Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Chen Xiaohe gave another look and closed the door. Su Yuan exhaled and turned the cauldron over to look at the cross-section of the broken ear root.

Open the toolbox and take out the tools. The break is uneven, with several raised nicks, which need to be smoothed out first.

He chose a fine-toothed file and filed along the broken edge bit by bit. The copper dust that came off was black. He filed slowly for more than ten minutes until the broken edge was flat.

I measured the size of the other ear with calipers and made a mark; it needs to be replaced according to this shape.

The broken ear wasn't forgotten; it was wrapped in newspaper and brought back. Su Yuan unwrapped it and checked it; the broken piece matched the broken edge on the cauldron, so no meat was missing!

He clamped the broken ear in a vise and used a file to smooth the broken ends, filing both sides until the new copper was exposed.

Although soldering is an old craft, it is not only the Su family who knows it. Su Yuan took out solder bars and solder paste from the toolbox and applied a thin layer of solder paste to the broken surface.

Align the broken ear pieces and press them on, then secure them with thin wire.

Heat the soldering iron until it melts and the solder paste seeps into the joint. Once the solder has cooled and set, carefully file off any excess solder with a file, then polish with fine sandpaper.

The seam is smooth now, and you can't feel any difference from the original copper surface.

Su Yuan prepared another bowl of antiquing solution, mixing rust powder with alcohol and adding some lacquer flakes. He then used a small brush to apply the solution along the seams.

When it's half-dry, wipe it with a cotton cloth, then rub it with pumice powder. The color has absorbed it, and the newly repaired area blends seamlessly with the surrounding rust, making it impossible to see any trace of welding.

He then smeared some mud and ash on the belly of the cauldron with his finger, mixing it with the old soot. After applying it, it looked as if it had been stored for hundreds of years!

There was no difference in appearance. After the repair was completed, it was already past six o'clock in the evening. Su Yuan put away the antiquing tools and wiped the entire cauldron with a cotton cloth.

The seams have absorbed rust, blending in with the surrounding bronze rust, making it impossible to distinguish between the old and the new repairs.

Su Yuan turned the cauldron around and looked at it from various angles.

very satisfied!

Chen Xiaohe walked in, looked at the cauldron on the worktable, and asked him:

"alright?"

"Um."

Chen Xiaohe touched the repaired ear with his hand, then tapped the belly of the cauldron. After listening to the sound, he praised it:

"Wow, you're really something, it's like it's never stopped!"

Su Yuan smiled but didn't reply. Chen Xiaohe rolled her eyes at him and continued:

"Director Zhang said that after you finish repairing it, you should send it to the old warehouse and put it in the third section next to that porcelain pillow."

"it is good."

After Chen Xiaohe and Su Yuan finished packing up their tools, they carried the cauldron down to the storeroom. Su Yuan placed the cauldron next to the porcelain pillow, stabilized it, and took a step back to look at it.

The bronze tripod and the porcelain pillow were placed side by side, one bronze and the other porcelain, both items from before the Song Dynasty, on the same shelf.

Chen Xiaohe left first, and Su Yuan rubbed his nose, glanced at the warehouse a few times, and then went out.

Back at the entrance of the office, Han Zhengming was talking to Liu Jun. Seeing Su Yuan enter, he turned and smiled at him.

"Xiao Su, is the Western Zhou Dynasty bronze tripod repaired?"

"Um."

"May I take a look?"

"It's been sent to the old warehouse."

"Oh, then let's do it another day!"

He smiled and said nothing more before heading towards the hotel.

As Su Yuan watched his figure disappear and was about to leave, Liu Jun whispered to him, "He came right after you left."

Su Yuan smiled and nodded as he returned to his office. His phone rang; it was his mother calling.

"Hey? Yuan'er, your dad just remembered something else."

His mother's voice wasn't loud, it sounded like she was in the kitchen, and there was the sound of a spatula hitting a wok. To make sure Su Yuan was listening, she continued:

He said that your great-grandfather's three keys weren't made all at once. Two were made first, and then another one was made a year later.

