Meanwhile, Mr. Lu added by the side, "It is said that the Wen family of Jiangnan are descendants of Wen Tianxiang from the Southern Song. Their family tradition is extremely long-established, leading to very high achievements."

"Mmm."

Wang Guan nodded casually, offering no rebuttal, for it was fact. However, he was slightly dismissive. After all, Wen Tianxiang was a famous anti-Yuan hero who, after his defeat and capture, refused to surrender and was tragically executed. Because of this, the Wen family achieved practically nothing for nearly a hundred years during the Yuan Dynasty.

It was only after the Ming Dynasty, following over a century of accumulation, that they regained their strength in the mid-Ming era, culminating in the appearance of Wen Zhengming, one of the Four Masters of Wumen, who restored the family's prestige in the eyes of the world.

As for Wen Jia, regardless of the era, he was a figure of considerable influence. Modern people might not often hear his name, but they certainly must know a poem he wrote—the Song of Tomorrow. Yes, the one with the line, "Tomorrow after tomorrow, how many tomorrows there are." Wen Jia was the author of this poem, but people simply focus on eating the egg without paying attention to the hen that laid it.

However, regardless of the Wen family's standing or Wen Jia's fame, Cai Peng wasn't concerned with that; he focused only on one question: "Is this painting genuine or fake?"

Indeed, this was the crux of the matter, a highly practical question. At this moment, the attention of Wang Guan and Mr. Lu shifted from historical background to the painting itself.

"The Ming scholar Wang Shizhen commented on Wen Jia, saying his calligraphy couldn't match his elder brother's, and his painting style was in the same vein as Wen Zhengming, who served at court."

At this point, Mr. Lu mused, "This means Wen Jia's painting style is very similar to Wen Zhengming's: meticulous brushwork, slightly stiff, showing an unrefined quality amidst high proficiency. This is a typical style of Southern School landscape painting, a common technique of the Wumen School."

"This Autumn Pine High Hermitage undoubtedly employs this very technique."

Mr. Lu then commented, "It emphasizes the expression of ink and brush, highlights emotional coloring and a serene, subtle artistic conception, striving for a plain, natural, tranquil, and peaceful tone. It is very much like Wen Jia's hand."

"Very much like?"

Cai Peng couldn't discern it, but with Mr. Lu's sharp perception, he seized upon the uncertainty in Mr. Lu's phrasing.

"Yes, very much like." Mr. Lu hesitated slightly, then nodded firmly, "If I am not mistaken, this painting should be a copy."

"A copy?" Wang Guan's eyes narrowed instantly, and he began to study it more intently. After examining it for a moment, he noticed something amiss. "That's the Yangzhou Blade!"

"Oh?"

Mr. Lu also expressed some surprise, "Mr. Wang has sharp eyes, and possesses knowledge spanning ancient and modern times—truly admirable."

"Mr. Lu flatters me; I have merely seen similar ancient paintings before. Furthermore, if you hadn't pointed it out, I probably wouldn't have spotted the flaw in the painting so quickly."

This was Wang Guan's sincere thought; he truly admired Mr. Lu, recognizing him as a foremost expert in painting and calligraphy appraisal, with extraordinarily rich experience, having discerned the painting's oddity in such a short time.

"What is the Yangzhou Blade?"

At the same time, Cai Peng was confused. "How can you tell this painting is fake?"

"This painting isn't entirely fake; it can only be called a replica," Wang Guan shook his head. "Strictly speaking, it is still an ancient Ming painting, but it didn't come from Wen Jia's brush. It is a copy produced by antique dealers of that time."

"A contemporary replica?" Cai Peng was shocked and bewildered.

"Precisely. Just as counterfeits run rampant today, the ancient world wasn't necessarily pure either," Wang Guan gave a wry smile. "To speak of it, the history of forgery in Chinese painting and calligraphy is exceedingly long, beginning in the Wei, Jin, Southern, and Northern Dynasties, becoming widespread by the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties. By the Song Dynasty, the first major wave of forgery in history had formed. It slightly declined in the Yuan Dynasty, but it reached its peak again during the Ming."

"Of course, there are historical reasons for this."

Wang Guan explained, "As the economy revived in the mid-Ming period, the art market flourished. A large number of wealthy households emerged, including merchants from Huizhou, Shanxi, and Fujian, who had accumulated vast fortunes. Everyone should know that the tastes of the extremely wealthy are similar across time. When friends gathered, they naturally needed antique calligraphy and paintings to enhance the refined atmosphere."

Hearing this, others might nod, but even Mr. Cai unconsciously agreed. It was no wonder some say history constantly repeats itself—an inescapable cycle. That talk of enhancing refined atmosphere was a polite way of putting it; in reality, it was often about flaunting wealth. Wang Guan simply avoided being too direct because Mr. Cai was present.

"As the fashion for collecting fine objects developed, a large supply of paintings and calligraphy was needed. However, very few works from previous generations survived. Thus, the trend of forgery became even more severe."

As he spoke, Wang Guan also expressed some lament. "The most economically developed region was Jiangnan, which fostered the Wumen School. But the number of Wumen painters was small; even if they painted every day, they couldn't satisfy the huge market demand. Where there is demand, there is a market, and under such circumstances, fakes and imitations naturally arose."

