Chapter 397

This is an artifact that can rival the Yongle Encyclopedia.

Although in his heart, it is not as good as the Heirloom Seal of the Realm.

But it still counts as one of the top-tier artifacts in Chinese history.

【Popularity】 +1+1+1+1...

— 【I just slapped myself twice. I'm not dreaming, is this real? Fang Yang has already found three of China's eight lost artifacts? The Heirloom Seal of the Realm, the Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion, and the Yongle Encyclopedia. Although the Yongle Encyclopedia is incomplete, it still counts as found. This is too exaggerated.】

— 【The remaining ones are the Sui Hou Pearl, the Twelve Bronze Statues of Qin Shi Huang, the Zhoukoudian skull fossils, the Nine Tripods of the Heirloom, and the Xuanyuan Sword. I have a premonition that if he keeps digging like this, he will eventually unearth all of them.】

— 【That seems unlikely. Wasn't it said that the Sui Hou Pearl was buried with Qin Shi Huang? Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum hasn't been opened yet. Did Fang Yang drive an excavator to pry open his coffin? But to be honest, I think there is hope for the rest.】

— 【Too many strange things have happened to him. Unearthing the Six Horses of Zhaoling was one thing, but digging up the Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion, which Li Shimin had plundered, is simply outrageous. It's as if someone buried it there just waiting for him to dig it up.】

After half an hour of research by the experts on site.

Everyone became excited.

Although they were not masters of calligraphy.

They did not know if the handwriting belonged to Wang Xizhi.

But judging from the paper.

This is indeed an artifact from the Jin Dynasty.

It perfectly matches the era when Wang Xizhi wrote the Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion.

As long as they take it back later to show calligraphy masters, they can confirm whether it is an authentic work by Wang Xizhi.

Actually, they had already reached a conclusion in their hearts.

In their view, if Fang Yang said it was, then it was.

Thinking that an artifact lost by China for over a thousand years had appeared in their hands.

That excitement and thrill was truly beyond words.

This ordinary piece of paper, held in their hands, they feared making even the slightest crease.

They quickly took something to mount it.

After all, paper from such a long time ago is easily oxidized and damaged upon exposure to air.

But they could not understand why the authentic Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion would appear here.

When everyone came to their senses, they all looked at Fang Yang with questioning eyes.

239. The Origin of the Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion, The Story of Wang Xizhi's Creation

Almost every Chinese person knows the fame of the Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion.

But most people do not know why it is so precious.

Even to the point of being on par with artifacts like the Heirloom Seal of the Realm.

In the eyes of many, it is merely a piece of calligraphy.

It lacks the encyclopedic scope of the Yongle Encyclopedia or the halo of national pride.

Nor does it possess the historical witness value of the Heirloom Seal of the Realm.

Except for the archaeologists present, almost no one knows the reason.

Of course, Fang Yang is an exception.

After organizing his thoughts, he slowly began to speak.

"Many of you may be curious why I guessed there was something down there."

"Actually, the reason is simple. Everything I have dug up before is related to Tang Dynasty mausoleums."

"Especially the Six Horses of Zhaoling; it is even more so an artifact of Emperor Taizong of Tang."

"To be so concentrated in one place, it is highly likely that tomb robbers or artifact dealers buried them here."

"I was just digging with a try-it-out attitude, and I didn't expect to unearth this."

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.

This is too coincidental.

A coincidence that is completely unimaginable.

A national treasure artifact was discovered just like this.

This is the Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion!

An authentic work that countless people dream of!

Now, as the first witnesses to its discovery.

They can brag about it for the rest of their lives.

How could they not be excited!

The cameraman standing nearby had seen the Heirloom Seal of the Realm.

So he was not as excited as the others.

He asked curiously, "Brother, I have always been strange about why the Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion has such a high reputation. In my opinion, it is just calligraphy; it shouldn't be elevated to the level of a national treasure, right?"

This question voiced the thoughts of most people.

In their view, calligraphy is very far from them.

Many people cannot even write characters well, let alone practice calligraphy.

Calligraphy is like painting.

It is a luxury that can only be touched when economic conditions are not lacking.

Fang Yang smiled upon hearing this.

Before he had the system.

He was also very curious about this.

But now that he knew the answer, he was no longer surprised.

"This actually relates to the origins of the reverence for calligraphy."

"Calligraphy began to be widely valued throughout the Tang Dynasty only after Tang Taizong championed Wang Xizhi."

"Starting in the Tang Dynasty, most wealthy people began to value calligraphy first."

"By the Song Dynasty, the literati class began to value calligraphy on a massive scale."

"By the Ming and Qing dynasties, calligraphy had become a very important part of daily life."

"In other words, the origin of the reverence for calligraphy stems from Wang Xizhi, though this is also closely tied to Tang Taizong."

"And this Preface to the Orchid Pavilion is Wang Xizhi's synthesis of the script styles he had studied for many years."

"Whether regular script, cursive script, or running-cursive script, all were fused into one."

"He created a script style of his own—running script."

"The Preface to the Orchid Pavilion contains a total of 324 characters."

"In such a long piece, the single character 'zhi' appears 21 times!"

"Yet Wang Xizhi wrote each one with a distinct style."

"The form of every 'zhi' character is unique."

"Therefore, later calligraphers, upon seeing Wang Xizhi's work, could always find something new within it."

"A hundred calligraphers could learn a hundred different ways of writing."

"A thousand calligraphers could discover a thousand different paths."

"To call him 'teacher' by all calligraphers would not be an exaggeration!"

As soon as the words fell.

Except for the archaeological experts who knew the full story.

everyone present was deeply moved.

Calligraphy might seem unrelated to their daily lives.

Yet it has such an origin.

Just like those physicists and scientists.

figures like Newton and Einstein.

They proposed great ideas and then proved them, allowing future generations to call them 'teacher.'

And Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Orchid Pavilion played exactly such a role.

One can imagine.