Chapter 2

Chen Qian studied these two books for a long time after he got them. He had carefully designed how to sell them at a high price, so when it came to the stories behind these two books, he could recite them fluently.

However, Han Kongque did not give him the chance: "Po Li Han Balin, the protagonist of the novel 'Hunter in the Chaotic World'? He practiced the Lesser Wu Xiang Divine Skill, right? Is Cai Feng recorded in this genealogy? I think you've read too many novels. Is this thing really an ancient book? Don't joke around here. If it were an ancient book, then the novel 'Hunter in the Chaotic World' must have been written by an ancient person."

"Ahem, ahem." The words that were about to come out of Chen Qian's mouth were immediately blocked by Han Kongque. Chen Qian awkwardly said, "You can't say it like that. Novels are based on reality! No one can say that everything in a novel is made up by the author. You should know that Po Li Han Balin is a real historical figure. He really existed."

"I know, I didn't say your Han family genealogy was fake. Do I not know what's real and what's fake? I also have the surname Han. When I was a child, my grandfather used this to teach me. Do you want me to recite it for you?" Han Kongque said with a smile.

"Used to teach you?" Chen Qian was stunned, not reacting.

Han Kongque said, "Although I didn't like reading books when I was young and only loved reading martial arts novels when I grew up, I still memorized our family genealogy."

Han Kongque was already laughing inside, never expecting today to be his lucky day. He had just cut off his emotional ties and was now having good luck.

"What? You say this is your family genealogy? Don't joke around. This thing has a history of over a thousand years." Chen Qian's lips twitched.

He believed Han Kongque to some extent. After all, Han Kongque didn't look like a cultured person, and it was impossible for him to memorize such a long genealogy just by flipping through it once.

Seeing that Chen Qian didn't believe him, Han Kongque immediately said, "Then I'll recite a few lines for you: 'The Right Gu Li King Pan Liuxi died in Wei, and his descendants took Pan Liuxi as their surname. Later, due to a mistake, they became known as Po Li Han. Po Li Han Kongque, a descendant of the Xiongnu Chanyu, with unknown birth and death dates, inherited the chieftainship and was brave in his youth. In the fourth year of Zhengguang during the reign of Emperor Xiaoming of the Northern Wei, when his kinsman Balin rebelled, Kongque was appointed as Grand Marshal, Minister of Works, and King of the South. After the rebellion led by Po Li Han Balin, Po Li Han Kongque was enfeoffed as Grand Marshal, Minister of Works, and King of the South. After the failure of Po Li Han Balin's rebellion, he and his son Po Li Han Chang led ten thousand people to join Erzhu Rong. He was appointed as General of the North and the First Leader of the People, but was later killed by the Rouran Khan Anxiang. Do you want me to continue? His son Po Li Han Chang...'

"Ha, you really memorized it? How could you memorize it?" Chen Qian was a bit stunned.

He had bought these two books from a village a month ago. After verification, he believed they were ancient books, and the most important evidence was this Han family genealogy, which he believed to be from over 1800 years ago.

"What's the big deal? If it's really an ancient book, would I recognize the characters? Although my education is not high, we learned regular script from a young age. You don't think I'm illiterate, do you? If I couldn't recognize these characters, wouldn't I be blind?"

Han Kongque understood but deliberately twisted Chen Qian's words, trying to make him uncomfortable.

Chen Qian was extremely frustrated by Han Kongque's words.

When he received these two books, he suspected they were imitations or copies by later generations. However, because he didn't spend much money on them, he thought they might be genuine. After all, he didn't fall into a trap when he bought them.

But because the font used in these two books was regular script, similar to modern simplified characters, even someone with a high school education like him could recognize some of the characters. Therefore, he was always unsure and couldn't confirm that they were genuine ancient books.

If they were really ancient books, they would be over 1800 years old. After such a long time, even the best paper would have turned to dust.

Because of this, he didn't believe these two books were genuine ancient books.

Even if the content of the Han family genealogy was reliable, he didn't really believe it had been passed down from the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

After all, the Han family genealogy was not written by one person, so the identity of the other book was also hard to determine. He believed it was more likely to be a copy by later generations.

Regular script is also called standard script, true script, or formal script.

Why is it called "regular script"? According to the "Cihai" (Dictionary of the Sea), it is "square in shape, with straight strokes, and can serve as a model, hence the name."

Regular script originated at the end of the Han Dynasty and has been in use ever since, remaining popular for a long time. The fundamental reason for its enduring popularity is its role as a model.

Horizontal and vertical strokes are the characteristics of regular script, making it easy to remember, easy to write, and easy to pass down.

Following its rules, the development of Chinese regular script can be divided into four periods: the budding period of regular script during the Han Dynasty, the development period during the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, the flourishing period during the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties, and the preservation period during the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties.

Regular script, which appeared during the Han Dynasty, is a genuine ancient script, so ancient books can also have a modern feel.

Of course, Han Kongque would never tell Chen Qian these things. He wanted to undermine his confidence.

Chen Qian had said that he bought two books at once. If one was a modern product, the other could not be an ancient book.

"Ha ha..." Chen Qian's eyes darted around, feeling that this deal might fall through. However, encountering such a novice was not easy, and he was unwilling to let him go.

"Little brother, don't look at this genealogy. You can't give a genealogy as a gift! Look at this one. This 'Medical Outline' is a genuine ancient book, a masterpiece by the great calligrapher Zhang Zhi from the Eastern Han period. It's a national treasure." Chen Qian praised his treasure enthusiastically.

However, Han Kongque did not let him continue: "National treasure? I can't afford a national treasure. Besides, do you think I'm a fool? If it were really a national treasure, would you be selling it here?"

