In traditional Chinese crafts, there are two ingenious repair methods - darning and framing.
There is a true international anecdote from the 1950s. As we all know, the width of the fabric produced by the loom will be as wide as the width of the fabric. If you want to make larger textiles, you have to stitch them, no matter how well decorated they are.
It can be seen that at that time, the largest main table in the banquet hall of the Great Hall of the People was more than five meters wide when the tablecloth was fully unfolded.
Once at a diplomatic state banquet, a foreign guest present who was also a textile expert noticed the tablecloth. He even stood up and walked around the table to look carefully. He didn't see any trace of seams. It was just a whole piece of cloth.
, the colors and patterns were integrated. He asked in surprise: "I have never heard that any country in the world has such a large loom. Can China produce it?" At that time, the former Prime Minister laughed and said nothing. In fact, the secret lies in two words: darning.
.
Darning is the most important means, and sometimes even the only means, in the repair of ancient silk handicrafts.
As for the mounting stories, there are more stories. In the late Qing Dynasty, the eunuchs in the Forbidden City stole calligraphy and paintings from the royal collection. Of course, they could not bring out the entire painting. Instead, they peeled off the painting paper, tore it up, and messed it up, making it difficult to distinguish them.
The waste paper was mixed with the garbage and transported out of the palace. Then I found a mounting expert from a calligraphy and painting shop in Liulichang area, who could remount it and repair it as before. Even if there are slight defects, I could use rice paper with the same texture to repair the painting without leaving any traces.
Come.
This is not even the most difficult part. The restoration of some ancient scriptures by modern cultural relics conservation experts is amazing. The original appearance of many ancient scriptures is completely unrecognizable. They are rolled together like a ball of coke and break into pieces when touched.
It needs to be soaked in medicinal water, peeled off and re-mounted, and even the fragments must be picked up bit by bit with bamboo needles under a high-power magnifying glass to piece together, and then the original appearance of the scroll can be restored.
There are many categories of antiques, including gold, stone oracle bones, bronzes, calligraphy and painting inscriptions, jades, ceramics, inkstones, silk fabrics, bamboo, wood and horns, etc. The restoration methods are different. Among them, ceramics are particularly fragile, and the proportion of complete artifacts that have been preserved
It is very low, and it is very difficult to repair. However, there is a person who is famous in this industry. His level of repairing porcelain is simply amazing. The effect is as good as silk darning and calligraphy and painting mounting. People in the world call him "Ghost Hand".
Guishou is just a nickname given to him by people in the Jianghu clan, but this person is not from a wild life in the Jianghu. His name is Zhou Xiaoxian. He was born in a scholarly family. He graduated from a higher education institution and then went to Europe to study and travel for ten years.
After returning to China, he engaged in the protection and restoration of ancient cultural relics. He has restored countless treasures passed down from generation to generation, from Hongshan Culture pottery pots to Tang Dynasty lady figurines and Mianshan Mingwang painted sculptures. He has "restored" almost the entire history of Chinese ceramics.
When his father You Zuming mentioned this person, he also praised him very much, saying that he was inferior to him for his "ghost hand" ability. Zhou Xiaoxian is not too old. If You remember correctly, he is fifty-six years old this year and is now in
He works in the Cultural Preservation Office of the Palace Museum in Beijing. He is one of the few experts in China who has personally restored authentic blue and white pieces of Yuan Dynasty handed down from generation to generation. He is also the executive director of the Cultural Relics Restoration Committee of the Chinese Cultural Relics Society and a senior restoration craftsman.
The person in the room turned out to be Zhou Xiaoxian. He didn't know You Fang, but You Fang knew him. He was no different from what he saw on TV and the Internet. His hair was slightly curly and combed back, and he was slightly bald on his forehead.
, has a ruddy complexion, a strong voice, and wears resin glasses with wide lenses. His hands and fingers are flexible and slender, but his muscles and bones appear to be very strong.
Zhou Xiaoxian is of course one of the top authorities in the country in appraising Yuan blue and white flowers. It is enough for Senior Guishou to be here alone. But Zhou Xiaoxian himself insists that there is no representative of the "palace school" who has handed down Yuan blue and white flowers among the people, and this
This collection activity is obviously at odds with the domestic "palace faction" and the international ceramics academic community. How powerful is the mastermind behind it, that he can actually invite Zhou Xiaoxian to "come out of the palace" and stay here for three months?
