Chapter 175 Seizing the Opportunity
The landscape is covered in white, a vast expanse of snow.
Wang Qizhi leaned against the railing, his eyes vacant and lifeless. The cigarette butt between his fingers had burned the sponge, but he was completely unaware.
Suddenly, he jolted and shook his hand violently.
Lin Sicheng glanced at it and handed over a wet wipe.
Wang Qizhi took it, rubbed his blistered fingers, and frowned slightly: "My father-in-law did say that the history should be long enough, the social influence should be great, and the coverage should be wide. But Lin Sicheng, is it really necessary to cover ten provinces and cities, and twenty or thirty kilns?"
Lin Sicheng lowered his head: "Teacher, if we go out more, learn more, and prepare more comprehensively, we will have a greater chance of success."
“I know!” Wang Qizhi nodded. “But Lin Sicheng, is there enough time?”
I hadn't thought about it before, but a phone call from my father-in-law suddenly made me feel like I was in a real emergency.
Hebei Museum has already applied for provincial-level approval, and it should be included in the provincial directory in three to five months at most.
The Shanghai Museum is far ahead of the competition. Once the deadline set by the Ministry of Culture for "being listed in the provincial catalog for two full years" is reached, it will be able to apply to the national-level department.
In fact, it's not just these two institutions; the Jingde Imperial Kiln Museum, the Nanjing Museum, and the Department of Cultural Heritage and Museology at Fudan University have all basically reached the stage of passing the municipal-level review and applying to the provincial-level departments.
As for Xida University, he and Lin Sicheng had only just started the project.
Wang Qizhi looked at the research plan in his hand, his face full of worry:
Yaozhou Kiln (Shaanxi), Pingding Kiln (Shanxi), Changsha Kiln (Hunan), Xing Kiln (Hebei), Jingdezhen Kiln (Jiangxi), Dengfeng Kiln (Henan), Wuzhou Kiln (Zhejiang)...
Judging from this, Lin Sicheng would never give up until he had visited all the famous kilns in the country.
After a long pause, he scratched his brow and said, "Lin Sicheng, it's true that you should solidify your basic skills and be well-prepared technically, but you can't be too naive... To be honest, your master is making such a big deal out of fear that I'll try to take shortcuts. Do you believe me?"
Lin Sicheng remained silent.
Because what Director Shan said was by no means alarmist: Take the Shanghai Museum, for example. It started applying for World Heritage status as soon as the trial measures were introduced in 2004. At that time, there were no restrictions based on district, city, province, or national levels, let alone time limits.
The result was that the application was rejected once, and the application was rejected again.
The main reason is exactly the same as Wang Qizhi's current mentality: fearing that someone will beat him to it, he tries to take shortcuts and cut corners. Basically, he applies for whichever is famous and valuable: first blue and white porcelain, then Ming and Qing imperial porcelain, and then Song porcelain.
Secondly, there are also considerations regarding research costs, time span, human resources, material resources, funding, etc., so the project's coverage is not broad enough and its public acceptance is not high enough.
However, they overlooked the core of the application for World Heritage status: to continue the genes of civilization, strengthen the public's identification with and sense of belonging to traditional culture, and even to create an international brand, increase international influence, and enhance international discourse power.
To put it bluntly, how many pieces of imperial porcelain and Song dynasty porcelain have survived to this day, and how many have the general public seen?
So, after repeated failures, they fought on and on... From their first application in 2004, they stumbled and struggled for a full seventeen years before finally succeeding in 2021.
As for Hebei University, after failing twice, they gave up.
Therefore, Lin Sicheng felt that: sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood; rather than fighting repeatedly despite repeated failures, it would be better to strike at the heart of the enemy's lair.
There's no need to compete with the Shanghai Museum and the Hebei Museum for a short time. The preliminary review and the final review are conducted at the same time. It's not like whoever applies earlier has a higher success rate.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Sicheng patiently explained, "Teacher, it is indeed a bit slow at the beginning, but the observation and learning process will basically be over in about a year. By then, the city will definitely have approved it, and we can simultaneously apply for provincial-level approval. Then, according to the time requirement, it will be 2010 after two years, which is just the right time..."