Seeing the contempt in Han Kongque's eyes, Chen Qian's face turned red. He knew he had blown his cover. If it were really a national treasure, would he be wasting his breath with Han Kongque here?

However, Chen Qian, who had been through many trials, had a thick skin. Without hesitation, he said, "If you don't believe me, look at the back. There are seals and inscriptions, especially the inscription 'Bo Ying gifted this book,' which confirms the identity of the book. Do you know who Bo Ying is?"

"Don't know? No problem. Bo Ying is the courtesy name of the Grass Saint Zhang Zhi. Do you know the Grass Saint? Don't know? No problem. He is very famous. If you don't believe me, you can look it up online. There will be a lot of information. I can't deceive you on this."

Chen Qian quickly changed the subject. At this point, he no longer cared about Han Kongque's level of education. After being asked by Han Kongque, he had lost confidence in the two books in his hands. Since he had encountered such an illiterate person, he wanted to sell them quickly.

"How do I know if what you say is true? What if you're deceiving me? Besides, the characters in this book look very similar to those in the genealogy."

Han Kongque flipped through the 'Medical Outline.' Although he seemed casual, his movements were incredibly gentle, but this gentleness was hidden by his rough appearance, making it invisible to others.

Chen Qian had bought these two books from someone for ten yuan, five yuan each. Although the price was low, the feeling of buying a genuine item was very different from buying a common item.

After a month of serious study, he believed he could deceive some half-knowledgeable people. However, he had made a mistake with the genealogy, which made him feel very unlucky.

Now, it was not easy to sell the 'Medical Outline' at a high price, mainly because the handwriting in the 'Han Family Genealogy' was too similar to that in the 'Medical Outline.'

Even an illiterate person could easily see this. At this point, he regretted selling the two books together.

However, he had initially planned to use the historical depth of the Han family genealogy to enhance the authenticity and value of the 'Medical Outline.' He never expected to shoot himself in the foot.

"We do business based on honesty. I'm not here to make a quick buck. If this isn't genuine, you can come back to me. I set up my stall here every day. If you don't believe me, you can go home and check the information. Come back when you're sure, but if you take too long, I won't keep the ancient book for you." Chen Qian said, trying to push the deal forward.

"I'll take a closer look. I'll check it online. If it's real, I'll buy it." Han Kongque opened the book and looked at the seal Chen Qian mentioned.

The book did have a seal, but it was at the end, after the words "Bo Ying gifted this book." It was a small regular script seal, clearly inscribed with "Fu Hua Bao Nian." Seeing these words, Han Kongque was speechless.

As for the words "Bo Ying," anyone in the antiques trade should know the Grass Saint Zhang Zhi, whose courtesy name was Bo Ying.

The words "Fu Hua Bao Nian" were not known by many, but Han Kongque happened to know.

When he recited the Han family genealogy, he stopped after the beginning. The following lines were: "His son, Po Li Han Chang, courtesy name Bao Nian, was from Fu Hua, a descendant of the Xiongnu Chanyu."

Po Li Han Chang was intelligent, brave, and skilled in riding and archery. He was promoted to General of the West. When the High Ancestor rose up, Chang defended Fu Hua and returned east with Wan Shou Luogang. The High Ancestor praised him and appointed him as a military commander...

The World Ancestor accepted his advice and sent the Grand Marshal Helu Jin to build the Yangzhi, Baijia, and Huyan fortresses. After Chang's term ended, he returned to Jin Yang and was appointed as Grand Protector and Governor of Cangzhou. He died and was posthumously awarded the titles of Chancellor, Minister of Works, Grand Tutor, First Leader of the People, and King, with the posthumous name Zhongwu.

This simple record made it clear that Po Li Han Chang was a prince and a descendant of the Xiongnu Chanyu, which made it possible for him to leave behind some treasures.

These sections recorded the origin of the Han family, mentioning two ancestors: Po Li Han Kongque and Po Li Han Chang. Po Li Han Chang's courtesy name was Bao Nian, and he was from Fu Hua.

Therefore, the "Fu Hua Bao Nian" on the seal was likely left by Po Li Han Chang.

The similarity in the handwriting of the two books was easier to explain. After just a few glances, Han Kongque noticed that the handwriting in the Han family genealogy was clearly a copy of the 'Medical Outline.'

As for whether the handwriting in the 'Medical Outline' was by the Grass Saint Zhang Zhi, that was up for debate.

After all, no one had seen Zhang Zhi's regular script. Most of his surviving works were in cursive script. Regardless of the content, anything written by Zhang Zhi was a treasure.

During the Eastern Han period, Zhang Zhi's cursive script was very popular, but very few of his works survived.

In fact, by the Jin Dynasty, Zhang Zhi's works were already rare.

The Western Jin calligrapher Wei Heng once lamented that Zhang Zhi's works were "not a single piece left."

Due to years of war, ten pieces of Zhang Zhi's cursive script were lost. In modern times, even fewer works have survived.

By the Tang and Song Dynasties, even silk manuscripts were as rare as stars. Only the 'Book of Calligraphy' recorded two of his works: the 'Jinren Ming' in cursive script and the 'Jiuyue Zhang' in cursive script.

The 'Xuanhe Calligraphy Catalogue' of the Song Dynasty recorded that the imperial collection included Zhang Zhi's cursive script 'Champion Post' and cursive script 'Message Post.'

Now, the only surviving works of Zhang Zhi are engraved in the 'Chunhua Pavilion Posts,' consisting of five pieces and thirty-eight lines.

Of course, even if the 'Medical Outline' was not written by Zhang Zhi, it was still a treasure that had been passed down for over 1800 years. Zhang Zhi lived over 1800 years ago.

Regardless of the medical cases recorded in the 'Medical Outline,' the fact that it has been passed down for so long makes it a priceless treasure.