Chapter 285 Where did the standard sample come from?
As the morning light spills across the water, the willow leaves by the lake begin to turn yellow. Egrets skim across the surface, creating ripples in the gentle breeze.
Two vans stopped at the center's entrance, and seven or eight people got out one after another.
Led by Lü Chenglong, accompanied by Shan Guoqiang, and followed by several experts from the Palace Museum Ceramics Research Institute and the Cultural Heritage Institute Ceramics Research Institute.
School leaders went to greet them.
The person arrived yesterday afternoon, the reception banquet was last night, the itinerary was arranged in advance, and the school's reception was top-notch.
Vice President Geng, Dean of the School of Cultural Heritage, Vice Dean Jing, Vice Dean Su, and He Zhigang, Deputy Director of the Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics, and Deputy Director of the Municipal Bureau of Culture accompanied him.
Wang Qizhi, the secretary of the Youth League Committee, and Lin Sicheng, the head of the center, could only accompany them at the very back.
After introducing themselves, the group entered the center, with Wang Qizhi and Lin Sicheng acting as guides.
The two men stood forward with feigned seriousness, but before they could even open their mouths, Lü Chenglong waved his hand with a smile: "We're all familiar with each other, so don't try to be pretentious. We'll see for ourselves!"
Indeed, no introduction is needed, because Wang Qizhi would boast as soon as he arrived at the Forbidden City: how Lin Sicheng started from scratch, and how the center was built from nothing.
Lin Sicheng's amazing skills astonished everyone, leaving school and district leaders in awe, prompting them to provide him with both policy support and funding. Investors flocked to him, carrying sacks full of money.
Lin Sicheng doesn't want it.
For example, Lin Sicheng found some hidden gems the day before yesterday, restored some cultural relics yesterday, discovered some historical sites today, and is preparing to work on some research project tomorrow.
Everyone felt that, according to Wang Qizhi, his student was almost a superman.
They're all experts; as for whether that's true or not, you'll know once you get there.
The accompanying leaders were indifferent: the center is located here, and Lin Sicheng's abilities are evident, so there's really no need for any pretentious formalities.
Then, a group of people entered the exhibition hall.
It covers nearly 300 square meters and is built like a museum, both spacious and bright.
As soon as he entered, Shan Guoqiang narrowed his eyes:
The wall directly opposite the entrance to the exhibition hall is covered with calligraphy and paintings. Roughly counted, there are at least twenty or thirty pieces.
But since it's a cultural relic restoration center, specializing in porcelain restoration, displaying so many calligraphy and paintings makes the style a bit odd.
Dan Guoqiang walked closer and took a closer look.
One of the four Rens of the Republic of China, Ren Bonian's "Golden Pheasant" painting, the son of Ma Yuan, one of the four great masters of the Song Dynasty, is also a famous Song Dynasty artist Ma Lin's "Autumn Mausoleum" painting and a copy of Ma Yuan's "Autumn River Fishing Retreat".
Other works include "Pine and Crane for Longevity" by Dai Jin, a famous artist from the Ming Dynasty; the Heart Sutra in Sanskrit by Dong Qichang, imitating Zhao Mengfu; and two portraits of Emperor Qianlong and Emperor Yongzheng.
Especially the last two: the painting skills, brushwork, and artistic conception are all just average. Moreover, because they are imitations, they are extremely contrived and poorly preserved. If you gave them to ten famous artists, at least nine of them wouldn't even notice them and would just glance at them.
Unless you've been to the Forbidden City and seen portraits of Emperor Yongzheng and Emperor Qianlong.
But whether Lin Sicheng had been there or not, how could Shan Guoqiang not know?
Wang Qizhi did mention that he had seen an electronic version of Lin Sicheng's work on the National Library's website, so he remembered it.
But Shan Guoqiang was extremely suspicious: Ye Anning studied traditional Chinese painting and grew up in the Forbidden City. She must have seen the portraits of those two emperors at least thirty or fifty times, if not eighty.
She saw these two paintings with Lin Sicheng at the time, how come she didn't notice them?
However, Shan Guoqiang was only curious and had no doubt about Lin Sicheng's eyesight and appraisal ability.
Because Lin Sicheng had already demonstrated his profound expertise and knowledge in appraising calligraphy and paintings at the Xiling Auction. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to acquire Zheng Banqiao's seven-character quatrain and Xu Gu's squirrel painting.
Then he saw the Qianlong iron seal, the Yongzheng "Yuanming Jushi" seal, and the "Congyun" Vermilion Bird seal he had seen before.
These three imperial seals alone are worth at least tens of millions.
Subconsciously, Shan Guoqiang recalled what Wang Qizhi had said: If Lin Sicheng wanted to make money, he only needed to take a stroll through the antique market.
Of course it's not that exaggerated, otherwise Panjiayuan and Liulichang would be full of billionaires. If finding bargains were that easy, he and Lü Chenglong would have been the richest men in Beijing long ago.
This also shows that Lin Sicheng's appraisal ability is absolutely on par with that of real experts.
