Chapter 3 Section 2 Birch Bark Documents

Chu Feng suddenly shivered. He raised his head and glanced around. The room is spacious, luxuriously furnished, and all the furnishings are comfortable. The central air conditioner is always at a constant temperature, but why, it seems that out of instinct, he feels calculated. Looking at the dazzling array of jade objects on the treasure grid in front of him, Chu Feng attributed his reaction to the good cooling effect of the jade objects, and he was just thinking too much. Well, jade is always mysterious.The coolness born from the tentacles is making people directly feel the charm of jade.

Chu Feng is now standing in a private villa in New York, USA.The owner of the villa led him to visit his collection with a smile on his face - looking at the quantity and quality of the collection, it can be seen that this hobby has lasted for quite a long time. The owner of the collection, Mr. Qiao, is recognized as the leader of Chinese businessmen in the United States. People generally call him "Old Qiao". old man money.It's just the look in his eyes, the eyes are like lightning when they are closed, as if they can look straight into the bottom of people's hearts. While Chu Feng was browsing the collection in this room, Mr. Qiao was also looking at him without hesitation.

The man in front of him is 1.8 meters tall. It is said that his actual age is already thirty-seven or eighty-eight, but he looks like he is just in his early thirties. His current identity is the owner of a small antique shop in Nanjing, but he does not look like a real man. A businessman—he looked at these antiques with only appreciation in his eyes, without material desire. He is more like a gentleman, calm, meticulous, and elegant, combining the strength of a barbarian with the wisdom of a scholar. And, subtle indifference. This time, he spent a lot of money and entrusted a middleman. After a lot of effort, he invited this man from China. For this reason, he took out all the treasures at the bottom of the box.

Just hope it's all worth it. "The collection is simple, Mr. Chu, can you still get into the eyes of the law?" "Old Qiao, you're just saying that politely. Is this still crude? It seems that we can only go to the street to beg for food! Look, what kind of things are you here? We want to buy a couple of pieces later. You have to break the head of the pieces, and you have a whole room!" It was not Chu Feng who answered the question, but John Lin, a well-known Chinese jade dealer in the United States, Qiao Lao had many collections from the Lin family. "Hehe! Boss Lin is too modest!" Qiao Lao smiled and shook his head.

Chu Feng half turned around, smiled slightly, slowly stretched out his right index finger, and lightly tapped two items on the shelf: "The personal jade seal of the Empress of the Southern Tang Dynasty, the personal dragon pendant of the Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, Qiao What a great handwriting!" According to the intermediary, Mr. Qiao paid a lot of money to come to New York this time to appraise a "legendary object".He doesn't care about the reward, but he is looking forward to that thing.And since it's here, it's natural to show your eyesight to make people feel at ease.

"You're laughing! You're laughing!" Qiao Lao saw that Chu Feng had already figured out his intentions, and also showed his extraordinary eyesight, so he said haha, stretched out his hand to give way, and took the lead to go out.The meaning is obvious, it was just a small temptation just now, and now I'm going to do the real work. Coming out of the villa, a young man who had been waiting at the door for a long time immediately came to Chu Feng's side: "How is it? Brother Chu! Did you shake them up?" Glancing at this overly enthusiastic young man, a helpless smile hung on the corner of Chu Feng's mouth, and he left behind Qiao Lao without saying anything.

"Stinky boy! You can't get involved in this matter, you go home first!" It was John Lin who spoke.The young man was his only son William Lin, and the Lin family also had a share in the antiquities to be traded this time. In order to show how much he valued Chu Feng, Lin William, the only legitimate son of the Lin family, was sent by him to receive Chu Feng in person.Not to mention, although this kid doesn't care about running the family business, he does care about making friends.When I first went to pick up the plane, I was a bit reluctant, but after a few days, Chu Feng became so sticky that I wanted to be jealous!

