Chapter 86: The Beauty Trap Decades Ago
"So, Master, you just tricked me into doing this painting of Along the River During the Qingming Festival?"
In the Yong'an workshop, Jia Wenyan, who learned the truth as soon as she got the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", looked at her master in disbelief.
She really wanted this opportunity, but...
"Teacher, I think you should understand what this promise of yours means."
"It means I have to take responsibility and restore this painting to a higher level than anyone else."
"This is not a copy, it is to 'work' on the original."
Zhen Yuan said: "That's why I chose it."
"Wen Yan, I understand your idea. You hope to gain recognition from the cultural relics circle and even the public who pay attention to historical relics through replica works one by one."
"Yes, I admit that you can gain the trust of the industry in this way, but don't forget that those museums that collect top-level cultural relics, although they all belong to the same system, are also individual entities."
"Unless your restoration quality can completely crush the entire industry, the difference between 60 and 70 points is definitely not enough for them to choose to entrust the cultural relics to you."
Jia Wenyan: "But Master, you didn't tell me this before."
"That was in the past." Zhen Yuandao continued as he unfolded the scroll:
"At that time, I thought that at most you could shine in the field of ceramics, but now if you want to become an elite in all categories, you need to try some challenges that will allow people to position you at a higher level."
Jia Wenyan: "But isn't this a little too sudden? And it shouldn't be possible to rent Along the River During the Qingming Festival for a long time, right?"
"Is that why you need your master's help? Since I accept you as my last disciple, I naturally have something prepared for you."
"You mean your calligraphy and painting restoration? So you have found a better way to restore calligraphy and painting?"
Zhen Yuan said: "Yes, how about you feel confident now?"
Zhen Yuandao smiled and said, as an expert in cultural relic restoration in the field of calligraphy and painting, Zhen Yuandao has been continuously studying in this field throughout his life.
Unlike metal products such as bronze ware, the preservation of calligraphy and paintings is much more difficult than other cultural relics.
In this field, so-called moisture and mildew resistance are minor matters. The most critical issue is the fading and decay of the painting materials themselves.
Especially for a painting like Along the River During the Qingming Festival, which has been solidified over the years, the fibers on its branches have lost all their toughness and tensile strength.
From the moment the restorer peels the painting core off the backing paper, any trace of ink will cause very serious damage to the image of the painting.
This process could be a human head, a carriage, or even a corner of a building.
Long before Jia Wenyan came to Xian'an City, she had learned a lot about the difficulties of restoring ancient paintings such as "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" in textbooks.
And even if we put aside the restorer's skills, it is inevitable that there will be some blur or holes on the pictures after the ancient paintings have been in existence for many years.
At this time, the restorer needs to find restoration materials that are consistent with the core of the painting in terms of material, color and thickness as much as possible.
However, after a thousand years, how could people find a piece of silk cloth from the Northern Song Dynasty to restore the damaged scroll to its original state?
As far as Jia Wenyan knows, the National Museum's restoration method is to use some old scrolls that are not cultural relics preserved in the Forbidden City as materials for repair.
But as time goes by, such materials will inevitably decrease in the future.
What's more, even if it is the same batch of silk cloth produced by the same manufacturer in the same period, it is difficult to maintain a similar fabric texture under the erosion of time.
This is not just a problem that can be solved by restorers at the technical level. However, the National Museum of China is willing to send "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" to Xian'an even though it has "silk cloth" in stock.
This is definitely not something that Zhen Yuandao could achieve simply by "exaggerating" her abilities.
The fact that Zhen Yuandao had the courage to bring this up meant that she must have already come up with a solution.
The most likely one is the optimization of repair materials.
When she thought of this, Jia Wenyan's eyes began to unconsciously glance at the suitcase that Zhen Yuandao had brought this morning.
Jia Wenyan: "Master, you mean here..."
"This is the "Lao Juan" I prepared for you."
Zhen Yuan said: "I have had many students in my life, but the only ones who really count as my disciples are you and the two deans at Luojiashan University."
"As my disciples, your two deans inherited my ancient book analysis and restoration techniques respectively."
"In the eyes of others, my intention of taking you in as my apprentice is to use your existence to combine the two. But I personally do not have such intentions."
"My ancient book analysis and calligraphy and painting restoration are what I inherited from my master, your ancestor, and what I want to pass on to you is the "papermaking and aging" technology that I have studied on my own over the years for the restoration of ancient calligraphy and paintings."
"Papermaking to make it old?"
