Chapter 99: To Whom Can It Be Sold

Shang Yan took out her magnifying glass and flashlight, and Lin Sicheng also took out his magnifying glass and flashlight.

But the boss didn't pay any mind: based on his years of experience, he could tell at a glance that these were just students.

Including that so-called Professor Shang, he wasn't very worried either: because there were simply very few people who could see the true background of this Buddha statue.

On the contrary, Fang Jingyuan and Fang Jingshu were quite curious, staring at Lin Sicheng several times.

But after a subtle glare from Fang Jingxian, the two shifted their gaze and turned to look at the Buddha statue instead.

The two of them were just starting out in the trade, their eye for detail was limited, and they were just watching the spectacle. Besides, they had already come four or five times and were long since bored with it.

After glancing at it casually a few times, the two instinctively looked at Lin Sicheng again.

Huh, why does it feel like he's the same as them?

Although he was holding a flashlight and a magnifying glass, he swayed left and right, rarely focusing on one spot for more than ten seconds.

In contrast, Shang Yan was motionless, eyes fixed, and just looking at the Buddha Head took her three minutes.

Comparing the two, if one set aside the identity of "extremely young appraisal Expert" mentioned by the eldest sister, it felt like this guy had no patience at all, was just going through the motions, and was being lackadaisical.

The brother and sister exchanged a look, then looked at their eldest sister.

Fang Jingxian was expressionless, still appearing cold with a hint of worry, though in her heart she was also muttering: Is this kid being too casual?

It was no wonder she was suspicious; this transaction truly concerned the life and death of the company, and she had to take it seriously.

Just like that, no one spoke; Shang Yan and Lin Sicheng watched quietly, while the others waited quietly.

After a long while, Shang Yan straightened her back, her tone somewhat uncertain: "The technique uses 'Intaglio' and 'Relief Carving' as its core, supplemented by Round Sculpture and Flat Carving methods. It's a bit like the Southern school carving style of the Ming and Qing periods?"

Lin Sicheng didn't speak, just gave a nod.

"The body is well-proportioned, the proportions are harmonious, the eyebrows are thin and eyes long, the nose is high and lips thin, and the expression is dignified yet gentle. The clothing is light and form-fitting, the folds are simple yet fluid. It's a bit like an Imperial Court Statue from the early Ming Dynasty. Or could it be the legacy of the Ming court inherited by the late Ming and early Qing?"

After a slight pause, Lin Sicheng nodded again.

To be precise: the body could be considered well-proportioned, but compared to domestic Buddha statues, the figure was too thin and long. It only highlighted the elegant beauty of the statue's near-bony frame, but ignored one point: being too thin makes it appear flimsy and lacking in solemnity.

Especially since it was a statue of Sakyamuni?

Of course, this is based on domestic Buddhism, both Han Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. If it were foreign Buddhism, there are ones even thinner than this.

Shang Yan continued to look down: "The wood is definitely Rosewood, the color is very deep, the structure is fine and dense, the texture is hard, and the grain is natural and fluid. It looks a bit like Ironwood!"

Lin Sicheng nodded again: This is Chicken-wing Wood, which belongs to the same genus as Ironwood, and the wood quality is very similar. It's normal for someone who doesn't specifically study Rosewood not to be able to tell.

"The surface oxidation layer is very mild, the luster is moist and glossy; it must be a natural patina!"

After a brief pause, Shang Yan estimated: "Is it three hundred years old?"

Lin Sicheng's eyes brightened: "Yes!"

Shang Yan's estimate was a bit short; it needed another two hundred years added: early Ming.

But Lin Sicheng still wanted to give a thumbs up.

Shang Yan was not like her grandfather, whose goals were so long-term and who had such drive to learn a little bit of everything. She had spent half her life on one thing: Artifact Research of porcelain! Any other Cultural Relics or antiques were only studied incidentally because they were related to porcelain.

Therefore, for her to be able to appraise to this extent was truly remarkable.

Shang Yan also felt she was quite remarkable and nodded with satisfaction.

But having watched him grow up, she understood Lin Sicheng better: if you dared to follow this kid's words, he would dare to sweet-talk you to the heavens, and then sell it for a good price.

Shang Yan raised her eyelids and pursed her lips: "Don't just nod, if something is wrong, just say it directly!"

