Chapter 85

ps: Sorry, I have to work overtime at the company tonight, so there's only one update!

Chapter 83: Crane Painting

Although Liu Dong was new to the antiques trade, he had heard a lot about the famous Xuande furnaces. However, when it came to appraising Xuande furnaces, he was far from competent. Without mentioning other aspects, just the bottom inscriptions of Xuande furnaces alone had four types: "Xuan" character, "Xuande" character, "Xuande Year Made" character, and "Great Ming Xuande Year Made" character. Other common or uncommon inscriptions, such as those from temples or private names, were countless, with some summarizing up to 116 types. Without a long period of accumulation and practice, it was impossible to appraise Xuande furnaces. Liu Dong was no exception.

However, compared to ordinary people, although he was just a beginner in the antiques trade, he possessed a unique ability. After a slight movement in his heart, his brow twitched slightly, and soon a faint white spiritual light rose from the brown Xuande furnace in his hand. At the same time, a line of text appeared above the yellow gem in the芥子空间 (Jiezi Space): "Qing Dynasty Xianfeng Yinqing Hall imitation of Ming Dynasty Xuande furnace."

Liu Dong had never heard of "Yinqing Hall," but since the Xuande furnace was introduced, over the centuries, whether in the imperial court or among the people, the imitation of Xuande furnaces had never stopped. Unless it was a famous artist or the imperial court that occasionally produced masterpieces, most of the workshops that imitated Xuande furnaces had long been lost in the river of history.

"Brother Liu, do you also like this furnace?" After a pause, he continued, "It's true, 'Red sleeves add fragrance to the night of reading,' which man wouldn't like it?"

Hearing this, Liu Dong smiled, "Brother Wang is quite witty, but unfortunately, this furnace is missing its lid. Otherwise, it would indeed have the charm of 'red sleeves adding fragrance' as Brother Wang said." As he spoke, the image of the stunning Wang Qiang involuntarily appeared in his mind. Although their relationship had become much closer than before, there was still a considerable distance between them being boyfriend and girlfriend. So, even if he wanted Wang Qiang to be the 'red sleeve' to add fragrance for him, it wasn't something that could happen now.

Therefore, Liu Dong shook his head and put the imitation Xuande furnace back.

After looking at two items, Liu Dong didn't want to continue examining them one by one. After all, this wasn't his home, and it wasn't possible for Wang Haitao, the leader of the Black Tiger Gang, to accompany him to look at antiques indefinitely.

Thinking of this, Liu Dong's heart moved, and immediately, all the antiques and cultural relics on the iron rack in front of him were enveloped by the spiritual energy released from his brow.

"Hmm?" In his eyes, these antiques emitted white spiritual light of varying intensity, which didn't surprise Liu Dong. However, what startled him was a red light as intense as a flame that overshadowed all the white light. This was the first time he had seen such a phenomenon.

It was important to note that all the antiques he had previously encountered, regardless of the intensity of their spiritual light, were almost always white. This was the first time he had seen an antique with such intense red spiritual light. Moreover, the intensity of the red light was even more vivid than the Tang Yin's "Spring Mountain Companion" and the Ming Dynasty Wang Shuyuan's octagonal stupa that he had previously received.

Thinking of this, Liu Dong's curiosity grew even stronger.

He immediately bent down and, from the lower right corner of the iron rack, which was also the bottom layer, he took out a roll of something that looked like a rag.

"Brother Liu, forget about those things, they're not worth much!" Seeing Liu Dong's action, Wang Haitao, standing beside him, quickly said. Generally, items placed at the bottom were mostly damaged and of unknown origin, and thus not valuable.

"It's fine, I just want to take a look!" After gently dusting off the dust on the hemp cloth, Liu Dong squatted on the ground, holding one side of the cloth and slowly unrolling it.

It was clear that the hemp cloth had been around for a considerable time. As he unrolled it, it was severely damaged by insects and wear. However, soon a slightly faded yellow appeared in his eyes, making Liu Dong's heart race.

