Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

When Liu Jun locked the office door and came downstairs, he saw Su Yuan come out and called out to him:

"Master Su, Director Sun just went out and drove his car towards the town."

"Okay, thank you."

After Su Yuan finished speaking, he walked to the trash can, lit a cigarette, and felt a bit confused again, so he took a smoke to calm down.

After more than half a year of repairs, Su Yuan increasingly felt that these things were more than just objects!

They too have voices and emotions; they wait and hope. They also feel pain, fear, and gratitude…

They are no different from humans, except that they live in a different time.

Su Yuan took a few puffs of his cigarette and threw the butt into the trash can. After dinner, he returned to his dorm, washed up, and went straight to bed without changing his clothes. Thinking about the day's events, he quickly fell asleep.

In his daze, he heard a familiar voice, which seemed to come from the bronze mirror, or as if it were drifting from a very far place.

"Su Yuan..."

That sound definitely wasn't a bell, and it certainly wasn't from Miao Deyu and the others...

Su Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and saw that the bronze mirror beside his pillow was much brighter than ever before!

He quickly sat up, took the bronze mirror in his hand, and stared intently at the point of light.

The point of light moved slowly in the mirror, and then he heard the sound a second time:

"I am here…"

As the sound disappeared, the light also dimmed. Su Yuan held the bronze mirror and waited for a few minutes, but the light never lit up again, and the sound also disappeared.

He was certain that what he had just heard was neither a dream nor a hallucination. His phone showed that it was 2:13 a.m., and their reflections in the bronze mirror had disappeared.

Su Yuan rubbed his face in confusion, and after confirming that there was no more movement, he had no choice but to lie back down and continue sleeping...

The first thing I did when I woke up the next morning was to check the room for anything unusual.

I was a little disappointed. After washing up, I didn't go to the office, but went straight to the cafeteria!

Li Xiulan made egg drop soup for breakfast today, with egg flowers and chopped green onions floating on top. Su Yuan took a bowl, grabbed two steamed buns, and casually found an empty table to sit down.

Before he had even taken a few sips, Chen Xiaohe sat down with his bowl, his eyes showing dark circles.

"What's wrong? Didn't you sleep well last night?" Su Yuan asked, suppressing a laugh. Chen Xiaohe, with droopy eyes and a tired expression, replied:

"Sigh, there was a lot of noise at work late at night. Around 2 a.m., I heard a buzzing sound coming from the warehouse. I went to check, but there was nothing unusual..."

Su Yuan felt a sudden, inexplicable stirring in his heart: "Around what time?"

"It was a little after 2 a.m., I didn't check the exact time, I was so tossing and turning that I couldn't fall asleep afterwards!"

After listening to Chen Xiaohe's words, his heart skipped a beat. Two o'clock? That's when A-Wu was talking.

Su Yuan hesitated for a moment, then finished his breakfast, suppressing his emotions. Chen Xiaohe asked with a bitter face:

"What are you planning to do today?"

"It's still about fixing things; there are a few minor issues with some items that need to be addressed."

"Okay, you can go now. Call me if you need anything."

Su Yuan went back to his office to get his toolbox and went to the storeroom. When he opened the door, the first thing he saw wasn't the blue and white porcelain plate on the workbench.

It was A-Wu!

The Tang Dynasty female terracotta figurine was still the same terracotta figurine. He held up a bronze mirror and saw a point of light shining deep within the mirror's surface. He walked over and stood there for a while.

He asked softly:

"Was it you calling me last night?"

The spot of light in the mirror flickered!

Su Yuan's heart pounded, and his voice trembled slightly: "Call me again~"

The light flashed again, but there was no sound.

Su Yuan waited a few seconds, but there was still no sound. He didn't ask any more questions, but he was already very happy.

After calming myself down, I walked to the worktable, picked up the blue and white porcelain plate, and began the restoration.

