Lin Shih-Lung was startled when he saw it!
Fortunately, I was sitting in the car. I was surprised, but I was prepared. I just didn't expect that what Zhou Xuan took out would be so amazing!
On the surface of this small jade seal, thousands of characters are engraved on each side. Upon closer inspection, the first inscription is four characters: "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion"!
The Preface to the Orchid Pavilion is recognized by calligraphers throughout Chinese history as the unparalleled masterpiece of running script, a work of great calligraphy by Wang Xizhi!
Lin Shilong has a great love for calligraphy and has collected many famous works of calligraphy and painting at home. He also has calligraphy by Wang Xizhi, but it is definitely not the original; it is a copy. However, because he loves Wang Xizhi's calligraphy so much, he is very familiar with it. The Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection is a collection of Wang Xizhi's works from his middle age. Of course, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection from his later years is his masterpiece. They were then compiled together and passed down through the ages.
This small seal contains the complete collection of Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Orchid Pavilion, with the most famous and hailed as the best in the world, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion, located in the first position.
There are now too many copies of it. Because it is known as the best running script in the world, it is the most loved by calligraphy enthusiasts. Among them, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion is Wang Xizhi's most proud calligraphy, which is described as having a free and easy brushwork, bright and colorful ink, and is so beautiful and amazing that it is breathtaking!
Lin Shilong's astonishment wasn't that the jade seal was engraved with the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, but rather the calligraphy used to engrave it. The Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering has 324 characters, including more than 20 different "之" characters, each one unique, flowing like drifting clouds or graceful as a startled snake. Below the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering are "Guan Nu Tie," "Shi Qi Tie," "Er Xie Tie," "Feng Ju Tie," "Yi Mu Tie," "Kuai Xue Shi Qing Tie," and so on. Just as he had seen yesterday, such a small jade surface was engraved with so many characters. Although there were no paintings, only characters, it was still just as remarkable as yesterday's miniature carving. What was even more astonishing was that this miniature carving was not only much smaller, but the calligraphy of the characters was exactly the same as that on the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering!
This is what alarms Lin Shilong the most. Micro-carving is different from other forms of copying. Painting and calligraphy can be reproduced using photographic and photocopying technologies, making the original work exactly the same. But micro-carving cannot do that. To paint on a micro-carving, one needs the skills of a painter; to create calligraphy on a micro-carving, one needs the ability of a calligrapher. Everything can only be carved, not replicated using high-tech methods. Without a profound foundation in calligraphy, it is impossible to carve it. Micro-carving is the only art in this industry that cannot be faked, because it cannot be imitated using high technology; it can only be carved by technique.
This seal also overcomes the difficulty of micro-carving jadeite, and the number of micro-carvings is equally astonishing. Like yesterday's, no master can achieve this level of micro-carving in contemporary works. However, Lin Shilong had already realized this yesterday, and when he heard Zhou Xuan say that there were several more such works, he was already mentally prepared.
What was driving Lin Shih-lung almost crazy was another thing: calligraphy!
The calligraphy on this miniature sculpture is exactly the same as the Wang Xizhi calligraphy on the copy he collected!
Micro-carving is different from other impossible things. The calligraphy on this micro-carving is to be the same as the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion. Unless Wang Xizhi is resurrected, it is absolutely impossible for the carver to carve it without Wang Xizhi's calligraphy skills. That's why Lin Shilong was so surprised!
What kind of person is this micro-carving master?
Lin Shilong was incredibly curious. Such a brilliant talent, yet unknown in this industry—who was this person? If he had other works, wouldn't that be a huge success?
Lin Shilong then looked at the other pieces. The others were miniature carvings combining calligraphy and painting, just as remarkable as the ten thousand horses miniature carving from yesterday, but Lin Shilong didn't care much about them. What he cared about most was this small seal of the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion. The miniature carving technique was already amazing, but what made this piece even more remarkable than the others was Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. It was almost as if Wang Xizhi had been resurrected and rewritten the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion. This value far exceeded the value of the miniature carving itself.
Lin Shilong was speechless. Of the four pieces in his hand, excluding this calligraphy piece, the other three were worth over 100 million yuan each, while he didn't even dare to estimate the price of this one.
To put it another way, if all of Wang Xizhi's manuscript of the Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion were put up for auction, and all of them were genuine works, who could say how much they would be worth?
Leaving aside the entire Preface to the Orchid Pavilion, the value of the "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion," which is known as the finest example of running script in the world, is incalculable. A work by Bada Shanren from the Qing Dynasty was auctioned at Dah Chong Auction House in Hong Kong the previous year and sold for an astonishing HK$276 million. If we were to say that the half of the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion has a collection value that surpasses that of Bada Shanren, that would be an unknown figure!
Zhou Xuan and Wei Xiaoyu sat in the back without making a sound. Zhou Xuan had been secretly watching Lin Shilong's expression. Needless to say, Lin Shilong's heart was completely absorbed in these miniature carvings.
In fact, Zhou Xuan himself was unaware of the value of the miniature Wang Xizhi calligraphy he made. He had only selected a few items with many characters, paintings, and scenes as samples, and never expected that Wang Xizhi's work would be even more sensational.
There's no one in the world more peculiar than his ice-energy ability. Others can't do micro-carving, but his ice-energy ability is an anomaly. It's like a photocopier, perfectly replicating the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection, and capturing its essence exactly!
Time flies by unnoticed. Fang Dacheng stopped the car, and Zhou Xuan and Wei Xiaoyu realized they had arrived.
This is a large building, and in a relatively bustling area of the city, it doesn't look like a private residence.
Lin Shilong held the box in both hands, so nervous that he forgot to talk to Zhou Xuan about anything else and just led the way.
