"Among the distinguished guests on the stage, if any of you can tell the story of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and "Lanting Preface", this clear copy will be given to him."
Before Shen Yu could figure out how to take the picture of Mingben Orchid Pavilion at the lowest cost, Zhang Zongbao actually said something that surprised him.
Zhang Zongbao had no choice but to do this. Based on his experience, if two lots in a row failed to sell, that would not be a good thing for the subsequent auction, so he just gave it away.
Although this copybook is said to be from the Ming Dynasty, it is anonymous after all. At a high level, it is worth hundreds of thousands. It would not be a bad idea to simply give it to the Shen family boy, and it would also be considered as repaying his "favor" for appraising the Song Dynasty painting just now.
And asking Shen Yu to talk about the preciousness of "Lanting Preface" will also be beneficial to the following items.
Now, apart from Baoyuan's own trustees, there are only two people, Xu Duofu and Shen Yu, on the appreciation stage.
Xu Duofu will not argue with Shen Yu. If Shen Yu can tell it, then Shen Yu will naturally get this Mingben Lanting.
On the other hand, even if Xu Duofu asked for this clear copy, the Xu family owed him a favor. Zhang Zongbao felt that this transaction was a good deal.
Sure enough, as Zhang Zongbao guessed, Xu Duofu happily handed over the microphone handed over by the service staff to Shen Yu.
For a moment, the eyes in the auction hall were focused on Shen Yu.
Many people in the audience cried out that it was a pity, why couldn’t they have such a good thing?
……
When a good thing is coming, Shen Yu will naturally not refuse. He picked up the microphone and first expressed his gratitude to Zhang Zongbao, and then said slowly: "Director Zhang just told everyone that the several auction items before this post are 'appetizers'.
"Before I talk about the story of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and "Lanting Preface", I will also tell you an appetizer. Of course, this is not to waste everyone's time, but it is also a beginning for the following story.
"This appetizer is an allusion to Wang Xizhi and "The Quick Son-in-law in the East Bed".
"Xi Jian, a famous official in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and a great calligrapher, chose a son-in-law for his daughter Xi Xuan. He was a close friend of Wang Dao, the prime minister at that time, and was also one of the ministers of Tuogu, so he wanted to choose a young talent from the Wang family as his son-in-law.
"The Langya Wang family is a famous family in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and is also synonymous with a prominent family.
‘
"An ancient poem: In the old days, when the king was in front of the palace, the king flew into the homes of ordinary people. The word "king" refers to the Langya Wang family, and all his descendants are outstanding in appearance and talent.
"So Xi Jian found some time to talk to Director Wang about this matter. Director Wang heard that this was a good thing. There are more than 20 unmarried young people in my Wang family. You can pick whatever you want. Which is which.
"Xi Xuan is a famous beauty in Jiankang, the capital. She is also known as the fairy among women. The descendants of the Wang family have also heard of her name for a long time.
"Xi Jian was already a very popular minister at that time, so when the Wang family heard about it, they all cleaned up and hoped to be selected.
"But Xi Jian chose a young man lying on the bed with his chest exposed and sleeping soundly by the wall of the east wing. This man was Wang Xizhi.
"Later, Wang Xizhi and Xi Xuan became husband and wife, and they respected each other as guests. Wang Xizhi's seven sons and one daughter were all born to Xi Xuan.
"Later, Wang Xizhi became famous all over the world. From then on, Lingqiao and Dongtang became the honorific titles for other people's sons-in-law."
After Shen Yu finished speaking, the audience was very quiet. It was not that everyone disliked Shen Yu for wasting everyone's time, but they were fascinated by it. It was not until Zhang Zongbao took the lead in applauding that the audience applauded like thunder.
……
"Then where did Tang Taizong's "Lanting Preface" come from?
This is an eternal mystery. You must know that Li Shimin and Wang Xizhi are separated by about three hundred years.
It is said that Wang Xizhi's authentic works have been circulated within the family until the Sui Dynasty when it was passed to his seventh-generation grandson, Wang Faji, a descendant of the fifth son Wang Huizhi.
But this man became a monk, and his Buddhist name was Zhiyong. Like his ancestors, Zhiyong was also a famous calligraphy master in history. The "Eight Methods of Yongzi" he created in regular script had a profound influence.
Li Shimin was a big fan of Wang Xizhi. He once used imperial gold and silk to buy Wang Xizhi's authentic works. He also learned Wang Xizhi's calligraphy very well. This is mentioned in old and new Tang books, and it is true.
