Chang Xian looked at the album pages on the desk blankly.

Album with two pages.

Different from other objects, the album pages seem to have been soaked in the color of the baggage, and the wrinkled paper shows a large area of ​​light blue.

There are also sporadic spots, large or small, which make the original gold-plated rice paper lose its luster. Thanks to the fact that the rice paper is thick and well-kept, it has not been bitten by insects and rats, and the quality is still intact.

This was Yuan Hanyun's famous word for selling calligraphy back then.

It is very likely that Yuan Hanyun wrote this hanging word in his handwriting and asked the child next to him to take it to the newspaper office. Later, the child carefully preserved the original manuscript.

"Traveling south in March, on the sea of ​​Jichi, there is a lonely place on the first floor, with a bag and a bamboo basket. I am already laughing at the fur, and even more worried about the rice. I can recite my clumsy book. Adu comes here to relieve himself, and talk about how to survive. I am addicted to scabs.

There may be someone who is chasing the smell, and the period of twenty days is over. I'm going to do it now. If he comes to ask for it, I'll wait for him.

Continuous screen, straight width, banner full paper is 2 yuan per foot, half paper is 1 yuan per foot. Folding fan is 6 yuan per piece, no matter if it is too big or too small. The above are based on running script, seal script is twice straight, regular script and official script add half

, please decide on the quality. Polish it first and then write it. Relatives and friends will be halved, and the cost of polishing the ink will be increased by 10%."

Regardless of his calligraphy skills, just reading this text, I feel that he has the spirit of clouds and springs, and the style of a celebrity has not diminished even though he has been a hundred years.

Selling calligraphy and painting has existed since ancient times from the Han Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Zheng Banqiao's most famous calligraphy works, apart from being "rarely confused", are his hanging words. However, in comparison, Zheng Banqiao and his likes seem vulgar and vulgar.

Looking at Yuan Hanyun's calligraphy, playing with the small Tianhuang seal, Chang Lei's gaze was leisurely, thinking that the ancients had "the idea of ​​​​for eternity", looking at this small study, he also picked up a pen under the bottle lamp to write a banner:

"Heaven and earth are the reverse journey of all things; time is the passerby of hundreds of generations. Life is like a dream, how much joy is there?"

The writing imitates the writing style of Yang Shaoshi's "Leek Flower Tie". The distance between the words and the lines is extremely far, but they are connected with each other, scattered and calm.

An additional leisure seal is added to the waist on the right side of the banner, adding two extra touches of gold and stone.

I asked the book boy deep in the cold clouds.

…………division…………boundary…………line…………

The story line of literati selling words is very long.

It has nothing to do with this book, but I want to talk a little more.

In the Han Dynasty, printing had not yet been invented, and books were mainly copied. Therefore, there was a profession of getting paid for copying books, called "Meishu".

At that time, many people who later became very famous had the experience of being a "servant".

For example, Ban Chao, who contributed to the Eastern Han Dynasty and made contributions to the Western Regions, relied on this to support his family when he was young. Because his family was poor, he "wrote books for officials and received direct education to support his mother in old age."

To make a fortune by using "servant writing", Wang Pu, the ancestor of the sage of calligraphy, Wang Xizhi, was first recommended.

It is recorded in the book "Taiping Yulan": During the reign of Emperor An, Wang Pu "was from a poor family and had no resources, so he could not hold an official position. So he took a bamboo slip and wrote a letter to Luoyang City servants.

For those who are beautiful in appearance, prolific in writing and writing, their husbands will give them clothes and crowns, and their wives will leave them gold and jade.

In the middle of the day, the carriages came back full of clothes and treasures. They gathered ten grains of millet, and all the clansmen of the nine tribes depended on them for their food and clothing. Luoyang was said to be good and wealthy.

Later, "Pu lost his official position with hundreds of millions of dollars and won the title of lieutenant in the middle camp."

This is truly an enviable story!

By the Eastern Han Dynasty, people had developed to make money in the name of calligraphy.

Wei Heng of the Western Jin Dynasty recorded in his "Four Body Scripts" that the Master Yiguan of the Eastern Han Dynasty "sometimes went to a restaurant to drink without money. Because he wrote on the wall, the observers paid for the value of the wine, and calculated that the money was sufficient and destroyed him."

The meaning of this passage is that Shi Yiguan likes wine, but sometimes he does not bring money with him when he goes to a restaurant. Instead, he writes on the wall on the spot. The viewer has to pay for it, and when the money is enough, the writing will be destroyed.

This kind of scene is very camera-like, vivid and interesting. This kind of book wall is a bit similar to the current resident singer singing performance in a bar.

Calligraphy turned out to be a performing art in that era!

This can also be witnessed from Du Fu's poem describing Zhang Xu's writing in cursive script: "Zhang Xu takes off his hat and tops his head in front of the prince, and the paper falls like clouds of smoke."

Coincidentally, "Master Huaisu's Cursive Script Song" written by Dou Ji, also from the Tang Dynasty, is even more lifelike.

