To create a fake painting, I couldn't stay at the hotel anymore. I had Fu Honglang find me a place, and Fatty and I moved in.
It was a detached house. The environment wasn't great, but it was fine for living.
I asked Fatty to buy some *bai ji* for me. Fatty looked confused and asked, "What's *bai ji*?"
"It's a kind of medicinal herb. You can definitely buy it at a traditional Chinese medicine shop."
"No, Mr. Xiang, what do you need Chinese medicine for?"
"To make it look old, of course."
"Chinese medicine for aging?"
I explained, "Although *bai ji* is Chinese medicine, it contains a corrosive effect from oxalic acid. Not only can it beautify the skin, but it can also whiten it and stop bleeding."
Fatty was still confused. "I'm not asking about its effects. I want to know how to age something with this herb."
"Why are you asking so many questions? You'll know once you buy it back!" I said.
Fatty replied, "Alright, I'm going now."
This time, Fatty's efficiency was much higher than before. In less than half an hour, he returned with a bag of *bai ji*.
"Mr. Xiang, is this enough? I bought all the *bai ji* from that shop."
I nodded and told him to boil the *bai ji* in water.
After it was boiled, I poured the *bai ji* water into a spray bottle. I had Fatty hang up the "Beauties Painting" and began to spray it layer by layer. After spraying some and letting it dry, I sprayed again.
This time, Fatty didn't ask any more questions and just watched quietly from the side.
The reason I sprayed the *bai ji* water onto the painting was that it could make the paper brittle.
The paper of ancient paintings is generally very brittle, so I was aging the paper.
This method was used most often by Zhang Daqian. It was a pity that in his time, there were no spray bottles, so he could only use wool brushes to apply it layer by layer.
However, this had a problem: wool brushes would leave brush marks on the paper, which could be seen with a careful look.
Generally, seeing such marks proved it was a fake painting that had been artificially aged.
Now that times have improved, using a spray bottle was the best method, as it wouldn't leave any brush marks.
This method was also taught to me by my father.
Once I had sprayed enough, I asked Fatty to hang the "Beauties Painting" in a dry place to air dry.
"Fatty, go buy an electric iron."
"What do you need that for?"
I glared at him. Fatty quickly said, "Alright, alright, I'm going now. I won't ask anymore..."
By the time Fatty bought the electric iron, the *bai ji* water on the "Beauties Painting" had dried.
I preheated the electric iron and had Fatty spread the "Beauties Painting" on the table, then I began to iron it.
This method wasn't something I came up with on a whim; it was a method of forgery that had existed since the Qing Dynasty.
The irons in the Qing Dynasty were made of copper. By putting red-hot charcoal inside, they could achieve an ironing effect.
However, at that time, using this ironing method, it was easy to scorch yellow spots on the paper due to the inability to control the temperature.
This was also a way to identify ancient "fake antiquity," as any yellow spots scorched by fire were almost certainly from fake paintings aged in ancient times.
Of course, this wasn't absolute; there were also some special circumstances.
As I ironed back and forth on the "Beauties Painting" with the electric iron, I began to explain to Fatty, "Although *bai ji* water can make the paper brittle, it's far from enough. It needs to be ironed to make the paper even more brittle."
Fatty nodded.
I continued, "Ironing also presses down the fuzz on the paper, making it appear flatter and smoother."
"Mr. Xiang, who did you learn all this from?"
"The ancients did it this way," I said.
"Who did it this way?"
I replied, "Stop guessing. Go get some food later. We've been busy all day and haven't eaten anything."
Fatty asked, "Is the aging process complete then?"
I said, "There's one more step."
"What else needs to be done?"
"Haven't you noticed there are no cracks on this painting?" I said. "Today, I'll teach you another trick. Any ancient painting that's been around for a long time will have cracks on it. Artificially aged cracks are usually evenly and finely rubbed out, with the cracks side by side..."
I paused and continued, "But ancient paintings are different because the cracks on them were tempered by time, cracking little by little. Also, because scrolls were kept rolled up for a long time, the force was inward. Once opened, the paper would crack due to external force, and the cracks would pop upwards. These cracks are very uneven and cannot be created by humans because they are the marks of time."
Fatty listened, stunned. "Then what can be done?"
I said, "Fatty, it's not that I won't teach you, but this method of aging cracks is passed down in my family, so..."
Before I could finish, Fatty said, "I understand, I understand! It's a unique skill, passed down within the family, not to outsiders. I understand this principle."
Fatty grinned and said, "Mr. Xiang, if I had followed you a few years earlier, I would probably be quite a figure in Panjiayuan by now!"
"Alright, stop your chatter. If there's time in the future, I'll definitely teach you what I can."
"Okay! Thank you, Mr. Xiang! I'm going to get some food now."
Saying that, Fatty cheerfully went out the door.
The method of aging cracks is recorded in my family's ancestral book, the "Seven Stars Nine Principles Mystic Arts."
When my father gave me this book, he told me never to reveal anything in it.
Furthermore, ordinary people cannot understand the "Seven Stars Nine Principles Mystic Arts." It can only be understood by combining it with orally transmitted incantations.
If an ordinary person were to take it, they would only be confused by its contents.
Because the order of the content in the book was scrambled, without the incantations, you wouldn't know where to start reading.
After Fatty left, I picked up the "Beauties Painting" and brought over some prepared materials according to the book.
Most of these materials were mixtures of Chinese herbs and soil, including lime and the like.
Following the old custom, I lit three incense sticks and two candles in the Vermilion Bird position.
Then, following the instructions in the book, I sprinkled the prepared materials evenly on the painting, rolled it up, and finally placed the scroll on the table, stepping in the Big Dipper's formation.
I got some alcohol and sprayed it lightly. Soon, I heard a "shashasha" sound coming from inside the scroll.
After a quarter of an hour, I walked over, picked up the scroll, and shook out all the contents inside.
After doing this, when I unrolled the scroll again, a miraculous scene appeared: there were many irregular cracks, and those cracks were perfectly placed.
What surprised me even more was that the painting had a faint scent of ink and brushstrokes.
I couldn't understand the principle behind it at all. Logically, the smell should have been unpleasant, as it contained lime and alcohol, which would surely leave some residue.
But at this moment, besides the faint scent of ink and brushstrokes, there was nothing else!