Chapter 7 Do you know how many schools of bronze counterfeiting there are?

In the office, a middle-aged man in a blue shirt was standing in front of the desk, holding a magnifying glass and looking at the antique in his hand.

He muttered, "The shape is smaller than the traditional celestial globe vase, the blue and white color is floating, there are obvious traces of acid bite, and there are too many rust spots. It is a modern imitation."

"Number 9527, Xiao Shen, did you write it down?"

At the door not far away, a young girl with a ponytail nodded and wrote something on her notebook: "I'm writing it down. Don't rush me."

"Boom boom boom!"

There was suddenly a knock on the door in Xiao Shen's ears.

She looked up and saw that the person coming was Officer Chen. She quickly shouted to the middle-aged man in the room, "Teacher Zhou, there is a police officer looking for you."

"Who is it?" Zhou Xuelin put down the antique in his hand and walked towards the door.

"Hello, Mr. Zhou." Officer Chen smiled humbly, "Didn't I, Old Chen, just ask you about the appraisal results of bronze tripod No. 9348?"

"The situation is this: the original owner of the tripod has some opinions on your appraisal results and wants to discuss it with you."

"No. 9348?" Zhou Xuelin pointed at Xiao Shen and said, "Read the appraisal statement."

The latter quickly flipped through his notebook and read aloud:
"The artifact that looks very similar to the Yinglingde Ding should be from the same period. There is sand and soil on the surface that has not been cleaned up. It may be a cultural relic unearthed from a Western Zhou tomb."

"Hahaha." Zhang Yang laughed out loud after hearing this.

"Xi Zhou? I think you drank too much porridge this morning?"

"Who is this kid?" Zhou Xuelin asked, adjusting the frame of his glasses.

"You ask me? I want to ask you something else." Zhang Yang said deliberately arrogantly.

We have to be high-profile now. If we continue to be timid, are we going to have to wait until we are in the detention center to protest our injustice?
"Since you know about the Yinglingde Ding, you should know that this kind of small bronze tripod is a kind of artifact, right?"

After hearing what Zhang Yang said, Zhou Xuelin had a pensive expression on his face.

"What is a juggler?" Officer Chen asked in a low voice.

"Nong means to play with, and Nongqi is a bronze figurine, which was made by ancient nobles to be played with in their hands."

In fact, you can't think too much about this thing called playing with instruments.

The original function of the tripod was similar to that of a pot, which was to cook food.

If you were to play with a figurine of a pot in your hand nowadays, you would probably be suspected of having mental problems.

Zhou Xuelin also overheard Zhang Yang's words and finally recalled the knowledge related to the small tripod.

He looked up at Zhang Yang, and his eyes changed slightly.

I don't mean to look up to you, I just hate you.

Zhou Xuelin hated being slapped in the face the most, but there were a lot of people around here, so he had to pretend to be well-mannered.

"This little brother knows a lot, doesn't he? Did you study it yourself after you got the tripod?"

"Don't change the subject."

"Let me ask you, there are usually inscriptions of the owner on the artifacts, just like the signature on the figurines. There is one on the Yinglingde Ding, but mine doesn't. Don't you think there is a problem?" Zhang Yang asked very confidently.

This is the confidence that comes from his [Bronze Theoretical Knowledge] being upgraded to the master level.

With his head full of knowledge, Zhang Yang even wants to take the postgraduate entrance examination.

"The absence of an inscription does not affect the authenticity of the item." Zhou Xuelin replied calmly.

"Oh? You're pretty stubborn."

"What if I tell you that the bronze tripod is a handicraft I made?" Zhang Yang said with a smile.

"Did you make it?" Zhou Xuelin's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be that I saw it wrong?
But when he raised his head and met the doubtful gazes of Officer Chen and his apprentice Xiao Shen, he immediately strengthened his conviction:

I must have seen it right.

Otherwise it would be very embarrassing.

Zhou Xuelin shook his head at Zhang Yang: "Young people, if you want to become famous, try another way. There's no need to do this."

"It's not impossible that imitations can fool the human eye, but at your age, you can't make one."

"Really?" Zhang Yang smiled even more happily.

Am I a scammer? This is a good angle.

It's time to reveal the true inheritance of the sect that the master told him in his dream yesterday.