In the headquarters of the famous American auction company MG, in the high-end reception room on the top floor, President George is receiving a group of special guests. These guests are all yellow faces, and the leader is Qiao Lao, the leader promoted by local Chinese businessmen in the United States. The purpose of coming here is for a message released by the company before. "President George, I think you should be very clear about our purpose, right?" Qiao Lao looked at George and smiled. A sly look flashed in George's eyes.From the day the news was released, he knew that these Chinese people would definitely come here upon hearing the news.It's just a matter of business and business. At this time, if you have enough appetite, wouldn't it be more beneficial to ask for a price?

"Oh, dear Joe, you didn't say why you came, how can I guess your purpose?" Qiao Lao listened and scolded with a smile: "Old fox! Don't play tricks. If you dare to say that you don't know why we came here, I will turn around and leave immediately! That's all right! Take out the things quickly, see? China has invited experts, as long as the thing is real, the price is easy to negotiate!" George followed his gaze to look at Chu Feng, who was beside him with a cold expression, and gestured with his gaze. An auction house clerk behind him leaned down, and he gave some instructions, and that person went out quickly.

"Oh, dear Joe, I really admire the professionalism of the Chinese experts, but the gentleman next to you is so young, and this thing really exists in legends rather than reality, I don't know—" "I trust Mr. Chu's eyesight!" Qiao Lao interrupted him. George smiled and said no more. The clerk soon came in with a wooden box.Under George's signal, he put the wooden box on the coffee table in front of Mr. Qiao, and opened the box, revealing a jade seal wrapped in a piece of yellow silk. Qiao Lao didn't even look at it, but just looked into Chu Feng's eyes.Chu Feng understood, leaned over slightly, took out the things, put them in his hands and looked at them carefully.