Continue reading: four pieces of imperial kiln red porcelain from the Qing Dynasty's three reigns, a copper-bodied enamel jade orchid bonsai, a copper lion-knobbed treasure basin, and even two broken chicken cups.
Looking at the table signs, they were all congratulatory gifts from guests who came to celebrate the opening of the center.
This alone proves that Wang Qizhi wasn't just bragging: these few items are even more tangible than a big boss carrying money in a sack to give to Lin Sicheng.
He continued looking around the exhibition hall and noticed something was wrong: several display cases were empty, the items were missing, and only a few labels remained.
Among the exhibits are Emperor Qianlong's annotated "Liuzhuang Shenxiang", Shen Du's calligraphy in the Taige style, Emperor Yongzheng's "Pochen Jushi" double crane bronze incense burner, Ming Dynasty five-beam gold-threaded imperial prince's crown, Song Dynasty three-crown beaded flower, Jiaqing famille rose porcelain vase made by kiln workers, and Jiaqing famille rose cup with the Zhanqingzhai mark.
I remember Director Wu saying that the last two pieces were taken to Jingdezhen by Lin Sicheng and used as research samples for celadon. But what about the others?
"Where are the items?" Shan Guoqiang glanced at them twice: "Sold!"
"Yes!" Wang Qizhi nodded. "The money has been spent!"
Dan Guoqiang was stunned for a moment: those few items alone would sell for at least ten million.
Let's calculate for Lin Sicheng: The center has more than 20 employees. Besides paying salaries, they only need to purchase some reagents and materials, and some standard samples for project research. Maintaining normal operations, around 100,000 yuan a month is more than enough.
It's only been open for a year, so it's only made around a million. Add in the renovations and equipment... six or seven million at most, what about the rest?
Could Lin Sicheng have been scammed?
Shan Guoqiang looked at Lü Chenglong and asked, "Old Lü, how much has our ceramics research institute invested in total?"
"A little over ten million!" Lu Chengcheng was also puzzled, looking at Lin Sicheng, "You've been scammed?"
Wang Qizhi sighed: With me around, who would dare to lie to Lin Sicheng?
"It's been donated!" He gestured. "More than seven million yuan was used by Lin Sicheng to buy supplies and donated to Sichuan XZ District."
Shan Guoqiang and Lü Chenglong were stunned for a moment, then looked at each other: their salaries were a little over 30,000 a year each, totaling seven million. They would have to work for more than two hundred years without eating or drinking.
If you go to Beijing, you can buy half a courtyard house near the Forbidden City.
Looking at Lin Sicheng again, his eyes were noticeably different from those of Shan Guoqiang, Lü Chenglong, and the other experts.
Even though the school leaders who accompanied them had only recently learned about it and did not yet know the specific details, it did not mean they were not proud.
It is often said that one should pursue knowledge and virtue, integrate theory with practice, set an example for others through learning, and serve as a model for the world through conduct. But in the history of Northwest University, how many have truly achieved this?
Everyone was filled with emotion, but the topic had drifted a bit too far, and no one asked any further questions.
Afterwards, the group went up to the second floor.
Three studios: one for appraisal, one for restoration, and one for experimental research.
After a quick glance, Shan Guoqiang and Lü Chenglong were secretly astonished: there were quite a few machines, all the necessary ones, and most of them were imported. These machines alone must have cost four or five million.
Several of these machines were given to provincial museums, but very few of them actually know how to use them.
But that's not the point; it's the price: not counting the antiques in the first-floor exhibition hall, just considering the hardware investment, this center cost at least seven or eight million.
Of course, it's slightly lower in status than the Palace Museum's Ceramic Research Center, but the point is, that's the Palace Museum, the top cultural relics research institution in China. This is just a research institution under a secondary college of a provincial university; the two are worlds apart in terms of level.
Aside from the Palace Museum, there are probably no more than two ceramic research institutions nationwide with such advanced equipment and comprehensive facilities.
A group of experts were secretly amazed and entered the experimental area.
There were quite a few researchers, seven or eight men and women, each doing their own thing and fulfilling their respective duties.
Seeing the bluish-white glaze, resembling lake water, Lü Chenglong immediately understood: even if Lin Sicheng had not completely restored the Yingqing porcelain, he should have studied it very closely.
And isn't this exactly why they traveled all the way from the capital to Xi'an?
The group of experts perked up and moved a little closer.
But after watching for a while, they frowned again.
Judging from the technique, it seems a bit unskilled, whether it's mixing the glaze, shaping the blank, or finishing the piece. Of course, this is in comparison to experts from the Palace Museum.
Watching the process, one sees meticulous attention to detail, with the formula dosage accurate to the milligram and the tire repair depth controlled at the micrometer level.
Listening to their discussions, these researchers clearly understood where things hadn't gone well and which data in which step hadn't met the requirements.
Therefore, it feels very strange: it's like a group of beginners who haven't been in the field for long are blindly following a standardized vector manual.
