that a collection worth hundreds of millions would have its flaw hidden in a few inconspicuous little characters.

It's not that Tian Rulong, Sheng Guoan, or even Zhang Zongxian are unprofessional, but that there is a specialty in every trade, and human energy has its limits.

Speaking of Confucius, Mencius, and Zhu Zi, they certainly know who is who. What their names are and what their styles are, they can also roughly remember.

But if asked: how many students did Confucius have, what were their names, how many students did his students have, and what were their names?

Or even asked, how many students did Zhu Zi have, what were their courtesy names, who can answer all of them?

Even going a step further: how many students did Zhu Zi's students have, how many students did his students' students take in, what were their names, and what were their courtesy names—believe it or not, the moment you finish asking, the person answering will spit in your face first?

Calculate it, Jin Lüxiang is already a fourth-generation disciple of Zhu Xi, that is, a great-grand-disciple; how profound must one's knowledge be, and how good must one's memory be, to remember this person?

And that's not all; not only must you know who Jin Lüxiang's teacher and grand-teacher were, but you must also know that his surname is not Jin, but Liu, and you must also know his father's name.

How obscure must this knowledge be?

Unless one is a historian specifically researching Rigaku and specifically researching the lineage of Zhu Xi, who could remember this?

After pondering for a long while, Zhang Zongxian finally sorted out the ins and outs. To tell the truth, he has traversed the collection and appraisal circles for more than half a century and has seen countless talents, but he really hasn't seen one like this.

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