Professor Tian was completely unaffected. After hearing the news, he actually drank three glasses of wine in a row. Especially after he said those words, Professor Tian's thin body gave everyone a sense of rugged heroism.
"Hehe, I'm fine, it's just that the news was a bit sudden..."
Zhuang Rui laughed upon hearing this.
In fact, after that trip to the island, Zhuang Rui's temperament was not as fragile as everyone thought. At least he did have the intention to kill Muta. If Jin Gang hadn't done it for him, Zhuang Rui would have killed Muta himself.
So the fact that the suicide by wild sex only made Zhuang Rui feel a little awkward was only natural. Anyone who knows that someone they have seen or know has died, whether that person is a friend or an enemy, will definitely have some emotional fluctuations.
"The Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs has yet to issue a public apology. I suspect the Japanese government will again pin the blame on that bastard, Yoshihiro. That's just how this nation is; they never dare to face their own mistakes. A bunch of arrogant yet insecure people..."
Zhuang Rui looked at the news reports and saw that there was no mention of Japan's attitude towards the "ancient porcelain" incident. He already knew in his heart that even after Yehe died, he would be smeared with mud.
"If my grandfather hadn't been stabbed a few times in his early years, he wouldn't have passed away after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Come on, let's drink." Professor Tian's performance today impressed Zhuang Rui. He was originally a very refined and quiet person, but he also had a bold and generous side. Although he was not tall, he had a strong presence.
"Teacher Tian, tell me about your grandfather..."
Zhuang Rui didn't want to dwell on the "antique porcelain" incident any longer, so he deliberately changed the subject.
"Hey, speaking of my grandfather, he was quite a figure back in the day. He wielded a big sword so powerful that even Chiang Kai-shek knew about him, and he was even awarded that 'Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun'..."
Professor Tian was also slightly tipsy, and when he heard Zhuang Rui mention his ancestors, he immediately began to speak animatedly.
After Professor Tian recounted his family history, Zhuang Rui and the others realized that Professor Tian's ancestors were indeed quite distinguished.
It turns out that Professor Tian's ancestors were from a family of martial arts practitioners, who were very famous in Hebei Province. However, in the 1920s, Professor Tian's grandfather joined Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army.
That old man followed Commander Feng in his campaigns across the country. He was a battalion commander when he participated in the Battle of Xifengkou on the Great Wall, and was promoted to regimental commander because of his bravery in battle.
However, Professor Tian's grandfather later left the army because he was no longer fit to stay in the military due to multiple injuries.
Back then, in the Kuomintang army, whether they were regular troops or local troops, and whether they were heroes of the War of Resistance against Japan or vanguards of the Civil War, almost every officer was corrupt.
Professor Tian's grandfather was the same. He served in the army for more than ten years and accumulated a lot of money. After returning to civilian life, in addition to his first wife, he married two more concubines when he was over fifty years old. I don't know how his body could withstand it.
Professor Tian's father was a student at Peking University. After graduation, he used the money his father embezzled in the army to open an antique shop in Beijing. He did not inherit the family business and abandoned the military for the academic world.
Although the antique shops disappeared after the liberation, Professor Tian, influenced by his father, still made a living in the antique business and has achieved some success so far.
However, Professor Tian still carries the tough blood of his ancestors in his veins, and he went to Japan with the mindset of fighting another war against Japan.
Therefore, Professor Tian and the Japanese can be considered sworn enemies. Seeing Ye He commit suicide, he felt only joy, and the wine tasted even better.
The meal lasted for over three hours. The attendees were all knowledgeable and well-versed in history and current affairs, and they chatted animatedly. In the end, Professor Tian, having drunk too much, was singing "The broadsword is slashing down on the heads of the Japanese devils" before Zhuang Rui helped him to a guest room to rest. ...
In the days that followed, news from Tokyo kept reaching Zhuang Rui's ears. To his surprise, after Ye He's suicide, Yamaki also followed suit and committed seppuku in his apartment. His death was more courageous than Ye He's.
When authorities searched their residence, they found that both men had left suicide notes. Yamaki had also left a video recording in which he stated that the incident was their private act and expressed remorse for the harm caused to the Japanese people.
