Free Web NovelChapter 435: Chapter 222: Where Can I Sign Up to Restore the National Treasure?
The staff confirmed once more and received a definite answer. Chen Nuonuo pointed at Li Younan: "He’s the one who drew it."
The staff was a bit surprised this time, sizing up Li Younan once again before saying seriously, "Who would have thought, Teacher Li, you have such skills."
Previously, a leader had instructed him to take Li Younan to shoot video material. Such work was not uncommon there, and it wasn’t his first time doing it, so generally speaking, he was quite familiar with the process.
As for the filmmaker Li Younan, he just regarded him as an ordinary video blogger.
Though Li Younan was a top-tier anchor with millions of followers, relatively few people knew him in real life.
Due to survivorship bias, many people assume that their idols or some seemingly famous streamer should be known by everyone in the world, but how can that be true in reality?
At least here, these people did not know Li Younan, so previously, when they referred to him as "Teacher Li," it was more out of courtesy.
But now, calling him "Teacher Li" carried genuine respect.
This staff member was not engaged in artifact restoration at the Forbidden City but was responsible for the daily operations and various office tasks at the Forbidden City.
He truly admired those experts constantly on the frontlines of restoration work from the bottom of his heart.
He admired their exquisite skills on one hand and, on the other, their perseverance in sticking to one job for a long time, showing the spirit of enduring the long passage of time and pursuing what they love.
By interacting with these workers often, he clearly understood that achieving such outstanding skills in these fields required not only talent but also the willpower to withstand loneliness.
Frankly speaking, he held some prejudice against online content creators and video bloggers.
After all, many people in this group habitually create things deliberately to grab attention.
After being around those who can settle their minds for a long time, when he looks at this group again, he finds them... impetuous.
Before knowing Li Younan, he had, more or less, drawn a similar image of him in his mind.
But now, after Li Younan demonstrated this skill, he couldn’t help but feel ashamed of the preconceived stereotype he had of Li Younan.
Li Younan chatted with Chen Nuonuo for a while longer here and, of course, didn’t forget to shoot some video material.
However, shooting video material, of course, couldn’t be concentrated in one place, so the staff planned to take Li Younan to other places to gather some material.
At this moment, Li Younan began to think about another thing.
Before entering here, the theme of the video he was shooting was a close-up experience of artifact restoration work. Generally speaking, the video’s nature was about curiosity, as this work and skill are extremely difficult for the general public to access.
However, after shooting quite a lot of material, Li Younan realized a problem, which was that while this theme had some potential for exploration, the angle of approach was too weak.
As a video creator, Li Younan was well aware that although he had a huge following and the initial spread of the video would be good, if the video itself lacked interest, it would consume his influence instead.
Therefore, he needed to find a better angle of approach.
Li Younan curiously asked the staff, "Is there any restoration work that outsiders like us can experience?"
"Well..."
"The thing is, I want to find a better angle of approach for this video material."
The staff thought about it seriously and said, "I can’t decide this, you need to consult some of the masters. Since it’s for publicity purposes, in theory, you can have a try, but it must be strictly planned and arranged."
Li Younan understood this in his heart, getting hands-on with these artifacts wasn’t like going to a DIY studio for an experience. These are all historical evidences that have existed, and each one is extremely precious, so there must be suitable artifacts and relatively controllable restoration methods before an outsider can have a touch.
The staff said, "But since you have such high painting skills, I can take you to the lacquerware restoration group to have a look. That group is responsible for the restoration of lacquerware artifacts, with a lot of painted and gold-leafing work, perhaps you could experience that."
During their chat, Master Chen returned.
Master Chen had a helpless smile on his face.
Chen Nuonuo asked curiously, "Grandpa, what’s up with that expression...?"
Master Chen seemed calm and said with a smile, "Nothing unexpected."
Chen Nuonuo said, "Grandpa, is that Qianlong pink-and-white revolving vase really that hard to fix? Even with so many groups of people discussing it together, there’s no solution?"
Li Younan looked over curiously.
Master Chen nodded and said, "You could say that the challenge of restoring this pink-and-white revolving vase is among the most difficult one or two pieces of porcelain in the entire Forbidden City."
"So what makes it difficult, Grandpa?"
"Let me put it this way, this bottle consists of three parts: the outer bottle, the inner bottle, and the base."
"The outer bottle is intricately carved with landscape pavilion patterns, the inner bottle is painted with scenes of human stories. But the most important thing is that the inner bottle can rotate and is painted with dynamic characters corresponding to the scenes. The base is also carved with lotus patterns entwined with branches and embedded with gemstones."
