Chapter 87

"Xizhi bows: After the snow clears, the weather is fine, it is good. I hope you are well. The matter has not been resolved, and I am troubled, unable to elaborate. Xizhi bows. To Zhang Hou of Shanyin."

"What are you saying?" Hearing Zhang Tianyuan muttering, Xu Gang couldn't help but ask.

"The content of this calligraphy roughly means, 'Xizhi bows: After the snow clears, the weather is fine, it is good. I hope you are well. The matter has not been resolved, and I am troubled, unable to elaborate. Xizhi bows, to Zhang Hou of Shanyin,'" Zhang Tianyuan replied.

"Anyone can copy this kind of thing, it's not very interesting. Why don't you check if it's real or fake, or at least determine when it was copied? According to what you said, if it's a fine copy from the Tang Dynasty, it can be considered an original, right?" Xu Gang asked.

Zhang Tianyuan nodded but didn't rush to use the Six-Character True Incantation for authentication. He wanted to see how much he could judge with his eyes alone, just for fun. Otherwise, what would be the point of appreciation?

From the perspective of calligraphy, the "Kuai Xue Shi Qing Tie" is a short piece of about twenty characters, yet it conveys a harmonious and natural beauty. It combines elements of regular script within running script.

The two "bows" at the beginning and end are written in connected cursive, and "guo wei" in the second line is also connected. This piece mainly uses round, hidden strokes, with a natural and unhurried demeanor. The start and end of each stroke, the transitions, and the lifting and pressing of the brush are like jade hidden in a mountain, not outwardly sharp but full of inner spirit and strength. Critics have described it as "round, strong, ancient, and elegant, with a leisurely and graceful charm, its depth immeasurable."

Its peaceful, simple, and unhurried style has become a hallmark of the calligraphy of the Jin Dynasty.

Seeing this, Zhang Tianyuan couldn't help but feel confused. The more he looked at it, the more it seemed like an original. It not only captures the essence of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy but also has perfectly executed strokes, with almost no trace of being a copy.

Of course, he couldn't be entirely sure. Without the Six-Character True Incantation, his appraisal skills were only average. While he wasn't completely clueless, he certainly wasn't a master. He could only think about it in his mind; saying it out loud would be embarrassing.

The most critical point was that Zhang Tianyuan knew the best copy of the "Kuai Xue Shi Qing Tie" was the one currently housed in the Taipei Palace Museum, a Tang Dynasty copy made using the double-hooking and filling method.

The double-hooking and filling method involves placing a transparent or wax-coated paper over the original and tracing the outline, then transferring it to the paper to be copied and filling it in with ink. This method produces a replica that is almost identical to the original, preserving its essence.

In modern times, such a copy can almost be considered an original. Wang Xizhi lived in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, over a thousand years ago, and it's difficult for paper to survive that long without special preservation. This copy, being the closest in time to Wang Xizhi and the only one of its kind, is often treated as an original.

As he hesitated about whether to use the Earth Qi for authentication, he suddenly heard Tu Shou teasing Yang Yijun: "Yang, do you think we're all fools here? If you brought a piece by Mi Fu or a calligrapher from the Ming or Qing Dynasties, it might cause a stir. But Wang Xizhi's work? Are you out of your mind? This thing is obviously fake, not only not an original but not even a high-quality copy. I'll tell you, unless the owner stole the piece from the Taipei Palace Museum, you should put this trash away and stop embarrassing yourself."

Tu Shou didn't even look at the calligraphy, judging it based on his experience and the newness of the paper. He generally didn't bother with trash, to avoid polluting his eyes.

Just like with Zhang Tianyuan's earlier copy of Mi Fu's painting, he initially didn't want to look at it. If it weren't for the Japanese bidder, he would have ignored it completely.

Yang Yijun's facial muscles twitched, and he smiled bitterly. "Since the owner brought it, I can't refuse. To be honest, I'm not very familiar with Wang Xizhi, so I made a mistake. If anyone is interested, please come up and take a closer look. We can discuss the starting bid."

After saying this, Yang Yijun instructed the hostess to show the calligraphy to the audience while he went backstage to discuss the starting bid with the owner. The original starting bid was set at ten million, which would have been a huge embarrassment if announced.

However, Tu Shou had set the tone, and the other experts, feeling their status, were unwilling to look at a low-quality copy. No one went up to examine it.

