Professor Tian was also somewhat helpless. Using this method to appraise objects was a sign of the appraiser's incompetence. Professor Tian was forced into this situation; he couldn't just let himself be humiliated by the Japanese like this.
At the same time, Professor Tian also felt deep admiration for this counterfeiter. To be able to imitate the fake so realistically, his craftsmanship was unmatched even by national-level craftsmen. This manufacturer was capable of establishing his own school of thought and forming his own system.
After answering the female reporter's question, Professor Tian picked up the hammer in his hand, walked to the table, and raised the hammer high in front of the genital device that Peng Fei had brought him.
At that moment, everyone, whether they were at the press conference or watching on television, held their breath, their eyes fixed on the raised hammer.
The crisp "snap" sound was amplified by the excellent sound effects, as if it were striking the fragile hearts of everyone present, causing each person's body to tremble slightly.
Turning our attention back to the porcelain piece, the square surface of the vessel had been smashed, revealing a black hole the size of a baby's fist. The camera zoomed in on the hole, but the contents were still not visible.
"Crack... Crack crack," the sound of the hammer colliding with the porcelain continued. When Professor Tian struck the fifth time, the square porcelain vessel finally disintegrated, and the scattered shards of porcelain were irregularly distributed on the table.
Because the outside was blocked by security guards, all that was left in front of the broken porcelain were Professor Tian and Shanmu. Professor Tian casually threw down a hammer and started rummaging through the broken pieces.
The object was not large to begin with. Just a few dozen seconds later, Professor Tian raised his head with a happy expression, holding a palm-sized porcelain shard in his hand, with the inner wall facing out, and displayed it in front of all the cameras.
"Xu, November 12, 2006..."
Under the high-magnification zoom of the camera, the line of text, slightly larger than a grain of rice, was clearly transmitted to the audience around the world watching this press conference.
"It's fake, it's fake..."
People at the scene started shouting.
"Nonsense, of course it's fake. This one was brought by Professor Tian..."
Another reporter glanced disdainfully at his rookie colleague next to him, wondering what the kid was thinking.
"How...how is this possible?"
Standing next to Professor Tian, Yamaki could clearly see the small characters on the inner wall of the broken porcelain even without a magnifying glass. He looked somewhat dazed and had a very ominous premonition.
At that moment, Yamaki even had a urge to stop Professor Tian from continuing to smash the porcelain; he was afraid.
Seeing that Yamaki looked somewhat lost, Yehe walked over to him and whispered in his ear, "Yamaki-kun, that was a fake to begin with. The inscription on the inner wall isn't anything special. You have to trust science. Both of our porcelain pieces have been carbon-14 tested..."
"Thank you for reminding me, Noga-kun. It was my fault..."
Yamaki suddenly lowered his head and bowed deeply to Nogai. He realized that he had been somewhat out of line. He was now facing a television audience across Japan and even the world, and he was representing the image of Japan.
"Next, I'm going to smash this same porcelain utensil. Everyone, take a good look..."
Yamaki's emotions, which had just calmed down, were suddenly made tense again by Professor Tian's words, because the porcelain he was about to smash was the utensil he had bought from China.
The broken porcelain piece was collected in a basket by the staff and placed aside. Once there were no more broken pieces on the table, Professor Tian raised his hammer to another identical piece of porcelain.
"Slap... slap slap..."
As Professor Tian's hammer fell, the exquisite porcelain was instantly reduced to a pile of shattered pieces. Everyone in the room held their breath, their eyes fixed on Professor Tian's hands.
Professor Tian was also extremely nervous. When his hands, gloved in white, appeared in the camera lens, they trembled noticeably. Everyone could see that Professor Tian's inner state was not as relaxed as he appeared on the outside.
Suddenly, Professor Tian's hand stopped, a glint of light flashed in his eyes behind his thick glasses, and his lips trembled involuntarily as he tightly clutched a small piece of porcelain, no bigger than a baby's palm, in his hand.
"Blood, there's bleeding..."
"Professor Tian, your hand is bleeding..."
In his excitement, Professor Tian did not notice that a sharp piece of porcelain had already cut his palm, and blood was flowing from between his fingers, staining the broken porcelain red.
"Found it...I found it..."
Professor Tian paid no attention to the blood on his hands; his lips moved, emitting sounds that only he could hear.
It's important to understand that Professor Tian faced immense pressure during the process of deciding to break the porcelain for identification. If he failed to find any clues in these two pieces of porcelain, not only would he be ridiculed by the world, but the entire Chinese academic community would be ashamed of him.
Of course, this situation no longer exists, because on the inner wall of the porcelain shard in Professor Tian's hand, there is a line of text engraved with "Xu, April 4, 2006".
"Professor Tian, what are you talking about? Could you show us the porcelain shard you have?"
Seeing Professor Tian's excited expression, everyone realized that the results were finally in.
Standing to the side, Yamaki's face was ashen. He could sense that the seemingly erratic developments were not going as he had expected; the thing in Professor Tian's hand was definitely not going to harm him.
