Chapter 609: Self-Inflicted Consequences

Many people suspect that Zhang Zongxian is currently following this exact process. Otherwise, why would he pay an extra 2.5 million when he could have secured it for 2.5 million?

Since it is a private auction anyway, Lin Sicheng even saved on the commission, so it would not matter if the bid reached 10 million.

Thinking they had glimpsed the truth, many people wore strange expressions.

Liang Shiya thought more directly: Zhang Zongxian is indeed a shill, but he is not "washing" this painting; he is directly sending money to Lin Sicheng.

If one piece sells for 5 million, would it not be enough to reach 30 million by selling just five or six pieces?

Although she thought this in her heart, Liang Shiya felt that Lin Sicheng must have a way to prove that this painting is indeed worth 5 million.

Although it was an intuition, it was not blind; it was based on her understanding of Lin Sicheng.

Just as she was guessing, Zhang Zongxian laughed, "Little Lin, keep peeling, so you don't think I'm acting as a shill for you!"

He indeed had to keep peeling; not to mention Liang Shiya and those few people beside her, their eyes were wide open, one more than the other.

He nodded, picked up the folding knife, and gave a light flick, lifting a layer of mounting paper.

It was that very common Sichuan bamboo paper, slightly yellow in color, but with great toughness. With a gentle tug, the whole sheet was pulled off.

Taking advantage of the perfect humidity, Lin Sicheng peeled off the second layer. The third layer was a bit dry, so he sprayed a little water mist.

Then the third layer, the fourth layer—

Why is the backing of this painting so thick?

But he did not see any seals; apart from mounting paper, it was still just mounting paper.

Just as he was thinking this, someone suddenly exclaimed: "There is writing?"

"Where?"

"Right below the backing, near the bottom of the painting's core!"

"There is indeed writing, a patch bigger than a palm, but it's hard to see clearly!"

It was not that it was unclear, but that it was sandwiched between the paper, blocked by the mounting paper.

Lin Sicheng sprayed water once more and peeled off the final layer of mounting paper.

Beneath it was the painting's core; one could see the mountain scenery and pavilions in the painting paper through the back.

And at the very bottom of the painting paper lay a slip of paper.

It was a bit larger than a palm, about 32mo in size, covered in small characters.

Lin Sicheng gestured, the camera zoomed in, and the large screen displayed the dense, small characters:

Autumn of the Ding-Si year, Republic of China Year 6, Yuan records this himself at his home in Neijiang.

This is the first time I have copied the paintings of the ancients. I have long admired the brushwork of the masters, and today I exert my brush to try, striving to pursue the spirit of their mountains and rivers. However, I am still young, my wrist strength is not yet firm, and the hills and gullies in my heart are far inferior to the ancients. I merely copy their forms; my spirit cannot reach them, and there are omissions everywhere. I know myself that I am far behind, and I dare not presumptuously claim to have grasped the essence of Shitao.

Today I borrow the brush and ink of the ancients to temper my own hand, not wishing to deceive the world. If my learning and strength improve in the future, I will certainly cast off the features of Qingxiang and blaze my own trail, not relying on the ancients for the rest of my life.

I leave this scrap of paper to record my original intention as a youth learning to paint. Those who see this later will know it is a practice draft by the youth Zhang Yuan, not an authentic work of Shitao.

The handwriting is very clear and also vigorous and elegant, a very standard Stele School Running Script, but one can see the embryonic form of Zhang Daqian's unique Wind-Banner Style.

A group of people looked at each other: since Zhang Yuan is Zhang Daqian, then who wrote this note?

The focus is on the first sentence: Autumn of the Yi-Mao year, Republic of China Year 6.

The sixth year of the Republic of China was 1916; at that time, Zhang Daqian was just fifteen years old.

This year was two years before he was kidnapped by mountain bandits and forced to serve as a "black-brush secretary."

It was also three years before he became engaged to his cousin Xie Shunhua, and three years before he traveled east to Japan to study painting and dyeing.

But compared to that, these are secondary; the key lies in the words that follow: This is the first time I have copied the paintings of the ancients—

Actually, looking at this sentence is enough: The first time I have copied the paintings of the ancients.

If this note was truly written by Zhang Daqian, then it proves at least one thing: this painting is the starting point of all his imitations of famous masters.

Recall again, what did Lin Sicheng say before?

To put it another way: this is not only the earliest imitation draft from Zhang Daqian's youth, but also his only finished work before he formally took on a master.

It is also the earliest finished work of splashed ink and color in his painting career, and even more so, a key node and turning point in his exploration of truth on his artistic path.

Before this, Zhang Daqian must have painted many paintings, but they were limited to the "Craftsman" style of New Year pictures. This one is absolutely a large-scale finished landscape painting that still exists today, remains intact, and contains physical evidence of text written in his own hand.

The most critical point is: the first work of imitating the ancients.

The reason Zhang Daqian is famous is not only because his paintings are good and have extremely high artistic value; half of it lies in his "skill at imitating the ancients."

This painting is indeed not painted well, but it cannot be helped that it has many "firsts."