"Alright!"

Lin Sicheng smiled, "It is indeed an object from the Ming Dynasty, but a bit earlier, roughly around the Yongle to Xuande periods, which is the early Ming period... including the carving style, and even more so the natural patina!"

"It is indeed Rosewood, and it is authentic Ironwood: White Flower Cliff Bean Wood!"

Shang Yan rolled her eyes, then beamed: I knew you were a sweet-talker.

The early Ming period and "three hundred years ago"—that's a difference of more than two hundred years?

White Flower Cliff Bean Wood is indeed a type of Rosewood, but it is fundamentally different from Ironwood.

"White Flower Cliff Bean Wood, that is Chicken-wing Wood, right?"

"Correct!" Lin Sicheng nodded, "It is also known as Xiechi Wood in literature, named because the wood grain resembles a water bird!"

Shang Yan pointed again at the scripture in the Buddha's hand: "This is Sanskrit, right?"

"Correct, Pali, created in the 3rd century BC, a branch of Ancient Sanskrit. Initially, it was just a dialect in the central region of ancient India, but by the AD era, it was revered as a sacred language by the southern Theravada Buddhism, that is, the language of the Buddha..."

"And this scripture?"

"Palm-leaf Scripture, that is, scripture written on palm leaves, similar to the bamboo slips of the Jin Dynasty and earlier in China. But in India, these leaves are extremely rare, so they are specifically used for inscribing Buddhist scriptures... The content of the scripture is the 'Four-Part Vinaya', part of the 'Vinaya Pitaka' of the Theravada school,"

Lin Sicheng spoke eloquently; the boss and his wife showed joy, and the three Fang siblings' eyes were shining.

Fang Jingshu, the youngest sister, couldn't help but ask: "Palm-leaf Scriptures, are there some in the Dayan Pagoda too?"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "Yes!"

And quite a few, at that.

Tang Sanzang brought back 657 volumes of scriptures from India, 526 of which were Palm-leaf Scriptures, and most of them are now treasured on the third floor of the Dayan Pagoda.

Besides that, the fourth floor also treasures 150 grains of Buddha relics from high-ranking Indian monks brought back along with the scriptures by Sanzang, eight gold and silver Buddha statues, and the original manuscript of 'Great Tang Records on the Western Regions' written by Sanzang himself.

And that's just the third and fourth floors; the other five floors and the underground palace have even more treasures. So, the Dayan Pagoda is really not a mediocre place...

The three siblings looked at Lin Sicheng, then exchanged a glance.

They had been here five or six times, and had invited many Experts, but this was the first time someone had explained it so comprehensively?

Sure enough, one cannot judge a book by its cover.

Shang Yan was also quite happy, feeling rather smug: See, didn't I say so? I said he could do it, and he certainly could.

Thinking back on Lin Sicheng's conclusion: early Ming, Imperial Court carving style, Chicken-wing Wood, Palm-leaf Scripture... of course, it was just a wood-carved imitation Palm-leaf Scripture, but it was carved in Ancient Sanskrit.

The most critical thing was that the condition was so good, which was equivalent to stacking all the attributes of "valuable" and "worth a lot of money"?

Fang Jingxian let out a sharp breath: she wasn't afraid of things being expensive, she was only afraid of encountering fakes.

Exchanging a look with Shang Yan, she looked at the shopkeeper again, just about to ask the price, when Lin Sicheng tapped the Buddha statue: "Wait a moment, I haven't finished yet!"

Stunned for a moment, Fang Jingxian and Shang Yan exchanged a glance.

Shang Yan gave a look that meant 'stay calm', then looked at Lin Sicheng: "No rush, take your time!"

Lin Sicheng was certainly in no rush, speaking unhurriedly: "The item is fine, a Chicken-wing Wood Buddha statue, and it indeed possesses the early Ming Dynasty imperial carving style, and the time is also correct: at least five hundred years old. But the form is wrong, and the location is also wrong... Let's talk about the material first: Chicken-wing Wood..."

The Ming Dynasty "Essential Criteria of Antiquities": "Xiechi Wood comes from the Western Barbarians, inside there are Crab Claw Patterns... The Western Barbarians use it for the bit in a camel's nose... The so-called Western Barbarians, in the Ming Dynasty, referred to the Tibetan people and the neighboring Myanmar herdsmen. It means that at the time, this stuff was used for livestock reins..."

