Chapter 790 The Fragment of Kukai
"Well...the hemp paper produced in the capital of Shu in the Tang Dynasty was the best in the world. There were nearly a hundred papermaking workshops concentrated along Huanhua Stream. In addition to being used as royal tribute, princes and nobles wrote poems and paintings. They all spent a lot of money to buy Shu paper from the capital of Shu." Zhou Zhi said: "In the Tang Dynasty, Shu paper was mainly made of hemp. Then use medicine to dye it yellow, which not only adds ancient meaning but also prevents insects. It is called "yellow-dyed paper". Then, it is evenly waxed on this basis to make the paper glossy and beautiful. It is called "hard yellow" . ”
“Hard yellow, thin and translucent paper, can be used to make copies of calligraphy and painting works, Tang Dynasty When I began to use the famous double hook method to copy the calligraphy of predecessors, I couldn't do without the contribution of hard yellow Shu paper. "
"But because it was too transparent, it was often necessary to use other famous papers at that time when mounting the paper. , such as "Yunlan" created by Duan Chengshi, a famous fantasy novelist in the Tang Dynasty, or Han Yu once praised "Kuiji Chu". "
"As an ancient high-tech papermaking industry, Shu had led the country in the Tang Dynasty and occupied an irreplaceable central position, and the Shu University Ancient Book Restoration Research Institute collected Some have paper samples from the Tang Dynasty, so I’m familiar with them.”
"I see." Wang Limei said with a smile: "Ziuzi is very knowledgeable about ancient paper. Even if he doesn't know the author, he can already determine the dynasty, which is a feat."
Li Qiyan smiled. Said: "This Kukai is a monk from an island country. It is not surprising that his elbow has not been studied."
"Kukai was an eminent monk at the turn of the Nara period and the Pinghai period. He sent envoys from the Tang Dynasty to Chang'an to learn Tantric methods." The mantle was passed on to Zen Master Hui Guo. "It is said that in the same year that Master Fu Kong passed away, he was born into a wealthy family in Xiangchuan County, the island country, and came to Chang'an to study under Hui Guo."
"Before Huiguo passed away, he told Kukai that he was the reincarnation of Fu Kong. He was Huiguo's master in his previous life, and Huiguo became his master in this life."
"In this way, Kukai was able to spread esoteric Buddhism eastward again and bring it to the island country. carry forward . ”
“Therefore, he occupies a very important position in the history of Buddhism in the island country. His boat crossing the sea is no less significant than Master Bodhidharma’s crossing the river with a reed, which is of great significance to the later generations of the island country. Follow him as 'Hong' Master Dharma'"
"In addition to being a great master, he was also a talented 'artistic monk'. During the Tang Dynasty, he did his best to collect Buddhist cultural relics and even asked friends to help."
" It was his determination and perseverance in learning Buddhism that allowed many Chinese Buddhist cultural relics to be introduced to the island country through Kukai, and many of them were listed as national treasures and have been passed down to this day."
"After returning to China, Kukai compiled "Bunjing Mifu Lun", which included many theoretical works on poetry from the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the mid-Tang Dynasty, and made great contributions to the spread of Chinese culture and the prosperity of Sinology. . ”
“Besides this, Kukai is most famous for his calligraphy.” Call everyone and open directly He created a line of calligraphy in the island country. "
"You see, his brushwork is deeply influenced by the Chinese Tang Dynasty calligraphy. ah. ”
The "Dainichi Sutra" is a fragment of cursive script, with only a hundred or so characters left in total. But from the more than a hundred characters, it seems that although this man is a monk from an island country, his calligraphy skills can even be Beat up everyone in the Song and Ming Dynasties.
"This is a great master. His calligraphy can be called a model of Tang calligraphy. Except for turning the pen, he has not learned anything, and everything else can be called the pinnacle..."
"Some people call him the King of the Island, Xizhi." Li Lehai said: "Elbow do you think What?"