Jia Wenyan: "Master, do you mean that this set of old silk you brought today was made by you yourself?"
"Yes, the repair materials of calligraphy and painting have always been an issue that we cannot avoid in our industry. Especially for those of us who have experienced those decades of turmoil."
"In order to preserve as many masterpieces as possible, we simply don't have the extra energy to take care of the copies that can be used to repair ancient books."
"Even in the National Museum and time-honored cultural relics stores like Yongan Pawnshop, it is difficult to come up with sufficient supplies."
"Even though we can still rely on the old rolls in stock to fill the gap, the individual differences of these old rolls will only become greater as time goes by."
"I don't want to live off my savings, nor do I want those masterpieces to be destroyed in the world prematurely due to objective conditions. So ever since I received the sponsorship and support from your master's wife's family, I have been diligently studying the aging process of silk cloth and paper."
Jia Wenyan: "Sponsorship from Master's Wife? Master... Sorry for gossiping, this could be..."
"Yes, that's the deal your master's wife made with me."
Zhen Yuan said: "When I first arrived in Xian'an with my master, I was just a young kid."
"Although I had some talent at that time, I entered the industry too late. If my senior brother had not been unwilling to give up his foundation and future in the capital, I would not have been able to receive complete instruction from him at that time."
"I was really worried at the time. Although I was the only disciple brought to Xian'an by my master, Xian'an was an ancient capital of many dynasties after all, and the research on cultural relics and cultural relics here is no less than that of the capital."
"So I was also very afraid that before I grew up, some "veteran" would suddenly appear and take away my position as the "direct disciple."
"For this reason, I made a decision, which is to use innovative forms and unconventional methods to let my master understand that I can not only inherit his teachings, but also create new vitality in the field of calligraphy and painting restoration."
Jia Wenyan: "That unconventional method... is it the aging process of old silk and drawing paper?"
"Yes, I have studied many methods. I think as long as I can solve this raw material problem, I can get more recognition from the master."
"I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but I put a lot of thought into achieving this goal."
When Zhen Yuandao said this, a smile suddenly appeared in his eyes:
"Your master's wife should have told you that she threw a whole truck of antique calligraphy and paintings at me to get me to date her."
Jia Wenyan: "It was mentioned a little bit. But it was mostly gossip discussed by the retired seniors at Xian'an University."
"Yes, your grandmother Xu became the talk of the town at Xian'an University because she pursued me, but what they didn't know was that a large part of the reason why your grandmother Xu came to pursue me was a joint plan between me and my father-in-law."
Jia Wenyan: "You and Grandma Xu's father?"
"Yes, at that time, in order to achieve a greater breakthrough in silk cloth technology, I took the initiative to visit the famous "Yong'an Pawnshop" in Xian'an City."
"At that time, I visited Yong'an Pawnshop many times in the name of my master and tried to borrow enough old silk and equipment to support it. But Yong'an Pawnshop was, after all, a pawnshop that mainly dealt in cultural relics collection."
"It's impossible for them to lend their collections to me for viewing, not to mention that as a student I don't have much experience in business negotiations.
For this reason, I could only keep wandering around Yong'an Pawnshop.
But I don't know if it was God's guidance, I not only met the eldest daughter of Yong'an Pawnshop who had just returned from abroad, but also learned from the locals chatting in the nearby teahouses that the eldest daughter of Yong'an Pawnshop had not married yet because she didn't want to leave the family business to her half brother.
"Your master's wife cares a lot about the property of Yong'an Pawnshop. She doesn't want her family business to be taken advantage of by outsiders, but at the same time, she doesn't look down on the ugly ones that can be recruited by marrying in."
"This gave me an idea. I wanted to use this as a breakthrough point to try to cooperate with the lady of Yongan Pawnshop."
"My idea at the time was to use my status as a prestigious university student and future teacher to cooperate with your teacher's wife by means of a fake marriage."
"I can help your master's wife win the inheritance by marrying into her family, and she can support my research through the collection of Yong'an Pawnshop. But later, when I actually met your master's wife, I immediately had another idea."
"I want the fake to become real."
"Although I only caught a glimpse of her from a distance through the car window, I could really feel my heart beating."
"I admit that I had selfish motives at the time, but your wife is really very different from the women of that era."
"She not only received a very complete education, but she also did not have any of the pedantry that was a part of the female mindset of that era."
"At that time, she had a fatal attraction to me in terms of her appearance, dress, personality and conversation. So..."
Jia Wenyan: "Are you going to start selling your beauty to attract men?"
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