Wenbai Studio.
In the lounge, Old Bai sprawled comfortably on the sofa, holding his phone and opening Lin Chuan's new book "Last Week's Antique."
In Old Bai's view, Lin Chuan's novels about swindlers, assassins, hackers, and fraud were indeed professional enough to be taken as truth.
But when it comes to antiques...
Sorry, that's my field of expertise, and I have the right to speak! Besides, I've been sent the Silver Alliance Master's Treasure Chest, and a basketful of Monthly Tickets, so it's okay for my voice to be a bit louder, right?
Old Bai's right thumb flicked lightly, and he entered the novel page of "Last Week's Antique" to start reading.
"My name is Mr. Lin."
"I'm known as the grandmaster of the antiques circle, respected by all, and pursued by thousands."
"But nobody knows that I'm also the world's most professional master of antique forgery."
"In my life, I've forged countless antiques, some of which have been collected by famous artists or are highly sought after in the antiques circle; even the British Museum has some of my forgeries, displayed in glass cabinets for people to exhibit and appreciate the historical charm."
After just reading the first four paragraphs, Old Bai frowned slightly.
The tone was just right!
However, some of the wording and phrasing, like "grandmaster of the antiques circle," "world's most professional master of antique forgery," and "forged countless antiques," felt a bit exaggerated.
When industry insiders read novels on their subject, they always find issues from various angles.
They can't help but pick out a few small faults.
Nevertheless, Old Bai was still very interested in this novel; in some ways, antique forgery and cultural relic restoration have an essential similarity.
While picking things apart, Old Bai also had high hopes for Lin Chuan.
After all, Lin Chuan had long been renowned for being a 'technical author' with 'strong professionalism' and writing 'criminal autobiographies.' What if his antique forgery is brilliantly written too?
With a touch of skepticism and a great deal of anticipation, Old Bai continued to read on.
"The old wooden gate in the courtyard, smoothed by the years, I stepped out with Qing to buy the materials needed for the forgery of antiques."
"My first fake antique would be a piece of porcelain."
"—A Qing Kangxi Five-colored Fish and Algae Pattern Douli Bowl."
"In fact, I didn't take the son of the Ceramics Association president seriously; porcelain is at the apex of the hierarchy in the ceramics circle. As long as I successfully forged the Qing Kangxi Five-colored Fish and Algae Pattern Douli Bowl, then all issues with Lin Family Porcelain, oh no, Lin Family Antiques, would be readily resolved."
"In the bustling antique market, there were many people and the materials were plentiful."
"After strolling around with Qing, I found a batch of Douli bowls from the Qing Dynasty with a plain white body, which fortunately was part of my plan to 'new paint on an old body' when forging the Qing Kangxi Five-colored Fish and Algae Pattern Douli Bowl."
"'New paint on an old body' was just the first big step."
"The next big step to make it look like the Douli Bowl was convincingly old was 'aging' it."
"There are many ways to age it, and after leaving the antique market, I took Qing for several rounds in the county town to buy hydrofluoric acid, permanganate, and casually picked up a few prescriptions of Chinese herbal medicines."
"These were critical for aging the Douli Bowl, especially those few prescriptions of Chinese medicine."
"Qing was confused, not understanding why I was buying these things; I simply told her it was for making money."
Back in the lounge of Wenbai Studio.
Old Bai suddenly sat up straight from the sofa, no longer sprawling, much like how one sits up straight when playing a game and facing a tough opponent, concentrating on the game without slacking off.
"Goodness, Old Lin has some skills."
Old Bai's mouth opened slightly, murmuring in surprise.
He had thought Lin Chuan's depiction of antique forgery would gloss over the details, but seeing the use of hydrofluoric acid and permanganate for aging, he felt a tinge of astonishment.
The appearance of the Chinese herbal medicines and their part of the formula startled him even more.
He really knew his stuff!