"I think it is still a little less agile than the two kings. The knots are like those of the Tang Dynasty, but the writing style is similar to the style of some calligraphers of the Song Dynasty." Zhou Zhi stared at the broken scroll: "Of course, except for Mi. Fu, except General Mi Fu in the Song Dynasty In addition to using the pen to the extreme and being able to attack in all directions, other calligraphers prefer to use subtraction."
"This one is no exception, so he lacks flexibility and change compared to the two kings. Of course, even so, It has surpassed most of the descendants. I didn’t know there were people like this among the islanders before.” After saying that, he handed over his hand to Li Qiyan: “Gong Li’s collection of dharma stickers is really amazing...”
Li Qiyan smiled and said: "When Wanqiu comes back, I want to entrust her to take pictures of this scroll. What do you think?"
Zhou Zhi gave Li Qiyan a thumbs up and said with a smile: "Mr. Li is very clever. ! ”
Even if Zhou Zhi didn’t know Kukai, he knew he was a famous artist when he saw the words, and he knew it was genuine when he saw the paper.
This is a Dharma book from the Tang Dynasty, the period when the island nation of Nara and Pinghai took over. It is like a post by Zhang Zhi or Huai Su appearing in the domestic market. You can imagine how crazy collectors will be.
In the past, both An Siyuan and Anzhai Eiichi had the idea of "Chunhua Pavilion". Now that the fragments of Kukai's "Dainichi Sutra" are released, Anzhai Eiichi will definitely fight for them at all costs. There is no time to consider "Chunhua Pavilion Tie".
For Ellsworth, the value of Tang Dynasty calligraphy fragments is naturally higher than the value of Song Dynasty double-hook copies. And the most amazing thing is that he is an American. In his eyes, he only has the value of works of art. As for Chinese Whether they are from an island country or from an island country, they are actually the same.
So one can imagine Ellsworth’s attitude towards this fragment.
“Now it’s the island people’s turn to worry and be anxious.” Zhou Zhi nodded with satisfaction: “We will also step in when the time comes. After all, these two kings of Shangzong have all the good things in the Tang Dynasty’s calligraphy. , we should be interested too."
Li Lehai looked at Zhou Zhi with a satisfied smile and was doubtful of this kid's lies.
Zhou Zhi will soon have tens of millions of dollars in cash. If he really wants to snatch it, it is really hard to say who will end up with this post.
At least so far, no calligraphy work worth tens of millions of dollars has been sold in the world auction market.
Li Qiyan also imitated the way Zhou Zhi had just handed over to him, and also joked to Zhou Zhi: "Then thank you Guidong for carrying my sedan chair."
It was already past noon when the matter was discussed. , so Li Qiyan arranged lunch for the guests. After the meal, Li Lehai and Li Lexui accompanied Zhou Zhi and Director Wang to visit Li Qiyan's collection.
As one of the top collectors on Hong Kong Island, Li Qiyan has many fine products here. His interests and hobbies are concentrated in three categories - the first is various Buddhist rubbings and rare ancient books; the second is porcelain; the third is porcelain; The third is jade.
The first two are now considered to be at the expert level, but the third one is not enough except for those who are relatively recent and can make out some clues.
Li Qiyan's jade wares have been collected into a series starting from ancient Hongshan and Yangshao to the late Qing Dynasty.
Among them, the topaz pig dragon and topaz column-shaped jue of the Hongshan Culture are very precious and the pinnacle of handicrafts in the New Era. At the same time, the jade quality is also of high quality, which is rare in the entire Hongshan period.
The mysterious jade axes and mysterious jade rings of the Yangshao culture directly broke the academic stereotype that "Yangshao does not use jade", and are of extraordinary value.
As for the subsequent ritual vessels from the Shang, Zhou, Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, seals from the Qin and Han dynasties, imperial supplies from the Tang Dynasty, aristocratic utensils from the Song, Liao and Jin dynasties, and various miscellaneous items from the Ming and Qing dynasties, the collection is so rich that it can fully support a jade vessel. museum.
(End of this chapter)