Antiques with golden eyes

Tang Bo heard this and stroked his beard and laughed, "Of course I'm selling it. This is not a complete firewood kiln. What can I do if I just keep such a broken piece of porcelain? What, Xiao Shen, do you want to buy it?"

Shen Yu didn't hesitate, he nodded seriously, "Well, I really like your porcelain piece, but I don't know how much you want to sell it for?"

Shen Yu had just used his special ability to see this piece of porcelain. There were ten inches of precious light, and it was dazzling golden light. The light group was as big as a pearl. One inch of precious light lasted a hundred years, and ten inches meant a full thousand years. Isn't that right? Chai Shizong Chai Rong’s Chai Kiln?

Unexpectedly, Uncle Tang didn't answer Shen Yu's words, "There's no rush to sell porcelain tiles. I'd like to trouble Xiao Shen, why don't you take the time to show the old man the paintings first?"

"This old man is pointing things in the right direction and talking about the north and the west. He doesn't play by the rules at all. He is really difficult to deal with!"

Shen Yu cursed a little, but still had a smile on his face, "No problem, please take out the painting. As long as I can see it, I will make it clear to you."

"This is actually my brother's painting. It is passed down from my ancestors. However, he took it abroad when he was young. Now he is not short of money at all, so he gave the painting to me. After all, I am just an ordinary person. Even ordinary collectors cannot tell which famous artist this painting belongs to..."

While talking to himself, Uncle Tang took out a scroll painting from an old suitcase.

Why do you say hugging it? Because this painting is very heavy and Uncle Tang had a hard time holding it. It looks like it is a huge painting.

Here, Chen Xiaoyu has emptied the teapot and porcelain cups on the wooden coffee table, wiped it several times with a dry rag, and spread a piece of special waterproof and non-slip fabric on it.

After Shen Yu took the painting from Old Tang, he felt it for a moment and realized that the coffee table, which was only one meter long, could not be opened at all.

Chen Xiaoyu has excellent eyesight. He put the two appreciation tables together without waiting for Shen Yu's instructions. He quickly found a piece of clean cloth and laid it out. Uncle Tang nodded as he watched.

This is a figure painting with color on paper.

There is only one figure in the painting, a ferocious figure. Compared with the so-called fierce Zhang Fei and Lu Zhishen, he is far behind.

This man has a leopard head with ringed eyes, a black face and a curly beard. He wears a red robe, official boots, and a Tang-style futou.

The figure is extremely tall, and the figure is as tall as the painting.

Shen Yu took a closer look again. In a certain hall, this man was holding a gleaming sword and looking into the distance with a serious expression. There were countless winds rustling around him, and the boundless black mist was approaching.

And I don’t know what weirdness is hidden in the mist, but this person is not afraid at all, but strides towards the black mist.

"Ah, this is "Zhong Kui's Picture"!" Chen Xiaoyu lost his voice.

Shen Yu nodded. This character is very vivid in painting, but there is one thing. You can call him majestic, you can call him ferocious, but he doesn't look good anyway.

Just not good-looking!

Because there is the title of this painting in the upper right corner of the painting: "Picture of Zhong Kui".

Below is a fourteen-character running script written by Haoran, who is upright and fearless, and who holds the sword in his hands.

Celestial Master Zhong Kui, those evil villains trembled when they saw it, they must not look good.

This painting has no signature, no seal, and no signature. It is an unknown painting.

"It's an unknown painting again, so it's a bit difficult to identify."

Shen Yu was troubled by the appraisal of unknown paintings, but he still had to look carefully for the piece of Chai Kiln porcelain.

There are many paintings of Zhong Kui by famous ancient painters. Shen Yu’s skill in eating is to appraise calligraphy and paintings, so he is no stranger to it.

So did Zhong Kui exist in history?

It’s hard to say.

Because Zhongkui was a plant before the Tang Dynasty.

Would anyone say this is nonsense?

But this is actually the case. This plant is called Zhongkui, and it is said that it can ward off evil spirits.

It was only during the Sui and Tang Dynasties that the legend of Zhong Kui began to appear.

