Chen Wenzhe didn't want to talk anymore. If the rubbings on the temple stele here are genuine, it would be very rare.
He looked at the rubbings. Of course, he only glanced at them for a few times before moving to the stone tablet.
The simplest way to identify rubbings is to identify the original stone.
To understand the various rubbings left in ancient times, it is important to identify the original stones.
But now many of the original stele stones have been destroyed, so the only remaining original rubbings or unique copies will be priceless.
According to historical records, Huang Tingjian of the Ming Dynasty once recorded that the "Zhenguan Engraving" on the Confucius Temple Stele was purchased for a thousand taels of gold.
This illustrates the value of Yu Shinan's "Confucius Temple Stele".
However, when the "Chengwu Version" and "Chang'an Version" were reprinted later, the quality of the reprinted copies was not as good as the original rubbings.
In 1920, Luo Zhenyu, a great collector, publicly sold the Ming rubbings "Chang'an Benmiaotang Stele" that he authenticated, worth 140 oceans.
There is also the "Chengwu Benmiao Temple Stele" collected by Zhang Shumo, which is worth 120 yuan.
Due to the law of value, it has become a hobby for many collectors to truly learn to appreciate inscriptions.
From the overall understanding of the inscriptions, appreciation also extends from the outside to the inside, with different aspects.
The first thing that catches the eye is the decoration of rubbings. Various old rubbings, especially ancient rubbings, have styles from different periods.
Therefore, "jingzhe decoration", "butterfly decoration", "thread decoration", etc. all reflect the characteristics of the material and watch decoration times.
Then there is the rubbing paper and the specific ink color and effect of the rubbing. This is an objective analysis of the materials and techniques.
After the Southern Song Dynasty, masters of counterfeiting inscriptions increasingly focused on rubbing techniques and carving stones.
Therefore, further identification of calligraphy style, pen usage, etc. has become the main basis for appreciation.
In addition, there are auxiliary basis for identifying the inscriptions, such as inscriptions, seals, inscriptions and postscripts, etc., which can help to identify the authenticity.
Chen Wenzhe looked at the stone tablet and the rubbing in his hand.
The production of these rubbings is certainly inseparable from stone tablets.
So how is it made? It’s actually not difficult.
The technique of using ink to transfer characters and patterns on stone carvings and ancient artifacts onto paper has been around for a long time.
This is an important method to preserve cultural relics and provide examples for writing.
Chuantuo technology has a history of more than 1,000 years in our country.
Many of the inscriptions have been lost and destroyed, and only because rubbings have been handed down can we see the content and style of the original inscriptions.
For example, the Han Dynasty Huashan Temple Monument was destroyed by the earthquake in the 34th year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, and the rubbings passed down from generation to generation are treasures.
The Tang Dynasty, Liu Gongquan, and Song Dynasty rubbings of the Shencejun stele were made. Since the original stele has been lost, only one rubbing has been handed down, making it an only copy.
Chuanru can clearly carve out stone carvings, inscriptions on ancient artifacts and subtle patterns to make up for the lack of photography technology.
There are two main types of rubbing methods for transferring inscriptions on inscriptions: rubbing ink rubbing and splashing ink rubbing, as well as wax ink rubbing, inlay rubbing, ring rubbing, etc.
What you see in front of you is the rubbing of the inscription using the ink rubbing method.
In this method of rubbing, the main tool is an eraser made of rolled felt.
The wiper should be rolled tightly and the seam should be tight, and it should be grasped appropriately by hand.
Then cut the lower end of the felt roll and iron it flat, and spread the wet paper on the stone tablet.
Then use a brown brush to smooth it out and brush hard to make the paper tightly cover the recessed area, and then use a bristle brush to smash it again in order.
If the stone carving is solid, the paper needs to be padded with felt and tapped with a wooden hammer to make the fine details of the writing clear. Do not hit it hard with a wooden hammer.
After the paper is dry, use a pen to dip the ink on the rubbing board, rub the ink evenly with an eraser, and rub the ink onto the paper.