To put it bluntly, Chicken-wing Wood was not valuable in the Ming Dynasty. If you ask when it started to become expensive? The old Eight Banners of the late Qing Dynasty and Republic of China: sleep on Red Sandalwood, sit on Acid Branch Wood, use Yellow Rosewood for medicine, and use Chicken-wing Wood for utensils..."

Lin Sicheng turned the Buddha statue around: "Look at the craftsmanship and style again: it indeed possesses the early Ming imperial carving style, but only in part. The other part incorporates the artistic style of Southern Buddhism from the Myanmar Wahan Kingdom period during the Ming Dynasty's pacification (tributary) era: which is thin and elegant..."

At that time, from the Hongwu to the Xuande reigns, in just over forty years, Myanmar paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty more than thirty times, nearly once a year on average. Several generations of emperors were greatly pleased, bestowing everything: silk, tea, porcelain... as well as various crafts and scientific technologies.

Therefore, that was also a period of great development for Myanmar's technology and craftsmanship. So it wasn't just wood carving; architecture, painting, and music, as long as they have been preserved, all possess a rich Ming Dynasty style...

Returning to this Buddha statue: it might be hard to understand if I say too much, so I will just say one thing: in domestic temples, have you ever seen a Sakyamuni statue this thin?"

Fang Jingxian was stunned: she had seen many wood carvings of similar styles, like court ladies or scholars, which were all of a general style.

But a Buddha statue? It seemed, indeed, she had never seen one this thin?

And throughout the dynasties, Buddha carvings: the Han Dynasty excelled in fullness, the Tang Dynasty excelled in plumpness, the Song Dynasty excelled in simplicity, the Yuan Dynasty excelled in ruggedness, the Ming Dynasty excelled in softness and beauty, and the Qing Dynasty was thick and stiff... But this one, it is thin and bony?

The more she thought about it, the more she felt what Lin Sicheng said made sense, and she suddenly raised her head: "Is there more?"

"Yes!" Lin Sicheng pointed to the scriptures, "Tibetan Buddhism was introduced in the seventh century by the Indian queen of Songtsen Gampo, Bhrikuti Devi. What was brought at that time were paper scriptures, and they were in Gupta Sanskrit, which is clearly recorded in relevant documents."

"Therefore, on Tibetan Buddhist statues, it is impossible to carve Palm-leaf Scriptures in Pali... And in the whole world, only India itself and the Southern Buddhism of Thailand and Myanmar use Pali and use Palm-leaf Scriptures... Let me say one more thing..."

Lin Sicheng imitated the Buddha statue, making a gesture with one hand holding an object and the other hanging down: "This posture originates from the Begging Buddha of Southern Buddhism, which is one of the seven incarnations of Sakyamuni, symbolizing begging for alms and charity..."

"Only during the Myanmar Wahan Kingdom period was the begging changed to holding a sutra, meaning to teach the Dharma... But it existed for a very short time, about seventy years. After the Wahan Kingdom moved its capital to Bago and changed to the Bago Dynasty, it changed from holding a sutra back to begging..."

"But no matter what it was changed to, there is only one name: Wednesday Buddha:... To be precise, believers in Thailand and Myanmar worship different Buddhas on different days of the week: this one is only worshipped on Wednesday..."

"So, this is a Southern Buddhism Wednesday Buddha statue carved in the early Ming period, belonging to a vassal state of the Great Ming, the Myanmar Wahan Kingdom... It has nothing to do with Han Buddhism or Tibetan Buddhism."

The three siblings listened with blank faces, stunned for a long time.

Suddenly, Fang Jingxian reacted: "Are there any believers of Southern Buddhism in the country?"

"Yes!" Lin Sicheng nodded, "Only limited to Xishuangbanna in Yunnan and some surrounding counties and cities... But there is one point: they only revere the Buddha, that is Sakyamuni; they don't recognize any other gods, and they don't care what day of the week it is!"

Fang Jingxian was stunned, her complexion turning from white to red, and then from red to green: there weren't even believers in the country; if this thing were bought, who could it be sold to?