You Fang stood stunned at the door, feeling that the plum vase in his arms had become heavier for some reason. Zhou Xiaoxian looked at him and smiled: "Why, does this gentleman know me?"
You Fang immediately returned to normal and walked in with the box in his arms: "Senior Guishou is famous, how can any expert not recognize him?"
Zhou Xiaoxian felt a little displeased and said bluntly: "I don't think this nickname is very nice, and my hands are not ghost hands."
You Fang quickly changed his words: "This kind of nickname is indeed not respectful enough. Teacher Zhou is a rejuvenating player in the literary and entertainment industry. I'm just a little surprised. Why do you appear in such an event?"
Zhou Xiaoxian didn't talk much and said simply: "There is no need to discuss academic opinions here. Since you have Yuan blue and white flowers sent for identification, then take them out and take a look."
There was still a large empty space on the workbench. You Fang put down the box, took out the blue and white plum vase with intertwined branches, and thought to himself: "Dad, dad, it's time to test your skills!"
Zhou Xiaoxian looked a little impatient, hating the traveler for interrupting his work. No wonder, it has been more than two months since he arrived in Guangzhou, and he has seen hundreds of so-called Yuan blue and white pieces. Of course, none of them are real.
Yes, these people were just wasting time and teasing him. Although the organizer of the event was very polite and specially prepared a studio for him and tried not to interfere with his daily work, he still felt very unhappy whenever someone sent something for appraisal.
Happy.
His student Luo Dike was guarding the outside, and had long blocked the objects that were not pleasing to the eye. The things that could be sent in were all very clever imitations. Zhou Xiaoxian naturally became more and more angry as he looked at it. But when he saw this plum vase
, but his brows wrinkled involuntarily. He leaned down and looked at it carefully for a long time, then put on his gloves and picked it up to observe the rim and feet, looking thoughtful.
Luo Tike was surprised and asked in a low voice: "Teacher, do you need any instruments?" There are various instruments in this studio, and there is even an expensive spectrum analyzer in the corner of the room.
Zhou Xiaoxian didn't say anything, just shook his head, put the bottle steady on the table, took off his gloves, put his hands gently on the bottle, adjusted his breathing to become soft and even, closed his eyes slightly, and seemed to have entered a trance.
Others may find it strange when they see it. Is he practicing Qigong and trying to use the bottle? You Fang's color changed slightly. It can be seen that Zhou Xiaoxian not only relied on his eyesight this time, but also directly went to the bottle.
The famous "ghost hands".
You Fang secretly thought, if his father You Zuming had been at the scene, would he be very nervous? This plum vase represents the highest level of You Zuming's imitation craftsmanship. The kiln was built using the ancient method when it was fired, and it was specially transported all the way from the south.
Made of porcelain clay, he specially collected ancient glazes, painted them by hand, and fired them successfully after many experiments. There are many conditions that are difficult to repeat, and firing the same utensils may not be so successful. It was sold for 200,000 yuan that year.
It was given to a Turkish Chinese, and now it seems that it is still too cheap.
The room was very quiet, no one spoke. After about a cup of tea, Zhou Xiaoxian let out a long breath and sighed softly: "With such skills, why bother to bake Yuanqinghua?"
Luo Tike was startled: "Teacher, what do you mean? Do you have any identification results?" On the side, You Fang couldn't help but admire him. Senior Guishou really lived up to his reputation. He had identified that the plum vase was a modern forgery. He sighed.
That sentence reminded You Fang of another sentence Mr. Wu commented on You Zuming: "Why not create your own contemporary artifacts?"
Zhou Xiaoxian did not answer the student's words. He seemed to have a troubled expression on his face and said to Luo Dike: "Please, sir, sit down and talk. You should also sit down."
Luo Dike pushed over some work chairs with wheels and asked You Fang and Zhou Xiaoxian to sit down at the table facing each other. He also sat beside him, his expression full of curiosity.
After sitting down, Zhou Xiaoxian asked: "I see that you are not very old, could you please give me your name?... Of course, this solicitation promises to keep the identity of the applicants confidential, so you don't have to tell me."
