Riding the wind of rebirth

"What's the significance of these two paintings?" Yao Chong didn't know much about calligraphy and painting, but when he saw that Chen Shaochong was embarrassed by Zhou Zhi, he couldn't help but feel relieved, so he asked curiously.

"The Picture of Smoke and Water in the Mist" was written one day after the summer solstice in the second year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty. Painters Liu Jue and Xu Youzhen took a boat to visit Shen Zhou's home in Xiangcheng, the founder of the Wumen School of Painting, and recited poems and painted at Shen Zhou's home. "

"There is a five-character poem by Liu Jue on the upper right side of this painting, and a five-character poem by Xu Youzhen in cursive script on the top, as well as a postscript. This is what is recorded in the postscript."

"This painting itself is a sketch of life facts from the gathering of literati of the Wumen School of Painting. It contains the creations of two scribes and the stories of three painters. It is the best embodiment of the artistic sentiments of the Wumen School of Painting."

"As for another scroll of "Red Apricot and Two Swallows" by Mi Wanzhong, some commentators said that it has red apricot branches and dotted outlines, which was the style of the Ming Dynasty. The next lake stone is thin, wrinkled and exquisite, and the painting method is similar to Jing and Jing. Guan, but the spirit is like Fan Kuan. The several clusters of peony behind the stone are based on the Yuan Dynasty's painting method, which is quite charming.'"

"A painting contains the painting methods of the Yuan Dynasty, the Five Dynasties, the Song Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty. It has very important information about inheritance and change. It is a must-see."

Chen Shaochong couldn't help but put his hands on his forehead: "I first agreed that I was studying bronzes, but later I gave up my business to do management work."

"Good guy, you know more about our library than I do. Don't ask random questions when there are outsiders around. Otherwise, I won't be able to get off the stage..."

Feeling that he couldn't continue chatting with Zhou Zhi, Chen Shaochong took the two of them into the museum, but went directly to the fourth floor, where was the ancient painting and ancient classics restoration room.

Even though it was the weekend, there were still a bunch of people busy around several ancient paintings, because once the restoration work started, it had to be done step by step, and it couldn't stop even when the King of Heaven came.

Zhou Zhi immediately focused on one of them, which was one of the most precious collections in the Suzhou Museum - Wang Chong's "Spring Mountain Picture".

This painting is extremely rare because Wang Pang himself is famous for his calligraphy. Together with Zhu Yunming, Wen Zhengming, and Chen Daofu, he is known as the "Four Masters of Wuzhong".

His small regular script is said to be "the first in the Ming Dynasty after Wen Zhengming". In addition, he also has cursive writing, seal cutting, landscape, flowers and birds, and poetry, which was also well-known at that time.

In addition to being known as Zhu Yunming and Wen Zhengming among the four well-known talents, his son also married the daughter of Tang Yin, another one of the four talents.

"Spring Mountain Picture" is one hundred centimeters long and thirty centimeters wide. The picture depicts a spring scene in a water town. Nearby is a study room in which a scribe is studying. Outside the study room, there are ancient pines and old vines. There is a pine tree under the pine tree. There are cranes and an old ape hanging on Tengshan.

There is also a poem in the upper left corner of the picture: "The charming scenery is just like spring, with white sand and yellow water sparkling. The windows are open and there are books and seats, and the apes and cranes are in the shape of civil servants."

This painting is still in the inspection stage. An old man stood beside the painting with a frown on his face: "It's too old and has serious lead..."

The so-called "lead flooding" is actually a common "age disease" in ancient calligraphy and painting. The reason for this disease is that ancient pigments often contain lead. Lead itself is good for pigment adhesion and can make Colors settle more firmly on paper.

However, as time goes by, these lead-containing pigments will gradually precipitate on the surface of the scroll, forming black spots that vary in shades depending on the intensity of the paint, making the scroll dirty and ugly, making the lines blurry and ugly, making it very difficult to deal with.

"Teacher Duan, how about we try hydrogen peroxide?" A young man who must be an elderly student said at the side.

"Hydrogen peroxide does too much damage to the paint and paper." The old man's brows still did not open: "It is OK to deal with non-main parts of the picture, but the phenomenon of lead flooding generally occurs in places where paint is highly accumulated. These places are usually used by painters. The finishing touch of the thick and colorful depiction, but if it is not handled properly, the damage caused will be irreparable.”

"The phenomenon of lead flooding is actually a reduction reaction of lead in the environment of pigments and air humidity, causing the lead to precipitate in a metallic state. The purpose of using hydrogen peroxide is to cause an oxidation reaction to occur, turning the black lead back into white oxidized form. Lead restores the quality of the painting." Another student said: "But the hydrogen peroxide will definitely soak into the painting paper. While oxidizing the lead, it will also oxidize the paper and other pigments. It is a double-edged sword. It's difficult. , It's really difficult..." Zhou Zhi couldn't help it on the side: "Actually, the lead only precipitates on the surface of the drawing paper. As long as there is an isolation layer to separate the drawing paper from the lead on the surface, and then the isolation layer If the above lead is oxidized, won’t the effect be achieved?”

Only then did everyone realize that there were three more people watching at the door, and several students quickly said hello: "Director Chen."

The older teachers are quite familiar with Yao Chong: "Director, Manager Yao, why are you here on the weekend?"

"There is a friend who likes the collection of our Suzhou Museum. I brought him over today to have a look." Yao Chong said with a smile, "What's the matter? Teacher Duan encountered a problem?"

Chen Shaochong began to introduce Zhou Zhi: "This is Teacher Duan Qihong from the painting and calligraphy restoration room in our library. These are his students."

A student asked: "What classmate Zhou just said is a bit funny. Oxidation of lead requires an oxidant. If a protective film is required to be formed on the paper, let's not talk about how thin it needs to be. How can we ensure that the protective film is effective in isolating hydrogen peroxide?" Sex is also a huge problem, right?"

"Yes," another student said, "If there is such a protective agent, regardless of the effect, wouldn't the protective agent itself do no harm to the paper and paint?" So this is just a fantasy, at least I have not heard of such a protective agent. "

"Who said no?" Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "You are already using this protective agent."

"Are you using it? What is that?"

"It's just water." Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "Moistening the picture with water is the best protective film."

"But hydrogen peroxide needs to be dissolved in water. Isn't this the same as applying hydrogen peroxide directly?"

"So we need to change a potion that is clearer than water, can float on the water, and can directly act on lead seepage."

"Things that are clearer than water...are they oil? Hahahaha..." Another student laughed loudly: "This classmate has a great idea. He burned the painting on fire and all the worries are gone. Hahaha..."

"Of course oil won't work, but alcohol will do."

"Alcohol is indeed an important stain remover for us." The previous student said, "But lead is a metal and it is not soluble in alcohol."

"And alcohol and water are mutually soluble!" His classmate said, "It will also penetrate into the painting."

"Theoretically, this is indeed the case." Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "So just like what this classmate said just now, you need to light a fire to let the alcohol burn."

"Hahahahaha..." The two classmates laughed as if they had heard the most ridiculous story: "It turns out that the classmates are joking with us..."

However, Duan Qihong grabbed Zhou Zhi's wrist and said, "This...classmate, you...where have you seen the art of igniting fire and burning lead?"