"This should be silk!" Looking at the center of the hemp cloth, which, although yellowed, still showed a smooth and delicate texture, Liu Dong guessed.

Silk was the general term for ancient silk fabrics and was used as an important material for writing and painting before the invention of paper. Although paper was invented by Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty, mature Xuan paper was not widely used in painting until the Tang Dynasty. For example, the famous "Chengxin Hall" Xuan paper, which was highly praised by scholars throughout history, was a masterpiece of the Southern Tang Emperor Li Yu, known for its "skin like an egg membrane, firm and clean like jade, fine, thin, and lustrous" characteristics.

However, during the Tang and Song Dynasties, although Xuan paper had appeared, silk was still the main material used in painting. It wasn't until the Ming and Qing Dynasties that the relatively cheaper Xuan paper replaced the expensive silk and was widely used.

As he slowly unrolled the hemp cloth, more and more of the bright yellow silk became visible. Suddenly, a crane with black claws, a black tail, white wings, and a red top, spreading its wings and about to fly, appeared in his eyes. The lines of the crane were smooth, and the few strokes of the eyes conveyed a sharpness. Although the painting used few brushstrokes, it vividly captured the crane's lifelike posture and movement, as if it were alive.

Seeing the crane, Liu Dong's right hand paused, and he couldn't help but feel a strong admiration. Although he had never studied traditional Chinese painting, he had a good foundation in sketching when designing sculptures, so he could still appreciate the nuances of traditional Chinese painting.

Even though he had only seen one crane in the painting so far, it was clear that the artist was an outstanding master of traditional Chinese painting.

Thinking of this, Liu Dong's desire to see the entire painting grew even stronger. He then used his right hand to fully unroll the painting on the cement floor of the storage room. Fortunately, few people came here, and the floor was relatively clean. Otherwise, he would not have placed it on the ground after seeing its contents, especially since there was no long table specifically for viewing paintings.

After the entire painting was unrolled, its full appearance came into view. Including the severely damaged hemp cloth mounting, the painting was about 1.5 meters long and 0.75 meters wide, painted on silk with bright yellow as the background. Five white cranes in various postures—flying or resting—were depicted on the bright yellow silk.

The crane's feet were depicted with a few strokes of rocks and plants, which contrasted with the distant mountains, immediately opening up the space of the painting and highlighting the crane's vitality.

Seeing this, Liu Dong felt a sense of relief. Although the hemp cloth mounting was severely damaged, the painting itself, except for some greenish-gray mold spots due to its age, was not damaged, which was a fortunate thing.

However, after examining the entire painting again, Liu Dong frowned. He felt something was odd about the painting because it was too full. Generally, after completing a painting, artists leave some white space around the edges for both compositional reasons and to allow for seals and inscriptions. When mounting a painting, these white spaces are usually left exposed. However, this painting had no white space on any side, and the entire painting was flush with the surrounding hemp cloth. This was highly unreasonable.

Additionally, such a brilliant painting was mounted on a ragged piece of hemp cloth, like a red flower without green leaves, or even worse, placed on cow dung. This was both regrettable and strange.

Moreover, such an outstanding painting had no inscriptions or seals, which was incomprehensible, even in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, as well as the Sui and Tang Dynasties, when inscriptions were not as popular. For such a good painting to have no inscriptions or seals was simply unacceptable.

"Ah, I see!" When Liu Dong used his unique ability to examine the entire painting again, he understood and couldn't help but feel a strong sense of joy and possessiveness.

However, he didn't forget the sharp-eyed and experienced leader of the Black Tiger Gang standing beside him, so he didn't show much of his joy on his face.

"Brother Wang, this painting is quite good, but unfortunately, I am not knowledgeable enough to determine which dynasty or artist it is from!" Liu Dong slowly rolled up the painting and said calmly.

"Hehe, Brother Liu, don't be too modest. When I first got this painting, I had it examined, but no one could determine its origin. Later, since it was an old painting and had been around for a considerable time, I thought it was a pity to throw it away, so I kept it here," Wang Haitao said with a smile.

---

End of the chapter.