You Fang answered simply: "My name is Melander, the orchid of orchid, the virtue of virtue...Excuse me, Teacher Zhou, what is the result of your appraisal?" He respected this senior very much, but everything went according to plan.
Okay, just say whatever you want.
Zhou Xiaoxian glanced at Mei Ping again, and said in a soothing but decisive tone: "From the describable surface characteristics, I can't find anything wrong, but as the appraisal result of this collection activity, I can clearly conclude that
It's a fake."
You Fang's reaction was calm, but Luo Dike's expression on the side was very anxious and even nervous, and he stopped talking several times. Because he knew that as a teacher, saying such words on such an occasion would have a huge impact in the future.
very bad.
Zhou Xiaoxian had to come because he was entrusted by someone, and the big collector who offered a reward for Yuan blue and white flowers had unreserved trust in him. Whether the things he sent were true or false depended entirely on Zhou Xiaoxian's words. Zhou Xiaoxian's professionalism
His standards and authoritative status are well known, and he is also a representative of the "palace faction". If he nods and says something is true, then it is true, and the organizer fully believes in his professionalism.
But if it is determined that something is fake, the reason must be explained from a professional perspective to the applicants who have come all the way. This is an on-site reward collection, which not only affects whether the applicants can get a huge amount of wealth, but also affects the entrustment.
Can the person get what he wants?
If there is something that Zhou Xiaoxian says is fake, the collector will of course follow his opinion. But if he doesn't tell the reason, there will be a big problem, because everyone knows that the "palace school" view is that it has not been handed down among the people.
Yuan Qinghua. As a normal academic discussion, it is easy to talk about it, but when you put something in front of your eyes and you can't find faults but insist that it is false, it involves a lot of things.
If word spreads, the label of "authoritative academic master" and "academic foreign slave" thrown over by the "gongwai sect" will definitely be buckled, and it will even have a considerable negative impact on his professional reputation, moral evaluation, and academic quality.
.And the owner of the artifact lost a lot of wealth because of his unreasonable words. I don’t know how he will publicize and arrange it after he leaves. It’s strange that there is no uproar in the industry!
Luo Dike was well aware of the power of this. When he heard the teacher say such words, he felt worried and anxious, and his expression was very nervous. However, You Fang just frowned slightly and asked, "There must be a reason for Teacher Zhou to make this conclusion, right?"
?”
Zhou Xiaoxian actually laughed: "Mr. Rand, you are very calm!"
This sentence has a profound meaning. If you come here with full confidence and hope that the thing in your hand is the genuine Yuanqinghua, when you hear Zhou Xiaoxian say such words, your first reaction is to faint with disappointment, and then the next
The second reaction was to jump up and argue. However, You Fang was not very disappointed or excited, and acted too calm. This shows that he himself knows the origin and details of this item. In all likelihood, it is the forger himself or with the forger.
It matters a lot.
Zhou Xiaoxian is a scholar, not a Jianghu person, but he is also well-informed about it. He does not point it out but only reminds you in words. He and You Fang both know it well. Moreover, his name for You Fang is also very interesting.
Calling him "Mr. Mei" instead of "Mr. Rand" is a traditional way of greeting someone who is very friendly, but now it sounds like "rarely calm".
It's one thing to be able to tell in the dark, but it's another thing to say it openly. You Fang deliberately didn't answer. Instead, he remembered a certain movie line, smiled and said: "Teacher Zhou, I understand you.
With his achievements and status in the industry, he is also aware of the academic debate about Yuan blue and white flowers in the collecting community. What if I am just here to ask for an explanation?"
Luo Dike on the side became nervous again when he heard this, and looked at the teacher with confusion. He secretly suspected the purpose of You Fang's visit. Could it be that he was specially sent by an expert from the "Gongwai Sect" in the collection industry? He was carrying a piece of real or fake information that was difficult to understand.
Distinguishing Yuan Qinghua will either slap Teacher Zhou in the eyes, or slap the "palace faction" in the face. If this is really the case, the appraisal should be based on facts. The academic point of view itself is arguing about facts, and what is true is true.
Zhou Xiaoxian seemed to notice the student's doubts, and suddenly changed the topic and pointed to the unfinished restoration on the workbench and said: "Mr. Rand, can you tell what era this is and what kind of artifact it is?"