The earliest information that Zhong Kui can find is the book "Yi Shi" written by Lu Zhao, a litterateur in the Tang Dynasty.

This book is also called "Yi Shi of the Lu Family" or "Yi Shi of the Tang Dynasty". It records some legendary stories similar to gods and anecdotes.

Zhong Kui is mentioned for the first time in this book.

After that, the name Zhong Kui appeared in various legendary stories and stories about ghosts and monsters in the past dynasties. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, Zhong Kui's resume was basically complete.

Based on all the ancient books and information Shen Yu has seen, the origin of Zhong Kui is almost as follows:

It is said that there was a scholar in Zhongnan at the end of the Sui Dynasty. His surname was Zhong, his courtesy name was Zhengnan, and his last name was Kui. He was talented when he was young, and when he grew up, he became even more talented and full of knowledge.

But there are also disadvantages, that is, the appearance is not good, and it can even be said to be ugly.

During the Wude period of the Tang Dynasty (the reign of Li Yuan), Zhong Kui went to the capital to take the exam.

After some examinations, Zhong Kui's score in the imperial examination was very good, and he had no problem passing the imperial examination. However, he failed because of his poor appearance.

In fact, this is not completely considered making things difficult, because in ancient times, appearance itself was also a form of assessment when becoming an official.

But Zhong Kui was so angry that he committed suicide.

During the Tianbao period, it is said that Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty suffered from a spleen disease that could not be cured for a long time in Lintong Lishan. He had a dream at night. A trickster stole his Taizhen sachet and Minghuang jade flute and ran around the palace.

At this time, a burly man wearing a ragged gauze hat, a blue robe with horns and boots suddenly appeared, and in a few seconds the little thief was caught.

Tang Xuanzong asked, "Who are you?"

The burly man called himself: "I am Zhong Kui, who has not been awarded the Jinshi. I swear to your majesty to rid the world of evildoers."

After Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty woke up from a dream, he suddenly recovered from his illness miraculously, so he invited the painting saint Wu Daozi to paint a picture of Zhong Kui's trick in the dream and hang it in the palace, and he conferred Zhong Kui as the Holy Lord of the House. God.

Later, someone wrote an inscription on this portrait of Zhong Kui painted by Wu Daozi: The Emperor Ming dreamed of two monsters, one big and one small. The big one caught the small one, broke it and ate it.

Who did you ask? He said: I am Zhong Kui.

Since then, Zhong Kui has become the God of All-Answer among the Taoist gods. He is a god who answers all requests when he asks for blessings and wealth.

Ordinary people often hang statues of Zhong Kui in their homes to ward off evil spirits and to hope for blessings from Zhong Kui.

"Xiao Shen, I wonder if you can date this "Zhong Kui Picture"?" Tang Bo saw that Shen Yu was silent for a long time, so he couldn't wait to ask his doubts.

Shen Yu didn't answer this time because he was currently using his special ability to look at paintings.

The ten-inch treasure light slowly appeared, and after a few seconds, it turned into a ball of dazzling golden light the size of a glutinous rice ball.

"Song paintings are from the Northern Song Dynasty. This is incredible. The "Zhong Kui Picture" of the Northern Song Dynasty is a priceless treasure!"

"Xiao Shen, can you date this painting?" Tang Bo asked again.

"This is Tang Bo. There is no problem in dating. If I read it correctly, this painting should be a Song painting." Shen Yu said.

"Really Song Hua?" Tang Bo stood up from the sofa with a look of extreme shock on his face.

Shen Yu nodded, "Yes, judging from the paper, painting style and overall artistic conception of the painting, it is undoubtedly a Song Dynasty painting. Unfortunately, this is an unknown painting. It is difficult for me to tell where this painting belongs to the Northern Song Dynasty." Painted by a famous artist."

"This painting is indeed unsigned, but there is a seal here." Tang Bo said, pointing to Zhong Kui's sword in the painting.

"Oh? Is there a seal?"

Shen Yu raised his eyes and looked, right? There was indeed a seal in the sword, but it was hidden on the hilt, so you couldn't see it unless you looked carefully.