A doctor who travels through two eras

As soon as Lin Sanqi got off the bus, he saw this antique-style antique shop.

Then he picked up his camera and took pictures of the surrounding street scene. If it weren't for the telephone poles and a few brick buildings, he would have thought he had traveled back to ancient times.

At this time, the street scenes of Xi'an almost retained the style of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China period.

After arriving at the shop entrance, Commander Qi gave a few instructions to the soldiers at the door. Then, the doors of the antique shop were opened wide, and all the lights inside were turned on.

"Xiao Lin, come on, let's go inside and take a look. This shop is full of good treasures."

Lin Sanqi had read the materials and knew that the Xi'an Antique Shop had a rich variety of cultural relics and high collection value, which was in no way inferior to the Capital Antique Shop.

However, the sales volume of Xi'an antique shops is very small, less than one-tenth of that in the capital and Huadu.

This is because the treasures in the antique shops are no longer open to ordinary Chinese citizens; they are only open to foreign visitors and only accept foreign currency.

Unfortunately, Xi'an, an ancient capital with a rich history, began to decline during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Moreover, it is located in the northwest of China, so few foreign visitors come to visit.

Without foreigners, where would the foreign exchange come from?
Thinking of this, Lin Sanqi's eyes suddenly lit up. At this time, it seemed that the Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang, which foreigners were most interested in, had not yet been discovered.

Director Liu of the Cultural Relics Bureau saw Lin Sanqi staring blankly and assumed he was stunned by the street scenes of Xi'an, so he coughed lightly a few times:

"Commissioner Lin, please come in. Would you like me to introduce you?"

Lin Sanqi snapped out of her daze and followed them into the antique shop. Looking at the dazzling array of antiques on the shelves, her eyes instantly lit up like Ultraman's.

There was only one thought in my mind.

"Oh my god, oh my god, it's all my god."

Director Liu took the role of a guide seriously. With 20 bottles of penicillin as a base, he naturally had no resistance to it.

The main reason for the lack of resistance is, of course,...

Neither Commander Qi nor Director Liu were natives of Xi'an, so they naturally had no attachment to their hometown. They only knew how to obey orders from their superiors and insist on carrying out things that were beneficial to the country.

As Director Liu walked, he introduced the various points:

"The history of Xi'an can be traced back to about 5000 years ago, when my country was still in the tribal stage. Over time, this place has experienced dynasties including the Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Sui and Tang.

Each dynasty left its unique historical imprint and cultural symbols here, and these are passed down through the antiques and artifacts before us. "Commissioner Lin, this way please…"

Lin Sanqi picked up a bottle from a cabinet and asked curiously:
"Director Liu, this bottle is not right. It looks like a chicken-head ewer to me, and it's definitely an antique from before the Tang Dynasty."

Antiques sold in antique shops aren't sold just because they're available. Generally, they're not sold if they're dated no earlier than the Ming Dynasty, meaning they don't sell antiques from before the Tang and Song Dynasties.

In addition, antiques with special cultural value from modern times are not sold; they are all placed in museums instead.

Of course, the value of cultural relics from the 1960s is different from that of cultural relics in 2016, which is why Lin Sanqi was able to find so many bargains.

The most famous bargain find is Yuan blue and white porcelain.

These porcelain pieces, which were frequently hyped up to hundreds of millions of yuan in 2016, were generally mistakenly classified as Ming Dynasty Qing Dynasty porcelain in the 1960s, thus neglected and then casually placed in antique shops for sale.

This is one of the reasons why a large number of Yuan blue and white porcelains were later produced overseas.

Apart from those looted by the Eight-Nation Alliance, a large portion of them were sold through legitimate channels.

Director Liu glanced back and said nonchalantly:
"This is a wine vessel from the Sui Dynasty, also called a chicken-head pot. It is named after the spout, which is shaped like a chicken's head. It was a type of porcelain pot popular from the Western Jin to the Tang Dynasty. The chicken element in the design continues the traditional meaning of 'chicken is auspicious,' and it also incorporates the meaning of many children and blessings, and peace and tranquility in the home."

Lin Sanqi had even more questions in her mind:
"Director Liu, this kind of chicken-head ewer must be quite rare, right? Especially this one with a black glaze covering the entire body, I've only ever seen one like it at the National Museum."

Lin Sanqi may not understand much else, but he knows that anything that can be displayed in the National Museum must be a precious cultural relic.

Just like the imperial concubine selection in ancient times, those who were selected to enter the palace and had their own stage were equivalent to imperial concubines, not ordinary palace maids.

