Chapter 1961: Light of civilization
As the blackout curtain was slowly uncovered by two museum staff, a copy of Gu Kaizhi's "A Picture of a Female History" in Tang Dynasty, the earliest existing Chinese silk painting work, finally appeared in front of everyone.
This is a huge painting on silk, 348 cm long and 25 cm high. It is quietly placed in a long bulletproof glass showcase, blooming with the light of civilization.
To be precise, what Ye Tian and the others are showing at this time is only a part of the entire picture scroll of "The Picture of a Female History" and the most important part of the original.
There are two other sections of the scroll, which are stored in two other bulletproof glass showcases not far away. They are still covered by black light-shielding curtains, and the true contents are temporarily invisible.
The second part is an addition to later generations, about 329 cm long and 25 cm high; the third part is a pine spring bamboo stone painted by Zou Yigui during the Qianlong period, 74 cm long and 24.8 cm high.
Because the age is too old, the original part of the "Female History Proverbs" in the showcase is not very clear. It has already turned yellow, some parts have faded, and some parts are slagging, which is very fragile.
However, as an ancient silk painting with a long history of more than a thousand years, the "Nu Shi Zhen Tu" has been well preserved.
This supreme masterpiece in the history of Chinese painting art has been preserved for thousands of years, and it is a breathtaking miracle in itself.
In this painting, Gu Kaizhi, a famous painter in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, used his superb painting techniques to perfectly show the twelve female deeds recorded in the "Histories of Women" written by the famous Western Jin politician and writer Zhang Hua.
Although this work contains the moral creed that women should abide by, Gu Kaizhi's depiction of upper-class women's daily life such as dressing and dressing truly reproduces the tenderness and reservedness of ancient aristocratic women.
In the painter's pen, the posture, manners, and costumes of every noble woman and even the maid in the painting are very consistent with their identity and personality.
"The Legend of Female History" perfectly shaped a series of images of court women with different identities, and to a certain extent, it faithfully reflects the life scenes of women in the era when Gu Kaizhi lived.
Through this famous painting, which can be called a priceless treasure, people can get a glimpse of the life of the Eastern Jin court and even the social and economic development. It is like a history book.
Looking at the "Female History Proverbs" lying flat in the bullet-proof glass showcase under the dim light, Ye Tian's excited eyes shined straight, and he was intoxicated in the blink of an eye, and he admired it completely.
But, David and the others, and Prince William, who are also standing in front of this showcase, how can they understand this thousand-year-old painting from ancient China!
For them, this thousand-year-old painting is too old, even a little broken, and they don't know what the content of the painting is.
But every one of them knows very well that this thousand-year-old painting that he doesn't understand at all must be invaluable, otherwise it will not become the treasure of the Chinese Pavilion of the British Museum, and it will not make Ye Tian so worried!
After looking at this thousand-year-old painting, David whispered curiously:
"Steven, please introduce this thousand-year-old painting that makes you worry about it. Let us know about it."
As soon as his voice fell, Prince William next to him said:
"Yes, Steven, please introduce this ancient painting, I also want to know about this painting"
Following their words, Ye Tian was suddenly awakened.
At the same time, everyone at the scene turned their heads and looked over. Most of them were full of curiosity, looking forward to hearing Ye Tian's professional and wonderful explanation.
As for the guys at the British Museum, in addition to curiosity, they also showed a bit of sophistication in their eyes. They wanted to see Ye Tian's understanding of this thousand-year-old painting.
Ye Tian turned his head to look at David and Prince William, then glanced at the crowd, then smiled and nodded and said:
"His Royal Highness, David, since you want to know this thousand-year-old painting from China, then I will explain it to you. To be honest, I can't believe that I can win this thousand-year-old painting.
"The Proverbs of a Female History" was written by Gu Kaizhi, a famous painter in the Eastern Jin Dynasty 1,600 years ago. It is one of his most famous works. Unfortunately, the original work has been lost. The painting before me is a copy of the Tang Dynasty.
Even so, this Tang Dynasty copy of "Nv Shi Zhen Tu" is more than a thousand years old, and it is the best one among all "N Shi Zhen Tu" copy, and it is the earliest surviving Chinese silk painting."
"Wow! It's a miracle that the paintings from more than a thousand years ago can be saved to the present, and they look basically complete!"
Prince William said with emotion, the other people who saw this painting for the first time also had shocked expressions.
After a short pause, Ye Tian continued:
"This "Nv Shi Zhen Tu" is painted on silk-textured silk. It is an illustrated scroll. The content of the painting is from the outstanding work "Nu Shi Pian" by Zhang Hua, a famous writer in the Western Jin Dynasty in ancient China.
There are twelve sections in the original text of "Female History". This painting is also divided into twelve sections. Only nine sections are left. The remaining three sections have been unfortunately lost in the long history, leaving a huge regret.