This square jade seal is not too big, the lower part is a cube with a side length of 8.8 cm, the upper part is covered with gold, and the top is carved with five dragon buttons made of pure gold. —— "Ordered by the sky, life will last forever". About three minutes later, Chu Feng still wrapped the jade seal with the yellow silk, put it back into the box, fastened the box, and pushed it out!Qiao Lao suddenly understood, squinted his eyes suddenly, and put away the kind smile on his face in an instant, exuding a forceful aura all over his body: "George! What's going on? Don't tell me, this It's the real thing you said!" There was no trace of embarrassment on George's face, he just looked at Chu Feng curiously: "Mr. Chu, can you tell me how you saw it?" Chu Feng smiled indifferently: "The imitation is quite similar, but a fake is a fake. Did you find this jade craftsman from Yangzhou, China?" "Ah! It's amazing! How did you know the hometown of my jade worker?" George had a look of surprise on his face. "It's very simple," Chu Feng said casually, "Although it is deliberately old-fashioned, the style of the knife is the style of modern Yangzhou jade craftsmen. The authenticity of this thing is a product of the pre-Qin period. The style of the knife at that time, It’s not as delicate as it is today.” "Oh!" George nodded suddenly after hearing this, and Mr. Qiao also smiled complacently. Among the people in the room, only William Lin, who was begging for nothing and insisted on following him, was like a duck listening to thunder. He didn't understand what everyone was talking about. charade. At this moment, George showed a trace of unprecedented caution, apologized to everyone, and turned around to go behind a small door behind the desk. Soon, he came out with a wooden box that was exactly the same as the first one. The jade seal in the box was exactly the same as the previous one, both in shape and engraved characters, but when these two things were put together, the one that was taken out immediately gave Chu Feng a sense of history. coming feeling. Chuan Guo Yuxi!Chuan Guo Yuxi!This!Could this really be the long-lost Jade Seal of Chuanguo?Although he was mentally prepared, when he saw the real thing, Chu Feng couldn't help being excited. In the thousands of years of Chinese dynastic history, this Jade Seal can be said to be the most amazing existence, bar none! It is said that after Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, he entrusted Prime Minister Li Si to carve it out of Heshibi.The front is engraved with eight seal characters written by Li Si, "Ordered by the sky, long life and eternal prosperity", as a token of "imperial power granted by the gods, orthodox and legal", and is "the great treasure of the country". The emperors of all dynasties after Qin Dynasty took this seal as a symbol of their response, and if they got it, it symbolized that they were "destined by heaven", and if they lost it, it meant that they were "exhausted".Anyone who ascends to the throne but does not have this seal will be ridiculed as a "white emperor", and will be despised by the world for his lack of confidence. Thinking of this, Chu Feng settled down and carefully identified the jade seal in his hand. He looked at it for half an hour.The others didn't urge him or speak, just waited holding their breath.Although there were many people, it was quite quiet at the moment. After pondering for a long time, Chu Feng still packed the things as they were and put them back in the box.It's just that this time he didn't push it out, but pushed it towards Mr. Qiao. Qiao Lao saw this action, and immediately showed a comfortable smile: "Okay! Okay! President George, now you can make an offer!" "Wait!" Chu Feng said, "Old Qiao, I still have something to say!" "Oh! Good! Mr. Chu, if you have something to say, it's okay to say it!" Mr. Qiao was startled, but soon the smile returned to his face. "Old Qiao, this jade seal should not be genuine!" Chu Feng said surprisingly. Qiao Lao and George frowned at the same time. Chu Feng didn't seem to see it, and continued: "But even if it's not the real 'Jade Seal of Chuanguo', it won't be a modern imitation. According to my judgment, this should be a legal seal for the emperor in a certain period of history to gain the throne. sexually imitated." "Why do you know?" It was Mr. Qiao who asked, but in fact, everyone in the room wanted to ask such a question. "The flaw appears in the characters. According to legend, the characters engraved on the jade seal are insect and bird characters. No one at that time could recognize them except Prime Minister Li Si, and even Li Si only knew these eight characters. I am very interested in the insect and bird script that appears on the scales and claws. Although these eight characters are also close to the seal script, they can be regarded as the description of the four characters of "like seal script but not seal script" in the legendary Chuan Guo Yuxi, but they do not have the insect and bird script. Features. It should be created by someone who has never seen the original seal based on some records and rumors. Judging from its carving, it should be a product of the Song and Yuan Dynasties." "Understood. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the famous treacherous minister Cai Jing once offered a fake royal seal to the emperor. Maybe this is something that Cai Jing made." Qiao Lao is also an expert, and he understood Chu after a little thought. The meaning of the wind is that although the thing is not genuine, it is also valuable for collection, so he pushes it to himself. At this time, George had already been convinced by Chu Feng, and took out his handkerchief to wipe the sweat on his forehead: "Mr. Chu is really amazing. The things that so many of our appraisal experts are not sure, are all right after your analysis. Joe Boss, we have to convene a meeting of the board of directors to discuss this jade seal before we can give a price. I can only apologize today! However, I have another small matter to bother Mr. Chu!" Hearing what he said, Mr. Qiao knew that the price would definitely be greatly adjusted, so he was not in a hurry, but was a little curious about him trying to trouble Chu Feng, so he smiled heartily: "Haha! It doesn't matter, George, We are old friends, and there is still benevolence and righteousness if the business is not successful, but Mr. Chu is just a