This is a tricky question to ask. If You Fang can't see it or sees it wrong, it means he is a layman. Zhou Xiaoxian explains too many professional issues to him and he can't understand it. There is no need to talk nonsense about the appraisal of Yuan Qinghua.
If you could see it at a glance, combined with his calm reaction just now, then his origin would be even more problematic.
Of course, it was inconvenient to move something that had just been repaired and spliced in half. You Fang just took a look at it and replied honestly: "It is an imitation of the Qianlong Dynasty utensils during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. The pine green ground is pastel color, and the shape and decoration are all imitations."
It is from the Qianlong Dynasty, but the characteristics of the porcelain glaze are all from the late Qing Dynasty. If it is from the Guangxu Dynasty, it cannot be regarded as a fake."
Luo Dike on the side looked at You Fang and couldn't help showing surprise and admiration. This young man in his early twenties is a great expert, and his level is definitely not lower than his own! When Zhou Xiaoxian heard this, he nodded silently and stood up strangely.
Come, walk around the workbench to the half-repaired piece of porcelain, and say to himself as if -
"Some people call me a ghost hand, which is not unreasonable. I have repaired thousands of things like this over the years. When I was young, I was no different from others. I followed professional procedures, but I was more serious and focused. But now
When I was almost fifty years old, I gradually began to feel as if these fragments had a life of their own, and I seemed to be able to feel their breathing in their deep sleep.
They reappear their original appearance in my hands, just like waking up from a deep sleep and talking. This is not a fiction, the artifacts themselves have the aura of accumulation of years, and you can feel it if you can really immerse yourself in them. Even two very similar pieces
I can easily separate pieces of similar utensils mixed together, just by using my hands, so some people call me ghost hands.
But I don't like this nickname, because what they see is only the skill of the hand, and they can't see the immersion and spiritual resonance behind it. The blue and white piece you brought is cleverly imitated, but it lacks one thing.
It’s a sense of precipitation that has traveled through history. It has never really experienced it, even if it is irradiated with X-rays to change its radiation characteristics.”
You Fang couldn't help but stood up when he heard the words, and the admiration in his heart was indescribable. This is the true state of a master! Zhou Xiaoxian may not have practiced any secrets, and he doesn't know what spiritual awareness is, but his experience can also be said
It is a kind of spiritual sense. In terms of identification of artifacts, it is even more subtle and mysterious than those masters who specialize in spiritual sense cultivation.
Thinking of this, You Fang pondered and asked: "You are talking about a feeling, a state that can only be experienced after years of specialization in this way, but it cannot be described. It can only be felt but cannot be expressed in words, right?"
Zhou Xiaoxian's face suddenly darkened: "Yes, there is no way to write these in the appraisal certificate, and most people will not accept this explanation. But Mr. Rand, don't push me too hard. I can't point it out."
There are obvious flaws in this thing, but if you get to that point, you will have to damage the utensils, which is not good for you or me!"
He obviously misunderstood. You Fang was praising him, but he took it as a threat - since you can't use an explanation acceptable to the industry to explain that something is fake, you have to admit that it is real, otherwise it will not be good for you if it gets out.
Good thing. No wonder he misunderstood. Even Luo Dike on the side was doubting You Fang's purpose just now. How could Zhou Xiaoxian not be suspicious?
You Fang quickly explained: "Teacher Zhou, I completely understand what you said, and I don't mean to embarrass you. I just admire you."
"Oh? Then I'm really curious. Even if you understand, you can refute me just now, because this means a huge windfall." Zhou Xiaoxian's expression softened, but he asked a strange question.
There was no way to prove that the plum vase was fake, but if he resorted to the last resort, it would indeed have a very bad impact on his own reputation.
You Fang's expression was a little cunning: "I know you can still prove that it is a fake, so why bother to refute it? But that is not called identification. I don't need to embarrass you, I am just a little curious, who is collecting Yuan blue and white flowers, and actually put them
A master like you is invited to stay here for three months?"
Zhou Xiaoxian's expression was a little weird, and he even wanted to laugh: "Is this what you want to know? In fact, he doesn't want to hide or create mystery on purpose, but he just doesn't want to be talked about by the media. I can tell you."
He whispered a thunderous name, and You Fang was stunned for five seconds when he heard the words. Then without saying a word, he picked up the blue and white plum vase and threw it to the ground with all his strength, smashing it to pieces on the spot.