Riding the wind of rebirth

In the memorial in which Tang Ying replied to Emperor Qianlong's instructions, there was a record listing not one but three authors of "Taoye Tu", namely Ding Guanpeng, Sun You and Zhou Kun.

All three were famous court painters active during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods. However, Sun You did not leave behind many paintings, while Ding Guanpeng and Zhou Kun left behind quite a few.

This made Zhou Zhi feel happy. It might be that the condition of "Taoye Tu" was too bad and he made a mistake. If it was a palace painting, especially one by Ding Guanpeng and Zhou Kun, then this would be a great bargain.

Ding Guanpeng is as famous as Tang Dai, Lang Shining, Zhang Zongcang and others. His paintings were highly appreciated by emperors of two dynasties. Because he learned the brushwork of the famous Ming Dynasty Ding Yunpeng, people at that time often put the two together, believing that Ding Guanpeng was "better than his master."

He also had a younger brother named Ding Guanhe, who was also a court painter, and the two served in the court together.

Zhou Kun joined the company later than Ding Guanpeng, but his experience was more miraculous than Ding Guanpeng's.

The place that managed painters in the palace was called the Xian'an Palace Painting Office. As a newcomer, Zhou Kun received eight taels of silver and three taels of silver for processing fees after his first assessment by Emperor Qianlong, which was equivalent to the salary of a seventh-rank civil official and also the highest salary a court painter could get.

Qianlong liked to write poems, and he wrote poems for the paintings of Ding Guanpeng and Zhou Kun. However, Ding Guanpeng benefited from the fact that he painted the imperial poems of Kangxi and Yongzheng, while Zhou Kun was praised by Qianlong purely for the high level of his paintings. Qianlong wrote on one of Zhou Kun's landscape paintings: "I love the great brushwork, the smoke and clouds without any trace of craftsmanship. The painter seeks for the image, and your son has found the way." He praised him for having gained knowledge of Huang Gongwang.

Because of his unfamiliarity with the local climate and chronic illness, Emperor Qianlong personally ordered him to return to his hometown for recuperation. After returning home, Zhou Kun was so grateful that he spent three years painting a picture called "A Lifetime of All Nations". It happened that Emperor Qianlong exempted the entire country from taxes that year, so this painting became the loudest flattery he presented.

Emperor Qianlong happily picked up his pen to write poetry, and the first two lines were "I love Zhou Kun's writing, which is natural, light, leisurely and rich." He was extremely happy.

If the picture is the authentic work of the three painters, it would be amazing. First of all, it is the original blueprint for various "Taoye Tu" after the eighth year of Qianlong's reign, and the earliest series of art paintings about porcelain making.

Secondly, the works of Sun You, the court painter of Emperor Qianlong, will be discovered for the first time, filling a gap in the country.

The third is the handwritten annotations of Tang Ying, who is now regarded as the ancestor of Jingde porcelain making. It can also be compared with the handed down book "Taoye Tu Bian Ci" to restore the historical truth.

After reading the articles, Zhou Zhi couldn't help but be overjoyed and wished he could go back to Demian Hall right away.

"What are you looking at so happily?" Mai Xiaomiao came back with several more paper bags in her hands, which seemed to be gifts bought at the airport.

"Oh, I found some information about the scroll I collected the day before yesterday." Zhou Zhi patted the information in his hand: "It's true that having an old man in the family is like having a treasure. The old man did a solid and meticulous job back then, which saved us a lot of effort."

"Then quickly digitize them and put them all into the digital library."

"By the way, Mr. Tetsuo Ono asked me to express his gratitude to you and invite you to visit our country again." Ikedao said to Zhou Zhi.

The Seikado Chinese Classics Digital Library passed the national acceptance test a few years ago and has come to an end as a project. The database of 100,000 ancient Chinese books has been officially opened to the public through the website, becoming the first academic digital library. Ono Tetsuo, who made this happen together with Zhou Zhi, has gained great fame in the island nation and China.

As a result, the Seikado collection, which was originally only famous in the cultural and antique circles, became known to everyone, especially the Yohen Tenmoku cup, which was hailed as the "best cup in the world."

However, China is relatively low-key about digital library projects, mainly because there is no time to brag. Through the Seikado Chinese Classics Digital Library project, Clover has explored a set of successful experiences in digital management of ancient books, from graphic processing, text recognition, character library, font, cataloging, typesetting, database design, system design, management system, access system and other dimensions, to achieve a completely independent digital library intellectual property package.

After the country obtained this large intellectual property package, it immediately launched the two major projects, "Confucian Canon" and "Daoist Canon", so the Seikado Chinese Classics Digital Library is a bit embarrassed to promote it.

"I also want to go and see some more Song Dynasty tea utensils." Zhou Zhi could only sigh: "But I don't know when I will have the time."

"As long as you go, you will be Mr. Ono's most distinguished guest." Ikeda Oka said with a smile: "And Mr. Fujita, the two generations of Jurentang porcelain have also caused a small sensation in our country."

During Zhou Zhi's trip to Japan, he also exchanged the Six Scrolls of Prince Chun's Palace with the Fujita Museum. The price he paid was enough cash to save the Fujita Museum from decline, as well as several paintings by Fan Zeng, and Hongxian and Mao porcelains.

The two sets of porcelain can actually be regarded as "official kilns". The quality is beyond doubt. Although they are from modern times, their rarity far exceeds that of the three generations of the Qing Dynasty. In addition, Kenzaburo Fujita found an interesting statement and made up the name of "Two Generations of Ju Rendang Rare Porcelain". He opened a separate exhibition room and created a somewhat popular effect.

"Let's get on the plane. I'm going to be itching to talk to you any more." Thinking of the good things in the Fujita Museum and Seikado, Zhou Zhi felt like changing his itinerary. He took the bag from Mai Xiaomiao and pulled up the suitcase: "If I don't go to New York State to pick up some bargains, I can't make up for my heart."

The last time I flew to New York was with people from the Ministry of Culture. It was a business trip and we were not eligible to sit in first class, otherwise it would be difficult for them to claim the expense.

This time it was Sony and Samsung that arranged it. Saving money would be disrespectful to his comrades, so Zhou Zhi was happy to "obey the arrangements."

Pan Am's 747 has two-deck cabins, and the upper first-class cabin is very spacious. The airline uses this large space to set up luxurious facilities such as bars, lounges or restaurants.

But this also shows that this aircraft is actually not young. With the "bus-ization" of passenger aircraft, such facilities and even such aircraft models will gradually be eliminated. After all, for the vast majority of passengers, it would be meaningless for an airline to offer "good quality" but "expensive" products.

Thus, the product of this transitional period of elimination was created. The first-class facilities are still luxurious, but there are not many passengers who consume first-class seats. There are even a few who were temporarily upgraded after boarding the plane.

However, for Zhou Zhi and his party, this trip was comfortable. Such a spacious flying environment cannot be enjoyed in later generations.

Today's Pan Am stewardesses have not yet fallen into the direction of aunties. The blond and blue-eyed stewardesses are still pleasing to the eye. They came over to remind Zhou Zhi and Mai Xiaomiao to fasten their seat belts. Not long after, the plane taxied onto the runway and took off. (End of this chapter)