"In the Tang Dynasty, there were dozens of long corridors with pink walls, and young and old people gathered together, and the virtuous and powerful arrived. They were still half-drunk while sleeping on their pillows. Suddenly, three or five screams were heard, and tens of millions of words filled the walls."

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism became popular and copying scriptures became a profession.

At that time, there was a person named Liu Fang who often copied scriptures. His "handwriting was said to be good, and the scrolls were straight and tied to one piece. He could earn more than a hundred pieces in a year."

As for the story that Wang Xizhi copied the "Huang Ting Jing" in exchange for geese, and exchanged money for the old woman's book fan, it cannot be completely regarded as a legend.

Emperor Song and Ming Dynasty collected 127 volumes of Wang Xizhi's books, most of which are letters, but there are two volumes of "Fan Books", which can also prove the existence of Wang Xizhi's fan.

In addition, Wang Xianzhi's calligraphy is loved by the world and collected by many people. So his student Yang Xin, the author of "Cleaning People's Names from Ancient Times", often imitated Wang Xianzhi's works and sold them, so it was spread at that time. There is a saying: "Buy the king and you will get the sheep, and you will not be disappointed."

It seems that at that time, there was already a precedent for students to fake teachers’ works!

By the Tang Dynasty, the calligraphy market had developed further. The two richest men in the calligraphy world at that time were Li Yong and Liu Gongquan. They made their fortunes by writing inscriptions for high-ranking officials and rich people.

For Li Yong's calligraphy, people "paid a lot of money and silk to get his writing"; Liu Gongquan's calligraphy income was calculated as "a huge amount of tens of thousands per year"!

By the Song Dynasty, the trading of calligraphy works had become a regular commercial activity.

For example, there are written records showing that the works of Shen Chuanshi in the Tang Dynasty were "sold in complete copies for tens of thousands" in the Song Dynasty, while Su Dongpo's calligraphy was "certainly worth tens of thousands of dollars per piece" shortly after his death.

This price was completely beyond his own estimate during his lifetime. He once wrote very confidently on the back of one of his proud works: "It will be worth a hundred gold in the next five hundred years."

The most active calligraphy market in the Song Dynasty was not Su Dongpo, but Mi Fu Mi Xiangyang!

Many of his letters, which are now considered classics, reveal his experience in buying and selling calligraphy works at a glance: some are philistine calculations, some are plundering, some are bankrupt, some are overjoyed when they gain, and some are frustrated when they lose... there are too many stories. , here are two examples:

Mi Fu fell in love with Wang Xizhi's authentic "Wang Lue Tie", also known as "Po Qiang Tie", and found out that the post was in the hands of Su Zhichun. However, the man was a powerful official and had no shortage of money. Mi Fu refused to give up and worked hard. I have been trying for several years but failed to do so.

I didn't want Su Zhichun to die in a blink of an eye, and the opportunity came.

But fate once again played a minor joke on Mi Fu. At this juncture, Mi Fu was sent by the imperial court to the Western Capital on a business trip.

During this period, Zhao Zhongyuan, a member of the clan, bought "Wang Lue Tie" from Su Zhichun's wife. It is said that when he paid the money and delivered the goods, Su Zhichun's wife still felt sorry for Mi Fu, saying that this work was at the time when Old Su When he was still alive, he had intended to transfer it to Mi Fu.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Zhongyuan came from a wealthy family, so he immediately replied: "The rice is also married to the family. If you take it with 150,000 yuan, you will get the rice back."

When Mi Fu came back from a business trip and heard about this letter, he immediately raised 150,000 yuan and finally brought Wang Xizhi's "Wang Lue Tie" home, which he had longed for.

Mi Fu's "Shiyi Tie" clearly records this process: "One hundred and fifty thousand, I fought with Zongzheng for Su's "Wang Lue Tie" and got it. The postscripts of the Liang and Tang imperial palaces are complete. Huang Mige knows about it, can I ask?

Also. Life is precious and comfortable. My friend has admired a jade grid and has not bought it for fifteen years. Once it illuminates the universe and towers forward, I will throw away a hundred pieces of old paper to know whether it is true or false, and everyone can do what they want. I am lucky to have it!

If Mi Jun is exposed first, my son will be so stingy that he will not give out ten thousand gold coins. Fu Dun will bow his head."

In July of the second year of Yuanyou (1087), Mi Fu and Wang Huanzhi, a doctor from Taixue, visited Renzong's consort Li Wei, and Mi Fu saw "The Fourteen Notes of Jin Xian" for the first time at the consort's house.

Among these 14 Jin Dharma calligraphy pieces, there are "Emperor Wu Tie of Jin Dynasty" and "Wang Rong Tie", etc., as well as "Xie An Tie" collected by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, which amazed Mi Fu even more.

Fifteen years later, Li Wei passed away, and "Xie'an Tie" fell into the hands of Prime Minister Cai Jing, and was later purchased by Mi Fu. Mi Fu's ruler "Li Taishi Tie" records this incident.

In his later years, Mi Fu received Wang Xizhi's "Wang Lue Tie", Xie An's "August 5th Tie", Wang Xianzhi's "Twelve Month Tie", Gu Kaizhi's "Jingming Tiannu", Dai Kui's "Guanyin" and other extremely valuable works.

