Chapter 132: Is the house being given away for free?

  At this point, Liu's face involuntarily revealed a melancholy expression. Seeing this, Chu Chen hastily comforted him:

  "Old Liu has passed away, we who are still alive should live a happy and joyful life. Your longevity and happiness is the best consolation for the deceased."

  After hearing this, Liu Lao put away the sadness in his heart and said: "Xiao Chu, I've made you laugh. As people get older, they tend to think about old times more often. But what you said is right, as long as we're alive, it's good enough if we can be happy. Come on, let's take a look at what's inside this brocade box."

  Arriving at Liu Lao's studio, Chu Chen removed all the plastic wrap from the outside of the brocade box and opened it to find that inside was actually a silk book painting.

  In the world of calligraphy and painting, works created on silk, satin or other fabrics are called "silk scrolls". However, although they appear more luxurious, their background color is not as pure white as paper, and since preparing a silk scroll for painting requires more work beforehand, it is also less common than paper.

  Moreover, silk scrolls have two shortcomings: they are not only prone to insect damage but also easily damaged by folding, making them more difficult to preserve than paper scrolls. Therefore, although there were many ancient scroll paintings, truly well-preserved works are rare, especially those that have survived for thousands of years without damage, which is even rarer.

  They found that inside was actually a silk fabric work, and Chu Chen discovered that from the side, there was a faint layer of light on the surface of the silk.

  The luster on the silk surface is commonly known as "mirror light". This effect is due to the properties of the silk itself, so for transmission and preservation, it needs to go through several rounds of re-mounting. Each operation requires adding glue, alum, and using a stone to apply wax to the back of the painting with force. After accumulating many times, this luster effect appears.

  This situation generally only occurs in silk painting works before the Song and Yuan dynasties, while Ming and Qing dynasty silk books are generally not seen with this situation.

  Upon seeing this piece of work, they were surprised that it was at least from the Song or Yuan dynasty. The three people's expressions also became very serious at the same time.

  Clean the table, Chu Chen put on gloves and carefully took out the things from the brocade box, slowly spreading them on the table. A silk painting of a colored landscape, suddenly appeared in everyone's eyes.

  "Set color" refers to traditional Chinese painting that uses colors, as opposed to traditional Chinese ink wash painting which only uses ink.

  Chinese painting has always attached great importance to color, so in ancient times, paintings were called "Dan Qing". Dan refers to cinnabar, and Qing refers to blue indigo, both of which are commonly used colors in painting. The Book of Jin says that Gu Kaizhi was "especially skilled at Dan Qing, with exceptional skill in drawing and writing." Du Fu's poem dedicated to the famous painter Cao Ba, titled "Dan Qing Yin", shows that the name "Dan Qing" had already become a common usage among people.

  Colouring is a basic technique that ancient painters must master, so Xie He listed "colouring according to the class" as one of the "Six Laws".

  This silk painting depicts the hermit's mountain life, only to see two mountains between the valley on the screen, with winding streams and a rippling brook pool.

  There is a thatched cottage with bamboo fences and reeds by the pond, a maid is working in the backyard, a cowherd is riding an ox in front of the fence gate, a farmer is hurrying on the small path, a pavilion stretches into the water, a scholar leans against the railing and sits, looking up at the distance with an extremely leisurely expression, his wife holds a child and plays with the maid beside him, a scene of simple yet joyful life.

  Behind the house, a waterfall cascades down from the mountain waist, gathering at the foot of the mountain in a stream pool. The water flows and surges with delicate lines, meticulous and flawless.

  The painting methods of the brook, water, hillside, near mountain and far mountain in this picture are different, and the painting methods of bamboo fence, thatched cottage, near trees and far trees are also different. However, their combination has rhythm and change, and the whole picture can be said to be very harmonious.

  These landscapes and those vivid characters under the painter's brush have been combined together in an organic way, which can be said to be a visual feast.

  This painting, with its high artistic level, is simply breathtaking. However, among the three people present, even Chu Chen, who has been involved in the antique world for five years, felt a sense of familiarity when they first saw the painting. When they saw the signature on the painting, each person was shocked beyond words.

  "This...this...how is this possible, Dad? I must be seeing things."

  Although Liu Qinxin has not shown her profound knowledge of antique appraisal in front of Chu Chen so far, don't forget that she has been learning about antiques from Old Liu since childhood. Even if her talent is not good, after decades, the level will be bad to where?

  Looking at the many inscriptions on this work, as well as more than a dozen large and small seals and collection stamps, each seal representing a famous historical figure, proving that this painting is a handed-down masterpiece. Adding Liu Qingshu's professional level of immersion in calligraphy and painting for decades, it can almost be determined that this work is an authentic piece.

  Of course, if it were someone else's genuine work, or Liu Qingshu wouldn't be so surprised, but the signature on this painting is "Dongyuan, Deputy Envoy of Beiyuan", which makes her even more shocked.

  Dong Yuan, also known as Shu Da, was a Chinese painter of the Southern Tang Dynasty. He was active during the reign of Li Jing and held the position of Deputy Envoy of Beiyuan during the reign of Li Yu. After the fall of the Southern Tang, he entered the Song Dynasty and is considered one of the founders of the Southern School of landscape painting.