At this time, be careful not to let the ink soak into the back of the paper, so that the black and white of the inscription can be clearly seen. Rub the ink three times and it's done.
It felt like this book didn't look like a fake copied at random, and Chen Wenzhe felt happy.
As long as this book is not forged by modern people, it is absolutely valuable.
Even rubbings made during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China are still very valuable.
Since Li Tianqiang said that the pile here may be genuine, let's take a closer look.
Chen Wenzhe turned to the next book. This one was not made using the above method, but was made using the ink rubbing method.
The pout used in this method is made of white cloth or satin wrapped with cotton and oil paper.
Lined with two layers of cloth, one end is tied into a garlic shape.
According to the needs of the inscriptions and utensils, it can be bundled into three types of large, medium and small pouts.
Moisten the pad with water, dip the pen in ink on the rubbing board, and knead it evenly with the pad.
If you use a double puff, you can first dip the lower puff in ink, then pat the two puffs against each other to knead the ink evenly, and then spread the ink on the semi-dry paper.
The first pass of ink must be even and the ink should be black and shiny after three or four passes.
Because the cliff surface is rough, rice bran, hair, sand powder, sawdust, etc. can be wrapped in white cloth to make a puff.
After that, dip the double-puff in ink and knead it evenly before rubbing the uneven cliff carvings.
A high-ranking Shaanxi official An Tuo worker in Beilin made a ruffle base from horsetail mane, then lined it with felt and used old wool to make a ruffle base.
They only used a single Luo Dipu and a rubbing board, and the results of the inscription rubbings they produced were also very good.
Based on the historical data, Chen Wenzhe could tell that the calligraphy on Yu Shinan's temple stele that he saw in front of him was not written by Yu Shinan himself, but was copied from Wu Zetian's era stele.
There are currently four versions available in the world, the Shaanxi version, which is the Ximiaotang version;
The Neon Sanjing version is a version collected by Kangli Xisi from officials in the Yuan Dynasty to the Minister of Rites;
The Chengwu version is the Dongmiaotang version;
Neon Seven Notes from the Tokugawa Family Collection.
Most of the rubbings sold on the market today are carved by craftsmen from the Qing Dynasty or the Republic of China.
Currently the most popular is Mitsui's version.
The word "Confucius" at the beginning of the Mitsui and Tokugawa editions is present, but the word "Confucius" at the beginning of the West Temple Hall edition and East Temple Hall edition is not there.
Both the Mitsui and Tokugawa editions have characters that have been transferred from their editions.
It cannot be said that the Mitsui and Tokugawa editions are 100% from the Wu Zetian era.
Because the value of Yukai script is so high, if the temple monument is lost due to war or other reasons, it is inevitable that enthusiastic people will engrave it and erect it again.
Therefore, there is also the possibility that it comes from the late Tang Dynasty or the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.
The four versions have a few different words.
As for "twenty" and "twenty", it remains to be verified.
As for the rough language of "ploughing the corners", it is very inconsistent with the author's intention;
There is also an inscription in the temple that reads, "After being lost, return to the east, and the white ring enters to the west." Yu Shinan is saying that both the Koreans and the Tubo people have laid down their weapons and will not intrude.
Therefore, most people would think that Yu Shinan would not use such a serious word as "ploughing the Jiejiao" to refer to Jieli, the subjugated king of the Eastern Turks who had just been wiped out by the Tang Empire.
Chen Wenzhe flipped through the rubbings in his hand. There were four in total, namely the Dingwu edition of Dongmiaotang, the Shaanxi edition of Ximiaotang, the Neon Mitsui Yasuri edition, and the Neon Qitiao edition.
This is a very complete series.
It can be said that both monuments and posts are collected here.
And here, we must talk about the difference between stele and post.
The title of stele first began in the Han Dynasty.
According to research by Wang Jun, a scholar of Shuowen in the Qing Dynasty, the earliest stele had three uses.
That is, the monument in the palace was erected in front of the palace to measure the shadow of the sun;
The ancestral monument is erected in the ancestral temple to tie livestock;
The tomb stele was used to pull the coffin into the tomb when the emperor, princes and officials were buried.