Chapter 2169 Flower Struggle (Seventy-seven)

Almost all arts have beautiful legends, and there are many such legends recorded in the four local chronicles of JDZ. There is such a legend: a porcelain merchant was in danger at sea and fell to a deserted coast. Others

While everyone was busy repairing the leaky boat, he was strolling on the beach. Unexpectedly, he found a lot of lapis lazuli among the pebbles on the shore. He thought it was suitable for making paint for porcelain, so he brought back a lot of lapis lazuli.

The story recorded in the county chronicle added: "The porcelain craftsmen had never used such a beautiful and pure blue. Later, the porcelain merchants and others returned to the shore where it had fallen in distress, but found nothing."

Blue was never found again.

Few people know how many processes are required to make a piece of porcelain and how many hands of workers it takes to make it. I am afraid that even those who drink tea carelessly from a thin porcelain cup may not know. Of course, Nick does not know either, because that is

Secret, just like the Venetians guarding their glass-making recipes on the island.

Due to the large population, the wages of craftsmen are very low, and many workers can be arranged for each process, but even so, strict confidentiality cannot be maintained. For example, Wang Jinsheng, an ink worker who once worked in the ink shop run by Cao Sugong, is not only

He learned a whole set of techniques and developed the ink carving technique, which replaced the original ink molds used by the Cao family. The exquisite craftsmanship made the ink itself a work of art and was sought after by many people. Jianguzhai’s ink

It became the most requested one, even surpassing the Cao family.

Labor costs in Europe are too high and have now been replaced by machines. However, while using people as machines, it also limits people's creativity. The paintings on Chinese porcelain are not painted by a single artist, but by ten people.

It was painted by several painters, which is probably the reason why the painting quality of the porcelain vase is not high.

Painters are paid according to the work they do. Some only learn to paint flowers, some only paint ladies or officials, and so on. Therefore, in such an environment, there will never be any progress in art, and ancient porcelain will not.

More valuable than the porcelain made today.

The porcelain of the Song Dynasty is the most expensive. It is characterized by a single-color glaze, and its tone is unparalleled in elegance. Cyan is not the traditional color of Chinese civilization. It was only in the Yuan Dynasty that blue and white came into being. That kind of blue was not the color of the previous porcelain.

The color of lapis lazuli mentioned is not this color at least before it undergoes a chemical reaction after being baked at high temperature.

The preference for ancient porcelain will inevitably lead to counterfeiting, that is, burying new porcelain in a pond and taking it out after a few months to make it look like a real antique with a yellowish color. The fake will not make a crisp sound when knocked on it.

, this is similar to real antiques.

But there are also people who hope to get more rewards by improving their own value, or the boss, in order to cater to the needs of European customers, allows craftsmen to learn painting from Lin Gua.

After regaining freedom of movement, Nick came to Lin Gua's studio again. His "business" here was still very good, and the turmoil outside seemed to have no impact on him. Everything was the same as when Nick left last time.

The difference was that Nick put on the scholar's uniform of a Chinese scholar. The way he "appeared" surprised Lin Gua. He looked at Nick up and down for a long time before he couldn't help laughing and said, "I don't think you are a scholar. You have blue eyes."

"

Many Manchus retain blue eyes and Sogdian characteristics, which is the result of intermarriage within their tribe rather than intermarriage with the Han people. Even Wan Ning looks like a young Portuguese woman from certain angles.

By this time, Lin Gua had already sent her portrait to the Admiral's Mansion, and the easel that was originally used to place her portrait was now painting another person.

This person gives people a feeling that is difficult to express in words. Jade is divided into warm jade and cold jade. Li Yishan's poem once wrote: The moon in the sea has tears, and the sun in Lantian is warm and jade produces smoke. This metaphor gives people an illusion,

Warm jade emits heat, just like a warm inkstone, but it only gives people a warm feeling in color. This kind of jade is mainly produced in XJ.