  Dong Yuan was good at landscape and also skilled in painting birds and beasts. His landscapes often incorporated real mountains of Jiangnan into the paintings without resorting to strange or precipitous brushstrokes, with records saying that his landscapes mostly depicted scenes from Jiangnan "with a plain and innocent air, something not found in Tang dynasty". Mi Fu once praised his landscapes as: "Peaks rising and falling, clouds and mist appearing and disappearing, without artificial cleverness, all possessing natural truthfulness".

  In the "Huajian" of the Five Dynasties, it is recorded: "Dong Yuan's landscape paintings have two styles: one is ink and wash, with sparse forests and distant trees, flat and deep, and mountains and rocks are made of hemp texture; another is colored, with very little texture, using rich and ancient colors, figures often wear red and green clothes, and some faces also have powder and white makeup. Both styles are excellent works."

  Shen Kuo of the Northern Song Dynasty mentioned in "Brush Talks from a Dream Brook": "Dong Yuan was good at painting, with dragons and autumn misty distant views, mostly depicting real mountains of Jiangnan, not using the brushstrokes of strange and steep mountains"; also said: "His brushwork is very rough, when viewed up close it doesn't resemble objects, but from a distance the scenery is bright and clear...". In the history of painting, Dong Yuan, Fan Kuan, and Li Cheng are called the three great masters of the early Northern Song Dynasty.

  Dong Yuan is not only good at painting landscapes, but also cows, tigers, dragons and human figures. As a landscape painter, Dong Yuan is also versatile. The Song people praised his grandly colored mountain scenery as rich and beautiful, with a style similar to that of Li Sixun.

  But the most original and highest achievement is ink landscape painting. He used splashing and sprinkling techniques to depict the natural scenery of Jiangnan, magically conveying the majestic peaks, islands and lakes, and misty forests of Jiangnan. His brushstrokes were bold and free, with a close-up view that seemed unrelated to the subject matter, but from a distance, the scene was vividly revealed, rich in creative technique.

  His masterpieces "Summer Landscape of Shan Kou" and "Xiao Xiang Painting", fully depict the specific scenery of Jiangnan hills in summer, with lush vegetation and misty atmosphere between rivers and lakes. His brushwork techniques are perfectly adapted to the specific scenery he depicts.

  Dong Yuan's landscape paintings were once favored by Li Jing, the second ruler of Southern Tang.

  It is said that Li Jing built a villa in Lushan when he was young, integrating the beautiful scenery of the mountain spring forest garden. In order to see the scenery of Lushan at any time, he specially commissioned Dong Yuan to paint a "Lushan Map".

  Dong Yuan cleverly painted the Five Old Men Peaks, Cloudy Smoke and Green Pines, Spring Water and Strange Rocks, and Courtyard Villas into one picture. Li Jing praised it repeatedly after seeing it, loved it so much that he couldn't bear to part with it, ordered people to hang it in his bedroom, and admired the painting morning and evening as if he were living in Mount Lu forever. This shows Dong Yuan's clever composition and high artistic skill in depicting landscapes.

  Dong Yuan's existing works are very few, only including "Summer Landscape with a Mountain Pass", "Xiao and Xiang Rivers", "Summer Mountains", "Dragon's Lair in the Countryside" and "Stream Bank" and so on.

  Although so, Liu Qingshu was not surprised to see a work by Dong Yuan now, but in front of them, this work is clearly "Stream Bank".

  Liu Lao put down the magnifying glass in his hand and said excitedly:

  "What's impossible about it? Are you saying that 'Streamside' is now in the Met in the US? Hehe, I thought there was something wrong with that piece from the start. Not to mention other things, just comparing it to 'Summer Mountains', they're completely different styles. And look at this piece in front of us, its technique uses Dong Yuan's hemp fiber texture brushstrokes."

  "And the style of painting, including the brushstrokes used for figures and animals, is also consistent with 'Summer Mountains' and other works. The most crucial point is that the first seal on this painting still belongs to Jia Sidao, a high-ranking official of the Southern Song dynasty. This should mean something to both of you, right? Therefore, I believe this is the authentic 'Streamside Village'."

  Why did Liu Lao specifically mention this seal? It's because in the city, there is a painting called "Stream Bank" that also has a seal of Jia Sidao. One piece uses the technique of Dong Yuan's splashed ink and the other uses the typical techniques of the time. Which one would people think is authentic?

  "Dad, do you think most of the 'Stream Bank Pictures' are modern forgeries?"

  Liu Lao shook his head and said, "I don't believe that the painting is a modern forgery. I think its technique and style are still those of ancient people. Judging from this work, it's very likely that Jia Sidao obtained a genuine work by Dong Yuan and had someone imitate it."

  "Liu Lao, is it possible that this picture is a fake?" Liu Qin asked curiously.

  Liu Lao smiled and replied, "What you said is not impossible, I admit that the work indeed has high artistic value, but to prove that it's really a genuine work by Dong Yuan, we need more solid evidence, otherwise it's just wishful thinking."

  "As for this piece, both in terms of technique and style, it is reliable, unless someone can prove that those few pieces in the museum are fake, otherwise my idea will not change."