Pei Xiu, the famous prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, was knowledgeable and had a wide range of interests, and was good at writing poetry and painting, especially in calligraphy.
His ink treasure "Guifeng Zen Master Monument" looks like a willow body, but it is rich in changes than the willow body and has a unique wind bone.
In addition to these, Pei Xiu also likes to treasure rare antiques.
Although Pei Xiu was shrewd and erudite, he also had times when he looked away.
The History of Tang Que records:
When Pei Xiu was in charge of drafting the emperor's edict, a cousin was transferred to Qufu as a county commander.
Local farmers cultivated the land, dug up an ancient artifact, and dedicated it to the county order.
Qufu County Order preliminarily identified, that this kind of artifact is called "Ang", the interior can accommodate three buckets of things, the neck of the utensils is short bird feet, square ears round mouth, ancient and elegant, clean up the surface of the soil, vaguely visible there are nine ancient seal characters.
Qufu County Ling did not know the ancient seal characters, so he asked Lu Sheng, who was good at writing seal characters in Yanzhou, to help identify them.
Pei Xiu - Dinghui Zen Master Monument
Lu Sheng can write nine kinds of ancient seal characters, he has seen the seal characters on the "Ang" and said: "This is called the Great Seal, which is not popular now, but I have studied and know these words, and these nine words are - Qi Huan Guild cast in the Kuiqiu Years." ”
"Qi Huan Guild cast in Kuiqiu" literally means that Jiang Xiaobai, one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, made an alliance with the princes in Kuiqiu (now part of Henan Minquan) to commemorate this historical event.
Qufu County Ling felt very magical, so he compared the popular seal characters at that time and found that the strokes were indeed similar.
A few days later, Qufu County Ling loaded "An" in a car and sent it to Pei Xiu Province in the capital Chang'an.
After Pei Xiu saw it, he thought that it was indeed an artifact of the Spring and Autumn Period, so he cherished it very much and regarded it as a treasure.
When I go home, I will appreciate it when I have time, and sometimes when relatives and friends visit, I will take it out and show it, and people will spread the word of mouth that there is a rare treasure hidden in Lord Pei's house.
When Pei Xiu was serving as a ceremonial attendant, he once served as the chief examiner of the imperial examination, and one candidate heard that Pei Xiu's family had a treasure "Ang" and asked to enjoy it.
One day, Pei Xiu invited the candidate and many students to his home for a banquet and drink, and took out the "An" for everyone to watch.
At that time, after Liu Metamorphosis, a scholar of Zhongshu She, read it, he felt that it was not like an ancient artifact from the Spring and Autumn Period, but a forgery forged by modern antique dealers.
Pei Xiu said with an unhappy face, "What basis do you have?" ”
Liu Metamorphosis replied, "In the past, I had specifically studied some documents of the Spring and Autumn Period, and it was recorded that the Duke of Qi Huan summoned the princes nine times in order to establish his prestige and consolidate his hegemonic position. The Alliance in Kwai Chu is the eighth. The Book of Rites records that in May of the ninth year of King Xiang of Zhou (643 BC), the princes buried the Duke of Qi Huan, and the princes who formed an alliance held a worship service, and the agreed title was 'Huan'. ”
Pei Xiu's eyes widened as he listened to Liu Yuan continue: "The Kuiqiu Huimeng occurred when Jiang Xiaobai, the Duke of Qi Huan, was alive, and there was another Huimeng after that, in other words, when Jiang Xiaobai was alive, it was impossible to be called Qi Huangong, so it can be concluded that this artifact is a forgery fake!" ”
Pei Xiu woke up like a dream, ashamed that his knowledge was not as good as Pei Xiu's, so he sent someone to smash the "Ang" to pieces, and then raised a glass to drink it all, admiring Liu Xiu's profound knowledge and unique vision.