From a certain perspective, the value of this painting is even higher than Zhang Daqian's finished masterpieces.

For some of Zhang Daqian's fanatical enthusiasts, this note on the screen alone could be worth millions, or even several million.

Subconsciously, Liang Shiya recalled the day of the preview, the sentence Lin Sicheng said when he saw this painting:

It is indeed not painted very well, but it does not necessarily mean it is not by a famous master.

Because famous masters also have their youth—

"The waves of the Yangtze River push the waves ahead, the waves ahead die on the beach!"

Zhang Zongxian sighed and looked at Sheng Guoan: "Junior brother, such a big flaw, did you not see it at the time?"

Sheng Guoan shook his head: "Mr. Zhang, I didn't come during the preview!"

Oh right, I forgot for a moment—

Zhang Zongxian smiled and said nothing more.

No one can say for sure about things that did not happen. But he had a premonition: even if Sheng Guoan had seen this painting, he would not have discovered anything. In the end, it would still have fallen into Lin Sicheng's hands.

It is not that Sheng Guoan is not as professional as Lin Sicheng, but it is a matter of habit: the disciples of Mr. Xu always look at the artistic conception first, then the brushwork, and only then at details like colophons and seals.

If the artistic conception is unremarkable and the brushwork is not brilliant, the rest does not need to be looked at at all. And it just so happens that the artistic conception and brushwork of this painting belong to the most ordinary of the ordinary.

Let alone a tiny seal hidden in the crevices of the window lattice, so small that it is almost invisible to the naked eye?

Since the two were taught by the same teacher, Sheng Guoan would not notice it, and Zhang Zongxian would notice it even less—

Sighing with emotion, Zhang Zongxian smiled and said, "Little Lin, after the settlement is complete, I will have to trouble you to deliver the painting to the Calligraphy and Painting Hall."

"No need to find anyone else; just hand it over to Junior Brother Sheng when the time comes—"

The Calligraphy and Painting Hall that Zhang Zongxian referred to was, of course, the Wenhua Hall of the Forbidden City.

"Mr. Zhang, rest assured!"

After replying, Lin Sicheng looked toward the back again: "Director Liang, would you like to come up and take a look to keep some records?"

Of course they wanted to look.

Even if it were just going through the motions, they had to take photos and make copies of the relevant materials. Otherwise, there would be no way to report back to the executive committee.

Liang Shiya signaled, and He Jian went up to the stage with an Appraiser.

The others did not know what this process was, and even if they did, they were too preoccupied to care.

A group of people stared at the note on the screen, their hearts filled with mixed feelings.

Especially those who had been self-righteous earlier, claiming Zhang Zongxian was a shill: what happened to the agreed-upon price hiking and "taking a bath"?

Suddenly, a note written by Zhang Daqian himself had appeared.

They really wanted to be sour about it, but they didn't know how: because Zhang Zongxian had donated the painting to the Forbidden City.

Who would dare to "take a bath" with such a painting? They had never heard of a painting that entered the Forbidden City being taken out to be sold.

To put it bluntly: Zhang Zongxian wasn't bidding on this painting for himself, but for the country. You try asking him to hike the price or "take a bath" and see what happens.

It wasn't as if no one had thought about it: couldn't the note be fake?

But the words died on their tongues and could not be spat out: because the person who bid on this painting and donated it was Zhang Zongxian.

Not to mention that he was a top disciple of the calligraphy and painting authority Mr. Xu Bangda, and sitting beside him was Sheng Guoan, who was also a top disciple of Mr. Xu and currently at his peak. Just looking at the countless Cultural Relics, and even national treasures, that Zhang Zongxian had recovered through various channels—publicly or secretly—over his half-lifetime of ups and downs.

To name a few of the most representative ones: "Night Revels of Han Xizai", Dong Yuan's "Xiaoxiang Landscape", and Liu Daoist's "Ten Thousand Gullies and Pine Wind". These few pieces were undisputed representative national treasures among calligraphy and painting Cultural Relics. Before they were transferred by the National Cultural Heritage Administration to the Palace Museum, the owner of these national treasures was surnamed Zhang, named Zhang Daqian.

So why did they end up in the Forbidden City?

In the 1950s, the country established a secret Cultural Relics acquisition group. With the Person in Charge Xu Bojiao, Zhang Zongxian, and others coordinating in the middle, Zhang Daqian sold these paintings to the country.

In addition to these national treasures, Zhang Daqian also sold more than seventy other calligraphy and painting Cultural Relics, and sold some of his own fine creations to the two men, Xu and Zhang, at half-price. Whether sold to the state or to private individuals, after these Cultural Relics and calligraphy and paintings arrived in the country, they were all allocated to the Forbidden City.

Among them were calligraphy, seals, and paintings. If the brushwork and style were hard to appraise, were the seals and handwriting also hard to appraise?

One didn't even need very professional equipment; sending them to the public security organ's trace examination Center would be enough to identify them.