The suicide notes of the illicit couples were all similar, apologizing to the Japanese government or people, but none of them mentioned the negative impact the incident had on China.
After seeing the news report, Zhuang Rui's last trace of guilt vanished.
Subsequently, the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs held a press conference to give a summary report on the incident, the main theme of which was, of course, to smear the two dead men, with the government only taking responsibility for inadequate supervision.
Thus, this event, which had caused a great uproar for more than two months, has finally come to an end.
However, this incident still had a profound impact. At the very least, the Japanese academic community never dared to say anything about Chinese culture being inherited from Japan again.
Even the South Koreans, who had previously been loudly proclaiming Qu Yuan and Confucius as citizens of their country, have since fallen silent and stopped mentioning the topic. It's just that "Made in China" is too powerful; it not only cheated out of hundreds of millions of dollars but also drove two people to their deaths. Who would dare to cross that line?
After a lively New Year, Zhuang Rui focused his energy on his studies. This year is his last year of graduate school and will be the busiest, as he not only has to write his graduation thesis, but he also has to participate in archaeological excavations.
However, Zhuang Rui felt that two years was simply not enough time for him to understand the profound history of ancient China, so he ultimately chose to continue his doctoral studies under Professor Meng.
Chapter 879 Funerary Objects (Part 1)
"The origins of tombs in my country can be traced back to the Neolithic Age, but large-scale, structured tombs originated in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Large tombs were common in the Spring and Autumn Period, but their scale was much smaller during the Warring States Period and the Qin Dynasty. Of course, the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor is an exception..."
The golden age of Chinese tombs was during the Han Dynasty, when lavish burials were prevalent, and the funerary objects in the tombs were the most abundant and exquisite of all dynasties...
Most Han tombs are cliff tombs. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, cliff tombs are mostly the mausoleums of princes or nobles. They generally have a tomb passage, corridor, side chambers, a middle chamber, and a rear chamber, and are filled with a large number of exquisite artifacts. Today, we will talk about the distribution of cliff tombs in the Han Dynasty and their influence on later tombs..."
Zhuang Rui sat in the classroom, constantly taking notes. Today's class was one of the few open classes that Professor Meng taught each semester. Not only him, but also Dr. Ren and Kan Yuhan were present, taking notes diligently.
More than two months have passed since Zhuang Rui returned to school after the New Year. This is the first time he has seen Dr. Ren and Kan Yuhan. Professor Meng told him that the two of them went to another place to conduct on-site excavations.
Before class, Zhuang Rui greeted them. At the graduate level, the friendship between classmates was not as sincere and pure as it was in college. In the past year or so, Zhuang Rui had not interacted with them much.
Kan Yuhan was a bit darker than when Zhuang Rui first met her. This was because she had been in Sichuan for the past six months overseeing the excavation of a large Han Dynasty tomb, and being exposed to wind and rain all day long naturally affected her skin.
However, Kan Yuhan was in good spirits. At the age of twenty-five or twenty-six, she was able to lead a major archaeological excavation project and had many senior researchers in their forties and fifties under her command. It can be said that Professor Meng's influence played a part in this.
Dr. Ren was riding high. Last year, a project he assisted Professor Meng in leading made a breakthrough, which led to Dr. Ren being officially retained by the university and promoted to associate professor. An associate professor in his thirties is considered a young and promising role model even at Peking University.
As for Zhuang Rui's other two doctoral "senior brothers," they had already graduated in June or July of last year.
Dr. Jiang, who didn't get along with Zhuang Rui, tried hard to repair his relationship with Zhuang Rui afterward, and Zhuang Rui didn't make things difficult for him. However, Dr. Jiang ultimately failed to stay in Beijing and returned to work at a local museum. After joining the museum, he was specially appointed as the deputy director, with a fairly good salary.
Wu Zhao, who had always maintained a good relationship with Zhuang Rui, joined Zhuang Rui's Dingguang Museum after graduation.