"This piece is a national treasure that combines ceramics, painting, and carving techniques. It’s extremely valuable and absolutely cannot have any mistakes."
"Oh, so what you’re saying is that it’s too valuable, so no one dares to handle it?"
Master Chen shook his head and said, "As for being valuable, this Famille Rose pierced revolving bottle is not among the most precious national treasures."
Li Younan was a bit curious.
"The most precious are those few intact revolving bottles."
Li Younan: "..."
"The true challenge in its restoration is that this national treasure’s restoration cannot be separated into different processes handled by different technicians."
"Any deviation in the curvature of the ceramic repair will affect subsequent carving, which cannot match the original pattern. If the painting composition mismatches the inner bottle’s rotation, it will disrupt the overall narrative; improper control of the depth of carving will further affect the flatness of the glazed painting."
Pausing for a moment, Master Chen said, "The key is that the skills in ceramics, painting, and carving must all be absolutely top-notch!"
Hearing this, Chen Nuonuo froze for a moment, probably understanding the reason for her grandfather’s difficulty.
In short, to restore this artifact, one needs to simultaneously excel in painting, carving, and ceramics at an outstanding level.
The staff nearby curiously asked, "Why can’t the process be separated? Wouldn’t it be possible for each person to be responsible for one aspect?"
Master Chen sighed and, as if unconsciously, glanced at the camera focused on Li Younan: "We’ve had several discussions, and today is the conclusion that it’s indeed impossible to separate the processes. The crux is the interlocking structure of the outer bottle, inner bottle, and base, and the nesting of the three main techniques of ceramic body, Famille Rose painting, and pierced carving, which are prerequisites for each other. The precision of each process directly determines the feasibility of the next."
Li Younan listened for a while, probably having a clear idea in his mind.
He had heard of the Famille Rose pierced revolving bottle from the Qianlong period; its restoration is a typical system engineering affecting everything in turn—ceramic repair requires judging carving space, carving needs to reserve coloring boundaries for painting, and painting must match the physical limits of ceramics and carving.
So their final conclusion was: a restorer must possess all three major skills to attend to subsequent demands synchronously at each stage.
Of course, the reason for such high standards is that they are restoring a national treasure-level artifact.
A few years ago, a complete revolving bottle was auctioned abroad for 2.2 billion, becoming the world’s most expensive porcelain.
At present, the revolving bottle in the Forbidden City is in a damaged state, naturally diminishing its value, yet once restored, even if post-restoration, its value would soar immensely.
This kind of pierced revolving bottle is the pinnacle of Chinese feudal dynastic porcelain craftsmanship, extremely financially demanding, with only dozens surviving globally, and many have ended up abroad, making each intact piece a museum treasure of paramount importance.
The significance of restoring it speaks for itself.
Thus, for such an artifact, no margin for error is permitted; that’s why despite many meetings and consultations with numerous scholars and experts, everyone stands helpless before this challenge.
Upon hearing Master Chen’s narrative, Li Younan’s heart began to race.
If there’s anyone in the world who can restore this national treasure, there’s no doubt that person is him.
He’s a master in ceramics, Famille Rose painting, and pierced carving!
He took out his phone and flipped through the data on the Famille Rose pierced revolving bottle, and after a while, he already had a clear idea, suddenly looking toward Master Chen: "Master Chen, is there really no restorer domestically who possesses these three major skills at once?"
Master Chen hesitated for a moment and said, "Not entirely none, but those who reach master-level in all three are exceedingly rare."
"Master Yang once participated in the ’Juenqin Hall’ Famille Rose porcelain shard restoration project, proficient in Chinese painting, and has a thorough understanding of ceramic body characteristics, but his carving and repair skills are comparatively weaker."
"Another, relatively close, is Master Xu Kai."
"He is adept at ceramic restoration and has dabbled in carving, but he is older and has been retired for many years."
"The director contacted him recently, but his eyesight and hands aren’t as good as they once were; carving something so intricate... it’s still not feasible."
"So, you’re saying the biggest problem in restoring this porcelain bottle now is finding such a person, right?"
"You could say that."
Li Younan took a deep breath and then slowly said, "Master Chen, um... where can I sign up to restore this national treasure?"
When Li Younan said this, he looked very serious, so serious that Chen Nuonuo and that staff member both stared at him wide-eyed and speechless.
Master Chen was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
