Riding the wind of rebirth

However, Yan Zhenwei seemed not to have heard what Zhou Zhi was saying. After waiting for a while, seeing that Yan Zhenwei was so engrossed in his work that he couldn't tear his eyes away, Zhou Zhi had no choice but to cough lightly: "Mr. Yan, we still have two more pavilions. The later ones are better. The next one is the Tang, Five Dynasties, Song and Yuan Dynasties pavilion..."

"Ah, right, the six handscrolls from the Prince Chun's Mansion and the original works by the Four Masters of the Six Dynasties!" Yan Zhenwei suddenly realized, then shook his head: "The styles of the Song and Yuan masters are too far removed; it's better to start with the Ming dynasty versions..."

"Anyway, you'll be staying here regularly to copy Zhang Daqian's works, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to see these. Let's finish the formalities today; Mr. Ma is eager to see Song Dynasty porcelain."

“Hahaha,” Yan Zhenwei laughed, “Look at my silly habits, I’m blinded by a leaf and can’t see the mountain. Let’s go, let’s go.”

Go up another floor and you'll enter the Six Dynasties, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song and Yuan Dynasties Hall.

The reason why one museum can include so many dynasties is that the number of cultural artifacts from each dynasty is extremely small.

But the fewer there are, the more precious they are.

Besides the six scrolls from the Prince Chun's Mansion that once caused a national sensation and the original works by the four great masters of the Six Dynasties, there are several other treasures here that left Yan Zhenwei speechless once again.

Shi Yannian's "Poems at Choubi Post Station"
The legendary "Sitting Dragon" painting!
Jing Hao's "Shushan Landscape"!
The painting "Thinking of the Distant" by Ma Yuan and his two sons!
Liu Songnian's "Landscape Fan"!
Dong Yuan's "Spring Mountains in Color"!
Xu Daoning's "Enjoying Snow at a Thatched Pavilion"!
Li Cheng's "Spring Dawn over Layered Mountains"!
Li Gonglin's "Emperor Xuanzong Bidding Farewell to His Horse"!
Xia Gui's "Drunken Reclining in the Snow Hall"!
Many of these works are irreplaceable masterpieces. If any one of them were to become known to the outside world, it would trigger a massive cultural upheaval!

What shocked Yan Zhenwei the most was the provenance of these paintings; some of them were even more precious than the originals!
For example, Shi Yannian's "Poems of Choubi Post Station". Most people probably don't know much about Shi Yannian. Most people only know the couplet "If Heaven had feelings, it would grow old; if the moon had no regrets, it would always be full", or his eccentric drinking habits.

However, besides Shi Yannian's "Poem at Choubi Post Station," this work also bears inscriptions by Ouyang Xiu, Su Mai, Yue Ke, Cai Jing, Emperor Huizong of Song, and Ouyang Xuan, a great Confucian scholar of the Yuan Dynasty and a descendant of Ouyang Xiu. This not only demonstrates the lineage of the calligraphy after its creation but also proves the importance it received at the time. Furthermore, it provides multiple pieces of evidence to confirm the work's authenticity, making forgery virtually impossible.

No one in the world can perfectly imitate the calligraphy and seals of Shi Yannian, Ouyang Xiu, Su Mai, Yue Ke, Cai Jing, Emperor Huizong of Song, and Ouyang Xuan. Therefore, this piece of calligraphy is undoubtedly an authentic work.

The same principle applies to "Thinking of the Distant" painting, which is even more exquisite.

The painting "Thinking of the Distant" was created by three people: Ma Ben, Ma Yuan, and Ma Lin, who were not only painters but also father and sons. The seals and inscriptions on the painting also belong to three people: Emperor Huizong, Emperor Ningzong, and Emperor Lizong, who were not only emperors but also father and sons.

There are quite a few examples in Chinese cultural history where the inscriptions show multiple emperors in father-son relationships, but this is the only one where the creators also share this relationship.

The handwriting of six people and the imperial collection seals of three emperors could not be perfectly forged. Therefore, although the "Choubi Post Station Poem" and "Thinking of the Distant Land" were not known to the outside world before, their authenticity was very easy to distinguish.

The rest of his works are mostly the same.

Many of the paintings are quite large, such as the ancient "Sitting Dragon" and Jing Hao's "Shushan Mountain".