"Teacher, if you're still not reassured, then I'll do my assessment, and you can submit your application. The first year, plus the next two, that's three years—we'll definitely be able to finish the assessment... If all else fails, you can try some back channels: first get it listed in the provincial directory, then gradually supplement the information and refine the lineage..."
"Of course I know how to operate it, Lin Sicheng. What I'm worried about is that there are more than ten or twenty kinds of kilns, spanning several dynasties. Can you learn them all?"
Wang Qizhi looked around and lowered his voice, "The district and city levels are definitely no problem, and there's no need for them. The provincial level isn't impossible to work out, but once we get to Beijing... even if your teacher wanted to help you cheat, there wouldn't be any way?"
Lin Sicheng was both amused and exasperated: Why would we need to cheat?
He spent eight years at the Forbidden City, following Old Lady Wang around, and he almost vomited up all the things that needed to be supplemented, both the things that should and shouldn't have been supplemented.
The saying goes, "If you understand one method, you understand all methods." Even if you don't know it, learning it is definitely not as difficult as Wang thinks...
After a moment's thought, Lin Sicheng smiled again and said, "Teacher, how about this: I'll apply for the same number of things I learn in the end... Is that alright?"
Wang Qizhi remained silent: He's stuck in a rut, there's no hope for him!
It's freezing cold, the coldest time of the year. If you need some information, you can just study it in the studio. Why do you have to go out?
He sighed and waved his hand impatiently: "Go, go, go..."
Lin Sicheng smiled, put his arm around Wang Qizhi's shoulder, and waved to Shan Wangshu and Ye Anning: "Goodbye, Master's wife, Cousin Ye!"
Shan Wangshu nodded: "Wear more clothes when you go out in the field... Remember to call often. Tongchuan is only 60 or 70 kilometers away, you'll be back by the weekend..."
"Yes, Master's wife!"
Lin Sicheng responded, smiled at Ye Anning, and turned to get into the van.
Zhang Feng started the car, and it entered the highway entrance, merging into the traffic.
Once the taillights were out of sight, Shan Wangshu glared at Ye Anning: "What's wrong with you today? Are you mute?"
Ye Anning pursed her lips: "On the day of the review, my uncle was half drunk, and he took him home... As he was leaving, he said to me: Goodbye, Sister Anning... I said, don't call me Sister Anning anymore... And then, he called me Cousin Ye..."
Shan Wangshu paused for a moment, then chuckled, "Lin...Lin Sicheng really is just...a name?"
For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Wang Qizhi looked puzzled: "Is it just a change of address, a change of name?"
He then looked at Ye Anning: "Your aunt taught you this, right? Lin Sicheng is already working like a dog, and you guys are still putting psychological pressure on him?"
"If you don't understand, then stay out of it!" Shan Wangshu glared at him. "If you're so capable, why don't you get Lin Sicheng a different assistant?"
A new assistant, Lee Jung?
Wang Qizhi chuckled: "Worrying about nothing."
I didn't see Shang Yan here either. Li Zhen is supposed to be Li Zhen's assistant, but now she's the one assisting Shang Yan, isn't she?
The person primarily assisting Lin Sicheng is the newly recruited male master's student. Besides, after spending so much time together, don't you all know what kind of person Lin Sicheng is?
Just as he was dismissing it, he suddenly stopped: Oh no, I forgot to tell Lin Sicheng not to listen to those three policemen's nonsense...
In a flash, he quickly took out his phone.
Inside the car, Lin Sicheng held up a relationship chart, which the accompanying criminal investigation captain explained to him one by one:
"Zhou Xiaojun, nicknamed Black Eight, was an apprentice of Gao Zhengang (the second-in-command and eye-catcher of Yu Dahai's gang). He went solo around 2000 and was imprisoned for three years..."
"Liu Kui, nicknamed Liu Dading, was once a skilled tomb raider under Yu Dahai..."
"These two are currently active in the Tongchuan area..."
Lin Sicheng listened quietly, inwardly sighing: Impressive?
As soon as I mentioned that I was going to Tongchuan, Director Chen found out all the relevant people in the Tongchuan area.
It can be said that they seize every opportunity...
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