When they saw the painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival just now, the old men had already made up their minds. The appearance of the "Imperial Calligraphy" gourd seal now added a heavy weight to their judgment.
However, Yang Jing still reminded the old men who were arguing about the "Imperial Calligraphy" gourd seal, "Let's take a look at what this last silk manuscript is."
Yang Jing's reminder made the old men quiet down. Mr. Guo, who had just argued with Mr. Huang until his face turned red and his neck became thick, put on his white gloves again and gently opened the silk scroll.
To the surprise of the old gentlemen, this silk scroll was not a painting or calligraphy, but a silk scroll similar to a letter of introduction.
"In the first year of Jianzhong Jingguo, Zhang Zhengdao of the Hanlin Academy presented a painting to the emperor. The emperor was very pleased with the painting, so he personally wrote a five-character inscription, calling it "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", and kept the painting in the palace. Over the next ten years, the emperor often invited me to appreciate the painting together.
In the sixth year of Xuanhe, the emperor abdicated and the crown prince ascended the throne. Unexpectedly, the Jin people went back on their word, tore up the maritime alliance, and sent troops southward, successively conquering Zhongshan, Zhending Prefecture, and Xinde Prefecture. On the third day of the first month of the first year of Jingkang, the emperor took Cai You and several eunuchs to Zhenjiang, and then the Jin people crossed the Yellow River and besieged Bianjing.
Bianjing was in danger three times a day, but because the city was high and the river was deep, the Jin army failed to attack it several times, and finally took Prince Su as a hostage and withdrew. The emperor then returned to Bianjing.
Because the Jin army surrounded Bian Jing, the retired emperor was extremely panicked. He summoned someone to the palace and agreed with someone that someone would copy a painting of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" and keep it in the inner palace, while the original would be taken out. The retired emperor also gave the seal with the imperial calligraphy to someone.
I felt a great sense of responsibility, so I spent three months copying a painting of Along the River During the Qingming Festival and submitted it to the Imperial Household. The Emperor Taizong personally wrote a five-character postscript on the copy and affixed a small double dragon seal. I carried the original and the imperial seal with me. In September of the first year of the Jingkang reign, the Jin army marched south again and captured Zhengding at the end of the month. At the Emperor Taizong's request, I left Beijing with my family and headed south.
When passing by Jiangning, I was deeply afraid of failing to live up to the trust of the retired emperor, so I painted "Jiangning River View", hid the original "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" and the retired emperor's imperial seal in the scroll, and asked my three sons to take "Jiangning River View" and hide it in Jiangning Prefecture.
If my descendants see this letter, I hope they will understand my difficulties. "
The final signature is "Zhao Danian in Jiangning Prefecture, October of the first year of the Jingkang period."
As soon as the letter came out, the old men all fell silent.
As for the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", it almost no longer needed to be authenticated at this time.
They all knew that Zhao Lingrang's name was "Danian", so the origin of this letter was naturally self-evident.
The Jiangning Riverside Scene is an authentic work of Zhao Lingrang, which is enough based on the appraisal of Mr. Xiao; the "imperial calligraphy" gourd seal is also authentic, which has been jointly appraised by the five old men. Adding this handwritten letter from Zhao Lingrang, all the evidence proves that the Qingming Riverside Scene hidden in the other scroll is indeed an authentic work of Zhang Zeduan.
In particular, this handwritten letter from Zhao Lingrang is enough to clear up all historical doubts about "Along the River During the Qingming Festival".
Of course, after confirming that these things were true, the five old men felt a little sad.
They have spent most of their lives looking at the fragment of Along the River During the Qingming Festival, which is treasured in the Palace Museum. However, they never expected that the painting, which is generally recognized as the authentic work of Zhang Zeduan, is actually just a copy by Zhao Lingrang...
Yang Jing took the high-definition 4K portable digital camera from Liu Minghan, and took several close-ups of the "Imperial Calligraphy" gourd seal and Zhao Lingrang's letter. He then turned off the camera, pulled out the memory card, and asked Old Xiao with a smile: "Second Master, everything we shot today has been put into this card. With this thing, I guess we don't need to invite so many experts to come and appraise it together, right?"
Mr. Xiao smiled helplessly, shook his head and said, "No need to appraise it. If these strong evidences still cannot prove that this "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" is real, then don't appraise this painting. Who cares?"
"Those four masters, and Mr. Huang, I have put this painting away."
Several old men looked eagerly at the spread-out "Along the River During the Qingming Festival". They wanted to see it again. However, they also knew that the painting was too valuable, so it would be best to let the apprentice keep it.
However, Mr. Huang still had some hope and asked, "Xiao Jing, what are you going to do with this painting? Are you going to keep it for yourself or are you going to give it away?"
"Transfer? Mr. Huang, don't be ridiculous. This is Along the River During the Qingming Festival. I'm not short of money, so of course I'm collecting it. Well, it's not quite accurate to say I'm collecting it. I'm now planning to build a comprehensive private museum in my hometown of Tianqu. When the time comes, this painting will be the treasure of my museum."
After hearing what Yang Jing said, Mr. Huang was completely at a loss.
Yang Jing carefully rolled up the painting while looking at his four masters who were reluctant to part with it. Finally, he handed the rolled-up painting to his second master, Mr. Xiao.
"Xiao Jing, what do you mean?" Mr. Xiao was stunned.
"Second Master, if I don't let you see this painting tonight, I'm sure you won't be able to sleep tonight, and that would be a huge sin. So in order to avoid committing a sin, I'll let you appreciate this painting."
After a pause, Yang Jing continued, "I plan to go to Algeria in North Africa in the next two days. I have some business to deal with there. This painting is so precious that I dare not take it with me. Besides, this painting cannot be taken out of the country. So, it is better to keep it with you for the time being. You can ask your old friends to come and appreciate it. After my private museum is up and running, I will put this painting in my museum. Do you think it is okay?"
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