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Chapter 252 Four Gentlemen

Chapter 252. The Four Gentlemen

He accurately stated its origin without even trying it, which shows Zhuang Weinian's extraordinary vision as the leader of the three provinces.

It is rumored that at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese traditional handicrafts reached their peak. After absorbing the essence of the court and the folk, they formed the art of "Jingzuo" represented by eight major categories of crafts, that is, Yanjing Bajue.

The eight masterpieces of Yanjing are: cloisonné, carved lacquer, gold lacquer inlay, palace carpet weaving, Beijing embroidery, filigree inlay, jade carving and ivory carving.

The things handed down from each of the crafts are very valuable, let alone the combination of the two.

After Tingzhuang pointed out the origin of the year, everyone took a closer look and found that it was indeed the case. As for it itself, it was a thing called a chrysanthemum pot. Some people had heard of it. It was said to be the name of a kind of utensil in tea art, which was considered rare. .

"First it was the lotus inkstone, the plum vase, and now it's the chrysanthemum pot. Is this the mystery on the plate?"

At this time, many people have already guessed that the key to Ren Ping's collection is related to flowers. To be precise, it is related to antiques referred to by flower names.

Some people immediately thought that plum blossoms and chrysanthemums are both one of the four gentlemen of flowers, which fits the "gentlemen" just mentioned. So, the remaining two things are an orchid and a bamboo?
But why is there another lotus?

Under everyone's gaze, Ren Ping was full of admiration: "It's rare that Mr. Zhuang has a unique eye, and he recognized at a glance that this chrysanthemum pot is made of two techniques of carved lacquer and filigree inlay,"

"It seems that the Spring and Autumn League of the Three Provinces also has a good attainment in Yanjing Bajue handicrafts."

Zhuang Weinian didn't listen to these flattering words, staring at the remaining two things, a scroll and a seal, thinking hard about the relationship between orchid and bamboo.

Ren Ping immediately picked up the scroll, rolled it up, and spread it on the table.

Everyone gathered around immediately, thinking it would be a painting, such as Zheng Banqiao's bamboo, Bada Shanren's orchid, etc., but at first glance, it turned out to be a painting.

"It turned out to be a piece of calligraphy. It seems that we thought too much."

Someone couldn't help but say.

Before the words were finished, there was an uproar. It turned out that when most people saw only a calligraphy work just now, they shook their heads, thinking that it had nothing to do with orchids and bamboos, and didn't pay attention to what it was.

When all the scrolls were opened, there were loud exclamations, and at the top of the picture were four small characters: Preface to the Lanting Collection.

"In the ninth year of Yonghe, at the age of Kuichou, at the beginning of late spring, we will meet at the Orchid Pavilion in Shanyin, Kuaiji..."

As a preface that has been praised through the ages, the value of the Lanting Collection Preface is of course far more than the article itself, but also lies in its calligraphy skills. It has been respected by calligraphers of the past dynasties as "the best running script in the world."

Of course, Ren Ping's work cannot be the original manuscript. In fact, the whereabouts of the original manuscript made by Wang Xizhi is still unknown. The most reliable rumor is that it was hidden in the Zhaoling Mausoleum of Tang Taizong Li Shimin, which is a priceless treasure.

As for copies, many calligraphers of later generations have had them. The one in front of me should have been made in the late Ming Dynasty. The few scattered chapters on it, as well as the inscriptions and postscripts at the end of the text, all show that its author was a scholar named Cao Ying. .

A literati copy like this is not very famous, and few strokes can be found in the history books of the past dynasties. It will not be too valuable, but this is not the key point. ?

Crisp applause rang out, but Cui Siyi couldn't help but applaud. She didn't know whether she was truly impressed by Ren Ping or had another purpose.

After a while, he said calmly: "Your gentleman is like Lan, Mr. Ren is really good at planning."

"Miss Cui, you're being polite. Of course, this facsimile of "The Preface to the Lanting Collection" is not a high-quality work, but it's still worth seeing."

Ren Ping also smiled faintly, as if he didn't understand what the other party meant.

At this time, Cui Hao and other people in the three provinces were ashamed, and now the plums, orchids, and chrysanthemums were all there, and the remaining one was bamboo.

The theory of the Four Gentlemen is inherent in Chinese traditional culture and is not far-fetched.

That is to say, once they are really assembled, the so-called field of view and gentlemen will sit together. Before Chu Limin and Lu Ziliang believed that Ren Ping's victory was not an exaggeration, what should we do?

"Mr. Zhuang, now that the matter has come to this, I don't think it's better..."

In desperation, Cui Hao and Fan Jingxian approached and asked Zhuang Weinian in a low voice, as if they had other plans.

