Riding the wind of rebirth

"The Portrait of Taoist Emperor in White Ink" can lead to the development of ancient Chinese line drawing, its relationship with brick painting, roof tile and other crafts, the image of Taoist Emperor in Song Dynasty, the influence of Huangting Sutra on literati and secular people in Song Dynasty, etc., etc. It is a long article.

Starting from the silk base and the mounted brocade, we can talk about the textile technology of the Song Dynasty, from plain silk to complex jacquard brocade, from home weaving to the large looms in the official brocade courtyard, as well as the brocade culture and its influence on the surrounding foreign countries, etc.

With the large green and blue landscape painting "Lin Dai Wenjin and Xie An's Dongshan Tu", we can talk about China's hermit culture, the aristocratic families of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the elegant conversations, philosophical schools, dark politics and the influence of the spread of Buddhism on the thoughts of literati.

"Du Fu's Poetry Scroll" is Zhou Zhi's forte, which can talk about the development of traditional Chinese poetry, the rules of creation, aesthetic taste, schools, expression and transmission of artistic conception, and the aesthetic commonality of poetry and painting...

This was a rare opportunity to popularize science. Since his mouth would be free while his hands were working, Zhou Zhi did not get tired of doing it. As for what content the crew finally adopted, that was their business.

Anyway, those who have conducted more in-depth research than him are not as good at English as him, and those who are better at English than him are not as extensive and profound in the study of Chinese studies as he is. Moreover, Zhou Zhi's talk has a characteristic, that is, it is vivid and has many knowledge points. Although it is professional, it is still interesting. He often popularizes knowledge through humor, and many strange and bizarre "cold knowledge" often make people feel shocking and absurd, but they are in line with the reason at the time, and can fully satisfy the public's curiosity about ancient oriental life.

While the layman only watches the excitement, the expert focuses on the details. Zhou Zhi simply talks about whatever he does and whatever he thinks of. He has no drafts or presentation materials and speaks completely off the cuff. However, he is able to clearly explain all kinds of knowledge involved in the three paintings. Even the academically savvy Weng Wange was amazed.

There is a lot of knowledge that even he, who has studied the Weng family collection for a lifetime, does not understand. This kid is truly a bottle of "Chinese studies panacea"!
Zhou Zhi had a very bad habit, which was to concentrate on repairing his paintings. At this time, "forgetting to eat and sleep" was no longer an adjective but an objective fact.

Others did not dare to interfere or disturb him. They could only replenish his food and water at mealtimes and take turns to stay with him.

After finishing the last touch of the repair, he threw away the pen, lay down on the sofa, and fell asleep.

"Yijun, go get the bed and quilt. The air conditioner in the room is a little cold." Weng Wange hurriedly said, "These two days and one night have really broadened my horizons. It's incredible..."

"Will looking at paintings affect our elbows' rest?" Guan Shuning asked Mai Xiaomiao.

“No.” Mai Xiaomiao sat on the sofa, gently holding Zhou Zhi’s hand, feeling distressed and proud: “Now even if you speak loudly, he won’t wake up. He will be fine after he gets enough sleep.”

"This is a bad habit, we need to change it." Wang Shaofang said, "Elbow is young now, so he can still bear it, but what will happen when he gets older?"

"This is also my fault." Weng Wange complained to himself: "I didn't expect him to move so quickly. If I had known, I would have done it slowly, one painting at a time..."

"Since it's all done, let's not talk about it. But uncle, you'd better make a couple of calls back home and ask the old men to fix the problem with the elbow. Repairing it all at once is too energy-consuming and not a long-term solution." Weng Yijun said and looked at the screen again: "But then again, this is indeed shocking. Look, they say they've restored it to its original state, and it really is..."

"Yes, I was worried about the technology and conditions in China before." Weng Wange said, "Now it seems that I can rest assured to hand over the things to Elbow!"

"I just don't know when he will wake up." Guan Shuning said with a smile: "Mr. An is still waiting to see the complete set of Kangxi Eight-Code and Cowpea Red Tea Yuan. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has also proposed to borrow this set of porcelain to hold a special exhibition of Kangxi porcelain and court art treasures together with the museum's collection. This kid's calligraphy is good, so I don't have to ask anyone else for help."

Zhou Zhi slept for fourteen hours. When he opened his eyes, it was already the evening of the next day. In his sight, Mai Xiaomiao's big eyes were staring at him intently. He was caught off guard by Zhou Zhi's sudden opening of his eyes, and his face turned red involuntarily.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhi couldn't help but want to tease her. He reached out and touched Mai Xiaomiao's ear: "You look like a puppy that smells something delicious."

"Bah, you're the puppy." Mai Xiaomiao shyly lay in Zhou Zhi's arms: "I know this is your old habit, but everyone is worried. Old Weng even called the capital and complained to Old Master Wang and Old Master Qi."

"Ah?" Zhou Zhi sat up: "Sue me for what?"

"I'll sue you for not sleeping for thirty-six hours!"

"Hey! When they were young, the two elders were even crazier than me. Not to mention when they were young, they were in their fifties and were in the national cultural relics appraisal team..."

"Is Elbow awake?" Weng Wange's voice came from the door: "That's great, come out and finish your meal."

During the meal, Weng Yijun and Guan Shuning brought up several issues.

The first thing, of course, was to handle the consignment of the classics through China Guardian Auctions, and to pay 10% of the appraisal fee of the US$2 million worth of the subject matter, plus shipping, insurance and many other matters, the total would be around US$300,000.

This is also the industry practice. Zhou Zhi, as the chief consultant of Hanhai Auction House, is of course aware of this. So he signed two checks respectively, and then told the two people that he still had a pile of desert gold wood, as well as the previous blue and white jar, and nine pieces of cowpea red, so he didn't bother two people for the same matter.

The second thing is the interview. The TV station has already done preliminary interviews with Elizabeth's family and wants to put this story on the show, so they need to conduct additional interviews with Zhou Zhi and seek his opinion.

Zhou Zhi only agreed to a voice interview. This kind of thing is different from popularizing Chinese subculture of calligraphy and painting restoration, so there is no need to show up in public.

The third thing is the exhibition. A complete set of eight sizes of cowpea red tea from the Kangxi dynasty, plus a cowpea red tea round drinking vessel discovered for the first time, plus the story of the widow of a World War II hero meeting an honest Chinese antique dealer. Such a gimmick is enough to launch a wave of publicity and to cooperate with an exhibition.

This was also an opportunity for publicity, so Zhou Zhi certainly agreed. Moreover, this exhibition could be seen as an attempt by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to further segment its Oriental art exhibitions, which Zhou Zhi found very meaningful.

From the Oriental Porcelain Exhibition, to the Chinese Porcelain Exhibition, to the Qing Dynasty Porcelain Exhibition, and then to the Kangxi Porcelain Exhibition, the professional knowledge of foreigners also started from coarse grains and gradually evolved into fine bran.

This advancement process itself also shows that Chinese porcelain is gradually becoming well-known and sought after in the foreign art market.

With the theme of the event, we need an event name and supporting "copywriting". Guan Shuning wants to entrust Zhou Zhi. Mr. An and Christie's are very satisfied with the copywriting you designed for the Four Seasons Auction. You can be said to be a professional in this field. With such a tight time schedule, I can only rely on you. (End of this chapter)