After hearing what Mr. Xiao said, the old men all looked constipated. It was as if there was a full banquet in front of them, but there were a few green-headed flies in each dish, which could only be seen but not eaten...
If we were to rank the painters of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Lingrang, the cousin of Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji, would definitely be in the top ten. Not many of his paintings have survived to the present day, but each one is a treasure.
Right in front of us is a long scroll of "A Map of the Jiangning River" painted by Zhao Lingrang himself. Putting aside other things, just based on its 900-year history, even if the painting level is not high, or even very poor, this painting can be called a national treasure.
As the saying goes, "One page of Song Dynasty edition is worth one tael of gold." Song Dynasty books that have been passed down to the present day have become extremely precious cultural relics, let alone Song Dynasty paintings which are even rarer?
In modern times, every painting preserved from the Song Dynasty can be called a national treasure. Therefore, although the painting level of the "Jiangning Dajiang Tu" in front of us is very ordinary, it can also be called a national treasure.
But for these old men, what they want is not just a Song Dynasty painting, but a perfect painting that can be passed down through the ages. The painting in front of them has history, but the level...
Yang Jing guessed that the five old men were all complaining in their hearts at this time - you said you were Zhao Lingrang, Zhao Lingrang, why did you create such a painting that makes people like and hate you?
Several old men were looking at the painting quietly. The atmosphere was extremely weird, and even Yang Jing could hardly stand it.
Fortunately, Cai Yi spoke up and broke the weird atmosphere.
"Xiao Jing, how much did you pay for this scroll of "Jiangning River Map"? "
"One..." Yang Jing opened his mouth and wanted to say ten thousand yuan, but then he forcibly controlled the number at the end.
It is true that he bought this painting in Jinling in 1982 for 10,000 yuan, but this statement must never be made public. If he had bought this painting in modern times, 10,000 yuan would at most be for you to look at, but it would be impossible to buy it.
"One million?" Cai Yi took over Yang Jing's words with some hesitation, and Yang Jing could only nod silently.
"Well, one million is not expensive to buy such a painting. It's considered a bargain." Mr. Huang said on the side, but Yang Jing could hear the deep resentment in Mr. Huang's tone. It was obvious that this calligraphy and painting lover really couldn't stand this painting.
Old Liu asked, "Xiao Jing, why did you spend so much money to buy this painting? Although you still have a lot to learn in terms of calligraphy and painting, with your appraisal skills, you should be able to tell the quality of this painting."
"Master, I just said that when I saw this scroll of "Jiangning River Map", I felt that something was wrong with this painting. My intuition told me that this painting is indeed an authentic one, but I always feel that this painting seems to be hiding something. Four masters, you should all know my inexplicable intuition. That's right, when I bought this painting, it was my intuition that told me that this painting was not simple, so I spent one million to buy it."
Huang Lao said, "Xiao Jing, although this painting is indeed painted by Zhao Lingrang, there is nothing special about it. If there is anything special about it, it is that the level of this painting is really not worthy of Zhao Lingrang's fame and level. If it weren't for Lao Xiao's affirmation that this painting was painted by Zhao Lingrang, I would have thought it was a fake."
Yang Jing shook his head and said, "Mr. Huang, it's not the problem of the painting itself. The special feeling that this painting gives me does not come from the painting itself. Although I have not yet started to systematically learn calligraphy and painting knowledge from my second master, I also know that the level of this painting is very average. But the reason why I still accepted this painting is because the strange feeling does not come from the painting itself, but from other aspects."
When Mr. Xiao heard this, his eyes immediately lit up. He hesitated for a moment, then hesitantly pointed at the scrolls at both ends of the "Jiangning River Map" and asked, "Xiao Jing, do you think there is something wrong with the scroll of this painting?"
Yang Jing pretended to have suddenly realized something and slapped his thigh. "Second Master, you really hit the nail on the head! To be honest, I just felt that there was something wrong with this painting, but I couldn't tell where the problem was. But I can say for sure that it is definitely not the level of the painting itself, but somewhere else. Second Master, after you said that, I finally know where that special feeling comes from. That's right, it's these two scrolls."
Old Liu nodded and said, "Well, this scroll is indeed a bit unusual. It's too thick. I've never seen such a thick scroll before."
Mr. Guo is a master of cultural heritage preservation in the academy. He has seen and handled many ancient things. After all, those ancient cultural relics and antiques with a long history need regular maintenance, and this work is basically handed over to a group of cultural heritage experts headed by Mr. Guo.
"Haha, I've never seen such a thick scroll. No wonder I thought this painting was a little strange just now. It turns out the reason is here." Mr. Guo came closer with a smile and touched the scroll. "Oh, it's made of rosewood. Judging from the material used in this scroll, it fits Zhao Lingrang's identity. After all, he also has royal blood."
Cai Yi smiled and said, "This Zhao Lingrang is not ordinary. When Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji, was Prince Duan, he had a very good relationship with him. Later, the history books said that after Zhao Ji became emperor, Zhao Lingrang could enter the palace without reporting for a period of time."
Mr. Guo knocked on the scroll and said, "It's hollow. I mean, why do I feel like there's something hidden in this scroll?"
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