When Tu Shou returned and saw the empty display, his face turned sour. Reluctantly, he lowered the starting bid, saying, "This calligraphy starts at one thousand. If you like it, you can take it."

Even at this price, no one was interested.

Someone even mocked, "One thousand? Ha, if we liked low-quality copies, we'd rather ask a contemporary calligrapher to write one. It's not about the money; the key is that buying this would make us a laughingstock in the industry."

"Consider it a favor to me, Yang Yijun. At least a few experts could help appraise it, even if just to give an estimate, so the owner doesn't lose face," Yang Yijun said, implying that the owner was a person of status, which was why he was so protective. Otherwise, he would have just discarded the piece and moved on.

A few people in the audience discussed it and then went up, even pretending to examine it with a magnifying glass. They all shook their heads and returned to their seats without a word.

"Estimate..."

"Boss Yang, I won't hide it from you, this is actually a carefully crafted print!" A appraiser sighed. "Because it's a print, it looks almost real from a distance, and the writing is excellent. It can fool the average person, but not us. Do you really want us to estimate it?"

Hearing this, Yang Yijun's face turned dark. A print! It was actually a print! This thing was probably worth a few hundred or even a few dozen dollars. Putting it up for auction was embarrassing. He wanted to beat up the owner but, considering the owner's status, he sighed in frustration. He had to take the loss, as he didn't know much about calligraphy. He realized he needed to study more in this area.

He angrily grabbed the painting to throw it on the ground but heard someone say, "Boss Yang, could I take a look?"

Surprised, Yang Yijun looked up and saw it was Zhang Tianyuan.

Before the auction, he had looked down on Zhang Tianyuan, but after the high price of Zhang Tianyuan's copy, he had gained some respect for the young man, at least not underestimating him.

"Are you sure you want to look? It's a print," Yang Yijun said.

Zhang Tianyuan smiled. "I've never been to Taiwan, so I've never seen the original 'Kuai Xue Shi Qing Tie.' Although I wanted to copy it, I lacked the means. Now, even though this is a print, it should be identical in writing to the original. I just want to take a look. Is that okay?"

His words were reasonable, and even the old fox Yang Yijun couldn't detect any ulterior motives. He stopped his action and said hesitantly, "If it were mine, I could give it to you for free, but it belongs to someone else. The owner said he won't sell it for less than one thousand, even if he has to throw it away."

Zhang Tianyuan still smiled. "Let me take a look first. If I'm satisfied, one thousand is nothing. I'm just a young man, so buying a print won't damage my reputation."

While he said this, his heart was racing. After Tu Shou defined the piece, he had used the Six-Character True Incantation's Word-Seeking Incantation and detected a strong reaction.

The Word-Seeking Incantation was different from the Word-Appraising Incantation.

The Word-Appraising Incantation could authenticate treasures, determine their age, origin, and value.

The Word-Seeking Incantation could connect with treasures. Once activated, it could sense treasures within a 200-meter radius.

He could doubt other things, but he couldn't doubt the reaction of the Word-Seeking Incantation. Although he hadn't yet seen anything special about the calligraphy, he believed it wouldn't be simple. The appraisers weren't amateurs; their conclusions had some basis, indicating that the piece was indeed a print.

In this contradiction, Zhang Tianyuan trusted his Word-Seeking Incantation more. He had encountered something similar before, finding a treasure map in the "Shang Yangtai Tie" and later discovering the eight genuine Tianhuang stones. Why couldn't it happen again?

"Boss Yang, let him look. You're wasting time. We still have the next auction to conduct," someone shouted impatiently.

These people assumed Zhang Tianyuan was a young master from a prominent family, as anyone with Zhao Liangde must be. He was too young to be an appraiser, so this was the only possibility.

Xu Gang didn't stop Zhang Tianyuan this time. He knew his friend had his reasons for being interested in something others dismissed. Maybe he had stumbled upon a rare treasure.

Zhang Tianyuan ignored the disdainful or hateful gazes. Whether they bid or not was none of his business. In an auction, everyone had the right to examine the items.

His main concern was suppressing his excitement, fearing that if he revealed it, someone else might get the item first.

Tu Shou, who had developed some goodwill towards Zhang Tianyuan, said, "Young man, if you like prints, you can buy them anywhere. No need to lose money here."

Yang Yijun was angry. "Old Tu, if you don't want to buy, that's fine, but don't interfere with others' business. If someone knows it's a print and still buys it, it's not my fault. What's your hurry?"