Su Yuan held the phone to his ear with his shoulder, took out a bronze mirror from his pocket, placed it on the table, and asked:

Why was there a year's gap?

"Your dad can't remember clearly, but he said that after your great-grandfather finished the second game, he said, 'One more game to go.'"

His mother paused for a moment:

"Your dad forgot everything after saying that. That's all. I'm hanging up now."

Su Yuan put down his phone and looked at the bronze mirror on the table; the light spot was still shining normally.

The old man's shadow was hunched over, and his mouth was opening and closing.

Su Yuan stared at it anxiously, then asked, "Do you know something?"

The old man's mouth opened and closed a few more times, glancing towards where he had kept his keys, but still no sound came out...

Su Yuan reluctantly turned the bronze mirror over and looked at the engraved area on the back. The fine crack below the characters no longer showed that it had been opened.

I got up and left the office to go to the cafeteria. For dinner, I ate a bowl of noodles and a poached egg. When I came back, I ran into Qian Weidong.

"Little Su!"

"Um."

Qian Weidong, holding the car keys, told him, "I'm going to the provincial capital tomorrow to pick up some goods."

"What is it?"

"They said it's a few pieces of calligraphy and painting from the Song Dynasty that were badly damaged by insects and needed to be sent here for repair."

Su Yuan was thinking to himself that he had been quite busy lately when Qian Weidong looked at him and said, "Director Zhang wants you to come along and take a look too."

"Okay, what time are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning at seven o'clock."

Su Yuan nodded and left. The next morning, Su Yuan arrived at his workplace at 6:50.

Qian Weidong's white van was already parked at the door, waiting for him.

Su Yuan quickened his pace, opened the passenger door, and got in. Qian Weidong glanced at him and asked:

Have you eaten?

"not yet."

Qian Weidong took a plastic bag out of his handbag and handed it to him; inside were two sesame seed cakes.

It wasn't fully light yet, and the streetlights were still on. There weren't many cars on the road, and Qian Weidong wasn't driving fast. He asked him:

"What did Han Zhengming talk to you about yesterday?"

"We didn't talk about much, I just asked if Dingxiu was alright, I wanted to see him again."

Qian Weidong grunted in agreement and drove for over two hours before entering the provincial capital. He parked his car at the entrance of a large courtyard, where a sign read "Provincial Cultural Relics Exchange Center."

The two went in, completed the formalities, and waited for half an hour before someone took them to the warehouse.

The warehouse was underground. The staff member was a young woman surnamed Wang, who was wearing white gloves and walked in front to open two doors.

After passing through the third door, you'll see several long tables with several scrolls of paintings laid flat on them.

Su Yuan walked closer to take a closer look.

There are four scrolls in total, all painted on silk with colors. The top scroll is half open, revealing the outline of the landscape. The ink is grayish and the silk background is yellowish.

These paintings are badly damaged by insects. Very few of these Song Dynasty paintings have survived to this day, and if this continues, they will be beyond saving.

Su Yuan leaned closer to examine it closely and saw that the silk surface was covered with tiny holes, the smallest of which was as small as a needle tip, and the largest of which could fit a small fingernail.

In some places, the silk threads have broken, a piece has collapsed, and the picture has shattered into several pieces. It was only because of the paper underneath that it did not fall apart!

He gently lifted the edge with his finger, not daring to use force. The silk was already brittle; it crumbled at the slightest touch.

"These four pieces are all Song Dynasty paintings."

Miss Wang, standing to the side, said:

"Two landscape paintings, one figure painting, and one flower and bird painting. They arrived like this, and our people here didn't dare to touch them, so we contacted you directly."

Su Yuan nodded without speaking, and took out a magnifying glass from his pocket to examine the silk.

The landscape painting is still recognizable; there are trees in the foreground, mountains in the distance, and the blank space in the middle looks like water…