In a room on the 27th floor of the building, four men in their fifties were sitting.
As soon as Zhou Xuan entered the room, he felt that the four men had an imposing aura, an air of wealth and superiority. He had seen this kind of aura in Gu Yuan's grandfather, Wei Haihong, and Fu Tianlai. Moreover, he knew two of these four men, though only from magazines and television, not from real people.
One of them is named Huang Dazhong, and the other is named Chi Xiqian. Both are among the top billionaires in Hong Kong. The other two are obviously not ordinary people either. It seems that the people Lin Shilong introduced to him today are not ordinary people. It is probably all because of that micro-carving yesterday.
As soon as Fang Dacheng entered, he had no choice but to stand aside, while Zhou Xuan and Wei Xiaoyu sat down without any politeness. The wealthy and powerful aura of these people had no effect on him and Wei Xiaoyu in the slightest.
Volume 1, Chapter 359
"Hello Mr. Huang!" "Hello Mr. Chi!" "Hello Mr. Wu!" "Hello Mr. Zhang!"
Zhou Xuan shook hands with the four men with neither arrogance nor servility. He knew Huang Dazhong and Chi Xiqian were wealthy Hong Kong businessmen, and he had also heard of Wu Xiulin, though he had never met him. Wu Xiulin was one of the most famous and well-known tycoons in China. He had never heard of Zhang Jing, but he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the other three billionaires, suggesting he was no ordinary person. ()
There were no formalities. Lin Shilong brought Zhou Xuan here to do business. As soon as he sat down, he took out the box that Zhou Xuan had given him, took out a piece of jadeite microcarving, and gently placed it on the table. After that, he just smiled and didn't say a word.
There are good things here, and these people are all experts, so there's no need for him to give much of an introduction. Moreover, these super-rich people have very strange tempers. If they like something, they will do anything to get it. If others flatter or praise it, they will get very angry. So, at this moment, silence speaks louder than words!
First, Huang Dazhong opened the small silk cloth, revealing a white jade ring. It was an icy jade. Huang Dazhong was unimpressed. Let alone icy jade, even the finest glass-type jade was nothing to people like them.
The other three also seemed unconvinced. Huang Dazhong even frowned and said, "Shilong, you said you had something good to introduce to us today, an icy jade ring, which is only worth a few hundred thousand at most. What's so special about that?"
Lin Shilong chuckled, took a high-powered magnifying glass out of his bag, handed it to Huang Dazhong, and said with a smile, "Mr. Huang, take a look at this first!"
Seeing Lin Shilong's confident and composed demeanor, Huang Dazhong realized that he wasn't joking. Besides, although Lin Shilong had some money, he was far less wealthy than them, so Huang Dazhong wouldn't dare to joke with them like that.
After thinking for a moment, Huang Dazhong took the magnifying glass and looked at the jade ring. His eyes widened at that first glance!
He paused for a moment, then quickly sat up straight and took out a magnifying glass to examine it more closely.
The jade ring on Huang Dazhong's hand is engraved with a "Hundred Flowers and Hundred Ladies" scene. It depicts a hundred kinds of flowers and a hundred ladies, including opulent peonies, elegant chrysanthemums, and stunning peach blossoms. Among the hundred flowers, there are a hundred beautifully dressed ladies with different expressions. This seemingly numerous "Hundred Flowers and Hundred Ladies" scene is all concentrated on this small ring. Even the most outstanding micro-carving masters today could not create such a large number of objects in micro-carving. What surprised him even more was that micro-carving is impossible on jade. It is impossible to successfully carve so many objects on such hard jade. It is corundum, and jade is brittle when it is hard. If you try to micro-carve, it will be destroyed and impossible to succeed. This is why no micro-carving master has ever been able to create micro-carvings on jade. This is an insurmountable bottleneck.
The "Hundred Flowers and Hundred Officials" motif on this micro-carving is remarkable for several reasons. First, there are so many subjects that it would be impossible to depict them all in such a small area. Second, there is the difficulty of micro-carving jade. Third, the carving technique of this "Hundred Flowers and Hundred Officials" is superb. All of these factors combined make this piece priceless!
Huang Dazhong had seen it all, but now that he had a clear look at the miniature carving in his hand, his expression was truly unpredictable, shifting between light and dark.
Chi Xiqian, Wu Xiulin, and Zhang Jing, who were standing nearby, noticed Huang Dazhong's strange expression. It was just an ordinary icy jade ring; what treasures hadn't Huang Dazhong seen? Why was he making this face?
Huang Dazhong paused for a moment, then noticed the expressions on Chi Xiqian's and the other two's faces. Knowing they were puzzled, he immediately handed them the ring and magnifying glass, saying, "Take a look, see what's so special about this ring!"
Chi Xiqian was the first to take it. He took a look with the magnifying glass, was stunned at first, and then blushed and his heart started pounding. He examined it carefully with the magnifying glass, and his expression was no different from Huang Dazhong's!
As he watched, he shook his head, his expression a mixture of admiration and disbelief, creating a strange look on his face that immediately piqued the curiosity of Wu Xiulin and Zhang Jing.
Like Huang Dazhong, Chi Xiqian is a business tycoon and a figure of great influence. How could he be so impatient and let his emotions show on his face?
Chi Xiqian didn't say much and immediately handed the item to Wu Xiulin. Wu Xiulin was just as surprised as the other two. Zhang Jing was even more astonished after reading it!
Lin Shilong then took out two more pieces: one was a painting of a hundred merchants, and the other was a painting of emperors and beauties from ancient times. Both were equally rare and were micro-carved on jade. Huang Dazhong and the other three were stunned when they saw them and it took them a long time to come to their senses.