"Do you know how many schools there are in the art of making bronze artifacts look old?" Zhang Yang asked.

Zhou Xuelin didn't say anything. That's how experienced people are. Even if they don't understand something, they won't admit it. Instead, they will keep silent and wait to see who loses the temper first.

In comparison, his new apprentice Xiao Shen was a little impatient.

Of course, it is also because this girl likes anecdotes in the antique circle.

Xiao Shen asked curiously:
"How many sects are there?"

"There are three major sects that have been officially passed down."

Zhang Yang raised three fingers.

"The founders of each of the three major sects were all bronze restoration masters employed by the Imperial Household Department of the Qing Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Guangxu."

"Crooked mouth Yu, bronze Zhang, earth pit Duan."

"The Imperial Household Department of the Qing Dynasty? Aren't there all eunuchs there?" Xiao Shen asked puzzledly.

"What's wrong with being a eunuch? When a man doesn't have to worry about sex, it's easier for him to reach the pinnacle of his professional skills. Otherwise, why would he need to take a knife first when practicing the Sunflower Manual?"

"The successors of these three people are..."

"and many more."

Xiao Shen reached out to interrupt Zhang Yang. She was just recording Zhang Yang's words simultaneously, so she was sensitive to the inconsistencies in the conversation.

"Three eunuchs, where do their offspring come from?"

"The successor is not a biological child." Zhang Yang explained helplessly.

"Sorry, please continue."

"…The style that has been passed down by the crooked mouth is the lineage of our Forbidden City, also known as the Beijing School. This is officially recognized by the Forbidden City."

"As for Gu Tong Zhang, his second-generation disciple entered Shenghai Museum, and his legacy was passed down in Shengbo."

"It's a pity for the Tukeng section. Currently, there are disciples who have a clear inheritance. The sixth generation disciple was arrested because he took the wrong road. Now there is only the seventh generation disciple left, and he is still stuck in the quagmire."

Xiao Shen didn't know about Zhang Yang's situation and was still recording. He didn't notice that the expression of Officer Chen in front of him became a little subtle.

"Zhang Yang." Officer Chen couldn't help himself, "Are you the seventh generation disciple of the eunuch?"

"No, can you please show a little respect to my master? Please call him Tukeng Duan."

"Yes, I am the successor of Tukeng Duan. The unique skill of our industry is to use Tukeng to imitate the green embroidery of bronze ware."

"Oh~" Xiao Shen suddenly realized, "So this is why there is still dirt on the small tripod."

"That's right." Zhang Yang replied with a smile.

He thought to himself, this girl is really sensible and definitely a kind-hearted person.

"Are you finished?" Zhou Xuelin asked coldly.

"That's it for now."

"Nothing new here. After all this talk, I just want to ask you one thing. How did you imitate the rust color of this bronze tripod?"

When Zhang Yang was speaking just now, Zhou Xuelin had already found the small tripod.

I also took a low-quality imitation bronze ware for comparison.

Comparing the two pieces together, one can indeed see at a glance that the rust color of Zhang Yang's aged bronze ware is more authentic, and the green has a natural feel.

"Is it difficult to imitate this color? Can't chemicals be used to make it easily?"

"It's easy, right?" Zhou Xuelin laughed. "What a coincidence. This time, in addition to appraisal, I'm here to deliver chemical agents for restoring cultural relics to the county museum."

"I'm going to get the potion now. You imitate it for me."

"It's so funny. You can handle it so easily. Why are you pretending to be so high and mighty?"

"Then what? What if I can imitate it?" Zhang Yang asked.

"If you can imitate it, I will kneel down in front of the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau and the Municipal Government and beg for a plaque to be awarded as an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage for you."

"Officer Chen, what about you?" Zhang Yang turned around and asked the more important person.

"You don't need to ask me. I'm following the procedures. As long as Mr. Zhou gives an appraisal opinion that your bronze artifact is fake, then of course you'll be fine."

"No problem, I'll give you any suggestions you want." Zhou Xuelin responded before Zhang Yang could speak.

"Okay, then just apply the potion directly."

Zhang Yang rubbed his hands expectantly.

"First, some copper acetate and ammonium chloride to give you a sample."

(End of this chapter)