Riding the wind of rebirth

"My grandfather Gu Youwen, my uncle Gu Zhenduo, and my elder brother Gu Kailai, who is now the dean of the Chinese Department of Shu University, are all masters of rhyme studies." Zhou Zhi said, "I am fortunate to study under their guidance. After I return this time, I will participate in the master's thesis defense."

"I guess your grandmaster, uncles and brothers must like you very much, right?" Weng Wange said with a smile.

In his heart, he compared his nephews and nephews with Zhou Zhi, and then sighed.

Weng Yijun is of average talent. Although he has been studying the treasure trove of the Weng family collection for decades, his academic status is still not high. At least it can be seen in today's casual conversation that Weng Yijun often falls silent, while Zhou Zhi can pick up almost any topic raised by everyone.

This is the difference in the cultivation of Chinese classics. The more open-ended the topic is, the more you can often see the difference in level between the participants. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Sun Sheng and Yin Hao debated fiercely and evenly, causing the waving whisks to get hung. This was definitely not just empty talk.

The problem with the ancients was that they were often people who should have been seriously engaged in politics, but instead ignored the cause of peace and stability and instead showed off their academic knowledge. But that's another aspect.

Speaking only of academics, a kid like Zhou Zhi, who has a solid foundation and knows everything he hears, is the type most favored by liberal arts tutors. He can go far in his studies and there is no need to worry about not being able to guide him.

"I really can't repay the love and care that my master's family has given me." Zhou Zhi admitted: "In fact, the teachers I met have always taken good care of me, and I am very grateful."

"That's right. With your level, I'm afraid someone has been giving you private lessons since you were young." The Weng family was very familiar with this routine. Weng Wange didn't even need to ask in detail. He just made a direct assessment and said, "Speaking of the Collection of Rhymes, which one do you think it should be?"

There was a hint of anticipation in his tone.

"Since it is a precious collection of the Weng family, then this edition of 'Jiyun' must be a Song Dynasty edition. Among the three existing Song Dynasty editions, I guess..." He pointed to the 'Thousand Miles of the Yangtze River' next to it, "It is the Southern Song Dynasty Tanzhou edition, right? Like it, it is related to the old collection of the Qing Palace Tianlu Linlang."

“Hahaha…” Weng Wange was very happy: “Finally I guessed wrong for once! The one we have is the Mingzhou version from the Southern Song Dynasty, which is the original version of the Mao and Qian copies.”

"This book did not come from Duke Wengong, but was an old collection of the Weng family. It entered the Weng family three generations earlier than Duke Wengong."

This is easy to understand. This set of books was collected by an earlier ancestor of the Weng family before Weng Tonghe appeared, so they were most likely obtained near his hometown.

The Weng family’s hometown is Changshu, and Mingzhou in the Song Dynasty is today’s Ningbo. One is in the northwest of Shanghai, and the other is in the southwest of Shanghai, not far apart.

"I see." Zhou Zhi nodded and said, "Mr. Weng, this book is very important to scholars in my field. I wonder...whether you are willing to give it up?"

"My uncle was worried about the books, so although he agreed to send them back to China, he also had several conditions," said Weng Yijun.

"please say."

"There are four main items. First, the books need to be in his birthplace, Shanghai. Second, all the ancient rare books sent back to China must not be auctioned, but must be transferred directly as a whole, and cannot be split and selected. Third, they must be transferred to a national public library, and the management and collection conditions must be approved by the library after a prior inspection. Fourth, there is a minimum transfer price."

"In addition, among these rare ancient books is a set of Water Margin Antique Leaves by Chen Hongshou. Since I am currently researching and writing the book Chen Hongshou, this book needs to be kept temporarily. The rest can all be sent back to China after negotiations are completed." "Is that so..." Zhou Zhi thought for a while, "These problems are not big. First of all, there is no problem with the first one. We can build a building to store these books separately. If Mr. Weng is not so strict about the location, I have a building by the West Lake in Hangzhou. It was the former Overseas Chinese Hotel and is now being transformed into a private museum. The preservation conditions should be the best in the country. The books can be stored there first."

"The second option is also completely acceptable, transferring the entire property without demolition or selection. I personally prefer this approach. I also think we can collect the manuscripts of the Weng family members from the diary of Duke Wen Gong to Mr. Yijun. It would be a great thing to publish a set of "Changshu Weng Family Manuscripts Collection" at that time."

"I can understand the third point. You are worried that the preservation capacity in China is insufficient. Currently, only the National Library, Shanghai, and the National Museum have the perfect conditions to preserve this part of the material."

"In fact, the private museums currently under construction in China have better conditions and more flexible use of funds, which can avoid the suspicion of more trouble at night." Zhou Zhi said: "I am not bragging, I have two places in China, one is Demian Hall and the other is Suihuaxuan. Although they are not museums, the conditions are actually better than museums."

"Demian Hall now mainly stores Ming and Qing furniture transferred by Mr. Meng Wang, as well as important calligraphy and paintings from past dynasties, miscellaneous cultural relics, and Ming and Qing porcelain."

"Suihuaxuan is used to store paintings and calligraphy from the Ming and Qing dynasties, ceramics before the Ming Dynasty, and jade crafts from modern times."

"The conditions are all good, and Mr. Weng is welcome to come and give us guidance." Zhou Zhi said, "And I assure Mr. Weng that the conditions at the Hangzhou Museum will be even better, and I will never sell off these books in the future. If I no longer keep them, I will only donate them to domestic museums free of charge, with the Shanghai Museum being the first choice."

"These clauses can be implemented in the contract terms and made public. In this way, can we dispel Mr. Weng's concerns and consider us, the civilian forces that have the ability to keep things private?"

"If it's possible, the only thing left is the price. This is also easy to handle. We can invite reputable and qualified auction houses at home and abroad to do the appraisal, and we will set the price based on the market. How about that?"

“Is that so…” Weng Wange had heard Xu Bangda introduce Demian Hall. With his background in Rongbaozhai and the National Museum of China, there was a hint of envy in his tone, which showed that the preservation conditions of Demian Hall were very good.

After just one morning of conversation, he already knew Zhou Zhi's character very well. Once the cultural relics were in his hands, there was no need to worry about them leaking out or being damaged.

This guy probably values ​​these treasures more than I do.

In addition to this is the financial strength. According to common sense, Zhou Zhi, who is in his early twenties, should not have such financial resources. However, Zhou Zhi said it very easily, as if this issue is the last thing he should consider.

According to information from Guan Shuning's channels, Zhou Zhi has had transaction records of important artworks in the auction market and private collection market with many big sellers, such as Eiichir Ataka, Goro Sakamoto, Fujita Museum of Art in Japan, two auction houses in Hong Kong Island, and Robert Ellsworth in the United States, all of which are very valuable.

These people are all old foxes who have practiced for many years. Being qualified to trade with them is in itself a proof of their very reliable character and strength.

Now that Zhou Zhiyi had said that, he was somewhat moved. He felt that the conditions he had proposed before were a bit inappropriate. China's development in recent years has been changing with each passing day, and he should not consider the situation based on his trip to China ten years ago.

The child in front of me is the representative of the new era in the East. (End of this chapter)