guest I invited, and I have no control over it. If you have anything to do, you should discuss it with Mr. Chu directly!" "It's not a big deal. It's just that I recently received an ancient document from the Western Regions. No one can understand the words on it. I wonder if Mr. Chu can help you palm it?" George said the last sentence to Chu Feng, with a very sincere smile. What George was talking about was a birch bark document.This thing looks like an ancient thing at first sight, and the corners have been frayed and rolled up. On the dozens of sheets of birch bark about 60 cm long, no more than 30 cm wide, and 0.1 mm thick, there are densely written words in the shape of The tadpole-like characters were written horizontally. I don't know whether it was because of too long time or poor storage by the owner. The whole volume of documents was wrinkled and dilapidated. Chu Feng took a brief look, and asked someone to fetch a basin of clean water, and rinsed the birch bark document carefully with the clean water. Anyone who has a little knowledge of ancient Western culture knows such a past. At the beginning of the 20th century, the British adventurer Aurel Stein came to Central Asia three times and carried out archaeological expeditions in the Western Regions for fifteen years. Taking advantage of the aging Qing Dynasty's overwhelmed self-care, he fraudulently bought and stole it from China. A large number of precious cultural relics were taken away.In particular, the publication of the Dunhuang documents shocked the world and made Stein famous as a famous Silk Road thief. Xinjiang is an important region for Stein's expedition activities. He once looted a large number of precious cultural relics from the Lop Nur area in Xinjiang.When Stein first arrived, a false document was popular in the Hotan area of ​​Xinjiang.Since the real birch bark documents are written with unknown materials and will never fade, many people at that time rinsed them with clean water to prove the authenticity of the documents.This is how Stein ended up in Kashmir with an unknown birch-bark manuscript of the ancient Vedas. After careful rinsing with clear water, the roll of birch bark gradually returned to its original appearance, became smooth and stretched, and the words on it were not washed off, which shows that it is genuine.But what is surprising is that there is an extra line of Chinese characters on the document! There were only six characters, and Chu Feng recognized them at a glance! ——"See you at Hetu, come out of Kunlun"! "See you at the river map, Kunlun is out..." "See you at the river map, Kunlun is out..." Suddenly, countless voices rushed out of Chu Feng's mind, clamoring and surging, as if a pot had exploded.For a moment, the middle of his forehead was throbbing, his headache was splitting, and even his vision was blurred.It was this moment of ambiguity that caused Chu Feng to miss the subtle gaze between Mr. Qiao and George. The cell phone rang suddenly in the room. After ten seconds, Chu Feng came back to his senses and took out the cell phone from his pocket enduring his headache.When the phone was connected, the voice on the other end was very familiar, and Chu Feng's expression changed subtly. Immediately, he apologized to everyone, pressed his brow with one hand, and walked out with the phone in the other: "Hey, ah! Teacher !" "Really! Are you going to Xinjiang for inspection?...Do you want me to go too? No! I'm in the United States now!...Yeah! Do something! What, let me go back to China? That's it—um— ——" Chu Feng decided to go after a little thought, because he had a different feeling for the teacher. Over the years, the teacher hadn't called him to find him. Now that he came, it must be something important. "Okay, teacher, As soon as I return to China, I will go to you, okay, meet us in Urumqi! Okay!" Ling Rukai here was relieved after receiving the affirmative answer from his disciples, and suddenly thought of something: "Chu Feng! Don't come directly after you return to China, yes, yes, you should go home first, yes! You go home and take your home away. Bring that, that mysterious genealogy, yes, the one you showed me. Yes! Then come directly to Urumqi to find me!" Chu Feng hung up the phone, went back to the house, and saw George and Qiao chatting without saying a word, the others were sitting dryly, and that boy William gave himself a wink like killing a chicken and wiping his neck.Chu Feng pretended not to see it.Seeing him coming in, everyone's eyes focused on him again. He walked over slowly, picked up the birch bark document and read it carefully. For some reason, he intuitively felt that his headache just now was related to this document, especially the six Chinese characters.Now he is interested in this thing, but he doesn't know if the other content on it is also so interesting. He was soon discouraged. The other characters on it were written in mixed Sanskrit. The translation of this mixed Sanskrit was very difficult. At least he currently has no ability to decipher it in a short time. He regretfully told George this. George was taken aback for a moment, and soon smiled and said, "It's okay! It's okay! Mr. Chu, you've helped us a lot just like that!" He asked Chu Feng to sit down while talking, At the same time, arrange for someone to put away the document.Just when the staff member was about to take the volume of documents away from Chu Feng, Chu Feng's heart moved: "Wait! Mr. George, can your company transfer this thing?" "Oh, Mr. Chu is interested?" George's words came to life one day. "That's right! To tell you the truth, I used to do research on ancient Chinese characters. When I saw such difficult-to-translate things, I couldn't help but feel a little itchy." "That's it!" George pondered for a moment, "Since Mr. Chu wants this thing from the perspective of research, this thing can't reflect its value at all in our hands, but it may be more useful in Mr. Chu's hands. In this way Well, for the sake of Mr. Chu's friendship, I make the decision. We will transfer this item to Mr. Chu at the purchase price." Chu Feng didn't say too many polite words.Although the price George offered was not high, he himself has been in the antique business for many years, and those who sell this item will definitely not lose money.So, he paid the money neatly, and took the birch bark document back with William Lin who had been waiting for him outside.