Of course, the National Museum of China is notorious for its "borrowing without returning" policy. Only the best antiques are selected by the National Museum for exhibition, and once borrowed, they are generally not to be returned.

Director Liu chuckled upon hearing this:

"There are indeed not many black-glazed chicken-head ewers in existence, but in Shaanxi Province, this thing, well, it's not actually that rare. The Xi'an Museum alone has five in its warehouse. Things are valued for their rarity, so selling a few wouldn't be a problem."

Furthermore, the history of Shaanxi Province mainly consists of the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period, and the Han and Tang Dynasties. On the contrary, the history of the Ming and Qing Dynasties has declined, and there are not many antiques left, and they are not of high quality.

If we could only sell antiques from the Ming and Qing dynasties or the Republic of China period, then our antique shop wouldn't have much to sell. So, the selection of goods is determined by each region.

However, this black-glazed chicken-head ewer doesn't seem to be very popular with foreign guests; it's been sitting here for years without selling. They prefer the brightly colored Tang tri-color pottery. Have you heard of Tang tri-color pottery, Commissioner Lin?

Lin Sanqi is now a part-time antique dealer, so naturally he has heard of the famous Tang tri-color pottery.

However, he didn't actually have any, because neither the Beiping Antique Shop nor the Huadu Antique Shop, which he had acquired, had any antiques from before the Yuan Dynasty, so he didn't have a single one.

"I've heard of Tang Sancai. I saw a Sancai figurine of a foreigner leading a camel in the Palace Museum. It was very beautiful and I guess it was Emperor Qianlong's favorite style."

Director Liu chuckled upon hearing this:

"Commissioner Lin is right. Emperor Qianlong was known for his fondness for flamboyant reds and greens, haha."

However, our Tang tri-color pottery has glazes in colors such as yellow, green, white, brown, and blue, with yellow, green, and white being the main colors. Therefore, it is called Tang Dynasty tri-color glazed pottery, and the colors are not so flamboyant.

"Come, come, Commissioner Lin, please come this way."

Director Liu led Lin Sanqi to the second floor, while Commander Qi gestured for the soldiers to close the door tightly to prevent anyone from entering or leaving.

Lin Sanqi climbed up to the second floor and looked at several display cases, and was immediately delighted.

"Wow, I thought Tang Sancai only featured camels, but there are so many different kinds!"

Seeing the other party's strong interest, Director Liu also introduced with a smile:

"Commissioner Lin, you see, the shapes of Tang tri-color pottery can be roughly divided into three categories: figures, animals, and objects, with animals being the most numerous."

Among the animals, the horse and camel figures are the most numerous, which is related to the social environment at that time.

In ancient times, people needed warhorses for battle and for communication and transportation. It can be said that horses were the animals closest to people's lives at that time, which is why horses were the most prominent animal in Tang tri-color pottery.

The horses depicted in Tang tri-color pottery differ from those of previous dynasties. Tang tri-color horses are generally plump and rounded, with relatively thick hindquarters and wide necks.

The dynamic characteristics of Tang Dynasty horses are primarily static, yet with movement within stillness, conveyed through details such as the shape of the horse's eyes and ears.

Lin Sanqi was like a tourist being guided by Director Liu, listening and appreciating at the same time, and she was able to discover beauty that she would not normally notice.

Director Liu then pointed to another display case and introduced it:
"Commissioner Lin, look at this Tang tri-color pottery statue. Doesn't it resemble the 'tri-color pottery figurine of a foreigner leading a camel' in the Palace Museum that you mentioned?"

Lin Sanqi took out his phone, pulled up the photos he had taken at the museum last time, compared them, and then nodded repeatedly:

"They look alike, very alike. Except for the size difference—yours are smaller and the capital's are bigger—the overall style is consistent. I guess they came from the same brothel?"

When they saw Lin Sanqi pull out a strange machine with realistic color photos on it, both Chief Qi and Director Liu were secretly surprised and their curiosity was piqued.

But since they were both veteran cadres, they naturally knew what questions to ask and what not to ask, so they had no choice but to pretend they didn't see it.

Lin Sanqi suddenly stopped and asked in confusion:
"Could this be one of the same pieces from the Palace Museum that I have? Is this Tang tri-color pottery real or fake?"

Director Liu and the staff around him all laughed when they heard this:

"Commissioner Lin is joking. Tang tri-colored pottery isn't exactly a very valuable antique. If you're lucky, you can open a tomb and find many pieces inside. These are actually funerary objects; the living don't use them."

Lin Sanqi laughed along, thinking to himself that he had really overthought things. Antiques that are treasured elsewhere might not even be considered treasures in Xi'an. (End of Chapter)