Li Shimin felt that in addition to Wang Xizhi's calligraphy being perfect, even the writings by Zhong Yao, Wang Xianzhi, and Xiao Ziyun also had their own shortcomings.
At that time, Li Shimin had many original works of Wang Xizhi, but they lacked the Lanting Preface. Moreover, he already had many copies of the "Lanting Preface", but the copies were only copies, no matter how good they were, they were inferior to the originals, so he sent his cronies to look for them. Descendants of Wang Xizhi.
The world is huge and there is a vast sea of people. Finding someone is like finding a needle in a haystack for ordinary people, but for Li Shimin, the emperor of this dynasty, it is not a difficult task. It is just a matter of one sentence.
Soon, the guards got the news that Master Chiyong had become a monk at Sanin Yongxin Temple, but when the guards found Master Chiyong, he had already passed away.
Since Master Zhiyong has no heirs, it stands to reason that this matter is over.
It just so happened that he had an apprentice named Biancai.
It doesn’t matter if you have an apprentice, it’s normal.
But Monk Biancai is also a master of calligraphy, and his "Lanting Preface" has captured the essence of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy.
When the visiting guards took Monk Biancai's calligraphy back, Li Shimin was sure that the original "Lanting Preface" must be in his hands, because the Lanting Preface he wrote was already better than that of many famous writers. If he didn't have the original, he would study and appreciate it every day. , it is impossible to achieve this.
So Li Shimin invited Biancai to Chang'an, and then asked Biancai about the whereabouts of "Lanting Preface". If he had it, he would be willing to give it no matter how much gold or silver he had.
Monk Biancai, however, gave a flawless answer. He just deduced that he had indeed seen the "Lanting Preface" in the room of his former master, Zen Master Zhiyong. However, due to the chaos in the late Sui Dynasty, the master and his disciples escaped many times and the original work had been lost. It was also the master's.
One of the regrets of dying.
After being repeatedly summoned several times, Monk Biancai refused to admit that he had the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" in his hand. Li Shimin had no choice but to let Monk Biancai return to Yongxin Temple.
Li Shimin could have taken it by force. He was the emperor and there would be no problem in asking for a painting. But it was hard to say, and he was also a wise king. He couldn't do this kind of thing by force. All Wang Xizhi's authentic works were made of real gold.
Bought with silver.
So there is a historical legend of "Xiao Yi plans to win Lanting".
This cannot be regarded as a legend, because there are authentic works describing this incident by Yan Liben and poems by Xiao Yi Biancai.
Xiao Yi, the censor during the Zhenguan period, whose real name is Xiao Shiyi, is also said to be Xiao Yi.
Because the name needed to avoid being tabooed by Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty, the word "世" in the middle was removed.
He is the successor of Xiao Yan, the founding emperor of Liang in the Southern Dynasties, and to be precise, he is the great-grandson of Xiao Yizhi, Emperor Yuan of Liang.
After the demise of Nanliang and the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the Xiao family changed from a royal family to an aristocratic family. However, the entire Xiao family was highly trusted by successive emperors of the Tang Dynasty and produced ten prime ministers in the Tang Dynasty.
Xiao Yi was well-known for his unparalleled strategies at that time. He simply said that this was just a trivial matter, asked Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty for a few copies of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi's original paintings, and then headed towards Yongxin Temple.
A month later, a young man dressed as a scholar appeared at Yongxin Temple. He said that he was a scholar from the north who was going to the south to meet friends and wanted to stay in a wing of the temple. He also heard about the reputation of Master Biancai and wanted to pay him a visit.
Upon seeing this, Monk Biancai was impressed by Xiao Yi's talent, because Xiao Yi was proficient in chess, calligraphy, and painting. Finally, Xiao Yi took out many authentic works of the two kings and asked Monk Biancai for advice.
Xiao Yi played a trick here. He used a trick of adulterating the truth. He mixed several genuine works of the two kings with a copy of "Lanting Preface" copied by others. Monk Biancai recognized it immediately and said that other
The copybooks are all authentic, but this "Lanting Preface" is a fake.
Xiao Yi pretended not to admit it. I come from the Lanling Xiao family, a well-known family. How can this be a fake? All the works in my family's collection must be authentic.
Biancai momentarily let it slip that the authentic copy of "Lanting Preface" is in the Zen room of my temple. How could it be in your home?
Later, "Lanting Preface" came into Xiao Yi's hands.
Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty ordered that Biancai be given a lot of money and things as compensation. Biancai had no choice but to build a three-story pagoda in the temple.
Later, the more Xiao Yi thought about it, the more guilty he became, so he became a monk and became a disciple of Master Biancai.