Chuan Gu was a monk from the Northern Song Dynasty. Many of his paintings were created for temple murals, and this one is likely a draft for a mural, hence its enormous size.

Dong Yuan, as the founder of the Southern School of landscape painting, created various techniques based on the work of his predecessors. His paintings are historically praised as "suitable for viewing from a distance," characterized by their profound artistic conception and vivid scenery. While most of Dong Yuan's paintings in major museums are ink paintings, this "Colored Spring Mountains" is a color painting, providing more evidence to demonstrate Dong Yuan's pivotal style in bridging the past and the future.

Whom did he surpass? Jing Hao. The oldest painting here is by Jing Hao.

Jing Hao is known as the "crown of the late Tang Dynasty" and is also a representative of the Northern School of landscape painting.

Therefore, when Jing Hao's "Shushan Tu" and Dong Yuan's "Shushan Tu" are placed side by side, these two masters from the south and the north inspire Yan Zhenwei to worship them.

These exquisite works, along with the renowned six-hand scrolls of Zhao Lingrang's "Goose Flock," Wang Mian's "Snow Plum Blossom," Zhao Mengfu's "Washing Horses," Chen Rong's "Six Dragons," Li Gonglin's "Meeting at Bianqiao," and Han Gan's "Horse Nature," as well as masterpieces by the Four Masters of the Six Dynasties, have already been confirmed to belong to the latter half of the Palace Museum's collection: Gu Kaizhi's "Biographies of Virtuous and Wise Women" scroll; Lu Tanwei's "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove and Rong Qiqi," a copy by Li Zhaoqing, a painter from the late Five Dynasties and early Song Dynasty; Cao Buxing's authentic work with Mi Fu's inscription, "The Bodhisattva of the Wish-Fulfilling Wheel"; and Zhang Sengyao's Northern Song Dynasty copy of "Emperor Wu of Han Shooting a Dragon." This instantly elevates the museum's prestige to the same level as major private museums overseas.

If the Ming Dynasty museum had given Yan Zhenwei a pleasant surprise, this museum, even though she had made ample mental preparations, still left her only with shock; the feeling of joy had become a minor, unimportant one.

Because those ten paintings, unknown to the outside world, are of greater importance than the six handscrolls and the works of the Four Masters of the Six Dynasties! In total, that makes twenty paintings!
"Incredible, absolutely incredible..." Yan Zhenwei murmured to himself, "Zhouzi, you can truly be called the number one private collector of ancient Chinese calligraphy and painting. Even the calligraphy and painting section of the Weng family collection that you helped the country buy back from overseas doesn't reach this level, does it?"

To repurchase the Weng family collection, the Shanghai museum alone could not do it. Zhou Zhi not only personally visited the Weng family in North America and demonstrated his restoration techniques, but more importantly, he secured timely funding from the Yu Tang Cultural Relics Conservation Foundation, making this possible.

“The most important thing in the Weng family’s collection is truly rare ancient books, while calligraphy and paintings are secondary,” Zhou Zhi explained. “However, several paintings have filled gaps in Shanghai’s museums, and that is where their importance lies.”

“That’s several million US dollars,” Yan Zhenwei laughed. “Any one of these…”

“There are currently two pricing systems for antique calligraphy and paintings in China and abroad.” Zhou Zhi laughed. “You can’t calculate it like that. Besides, the calligraphy and paintings here can’t be auctioned. They can only be privately collected by later generations or transferred to the National Museum. There are no other ways.”

“That’s right, that’s the right way.” Yan Zhenwei laughed. “Your reputation, and even the reputation of your descendants, are already tied to these things. If any one of them is lost, you will truly be a sinner for all time.”

"It was precisely because I was worried about such a future that I had the idea of ​​building a museum. Even if future generations are unworthy, we will not give them a chance."

The two then returned to their professional discussions, critiquing the paintings for quite some time before Yan Zhenwei remarked in surprise, "Eh? We haven't heard Master Ma speak in a long time."

“Master Ma is here.” Mai Xiaomiao waved to the two of them, her tone tinged with worry: “He’s been like this for a long time.”

This floor also has many porcelain display cases, but Yan Zhenwei was so attracted by the paintings that he didn't notice them at all. Only now did he realize that Master Ma was lying in front of a glass counter, carefully studying a few small porcelain pieces inside.

"What are these?" Yan Zhenwei approached. "What's so special about these small porcelain pieces?" (End of Chapter)