Dr. Wu's abilities are indeed remarkable. After joining the museum, he rose from a very ordinary manager to become the deputy curator of the Dingguang Museum in just six months, which surprised Zhuang Rui.
Zhuang Rui even asked Huangfu Yun about it. According to Huangfu Yun's explanation, he was in charge of external liaison, while the other deputy director was in charge of technology. Wu Zhaoren was young and had both technical and management skills, so he was promoted to deputy director. Hearing Huangfu Yun's explanation, Zhuang Rui was relieved.
"Huh? Whose call is that?"
Zhuang Rui, who was diligently taking notes, suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He looked around and, thankfully, was sitting near the classroom door. Zhuang Rui stood up and quietly slipped out.
That's the good thing about university; you can come and go freely during class. Of course, this isn't a market, so you can't disturb the professor when you come and go.
"Hey, monkey, what's up? I'm in class..."
Zhuang Rui walked to the corridor outside the classroom and pressed the answer button.
"Brother Zhuang, someone just brought over a few items. I wasn't sure what they were, so I called you. If you have time, could you come and take a look? It's been a while since I've seen you. Why don't you come and check on the work?"
Having lived in Beijing for almost three years, Monkey is now much more composed than before. He speaks with less impetuosity and more refinement.
Over the past few years, Monkey has learned the art of seal carving from Master Ge. He spends all his time in Panjiayuan and has seen and handled a great many objects. His eye for quality has also been honed, and he can now offer some insights into the identification of certain objects.
Master Ge is getting old and his hands are a bit unsteady, so he rarely carves seals himself anymore. Most of the seals are handled by Monkey. Although Monkey doesn't charge as much as Master Ge, he still makes a lot of money, at least 30,000 to 50,000 a month, which makes Da Xiong a little envious.
Upon hearing Monkey's words, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but laugh and scold, "You little rascal, if you want me to treat you, just say so! Why beat around the bush? Is your wife keeping your salary again?"
Monkey got married last autumn. His wife was a divorced young woman he met in the neighborhood. She had a two-year-old daughter, which made Monkey a father.
This woman treats Monkey well, doing his laundry and cooking for him every day. The only problem is that she can't stand seeing Monkey with money in his pocket. The reason is that her previous husband turned bad when he had money, so she has put economic control over Monkey.
Zhuang Rui also kept his promise and transferred the three houses he had obtained from Ouyang Jun to Monkey and Da Xiong respectively. Monkey had no relatives left, while Da Xiong brought his mother to Beijing, which can be regarded as a model of a prodigal son returning home.
"Brother Zhuang, my wife is very generous; she gives me at least the equivalent of a pack of Zhongnanhai cigarettes a day..."
Monkey is living a very happy and content life now. He comes home to hot food, hot soup, and a warm bed, and he has a child who looks like a porcelain doll calling him "Dad." So even though he smokes a six-yuan pack of Zhongnanhai cigarettes every day, he is always beaming with joy.
"Heh, that's all the ambition you have, kid. Alright, stop talking nonsense. Don't you understand what it is? Tell me over the phone first..."
Zhuang Rui knew that Monkey had been influenced by Panjiayuan for the past few years and could not be fooled by ordinary items. If he was now unable to make up his mind, then he had really encountered a problem.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, the monkey stopped joking and said seriously, "Brother Zhuang, there are several bronze artifacts and a jade figure. The items don't seem fake, but... they should all be funerary objects. I'm not sure whether to accept them or not..."
Mingqi refers to funerary objects, which, as the name suggests, are items made specifically for burial.
They are generally made of ceramics, wood, jade, or stone, but some are made of metal or paper. In addition to replicas of daily utensils, some royal tombs also contain idols of people, animals, and models of vehicles, ships, buildings, tools, weapons, and furniture.
The funerary objects naturally come from tombs, which is why the monkey was undecided.
It's important to understand that while those in the antique business may collect funerary objects, it depends on the specific item. For sensitive items like bronze tripods, reputable antique shops (called art shops in China, as the approval process for antique shops is not yet open) dare not accept them. If something goes wrong, they'll not only fail to profit but also get into serious trouble.
