Riding the wind of rebirth

Half of this floor has been rented by Hanhai and turned into its own branch, but to get there, you still need to go through a continuous passage.

The passageway was made up of rooms of varying sizes, all decorated in an antique style. Master Ma touched the ceiling under the window and asked, "Seaweed? Old or new?"

"This floor is new, but the interior is old, and it's familiar to you."

It was indeed familiar, because the furniture inside had been handled by Master Ma for a period of time; it was Ming and Qing dynasty furniture inherited from Master Wang.

Mr. Wang's collection is actually quite extensive, including not only the renowned Ming and Qing dynasty furniture, but also bronzes, bamboo ware, lacquerware, porcelain, pottery, calligraphy and paintings, and even palace lanterns, guqin (a seven-stringed zither), books, rubbings, and more...

Therefore, the best way to display these miscellaneous items is to arrange them according to the rooms and their furnishings.

Therefore, the rooms on both sides are actually an exhibition area of ​​ancient Chinese residences that combines practical functions, including bedrooms, guest rooms, Buddhist halls, music rooms, studies, boudoirs, and other rooms.

Zhou Zhi pressed his finger on the combination lock produced by Jinan Group next to the study exhibition hall. The combination lock chimed twice, the exhibition hall door opened, and the entire room became completely open to everyone.

After entering the room, Master Ma made a point of going behind the door to take a look and discovered that there was a steel plate protecting the back of the rosewood lining.

He tapped on the glass: "Is this also specially made?"

“Yes, it’s bulletproof.” Zhou Zhi laughed, “My cousin Anxin ripped me off a lot of money.”

"That's really extravagant," Master Ma shook his head.

“The things inside are truly luxurious,” Yan Zhenwei said with a smile.

The most eye-catching things in the room are two tables. One is the famous Qianlong rosewood three-curved leg three-piece painting table, and the other is a rosewood three-drawer table with a king-shaped stretcher against the wall.

As Mr. Wang's monographs have gained international renown, these two tables are now world-famous.

However, they are now faithfully fulfilling their most original duties.

On the overlord-shaped table, there was a bronze stove and an ancient zither.

"The bronze stove is the one the old man gave to Xiao Miao," Master Ma immediately pointed out. "It's a bowl-shaped stove supervised by Li Chengde!"

This bowl-shaped incense burner is heart-shaped, and the patina of the Buddhist scripture paper is the first-class color among the five colors of Xuande incense burners. Li Chengde was also an official during the Xuande reign. The old man carried it with him even during his exile, which shows how much he cherished it. However, he gave it to Mai Xiaomiao as a gift when they first met.

"Well, you didn't use the twenty-odd censers the old man gave you, and you even went to great lengths to trick Xiao Miao into putting them here!" Master Ma continued to sow discord: "Xiao Miao, you've really lost out. This is a Xuande censer that can be definitively proven. Although it may not be from the Xuande wind-milled bronze batch, it is still absolutely precious!"

Mai Xiaomiao smiled and took Zhou Zhi's hand, leaning against him as usual: "Grandpa Wang's stove paired with Grandma Yuan's zither, I think it's very meaningful. It would be best if they could stay together forever." "'The Great Sage's Legacy'!" Only then did Grandpa Ma turn his attention to the zither: "Mr. Yuan has entrusted 'The Great Sage's Legacy' to you!"

After Zhou Zhi acquired all the collections from Mr. Wang, apart from the worthless gourds and pigeon whistles that Mr. Wang liked, there were two other cherished items that he agreed to leave with them to continue playing with.

One is a Xuande-style censer with round feet and scalloped handles, which Mr. Wang liked, and the other is Mr. Yuan's guqin piece, "The Great Sage's Legacy."

“Mr. Yuan said that he has lost some of his hearing and no longer plays the guqin. There is no point in continuing to possess the guqin, so he sent it over,” Zhou Zhi said.

"So that's how it is." Master Ma sighed.