Therefore, you could doubt the authenticity of this painting, and you could publicly question it before there was sufficient evidence. But Lin Sicheng first pointed out the seal, and then extracted the inscription hidden behind the mounting. At this point, if there were still those who were sour because they couldn't eat the grapes, they had better be prepared to be slapped in the face.

It was no wonder they regretted it until their guts turned green, because no one expected that a very mediocre, even childishly brushed copy of a painting would actually be Zhang Daqian's first draft?

Recall again what Lin Sicheng had said at the beginning:

This painting has strong art historical documentary value, and its academic weight even outweighs the value of the painting itself.

From a certain perspective, it could even be counted as Zhang Daqian's first draft imitating Shitao—

Now look again: is it a first draft?

Is its academic weight dozens of times greater than the value of the painting itself?

Yet at the time, not a single person believed it.

Of course, if it were only this point, it wouldn't make these people jealous to the point of madness. Because Zhang Zongxian had taken the initiative to raise the price to five million, making it clear he didn't want the state to take advantage of Lin Sicheng.

Even if they could see the true value of this painting, they likely wouldn't have been able to compete for it.

What these people couldn't accept was: they were also participants in the Bonhams auction, and several of them had seen this painting.

And what was the price at that time?

Only six thousand yuan, just the price of a meal.

If they had bought it then, it would be equivalent to earning five million in one flip. What kind of concept was that?

Selling drugs or robbing a bank wouldn't be this profitable.

Especially Liu Taiqi; Lin Sicheng had told him clearly to his face: this is a masterpiece.

At the time, Liu Taiqi had scoffed: which famous master's work only sells for six thousand yuan?

But now? It had increased by more than eight hundred times—

These were the ones who regretted it; there were also those who were shocked: such as Liang Shiya, Guo Yingxin, and Chen Jiashan.

At the time, they were standing behind Liu Taiqi. They watched with their own eyes as Zhou Zhilin described this painting as worthless, criticizing it from beginning to end.

And what did Lin Sicheng say?

Master Zhou, everything you said is correct, but famous masters also have their youth.

The reason a famous master is a famous master is that they painted one painting after another, not because they became a famous master overnight—

Thinking about it now, it felt so ironic: Lin Sicheng spent six thousand to earn five million, while Zhou Zhilin spent one hundred and sixty million and almost lost two hundred million.

This was the gap—

Just as they were sighing with emotion, He Jian returned to this side with the Appraiser, and the three ladies raised their heads in unison.

He Jian paused and shook his head: "Director Liang, my apologies!"

"I cannot judge the painting, because it is indeed mediocre, and I have never seen or heard of the seal. However, the calligraphy does indeed carry some of Zhang Daqian's early calligraphic style and writing habits—"

"If we calculate it: it should be his handwriting from when he practiced the Stele School and the Model Book School in his early years, basically fitting the period before he was eighteen." He Jian paused slightly: "Mr. Lin said that the Forbidden City will issue a 'Donation Acceptance Agreement', which will contain detailed and authoritative appraisal results, and he will make a copy for us then."

Although they had guessed the result long ago, hearing He Jian's reply, the three of them still showed a trace of astonishment.

If the calligraphy was Zhang Daqian's, then there would certainly be no surprises with the painting. Furthermore, the Forbidden City would issue relevant documents, which was as good as set in stone.

Which meant that Lin Sicheng really only spent six thousand and then earned five million in one flip?

They had only heard of such things before, but this time they had seen it with their own eyes—

Liang Shiya sighed: "Thank you for your hard work, Master He!"

"General Manager Liang, it is my duty!"

"MaRy, CoCo, get ready!"

Guo Yongxin and Chen Jiashan both nodded in unison.

The former is responsible for finance; throughout the duration of the Artifact Research, all of Lin Sicheng's large-sum income must be registered on file.

The latter is responsible for legal affairs and needs to cooperate with Guo Yongxin to audit the sources of funds and provide reasonable explanations to the Executive Committee.

Duan——"

From another perspective, it wouldn't be wrong to say they are working for Lin Sicheng for free——

While speaking, the Nest Lake Map was taken away, and Li Zhen carried a Landscape Pattern album onto the stage.

The picture album was spread open, and a twenty-four-page continuous Landscape Pattern appeared on the big screen.

Liang Shiya squinted her eyes and took a look: "Master He, look, is this piece also one that General Manager Lin bought back from the Bonhams auction?"

He Jian nodded solemnly: Lin Sicheng bought three pieces in total, and this album is one of them. The starting price was 50,000, it finally sold for 180,000, and with tax and commission, it was 220,000.

Following closely behind were those two sets of Medical Book: the Jiyin Outline and the Jiyang Outline.

He Jian had an even deeper impression of these two sets of Medical Book:

Items originally worth around 100,000 were stubbornly driven up to 500,000 by Zhou Zhilin and Li Chengkai; although Lin Sicheng still managed to secure them for a price of over 200,000 in the end, both sides became enemies because of it.

For this reason, Lin Sicheng dug a massive pit for Zhou Zhilin and Li Chengkai. It is estimated that these two will never be able to climb out for the rest of their lives.

But they can't blame anyone else; one can only say they brought it upon themselves——