"Oh, is that so? Then I'll head over now. You call Da Xiong and Lao Zhao, and we'll have lunch together. You make arrangements for the afternoon, and I'll take a look at the things and then we'll talk..."
As Zhuang Rui spoke, he glanced at his watch; it was already 11:00 AM. After hanging up, he sent a text message to Dr. Ren, asking him to explain the situation to his teacher. He then went to the parking lot, got his car, and headed towards Panjiayuan. ...
"Hey, monkey, you're not going to be outdone, are you? The whole family of three came..."
Xuanrui Zhai's designated restaurant is a hotel restaurant not far from Panjiayuan. They usually order lunch from there. As soon as Zhuang Rui entered the private room, he saw a monkey playing with his daughter.
"Hehe, Brother Zhuang, my daughter is growing up a lot, so of course I have to come and get a share of the good stuff since you're treating us..."
The monkey, thick-skinned, didn't take Zhuang Rui's words to heart at all. However, his wife stood up and greeted him as "President Zhuang."
"Come here, Niu Niu, let Uncle give you a hug..."
As soon as Zhuang Rui sat down, he picked up the monkey's adopted daughter. The little girl was half a year older than his two children, and she was very cute with her rosy cheeks.
Da Xiong's wife works at a jewelry store and doesn't have time to come over at noon. It's just Monkey's family and Zhao Hanxuan, who are considered some of Zhuang Rui's earlier staff.
"Old Zhao, you've looked at the stuff, right? What do you think?"
After all the dishes were served, Zhuang Rui handed the little girl over to his mother, ordered a few bottles of beer, and started drinking with Zhao Hanxuan and the others.
"Hey, don't bring up things you don't want to talk about. I already said I won't look at bronze artifacts anymore, those things are too irritating..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Zhao Hanxuan glared at him irritably. Ever since he paid ten million in tuition fees last time, he would get angry with anyone who mentioned bronzeware to this guy. Even though Zhuang Rui was the boss, when Old Zhao got angry, Boss Zhuang had to put on a smiling face.
"Alright, never mind, I'll ask the monkey..."
Zhuang Rui knew that Zhao Hanxuan wasn't really angry, so he turned to the monkey and said, "Can you tell if it's real or fake? Can you guess which tomb this object came from?"
Zhuang Rui was trying to investigate the monkey. Nowadays, when Xuanrui Zhai collects antiques, the monkey usually takes the lead. Zhuang Rui only comes to take a look around when the amount of money involved is relatively large.
Getting down to business, Monkey straightened his expression and said, "Brother Zhuang, in my opinion, this is probably something important. The shape of the object looks like it's from the Han Dynasty, so it's at least a royal tomb, and..."
The monkey glanced at the mother and daughter sitting opposite him and lowered his voice, saying, "And this thing looks like something that was buried alive..."
Most antiques in the world come from tombs, but they are divided into "raw pit" and "cooked pit". "Cooked pit" refers to things that have been unearthed for a long time. The period before liberation is the dividing line. These are antiques that can be circulated in the market.
"Shengkong" refers to objects unearthed after the liberation, which are explicitly prohibited from being resold by the state. If they are very special items, they might be charged with receiving stolen goods if discovered.
Chapter 880 Funerary Objects (Part 2)
"Oh? I'll have to see for myself then. After dinner, Monkey, you take Niu Niu home, and then we'll arrange for them to come over this afternoon..."
When Zhuang Rui heard that they were unearthed funerary objects, his eyes lit up. Although he had handled a lot of antiques, most of them had been unearthed for many years with a clear provenance. Apart from the stolen goods from Boss Yu, Zhuang Rui had not really come into contact with newly unearthed antiques.
Knowing that he would be going to do an on-site excavation internship soon, Zhuang Rui naturally didn't want to miss the opportunity to see unearthed artifacts.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Monkey's wife quickly replied, "Mr. Zhuang, my daughter and I can walk by ourselves later. We have a car, so there's nothing to worry about..."
"Yeah, Brother Zhuang, I'll call them right now. These two don't seem like experienced people; they're looking for people to watch the goods everywhere. Who knows how late they'll take to arrive..."