"Look, this is the evidence. I am extremely indignant about the despicable behavior of the Japanese ceramic academic community." The reporter's words startled Professor Tian. Tian Fan opened his hand, pinched the porcelain shard with two bloodied fingers, and displayed the words inside the shard in front of the cameras in the room.
Aside from the fact that the words were stained red with blood, the font was exactly the same as the one on the previous porcelain shard. Even many reporters at the scene who didn't recognize Chinese characters could tell that the words on the two porcelain shards seemed to be written by the same person.
Whether the fonts are the same is not the most important thing. What is important is that Arabic numerals were introduced to China only after the 12th or 13th century, and to Japan even later, which is supported by historical research.
Therefore, the Arabic numerals indicating the date alone prove that this porcelain piece is a modern imitation.
The press conference hall erupted in cheers, as did hundreds of millions of Chinese viewers watching on television. News flashes and images were rapidly being disseminated, and in some Chinese cities, even the sound of firecrackers could be heard.
In contrast, the Japanese reporters at the scene were all pale and ashamed. They had realized that they were the losers in this clash of Chinese and Japanese cultures!
Chapter 876 A Despicable Race (Part 2)
The blood on the porcelain shards was so glaring, and the words on the shards were so striking. The combination of the two made everyone who watched the live stream feel a surge of passion burning and boiling within them.
Countless Chinese people clenched their fists in front of their televisions. Countless Chinese people looked at the blood-stained porcelain shards, their eyes blurred with tears. Countless Chinese people felt proud of their motherland. At this moment, Professor Tian's thin figure appeared so tall, and his resolute expression appeared so solemn.
Even Professor Tian was unaware that after this incident, he became a sought-after guest on major television stations and a hero in the hearts of many Chinese people. Meanwhile, the whole of Japan fell silent, seemingly losing all its vitality in an instant. The bustling streets became quiet, and the noisy restaurants fell silent at this moment.
On the subway platform, in the middle of the square, at the crossroads, all the Japanese people who were watching this press conference felt a bitter taste in their mouths and a deep sense of guilt. Their once proud heads drooped, as if they wanted to bury them in their crotches. ...
"No, this is impossible, impossible..."
The two people most unable to accept this fact were Yamaki and Nogai. At this moment, they both had the same blank expression and were making meaningless noises.
This blow was devastating for the two of them. They not only dragged the entire Japanese academic community down with them, but also left an indelible stain on the Japanese government.
Just a few days ago, the Japanese government publicly announced this major archaeological discovery. But in less than a week, things have changed. The so-called "major archaeological discovery" turns out to be a hoax, and the people who made the hoax are shamelessly claiming that Chinese ceramic culture was inherited from Japan, using porcelain they bought from China. This is simply the most ridiculous thing in the world. Such a despicable mentality will be despised by people all over the world.
Yamaki's mind went blank. He couldn't understand how the porcelain, after carbon-14 dating, could be a modern imitation. "Could it be that the testing equipment is playing a joke on me?"
"Yehe-kun, you said these two porcelain pieces were definitely real, so why, why is this happening?"
Yamaki was trying to control himself, but the fear and anger in his heart made his voice grow louder and louder, and with the shout, he reached out and grabbed Yehe's collar.
In Yamaki's mind, all of this was caused by their affair, by the porcelain he encouraged him to buy from China, and by the fakery he encouraged him to fabricate, thus creating this series of events.
In short, at this moment, Yamaki has shifted all the blame onto Yehe, but he doesn't seem to realize that if it weren't for his own greed, would things have come to this?
"I don't know, I don't know why this is, and there's also a piece of porcelain..."
Yehe was completely dumbfounded. The scene he had imagined of slapping the Chinese people hard did not happen. Instead, he was hit on the head with a stick, which made him dizzy and disoriented.
When Yehe saw the four-element bottle on the table, his eyes turned red, like a gambler who had just lost his wife. He didn't know where the strength came from, but he pushed Yamaki, who was twenty or thirty years younger than him, aside and rushed to the table.
"Smash!" Instead of using a hammer, Yehe picked up the porcelain and smashed it hard on the ground. The shards of porcelain scattered everywhere, causing everyone to scatter. Yehe, like a stray dog, lay on the ground, searching for the broken pieces.
"I haven't lost yet, Japan hasn't lost yet, a piece of porcelain doesn't prove anything." Nogai's elbows and knees were cut and bleeding from the sharp porcelain shards on the ground, but Nogai didn't care at all. His obsession made him forget the pain, and he continued to search on the ground.
"Haha, hahaha, no, there are no words inside this porcelain. Chinese, you've lost, you've lost."
After prying together all the broken porcelain in front of him, Yehe laughed loudly as if he were insane. There was a cut on his face that had appeared out of nowhere, and blood was dripping down his cheek and onto his body. He looked like a madman.