Aging cultural relics with Chinese medicine was a skill not many could master, and the formulas for Chinese medicines were a closely guarded secret. The key ingredients Lin Chuan revealed had already shocked Old Bai!
Old Bai didn't comment further but continued to read.
"Back in the courtyard, I began the process of forging."
"The Qing Kangxi Five-colored Fish and Algae Pattern Douli Bowl belongs to 'overglaze' decoration, so when painting, I paid extra attention—the painting and glazing both had certain techniques."
"To depict the five-colored fish, the brushwork required high precision; every stroke had to be carefully placed with attention to layout and lines. If one observed this Douli Bowl carefully, they would find that the four fish each had their distinct shape and charm."
"This required a high level of painting skill."
"Fortunately, I am a porcelain maker myself, steady-handed, with smooth lines, and my work's style was naturally reminiscent of the porcelain from the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty."
"Then came the second firing – the glaze firing."
"The temperature and timing control of the glaze firing had to be strict, and every kiln firing would have slight differences, demanding particular attention to the integration of glaze, color, and the white body."
"Next, it was time to age it."
"I had already instructed Qing to prepare the Chinese medicine, filling the entire courtyard with refreshing herbal fragrance; then, by adding a little alcohol and a drop of potassium permanganate to the concoction, I immersed the Douli Bowl to soak and wait for completion."
"Wow!"
After reading about Mr. Lin's entire process of forging and aging the 'Qing Kangxi Five-colored Fish and Algae Pattern Douli Bowl,' Old Bai could already imagine the four colorful fish swimming on the exterior of the Douli Bowl and the vibrant floral and bird patterns leaping within its walls, seemingly alive.
As the saying goes, laymen enjoy the show while experts watch the technique.
As a professional cultural relic restorer with less practical experience but solid theory, Old Bai completely understood the professionalism of forging porcelain depicted in Lin Chuan's book.
"Damn, you're really professional, Old Lin!"
Old Bai genuinely complimented.
Without any exaggeration, as a master's student specializing in cultural relics restoration, he was utterly impressed by the professional knowledge and highly feasible steps revealed in "Last Week's Antique".
Old Bai even had an idea.
He could follow the steps described and combine them with his theoretical knowledge in his field to replicate a Qing Kangxi Five-colored Fish and Algae Pattern Douli Bowl.
That feeling was like watching some enlightening videos, feeling an itch in his heart, and desperately wanting to put it into practice.
For example, video tutorials on gaming techniques.
But the plot of "Last Week's Antique" was so interlinked and compelling that Old Bai couldn't bear to put his phone down, immersing himself in the world of antique forgery instead.
In the novel, Mr. Lin later took the Douli Bowl to the most famous treasure appraiser in the city, who authenticated it as real.
Afterward, Mr. Lin also forged a variety of antiques and curios, including calligraphy and paintings, jade objects, pottery jars, bronze ware, and so on.
Until dusk.
The afterglow of the setting sun filled Wenbai Studio, elongating shadows of bottles and jars, the air suffused with the intertwined scents of restoration liquid, paper, copper, and earth.
Whoosh—
Only then did Old Bai put down his phone, took a deep breath, and stretched languidly to loosen his muscles.
He looked at all the bottles and jars in the studio, his hands itching to do something.
Finally.
His gaze settled on a bronze vessel close to him, standing about 42 centimeters tall with a base diameter of approximately 15 centimeters.
This bronze vessel was known as a 'Taotie Pattern Wine Vessel,' an oval-shaped container for wine, adorned with taotie-like patterns, inscribed with markings, and had handles for carrying, sealed with a small lid on top.
It was a bronze counterfeit Old Bai had found in the Modu antiques circle; its shape, taotie pattern decoration, and inscriptions were all of decent craft, so Old Bai spent several hundred yuan to purchase it for his studio, occasionally fondling it and appreciating its features with great interest.
As it happened.
The steps for replicating bronze ware were explicitly detailed in Lin Chuan's "Last Week's Antique".
