The most eye-catching thing in the room is a kang, which is very rare in the south in later generations and occupies half of the room.
In fact, heated kangs are not unique to the north. As early as the Little Ice Age in the Ming Dynasty, heated kangs were very popular in the Jiangnan area. However, they gradually became less common.
It is not surprising to see this kind of kang in old houses of this era.
Zhao Zheng cleared the things on the kang, making room for a long strip of space, and then placed the scroll on the kang.
This scroll is not wide, Yang Jing said it was at most thirty centimeters, but the thickness of the scroll is somewhat frightening. Obviously, the length of this painting should be astonishing.
"This is an ink-and-wash landscape painting personally painted by our Zhao family's ancestor. It is more than six meters long." Zhao Zheng said as he opened the scroll very carefully, revealing the painting inside.
As soon as the painting was unfolded, Yang Jing felt that the desire of the Holy Ring became stronger. It was obvious that the Holy Ring could not wait to absorb the humanistic aura of this painting.
This painting is not painted on paper, but on silk. However, the colors of the painting have turned yellow, and many places are even a little damaged.
The painting shows a large river with boats traveling back and forth on it, a bustling scene of thousands of sailboats racing against each other. As the painting gradually unfolds, mountains appear on both sides of the river, and in the distance there is a tall and majestic city wall with flags flying on it.
"The painting is very ordinary..." Yang Jing thought secretly in his heart. Although he was not very proficient in calligraphy and painting, he could still tell whether a painting was good or not.
Although the ink on the scroll has faded and some places are even blurred, this painting can only be described as average. It does not have the grandeur or delicacy of the works of great calligraphers and painters. It can only be described as just mediocre.
The river, the dock, the ships, the mountains, the city walls, and the crowds of people together formed this painting that was over six meters long. In order to let Yang Jing see the entire painting clearly, Zhao Zheng had to unfold it while slowly folding it up.
As he looked at it, Yang Jing felt that the painting in front of him was very familiar. After thinking about it carefully, he couldn't help but take a breath.
"Brother Zhao, is this painting the city of Jinling? And is this river the Yangtze River?" Yang Jing asked in disbelief.
Zhao Zheng carefully put away the scroll, smiled and nodded, saying: "That's right, Brother Yang, you have a pretty good eye. You can tell what's in the scroll at a glance. That's right, this is the painting of Jinling City that our ancestor painted."
"Hiss..." Yang Jing took a breath of cold air again. He really didn't expect that this seemingly ordinary painting would actually depict the city of Jinling.
"Haha..." Zhao Zheng laughed bitterly, "I guess you can see that this painting is just average! But Brother Yang, to be honest, this painting has been preserved in our Zhao family for more than 800 years and has always been a family heirloom. If my father hadn't been seriously ill and had no money to treat him, my mother wouldn't have allowed me to sell this painting. Alas, during the great turmoil, I hid this painting on the beam of the house so that it wouldn't be searched by those guys. In the end, no matter how well I hid it, I had to sell it in the end."
"More than 800 years?" Yang Jing was shocked. "Doesn't that mean this painting was made during the Song Dynasty?"
"Well, if my father didn't lie to me, this painting was indeed painted by an ancestor of our Zhao family in the late Northern Song Dynasty. It has been passed down for dozens of generations. Although it's not very good, it's been here for so long. It can be considered a cultural relic, right? If it weren't for my father's illness, I wouldn't be willing to sell this painting."
After a pause, Zhao Zheng continued, "I have put this painting on the stall for several days. Many people have asked about it, but no one really wants to buy it. Maybe my price is too high, and now no one can afford it."
"Brother Zhao, how much do you want to sell this painting for? If the price is right, I would like to buy it. To be honest, my grandfather grew up by the Yangtze River and he particularly likes landscape paintings. If he could see this painting, he would definitely like it very much."
Zhao Zheng looked at Yang Jing and found that Yang Jing seemed very serious. He hesitated and said, "This painting is definitely an old painting that our Zhao family has preserved for dozens of generations. Moreover, such a long scroll should be rare even now, so..."
Zhao Zheng gritted his teeth and said, "I'm going to sell this painting for 10,000 yuan! If it's less than that, I'd rather not sell it."
As soon as this number came out, Yang Jing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Of course, in this era when a millionaire was still extremely rare, 10,000 yuan was definitely an astronomical price. No wonder Zhao Zheng had put the painting on display for several days, but no one bought it. To put it bluntly, the price was far from enough to describe it as "a lion's mouth". For this painting in this era, this price was simply "unreasonable"!
Another thing is that this painting can only be considered average. There is no signature or seal on it, and we have no idea who painted it. Although the traces of time left on the silk can identify it as an old painting, it is hard to convince ordinary people that this is a silk painting that has been passed down from the Northern Song Dynasty. Even the calligraphy and painting masters in the Palace Museum or the Nanjing Museum would not believe it.
Calligraphy and paintings are different from most antiques. Forgery of calligraphy and paintings has existed for a long time. Even some masters in the early years copied ancient paintings.
Among them, Mr. Daqian is the best.
There are no inscriptions or seals on this painting to examine, and the painting is indeed very ordinary, not like a masterpiece. Just based on the fact that it has been preserved for so long, it is hard to believe that this is a silk painting that has been preserved since the Southern Song Dynasty.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