The crease on the bottom of the plate extends from the center to the rim, about six centimeters long, and is as thin as a hair. Fortunately, the crease did not penetrate the plate!

However, if left untreated, the damage may continue and eventually cause the plate to crack in two.

This is a blue and white porcelain plate from the Ming Dynasty. The center of the plate is decorated with an orchid, and the color is rich and vibrant, typical of Huiqing cobalt.

The finish line cut right through the middle of a cluster of orchid leaves, severing all the veins.

To deal with this kind of crease, you don't need to add more material; you have to use the "glaze application" method!

To soften the glaze, you need to let the glaze on both sides of the crack flow together, which will fill the gap.

Su Yuan took out a small blowtorch from his toolbox, connected it to a gas canister, and adjusted it to a thin flame. He fixed the plate on the worktable, aimed the blowtorch at the starting point of the bridging line, and slowly heated it with a small flame.

The temperature for controlling the flame must be just right!

The glaze softened slowly under high temperature, becoming like syrup. Su Yuan used a thin steel needle to gently poke at the glaze on both sides of the crack.

Let them flow and merge in the middle until the gap is filled.

The plate made a soft, crisp sound, like the sound of bones being reset.

Su Yuan then turned off the blowtorch and waited for the plate to cool naturally. After it had completely cooled by nightfall, the cracks were covered by the glaze.

There is only a faint mark left, much like a scar left after a wound has healed. It is impossible to make it completely without leaving a trace!

Su Yuan checked it with a magnifying glass and was only relieved to confirm that the gap was completely filled.

It doesn't need to be artificially aged; the mark is similar to the marks left on a plate after hundreds of years of use, neither conspicuous nor out of place.

Su Yuan treated it as a normal blue and white porcelain plate, unlike the porcelain pillow and small wine vessel which seemed to possess a spirit.

He picked up the plate, looked at it, tapped the rim of the plate, and it made a crisp sound. He was very satisfied!

Just as I was about to put it on the shelf, it unexpectedly spoke:

"Thank goodness, the cut is gone! Thank you so much, Master Su..."

The sound of the plate was like that of an old lady. Su Yuan was caught off guard and almost dropped the plate onto the worktable.

"Why...did you suddenly stop talking? I thought..."

"I'm afraid of disturbing your work..."

The blue-and-white porcelain plate's voice sounded somewhat embarrassed as it said:

"When you were holding that blowtorch on me, I was so nervous I didn't dare breathe! I was terrified I'd be roasted in two!"

"Thankfully, Master Su controlled the heat well. Goodbye, Master Su..."

Su Yuan smiled with satisfaction and put the plate back on the shelf. Little Jue was nowhere to be seen playing, and the bronze jue remained silent!

Su Yuan glanced at it twice and moved on to the next one, which was this wooden Guanyin statue.

This is an artifact from the Qing Dynasty. It is about 40 centimeters tall and stands upright. The right hand is lowered in the gesture of granting wishes, while the left hand is raised in the gesture of abhaya mudra (gesture of fearlessness).

Her left index finger was broken off, and the cut was covered in old ash, indicating that it had been broken for quite some time.

Su Yuan took the Guanyin statue to the worktable and examined the break. The break was relatively smooth, so it definitely wasn't knocked off; it looked like it had been cleanly sliced ​​off by some sharp tool!

"How did you break your finger?" Su Yuan asked tentatively.

The Guanyin statue did not respond.

He waited a few seconds and asked again, "Can you speak?"

Once he was certain that the Guanyin statue couldn't speak, Su Yuan moved closer to examine its face. The carving was exquisite, with lowered eyebrows and eyes, and a faint smile at the corner of its mouth.

Upon closer inspection of the eyes, it became apparent that the eyes of this Guanyin statue lacked vitality, appearing as if they were covered with a layer of dust…

Su Yuan frowned, touched the eye area of ​​the Guanyin statue, and found a thin layer of something.

That's not the texture of wood; it's more like a film left after some kind of paint has dried!