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Though it lacked a crucial technique, for Old Bai, he could compensate with his theoretical knowledge of cultural relics restoration.
"Replicating a cultural relic isn't illegal, let's give it a try!"
Old Bai was a man of action; he immediately set to work, aiming to make the 'Taotie Pattern Wine Vessel' even closer to its appearance during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties period.
Replicating cultural relics was actually a way to enhance his skills in cultural relics restoration.
So, Old Bai was very excited.
"Last Week's Antique" described numerous methods for forging bronze ware.
For example, the false rust disguise, splicing, and burial methods.
Now, the 'Taotie Pattern Wine Vessel' in Old Bai's hands was already cast using the sand-casting method, which is a high-level technique. Only the rust marks and patina were inconsistent with the expected age.
"Following Old Lin's method, I should first age it, then fake the bronze rust, imitate the patina with a special liquid, and finally cover it with earth, treating it with special techniques to create soil penetration for the perfect deception," Old Bai thought.
Let the work begin!
Old Bai followed the steps for forging bronze ware in "Last Week's Antique," locating sulfur water in his studio, heating it up to produce hot sulfuric acid, which he then poured over the 'Taotie Pattern Wine Vessel'.
Applying the sulfur water was a common aging technique.
The sulfuric acid solution could corrode the bronze, slowly turning its color to antique bronze, or even black, making it appear much older than it was.
This step was simple.
The most difficult parts were creating the copper rust and the oxidized patina.
Ancient bronze ware buried underground for a long time interacts with moist soil, groundwater, and other organic and inorganic substances, resulting in chemical reactions that cause rust.
But because this rust formed gradually, the layers were complex and the colors varied. Furthermore, natural fractures around the edges of the bronze ware, if picked at with a knife or struck with a hammer, would flake off in chunks, somewhat reminiscent of a 'crumbly' texture.
To deceive convincingly, one must focus on producing authentic-looking rust and patina.
Old Bai meticulously followed the 'Antique Forgery Textbook,' step by step, using a mix of glues such as adhesive, rosin, Bletilla Striata Paste, and lacquer, mixing it with real rust from the bronze, integrating a variety of mineral powders and pigments, then irregularly applying it to the 'Taotie Pattern Wine Vessel'.
Soon, this step was completed.
The 'Taotie Pattern Wine Vessel' instantly took on an entirely different look, with layer upon layer of rust marks emerging on the bronze surface, and the body's oxidized patina showing different colors and irregular patterns, as if it had weathered three thousand years, exuding a sense of vast antiquity.
Next was the burial.
Old Bai was quite adept at the burial technique.
He found a plate of moist earth in his studio and buried the 'Taotie Pattern Wine Vessel' in it, alternately using a heater to dry the soil and then moistening it with water, occasionally shaking it to accelerate the reaction between the bronze and the earth.
This step took a full day and night.
It was only on the following evening that the 'Taotie Pattern Wine Vessel' of the early Western Zhou period was finally 'excavated'.
"Success! Hahaha!"
Old Bai, holding the freshly unearthed Western Zhou bronze ware 'Taotie Pattern Wine Vessel,' his eyes gleaming, his face full of excitement and agitation.
Old Lin, I admit I spoke too loudly yesterday.
This replicated bronze 'Taotie Pattern Wine Vessel' was incredibly authentic-looking in every aspect, be it the exterior, decorations, inscriptions, rust marks, patina, or soil penetration. It was impeccable!
Old Bai examined the 'Taotie Pattern Wine Vessel' from top to bottom, left to right, but could not find a single flaw, treasuring it as if it were a precious gem.
That's when an idea suddenly struck him.
—Find a treasure appraisal master to authenticate its genuineness and see if it could indeed pass as the real thing.
"There are many treasure appraisal masters doing live appraisals online. I'll have them evaluate this 'Taotie Pattern Wine Vessel' to judge its authenticity," Old Bai said with a smirk, his face filled with anticipation!

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