He named his study after "Bao Jin Zhai" because of his precious paintings and calligraphy from Jin people.

It was not until the Ming Dynasty that the work of calligraphers of this dynasty became the mainstream of trade. The previous trading of calligraphy works was still dominated by the works of calligraphers of the previous dynasty or earlier, such as the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

In the Ming Dynasty, it was a social custom that "if there are no hidden words in the house, it is not an old family". If an authentic work by a famous artist is hung on the wall, the owner of the house will be worth twice as much.

After the middle of Ming Dynasty, the top players in the market were Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming, Tang Yin, Qiu Ying, Zhu Yunming and others.

Tang Yin and Tang Bohu, the most talented man in the south of the Yangtze River, have long made a living by selling calligraphy and paintings. Even when he wrote an epitaph for his childhood friend Liu Jia, he still had to get a considerable amount of retouching fees.

Yuan Hongdao tried to make fun of him: "Ziwei originally didn't know literature, and Zhiming was especially not a director. There was no shortage of people who asked for it. I think white snow has no power, but gold has a destiny. Just smile and smile."

Zhu Yunming, on the other hand, "asked for books inside and asked for money, and often said nothing"; while Shen Zhou, the boss of the Wu family, was already "noisy in the world, asking for too much and having no time to give."

By the time of Wen Zhengming, Suzhou's economic life was extremely prosperous, and "people begging for poetry, calligraphy and painting from all over the world came one after another."

As a result, the transaction price of Wen Zhengming's calligraphy works is much higher than when Shen Zhou was alive. Especially in his later years, when he "achieved great virtue and respected people, he was admired by Haiyu, but he disliked the accumulation of mountains and rivers, and the noise overflowed the inner door."

The phenomenon of counterfeiting is that hundreds of copies are copied thousands of times, and they are kept in home collections and sold in the market, but the authenticity is everywhere.

During this period, forgery in calligraphy and painting was extremely prominent. Forgers who copied the works of contemporary famous artists could earn a lot of money. It is said that "there are countless people who fake their appearance and use their pens for food and clothing. Those who only use inkstones and food for a while, soaked in fat and incense, often moisturize themselves."

In antique shops, there is a term called "Suzhou pieces", which started here.

When the Ming and Qing Dynasties changed dynasties, the national hero Fu Shan and Fu Qingzhu, who fought against the Qing Dynasty and restored the Ming Dynasty, were in poverty and the economy was in trouble.

Fu Shan was already famous all over the world during the Ming Dynasty, especially in his hometown of Shanxi. It would be an honor to hang a piece of Fu Shan's calligraphy at home.

So businessmen from Shanxi, or some local gentry who could afford Fu Shan's calligraphy but were not so well-educated, came to buy Fu Shan's calligraphy.

However, these people often require Fu Shan to write in person to ensure that the works they buy are not ghostwritten.

This made Fu Shan very uncomfortable. Fu Shan said that he was often "forced by vulgar things" and would throw away his words on the spot.

He also said: "Because it is difficult to get a loan, I ordered this old man to serve as a slave. There are many unfaithful people among ordinary people."

He also mocked himself: "There is a useless old man living in the West Village. People come in one after another, either asking for prescriptions or writing. The old man does not know how many people he has killed and how many silk fans he has ruined. This man does not care about life and does not care about money.

, also stupid.”

It can be seen that Fu Shan was conflicted and helpless in his heart about selling his writing, but he had no choice but to write for the sake of "making money" and taking money from others.

In the third generation of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, the center of economic activity shifted to Yangzhou, so famous calligraphers and painters from all over the country gathered here to make a living. The representatives of these are the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou.

After Zheng Banqiao resigned from office, he made a living selling calligraphy and painting in Yangzhou.

He once wrote an "announcement for the sale of paintings": "Six taels for a large painting, four taels for a medium painting, two taels for a small painting, a banner, one tael of couplets, a fan, five qian per square meter. Any gift or food is not as good as silver. It's public.

What you give may not necessarily be what your brother likes. Giving cash makes you feel happy. Both calligraphy and painting are good, but gifts are entangled, and credit is especially bad. I am old and tired, and cannot accompany a gentleman to make useless words. I spend more money painting bamboos than buying bamboos.

The paper is six feet high and costs 3,000 yuan. Let Qu talk about old opinions and exchange them, just as the autumn wind blows by his ears."

In the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, there were many scholars and calligraphers selling calligraphy, such as crucian carp crossing the river.

Even Lu Xun, who was not famous for his calligraphy at that time, was not exempt from the vulgarity.

After reading the manuscript of Lu Xun's letters, he wrote to Masuda on January 25, 1935, saying: "As long as the writing is not clumsy, it is not troublesome." I agreed to write for Masuda's request.

On April 30 of the same year, he wrote a letter to his colleagues: "My calligraphy is actually worth five yuan. It's really funny."

Selling calligraphy and painting is the last means of making a living for literati. Nowadays, this soil for making a living is gone.
Chapter completed!