"Records show that before the Jiajing era, there were over four hundred workshops in the Jiangzhe region alone dedicated to forging calligraphy and paintings in the style of Zhao Mengfu. But the buyers were even more fanatical. Yongle's carved lacquerware, Xuande's bronzes, Chenghua's kilns, and even the paintings of Shen Zhou and Tang Yin, the calligraphy of Wen Zhengming and Zhu Yunming—they were discussed alongside Su Shi and Mi Fu. Major dealers would quote prices in the thousands or hundreds, often emptying their coffers in exchange, making it impossible to distinguish the genuine from the imitation."

At this point, Wang Guan couldn't help but sigh, "In retrospect, people of old were far more zealous than we are. Knowing that fakes outnumbered originals, they spared no expense in time and money to procure them, with some collectors spending twenty years and fortunes. Such obsessed collecting merchants were countless, providing the perfect opportunity for those manufacturing fake art to profit by deception."

"As for the so-called Yangzhou Blade, it’s actually a term. Because they feared karmic retribution, some forgers would deliberately leave flaws in the painting or inscription, creating a trail for future appraisers to follow. However, if the buyer failed to detect it, the responsibility wasn't theirs."

Wang Guan shook his head. "Even though this suggests a kind of hypocritical pretense, it was at least leaving a way out for others. Unlike today's counterfeiters, who strive for absolute realism and dread revealing any imperfection..."

"Not bad, that's exactly it."

At this, Mr. Lu was thoroughly convinced, realizing that Wang Guan possessed far deeper skills than he had initially imagined. Naturally, he could no longer remain indifferent. It wasn't fear of being overshadowed, but rather a concern about losing this opportunity—an opportunity to earn Mr. Cai's serious regard.

Thinking this, Mr. Lu also spoke up, "In the mid-Ming Dynasty, forgery wasn't just a social custom; it was a unique phenomenon. Due to the handsome profits, many unknown painters or artisans supported themselves by faking and selling art, and even some famous literary painters turned to it to make a living."

This kind of thing was common, not limited to the Ming Dynasty. Even in the late Qing and early Republic periods, the famous Zhang Daqian supported his family in his early days by imitating the paintings of Shi Tao. Only after he gained fame and his own work could sell did he stop this practice.

After all, there were many painters in every era. Except for a tiny minority who became renowned, most were ignored by the art world, becoming so-called 'minor' or 'coldly recognized' figures, some even having names untraceable in art history.

These people needed to eat. When their own work wouldn't sell and they couldn't bear a life of poverty, and if changing professions wasn't an option, they naturally followed the old path of their predecessors: copying and imitating antiques.

"The work of famous painters was exceptionally skillful, reaching a level where it was difficult to tell fake from real. But generally, the methods boil down to copying, tracing, imitating, fabricating, or altering genuine works."

As he spoke, Mr. Lu continued his analysis, "A more common method is altering the signature or adding a signature to the original piece—what is usually called changing the face. At the same time, to maximize profit, forgers employed every conceivable trick, even devising methods to fabricate through physical division. A single painting might be cut into several pieces, mounted separately, and sold piece by piece for profit."

"Even more ingenious were the Suzhou sheets, which used the expert skill of 'unmounting' paintings to peel back several layers from one work, then remounting and selling them."

Speaking of these inside secrets, Mr. Lu's tone was complex, containing both admiration and deep disgust. "As for this Autumn Pine High Hermitage, it belongs to the relatively simple technique of tracing—delineating and drawing stroke by stroke while looking directly at the original."

"Therefore, with careful inspection, one can easily spot breaks or pauses in the brushstrokes, and obvious signs of retouching between lines. This is a typical tracing technique, indicating the imitator's skill level was insufficient."

At this, Mr. Lu gently shook his head and then gestured, "However, the inscription is genuine. It was likely cut out from the original work and patched into this painting. Most people authenticating based on the inscription would certainly be fooled into thinking the piece is authentic."

"Mmm," Wang Guan agreed. "Cutting the inscription from the original means the genuine work might have been sliced into several sections and then repainted to form multiple works, multiplying the profits several times over. But for this very reason, many masterpieces were destroyed and vanished into the long river of history."

"Exactly. These people are executioners of paintings," Mr. Lu cursed, his voice laced with a palpable fury.

The saying goes: love the profession you are in. An excellent appraiser must first love what they appraise; otherwise, they couldn't dedicate their full passion, leading to lower professional standards and preventing them from becoming top-tier appraisers. After all, if one is interested, learning is fast; if uninterested, learning is impossible, and achievement will be limited.

Undoubtedly, Mr. Lu was a master appraiser, thus filled with fervor for calligraphy and painting, naturally harboring intense hatred for those who damaged such works. On this point, Wang Guan felt he shared a common ground and mutual enmity with Mr. Lu...

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Just then, Mr. Cai lightly applauded, his face beaming with approval. "Listening to your words is better than reading ten years of books! I have truly broadened my horizons today. I never knew there were so many intricate details within calligraphy and painting!"