Yunnan and Myanmar mainly produce "cold jade", which looks as clear and cold as glass. The man in the painting is somewhere in between, making people feel warm and cold at the same time.

"Who is this?" Nick asked.

"A guest." Lin Gua said casually, and then walked to the side. Nick found that there was an extra carver in Lin Gua's studio. Lin Gua took a few stones from the carver and said, "Choose one to use for your carving."

seal."

Nick chose a green stone that he thought looked good, and Lin Gua gave it to the carver to engrave his Chinese name "Pingxi" on it.

Before entering the customs, the Manchus wore purses, usually around their waists, to hold flints and other items to meet their daily needs for fishing and hunting. This custom did not change after entering the customs. The most common ones among the people are purses, palace

There is no need to bring money in it. It will contain some eight treasures, jade or seals, and it also functions as a status symbol.

The sleeves of Hanfu are generally wide and can hold a lot of things inside. However, these sleeves are not suitable for riding and shooting. After changing to arrow sleeves, things cannot be stored in the sleeves.

Literati often wear the "Four Treasures of the Study", especially the pen, which makes it easier to "splash ink" at any time. Those from ordinary families can use a piece of bamboo to hold the pen, while the wealthy use ivory, rosewood, ebony, etc.

Nick couldn't accept the pen case and the brush. He still preferred the quill pen, but Lin Gua was still unwilling to change the way he held the brush.

Then Lin Gua said in a flattering and mocking tone, "Why are you here today?"

So Nick left the studio and wandered around the city like an idle and degenerate young man, but did not dare to enter sparsely populated or complicated alleys. By chance, he found Captain Yao on the street, who was also doing nothing, so

Nick stopped him.

Captain Yao didn't recognize Nick at first. He didn't recognize Nick until he walked in, but he didn't run away.

Nick invited Captain Yao to have a meal at a restaurant not far away. After drinking until he was three-thirds drunk, Captain Yao began to complain, "It's really terrible. Those pirates make it difficult for us to go to sea. I can barely survive, but I

My brothers have to support a family."

There are many temples in Guangzhou, not all of them are as old as Faxing Temple, but some temples are said to be very "efficacious". Captain Yao went there to burn incense and petition.

Then he began to ask Nick about ways to make a fortune. The English had built many luxurious houses in Guangzhou and there were so many big ships on the sea. He also asked Nick if there was a way to turn ordinary metals into gold.

Nick asked Captain Yao why he asked him that. Captain Yao said you are French and he had heard in the Philippines that the French had developed that magical stone.

Nick told Captain Yao that not only did he not have that ability, but no one in the world had that ability. Later, Captain Yao asked about European coins, or counterfeiting.

Because of their lack of understanding of foreign countries, many people don't know how much silver content foreign currencies contain, but making currencies requires molds, which cannot be imitated by an ordinary sailor's crude craftsmanship.

Captain Yao then talked about his father's generation. Because Guangzhou Customs repeatedly collected taxes, all ships berthed in the port had to pay customs duties. In order to avoid taxes, they did not dare to berth in the port even if there was strong wind at sea, causing many capsizing accidents.

Fan Yu, the admiral of the Navy at the time, also submitted a memorial requesting that merchant ships be allowed to dock, and non-local transactions would not be taxed. If not for this policy, Captain Yao would not have dared to park the ship in Guangzhou Port for so long.

If we have romantic fantasies about a profession, it must be because we don’t know enough about this profession. The life of sailors is actually not as free as people think. They are always longing for a safe harbor where they can dock.

After parting ways with Captain Yao, Nick went back to the hospital and took away his luggage and the map on the wall. He could not cause trouble to the priest, as there would be other European travelers coming here in the future.

When he was leaving, Nick suddenly remembered and took away the clock on the table because it was a gift he bought for the admiral and was not the original furnishings inside. Although it had a certain value, keeping it was considered a tribute to the hospital.

a kind of compensation.
Chapter completed!