Zhuang Weinian didn't pay attention at first, but smiled after a while: "Don't worry, you two, we haven't lost yet."

"Oh? What?"

"There are five pieces in this set, that is to say, five things need to be combined into one set, but the four gentlemen only occupy four of them, and there is an extra lotus. Isn't this a big loophole?"

"In addition, the last thing he has left is a seal. It is not easy to connect this thing with 'bamboo'. Think about it, is there such a thing?"

Hearing this, the eyes of both of them brightened, and they nodded again and again:

"That's right. That seal is a jade carving, not a bamboo carving. Even if it has bamboo patterns on it, it's quite different."

"The Four Gentlemen are originally a combination. No matter what else is added, the Four Gentlemen become the Five Gentlemen. Isn't this a joke? Mr. Zhuang clearly sees that we must not mess up the situation first."

Cui and Fan agreed, making Zhuang Weinian even more confident.

He had gone through it in his mind just now, counting the many seals in the industry, none of them were related to bamboo, and even if there were, most of them were pretentious.

It is even more impossible for the Four Gentlemen to become the Fifth Gentleman out of thin air, presumably it is a remote allusion that Ren Ping drew from somewhere.

How could he easily let go of such a loophole?

Because of his confidence in Cui Siyi, Zhuang Weinian was not in a hurry to speak, but waited until the last moment before giving Ren Ping a fatal blow.

Sure enough, Cui Siyi was thinking exactly the same as him at the moment, glanced at Ren Ping, and said lightly:
"Mr. Ren, I have a question. Can a copy of "Lanting Collection Preface" really refer to orchids?"

"Of course, the "Orchid Pavilion Collection Preface" in the Eastern Jin Dynasty comes from the Lanting Collection, but in fact, this gathering is not the first time that Lanting is famous. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, King Goujian of Yue planted orchids there, so it is called Lanting."

"Afterwards, it was repaired for successive dynasties and became a scenic spot, but it became famous because of the "Orchid Pavilion Collection". Today, the scenic spot still exists here. Why can't it represent orchids?"

"Well, Mr. Ren is very knowledgeable, I am ashamed of myself, but even so, there are still quite a few loopholes in your collection called Gentleman, Mr. Ren doesn't know about it?"

"Really? Just about to hear Miss Cui's opinion."

Cui Siyi frowned, thinking that with your knowledge, you shouldn't be able to see this kind of loophole, but why don't you care about it at all? Is it just pretending?

At this time, she couldn't allow her to think too much, and pointed to the five things on the table:

"As we all know, the four gentlemen of flowers are plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. Here you have a plum vase, a chrysanthemum pot, and a "Orchid Pavilion Collection Preface". They are considered as orchid books, and they already account for three of them."

"However, there is one thing missing that corresponds to bamboo. I have just seen it. Your last seal has absolutely no connection with bamboo. The four gentlemen of plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum are not complete, so this combination cannot be said to be complete. It’s one of them.”

These words revealed the thoughts of many people present, and they all looked at Ren Ping to see how he would explain.

Only Ren Ping was taken aback when he heard the words, as if he didn't expect the other party to point out such a question:
"What about the second one?"

"Secondly, the four gentlemen are the four gentlemen. One less will not work, and one more will not do. Since you have made up your mind to make this combination, then you should only take four of them, and you shouldn't just make up the number and take one more,"

"Although the Fang Lian inkstone can refer to the lotus, it is similar, but it is not among the four gentlemen, it is out of place and ruins the whole combination. This should not be said to be superfluous, but superfluous."

Snapped!clap clap!clap clap clap!

Crisp applause rang out again, this time it was Zhuang Weinian.

As soon as Cui Siyi finished speaking, he immediately stood up:

"Well said! What a superfluous sentence, it hits the nail on the head! In my opinion, the gentleman's statement is correct, and what Mr. Chu and Mr. Lu said is true, but there should only be four pieces in this combination, and Not five,"

"Mr. Ren, you took one less thing that corresponds to bamboo, but two more useless things. Isn't this superfluous and making people laugh?"

"Hahahaha!"

Motivated by Zhuang Weinian, everyone in the three provinces burst into laughter again.

Rong Qiancheng and the others were annoyed, but they had no good words to refute, so they had to still look at Ren Ping.

I saw him grinning at the corner of his mouth, frowning slightly, his face full of hesitation, as if he couldn't laugh or cry at what he just said, paused, shook his head and laughed:
"Who said this combination is the Four Gentlemen of Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum? Could it be that Miss Cui and Mr. Zhuang imagined it themselves?"

(End of this chapter)