Although it was a magnanimous act, Zhou Zhi and Master Ma both knew that it was actually Mr. Yuan's way of preparing for the future because he felt that his body could not hold on for much longer. The old man's premonitions in this regard were often very accurate. Master Ma, who understood this, couldn't help but sigh.

This room is configured according to the standard format of an ancient study. On the large painting table is a Qing Dynasty Ji Xiaolan Hejian Ji family Duan inkstone. In front of the inkstone stands a Qing Dynasty Qianlong Emperor's inscribed poem on a sandalwood screen inlaid with jade. Beside it are Yang Fengnian's purple clay bamboo shoot water dropper, a Ming Dynasty Tongtianxi Lanting Xiuqi brush holder, a Song Dynasty Hutian kiln green glaze brush washer, a Xuande blue and white painted palindrome brush holder, a Kangxi blue glaze painted gold floral pattern covered paste pot, a Yongzheng imitation Jun kiln hanging purple water container, and a Ming Dynasty cloisonné paperweight.

To the left of the painting table is a tatami bed, a Ming Dynasty tatami bed inlaid with boxwood and rosewood. The tatami bed has a simple design, but its most remarkable feature is the eight small bats carved from rosewood. The purplish-black bats flutter among the clouds and pine forests carved from yellow boxwood, which looks very vivid and interesting.

There is a jade-inlaid rosewood stool under the couch, and a small table at the head of the bed. It is a set with two antique display shelves, two flower stools, and a table screen, but it is a late Qing dynasty imitation of the Ming dynasty style.

On the table is a bronze imitation of an antique rooster-shaped vase from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. On the two flower stools are two appreciation vases. These are two precious treasures: one is a Qianlong enamel-painted auspicious revolving vase, and the other is an imperial famille rose porcelain vase with openwork carvings of phoenixes and birds paying homage to the phoenix, with double dragon handles.

Besides this, there is a relatively large flowerpot in the room, a refined ornamental pot with the inscription left by Zhang Yiqing of Wanli during the Ming Dynasty. According to ancient times, this pot was used to grow fragrant flowers in all four seasons, but now it can only be simplified.

Above the guqin is an ancient painting on the wall, "Autumn Light on the Sunny Peak" by Fang Shishu, a court painter of the Qing Dynasty.

The antique display shelf is filled with various items, including a Qianlong-era imitation Song Dynasty jade rabbit inkstone, an antique Song Dynasty Xuanhe-era double phoenix inkstone, a carved enamel begonia box with cloud and dragon patterns, a late Ming Dynasty zitan square cup, a Qing Dynasty Daoguang-era bamboo root carving of a scholar's travel scene, and a Qing Dynasty zitan and boxwood sunflower-shaped flower vase. These are all "refined objects for the scholar's studio," common items on the antique display shelves of ancient scholars.

In addition, there are several books, which are also some of the original editions of the ten cabinets of cultural relics collected by Mr. Wang, as well as twelve miscellaneous items from the Qing Dynasty, a round porcelain box, and a large yellow seal.

The group was captivated by the elegant arrangement of the study, and Yan Zhenwei nodded repeatedly: "In the Ming Dynasty, Gao Lian mentioned in 'Zunsheng Bajian: Qiju Anlejian' that 'there should only be two kinds of paintings in the study: landscapes are the best, flowers and trees are second, and birds, beasts and figures are not included.' The arrangement of this room is indeed strictly in accordance with the book."

Master Ma took a round porcelain box from the antique shelf and found it to be a Qianlong famille rose court bead box with a scene from the play "The Romance of the Western Chamber". When he opened it, he found a string of Qing Dynasty Qianlong pearl court beads inside.

He was quite familiar with this string of court beads; it was an old collection of Master Wang. It seemed that Zhou Zhi valued it highly and even specially provided a matching box for the beads.

"This study is nice in every way, except for the beaded box and the imperial seal, which are an eyesore."

"Those who excel in learning should become officials; cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world have always been the lofty ideals of ancient scholars." Zhou Zhi didn't seem to mind. "Besides, are you sure that large seal is an eyesore? Would you mind taking another look, Master Ma?" (End of Chapter)