Suspicious, after observing the faces of the researchers, Lü Chenglong suddenly recalled a remark made by Director Wu Hui:
If you go there, you'll see how strange Lin Sicheng's center and Wang Qizhi's laboratory are.
They're all complete novices, and incredibly young. In a lab of the same level, they'd be lucky to get any jobs as interns. Even the group leaders in those two labs are barely at the level of lab technicians or engineers; they'd struggle to even become research assistants.
But why was Lin Sicheng able to lead a group of novices to achieve one national-level breakthrough after another here?
Lü Chenglong finally understood: Lin Sicheng had set standards for them, drawn up rules and regulations, and even specified every step and every piece of data in the experiment.
It's okay if you don't understand, or even if you don't know anything about it; just follow the instructions. If there are errors in the results, check against the standard, and you'll find the problem easily.
But then another question arises: Lin Sicheng hadn't even graduated before going to Shanxi, so how did he go from a novice to an expert?
Without thousands or tens of thousands of experiments, without repeated reverse engineering and verification, where did he get the precise parameters, and how were these standard procedures established?
The key point is that he couldn't even find a place to copy it. Because in the entire country, there are only two institutions researching Yingqing porcelain: Jingdezhen and Lin Sicheng.
In comparison, Lin Sicheng's progress was at least three to four research cycles ahead of Jingdezhen's. I've never heard of a top student copying the answers of a struggling student.
But how did Lin Sicheng explain it to Director Wu?
They extracted data from journal articles, had Wang Qizhi borrow materials from the Palace Museum, and also borrowed some research materials from the Jingdezhen Ceramic Research Institute. Finally, they synthesized the data and arrived at the results.
To be honest, Lü Chenglong didn't believe a single word of it.
Leaving aside whether the research can be successful, let's talk about the time involved: if you give him and his research team the task of demonstrating feasibility and verifying the research direction, the time unit alone would be "years"!
Moreover, this is under the premise of ensuring that there are no errors in the direction and that the research architecture does not deviate.
How long did it take Lin Sicheng?
From the moment he arrived in Shanxi and first discovered the shards of Hejin thin-walled porcelain, it had been just over four months.
Among these, Lin Sicheng found six porcelain kiln sites alone. How much time could he possibly dedicate to researching them?
Amidst their suspicions, a group of people entered the showroom.
Lu Chenglong frowned, still pondering, when suddenly a few low gasps came from beside him.
He subconsciously looked up, his pupils involuntarily contracting.
This should be the results exhibition hall. It's not very big, with an open space in the middle and a few display stands against the wall.
Several experts stared at the cups on the shelf, their faces showing expressions of utter disbelief.
Warm and lustrous like jade, semi-transparent and translucent, gentle and sweet, with a pale blue glaze... Yongle sweet white glaze semi-transparent porcelain?
The body is as thin as an eggshell, the carving is as fine as a hair, the dragon shadow can be seen when the light shines on it, and the glaze has a bluish luster... Chenghua eggshell cup?
The glaze is like scallion green, as green as jade, as thin as green gauze, and the vessel wall is translucent... Dehua ware is white like scallion roots.
These cups are displayed here; how could they possibly be antiques?
The glaze is incredibly shiny, looking brand new; it probably only took one or two weeks to fire.
Subconsciously, Lü Chenglong and several experts exchanged glances.
The items are just laid out here, what does that tell us?
This indicates that Lin Sicheng has successfully recreated the firing techniques for these three types of porcelain.
Especially the first two types: a sweet white glaze with a yellow glaze is called delicate yellow glaze. A blue and white base with red glaze is called blue and white underglaze red.
An eggshell cup painted with blue and white porcelain, then further decorated with colored enamels, becomes the world-famous doucai (enamel overglaze) cup. If you paint a few chickens on it, it becomes a chicken cup.
If you really want them to say something, all they can say is: With these three types, what need is there for celadon porcelain?
For a moment, the group looked at each other in bewilderment. As if by prior arrangement, their expressions were filled with surprise and confusion.
If we're talking about which institution has conducted the most in-depth research on Ming and Qing dynasty tribute porcelain, with the highest research level and the most achievements, the Palace Museum is undoubtedly number one.
But over the years, they have never thought about restoring anything like sweet white glaze or eggshell cups.
The reason can be summed up in two words: scarce and expensive.
There might be a few more sweet white glazed semi-transparent porcelain pieces, perhaps three to five hundred, or even seven or eight hundred, but the global collection is definitely no more than a thousand. Any one of them, casually put up for auction, would fetch five or six million.
As for eggshell porcelain, even if you add up all the other types of cups, like the Three Autumns Cup and the Chicken Cup, the price probably wouldn't even exceed one hundred. Once it's released, each one will fetch at least tens of millions.
Who would be willing to use something like this for research?
Even if one were willing to do so, the experimental samples needed to recreate the complete firing process would amount to at least tons. In terms of the specific number of artifacts, that would be tens of thousands, more than all the world's collections combined.
Where did Lin Sicheng get the standard sample?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
