Collection of Gods

Chapter 793 Xiao Yi Earns Lanting

After returning to the exhibition hall, Tang Yuan asked the staff on site and soon came to the display case where the copy of "Lanting Xu" was located. Compared with other display cases, there were more guests watching here, and there were also more staff responsible for maintaining order around.

I saw the copy of "Lanting Xu" lying quietly in the glass display case. Under the soft light, it looked to be well preserved, with clear ink marks and intact silk cloth. The brushstrokes were indeed a true inheritance of Wang Xizhi.

"Hello, can I borrow this exhibit?"

Tang Yuan found a staff member and asked him politely.

"Sir, I'm so sorry."

"This exhibit is a special exhibit. According to regulations, it is not allowed to be taken out for borrowing."

The staff member bowed slightly towards Tang Yuan and explained with a slightly apologetic look on his face.

"disturb."

Tang Yuan nodded slightly, but did not make things difficult for the staff in front of him. Instead, he took out his mobile phone from his pocket and sent a message to Xie Chengrun in the rest area, asking him to come over.

Xie Chengrun, who received the news from Tang Yuan, rushed over immediately.

"Brother Yuan, what's wrong?"

Xie Chengrun walked over quickly.

Tang Yuan pointed to a glass display case not far away and said, "I want to borrow this copy of the Lanting Preface to take a closer look, but the staff just said that this copy of the Lanting Preface is not allowed to be taken out for borrowing. Do you have any solution?"

“Where did this exhibit come from?”

Xie Chengrun stretched his neck to take a look and asked Tang Yuan.

"From the royal treasury."

Tang Yuan replied.

Xie Chengrun nodded when he heard this: "Brother Yuan, wait for me here for a moment. I'll make two calls. It's not a big problem."

"Row."

Tang Yuan responded, and when Xie Chengrun walked over with his cell phone to make a call, Tang Yuan was not idle either. He took out his cell phone and began to search for information about "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion".

Tang Yuan, who inherited the master-level calligraphy, is well aware of the lofty status of "Lanting Xu" in the Chinese calligraphy and painting circles. Since ancient times, it has enjoyed the reputation of "the best running script in the world". Its whereabouts are full of mystery, and there are various speculations.

Some people speculate that the original copy of "Lanting Xu" was hidden in the Zhaoling Mausoleum of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, and was later stolen by the warlord Wen Tao during the Republic of China period; some people speculate that the original copy of "Lanting Xu" was hidden in the tomb of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty, and is still hidden underground; others speculate that when the original copy of "Lanting Xu" was buried with Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, it was replaced with a fake copy, and the original copy still exists in the world...

Among all the speculations, the news that can be confirmed is that before Emperor Taizong of Tang obtained the "Lanting Xu", the original copy was always kept in the hands of Zen Master Yongzhi and Zen Master Biancai, and both of them were calligraphers who had learned the true teachings of Wang Xizhi. This is beyond doubt. Tang Yuan looked at the various analysis posts on the Internet and soon saw what Zhang Shenghua had just told him about Xiao Yi earning Lanting.

According to historical records, Xiao Yi only used three tricks to steal the "Lanting Preface".

The first move was to get close to him. After receiving the order from Emperor Taizong of Tang, Xiao Yi dressed up as a scholar and approached Zen Master Biancai. When the two met for the first time, they hit it off immediately. Zen Master Biancai even ordered people to open the newly brewed wine to entertain the guest. The two of them sang poems and drank together, and often stayed up all night in the following days. They felt that they had known each other too late, and soon Xiao Yi gained the trust of Zen Master Biancai.

After gaining the trust of Zen Master Biancai, Xiao Yi's second move came next. Xiao Yi knew that Zen Master Biancai would definitely not admit to keeping the "Lanting Preface" privately, so he could only use provocation to make him take it out on his own initiative. So Xiao Yi took advantage of the time when the two were familiar with each other and took a copy of Emperor Yuan of Liang's painting "Zhigongtu" to Zen Master Biancai for observation, and started talking about calligraphy and painting.

Xiao Yi said that he had been practicing calligraphy of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi with his father since he was a child. Although he was now living in a foreign land, he still had a few authentic works of the "Two Wangs" in his collection. After hearing this, Zen Master Biancai hurriedly asked him to bring them out for him to see.

Xiao Yi indeed brought several authentic calligraphy works of the "Two Wangs". Zen Master Biancai looked at them over and over for a long time, and then said, "The authentic works are authentic, but unfortunately they are not good works. I have an authentic work of Wang Xizhi, which is quite unusual."

Xiao Yi hurriedly asked what kind of calligraphy it was, and Zen Master Biancai only replied with two words: "Lanting".

Xiao Yi pretended to laugh at him and said, "How could Wang Xizhi's Lanting Calligraphy still exist after so many wars? It must be a fake!"

Zen Master Biancai said, "It was handed to me by Zen Master Zhiyong himself before he died. How could it be fake? If you don't believe me, come and see tomorrow."

Although Zen Master Biancai was good at calligraphy, he was not very accomplished in Taoism after all. He fell into Xiao Yi's provocation and told the truth in desperation.

Xiao Yi went there as promised, and Zen Master Biancai took out the authentic copy of "Preface to the Lanting Poems" from the secret niche on the roof beam. After looking at it, Xiao Yi deliberately pointed out several suspicious points in it and insisted that it was a fake. Xiao Yi also deliberately put aside several authentic copies he brought and asked Zen Master Biancai to compare them.

As a result, Zen Master Biancai soon lost all his guard against Xiao Yi, and no longer put the original copy of "Preface to the Lanting Poems" back into the secret niche. Instead, he placed it on the desk together with the other calligraphy works that Xiao Yi brought, and would take it out and look at it when he had nothing to do.

After a long time, Xiao Yi finally seized the opportunity and successfully stole the "Lanting Preface". He immediately found the local government, revealed his identity as an imperial censor, explained the reason, and asked someone to invite Zen Master Biancai, telling him that he was ordered to take away the original "Lanting Preface".

When Zen Master Biancai heard this, he realized that he had been deceived.

Xiao Yi returned to Chang'an and was rewarded greatly by Emperor Taizong of Tang. Bian Cai was guilty of deceiving the emperor and should have been punished more severely, but Emperor Taizong took into consideration his advanced age and the fact that he had already obtained the authentic copy of "Preface to the Lanting Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion" and therefore no longer pursued the charge and even granted him 3,000 shi of grain.

This incident caused a sensation among the people at the time and the news spread widely. Later, the great painter Yan Liben created the famous "Xiao Yi Earns the Lanting Pavilion" based on this story. The Liao Provincial Museum now has a Northern Song Dynasty copy of this painting.

The information Tang Yuan just learned from Zhang Shenghua was just a rough version. Now after reading the detailed process, Tang Yuan always felt that this matter was full of weirdness.

Zen Master Biancai knew very well that Emperor Taizong of Tang had coveted the authentic copy of "Preface to the Lanting Poems" for many years. Faced with the coveting of the emperor of the time, was Zen Master Biancai really so stupid as to trust a stranger whom he had only known for a short time?

If Zen Master Biancai was really so brainless, how could he have answered Emperor Taizong's questions so many times without making any mistakes and keeping his mouth shut, leaving Emperor Taizong with nothing?
Why did Zen Master Biancai create this copy of "Preface to the Lanting Collection"?

Many questions lingered in Tang Yuan's mind, making him extremely curious about the copy of "Lanting Xu" in front of him...

(End of this chapter)