Not long after the completion of the creation, this painting became an invaluable treasure. It was highly praised by the rulers and literati of the past dynasties in China. After the Southern and Northern Dynasties after the Eastern Jin Dynasty, this "Nu Shi Zhen Tu" was included in the Liang Nei Mansion.
In the later Sui and Tang dynasties, this famous painting has been kept in the palace. Regarding this, the Hongwenguan seal left on the painting and several other Tang court seals are the best illustration.
In addition, in the ancient book "Taizong Shilu" of the Tang Dynasty, this famous painting by Gu Kaizhi is also clearly recorded. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, due to the war, this "Nu Shi Zhen Tu" has only been exiled to the people.
In the Song Dynasty Song Huizong Zhenghe years, this famous painting was again included in the Inner Mansion, and then followed the Song Dynasty imperial family Nandu, and continued to be collected in the Southern Song Dynasty Palace Inner Mansion, the paintings on the paintings on the several books and seals to prove it.
Later, this famous painting fell into the hands of the Southern Song Dynasty Prime Minister Jia Sidao, and in the 16th century, it fell into the hands of Ming Dynasty Prime Minister Yan Song. This is also very clearly recorded in the ancient book Tianshui Bingshan Lu.
Next, this thousand-year-old painting was circulated among many famous ministers and literati in the Ming Dynasty and changed hands many times. After entering the Qing Dynasty, the fate of this famous painting remained the same, and it still circulated among many famous literati.
During this period, there were many more private seals on the paintings, and in some ancient books, there were also very clear written records. It was not until the Qianlong period that the "Female History Zhentu" was included in the palace.
After receiving this famous painting from the ages, Emperor Qianlong regarded it as a treasure and loved it. He left many seals on this painting and even painted an orchid on the back of this famous painting."
"Oh my god! This painting has been collected by so many people, and there are so many emperors in it. No wonder it's invaluable! It really deserves its name!"
David exclaimed in a low voice, and everyone else also exclaimed.
Ye Tian glanced at these guys again, and then continued to say:
" In this famous painting of the ages, Emperor Qianlong was the one who left the most seals. It can be seen that he liked it very much. Of course, the behavior of Emperor Qianlong is not desirable, especially the orchid he painted.
But who makes him the emperor, naturally he can do whatever he wants! Time soon arrived in 1900. After the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing, they set fire to the "Park of Ten Thousand Gardens" Yuanmingyuan and ransacked the Yuanmingyuan.
In the midst of that catastrophe, the famous painting of "Female History Proverbs" was stolen from the chaos. The man who stole this famous painting was the British Captain Johnson who was stationed near the Old Summer Palace at that time.
However, Johnson's family argued sophistry that "The Legend of Female History" was presented to him by a Chinese lady in gratitude to Johnson for her life-saving grace. Obviously, this is a ridiculous nonsense! "
Having said that, Ye Tian glanced at Prince William specifically to see how the second heir to the English king would react.
Prince William's face blushed a little, and he returned to normal in a blink of an eye. Obviously, he did not mind the catastrophe and despicable robbery that the British made more than a hundred years ago.
Perhaps under their so-called gentleman demeanor and gentle aristocratic temperament, there is still a robber's heart hidden.
There was no pause, Ye Tianqinglang's voice continued to be heard~www.wuxiaspot.com~ into the ears of everyone on the scene.
" After returning to England, Johnson did not realize the value of "The Picture of Female History" until he took the "Picture of Female History" to the British Museum and asked the librarian to deduct the price of the jade on the painting. This attracted the attention of the librarian.
After realizing the great value of this famous painting, the two librarians at the British Museum immediately shot and accepted the painting for 25 pounds. I have to say that Johnson is really a foolish fool.
Since then, this famous painting of the ages has been collected in the British Museum, and it has become the treasure of the Chinese Pavilion of the British Museum. Until three days ago, this famous painting of the ages became my bag.
But it is a pity and a great regret that after the British Museum received this famous painting from the ages, due to lack of knowledge of Chinese painting and calligraphy, it was mounted in the same way as Japanese paintings.
What's even more annoying is that the British Museum actually cut this famous painting that has lasted for thousands of years and finally passed down into three sections. One section is right in front of everyone, and the other two sections are placed in the other two exhibition cabinets.
As a result, the inscriptions and postscripts left by many literati and inkmen in the Ming and Qing dynasties have been cruelly cropped, and the cropped parts have been lost, forming a historical fault, which is beyond textual research."
Having said that, Ye Tian involuntarily looked at the curator of the British Museum Fisher and several other senior members of the British Museum, and a trace of hatred flashed through his eyes.
As for those British guys, their faces flushed a little, and they were somewhat embarrassed.