Compared to Professor Tian's unwavering resolve, Ye He's current behavior is like that of a clown presented to the world. His attitude speaks volumes.
"Mr. Yehe, is this the porcelain shard you're looking for?"
A fluent American English voice rang out in the hall, attracting everyone's attention.
It was an American female reporter with golden eyes and blue hair. In her hand, she held a broken piece of porcelain. On the inner wall of the porcelain shard facing the crowd, the words "Xu, April 4, 2006" were clearly engraved. It was obvious that the two so-called "antique porcelains" were made on the same day by the same person. This was irrefutable evidence. All the reporters and cameras faithfully recorded everything that happened here.
"This... how is this possible? How could newly fired porcelain be identified by carbon-14 dating as an artwork from a thousand years ago?"
Yehe was completely stunned, standing there blankly. When he saw the porcelain shard in the American female reporter's hand, he was overcome with anger and rage, spitting out a mouthful of blood and falling backward.
His fainting spell caused chaos, and the staff at the venue immediately called for an ambulance and carried him outside.
These Japanese people witnessed what happened today and knew the reason for it all: this person who fainted brought shame to the whole of Japan that is hard to wash away. Therefore, they had no good feelings towards the illegal union. After they hurriedly carried him out, they threw him on the bench outside.
Unaware of the chaos, Yamaki, surrounded by bodyguards, hastily left the venue. He didn't know how to face the questions from the Chinese people, or how to explain his so-called "ancient porcelain" to the nation...
Watching the miserable state of Yehe on TV and hearing the question Yehe had just uttered, Zhuang Rui, far away in Beijing, revealed a cold smile.
China's technique for imitating antiques can be said to have reached a level of unparalleled skill.
When Xu Guoqing first made these two items, he collected a large number of Cizhou kiln shards. He scraped off the glaze from the shards, then ground the porcelain body into powder, mixed it into the porcelain body, and then fired it in the kiln.
Once the porcelain has been fired to about 80% of its full potential, it is then colored with the original glaze and fired a second time. This process is extremely complicated. If there is even the slightest mistake, the entire batch of porcelain will be ruined. Otherwise, Xu Guoqing would not have spent more than 10 million yuan on Zhuang Rui.
Porcelain fired in this way is impossible to determine even with carbon-14 dating unless the entire piece is broken up for testing. Simply scraping off some glaze powder from the base is insufficient to determine its true age.
There's an old saying that's true: if you want to destroy someone, first make them crazy. After carbon-14 dating, Yehe thought he was foolproof, which is why he provoked China. However, he didn't expect that technological means would be ineffective in the face of the powerful "Made in China".
"Great, that's really satisfying!" Qin Haoran clapped his hands hard when he saw this, almost dropping his grandson. His mother-in-law immediately picked up Fangfang and pinched her husband's waist.
"Oh, Xiao Rui, when Professor Tian returns to China, you absolutely have to introduce him to me. He'll truly bring glory to our nation..."
After Qin Haoran cried out in pain, he looked at the television again. At this moment, all the news media were surrounding Professor Tian, while no one was paying attention to the whereabouts of Yehe and Shanmu. Losers are never well received.
"Dear journalists, the truth is now clear to the world. The so-called 'ancient porcelain' by the Japanese is a complete farce, and their previously published academic articles are all fabricated. I hope the relevant authorities can come forward and explain why such a despicable thing happened."
Professor Tian was, after all, a scholar. Although he was furious, using the word "despicable" was already his limit. If Zhuang Rui had been in that position, he would have directly shouted that the entire nation was despicable. Of course, in that case, he probably wouldn't have been able to leave Japan.
After saying those words, Professor Tian had the broken porcelain shards collected and hurriedly left the venue. However, just as his figure disappeared behind the door, Zhuang Rui saw a familiar back view. ...
"Brother Zhuang, how was it? Was the show entertaining?"
About an hour later, Zhuang Rui received a call from Peng Fei. After glancing at his father-in-law, Zhuang Rui took his phone and went outside.
February in Beijing was still bitterly cold, and the cool breeze dampened Zhuang Rui's earlier excitement considerably.
"You be careful, and protect Professor Tian too. Right-wing elements in Japan are still quite rampant..."
Zhuang Rui knew that Peng Fei had been in the venue the whole time, but he had been well hidden and had not been exposed to the cameras.
"I understand. Professor Tian just went to rest and will be returning to China tomorrow. Brother Zhuang, you should have been the hero. How are you feeling? A little disappointed?"
Peng Fei laughed on the phone.
"Get out of my way, what do I have to be disappointed about?"
Zhuang Rui chuckled and cursed. He was very satisfied with the result. He absolutely couldn't let this get out of the way, otherwise, anyone with eyes could see that this was a setup by Zhuang Rui.
"Alright, I'll pick you up from the airport tomorrow night..."
After hanging up the phone, Zhuang Rui let out a long sigh of relief. He was looking forward to seeing what kind of face the Japanese government would have when all the major media outlets were reporting on this matter tomorrow.