The villain also has spring 2

Chapter 2211, page 2209: The Primary and Secondary Divisions of Civilizations

Chapter 2211, page 2.209: The Primary and Secondary Divisions of Civilizations

"What, is this how you usually do business?" Dana Barrett, the CEO of Dream Paris, held up the Seven Treasures Lotus, generously displaying it before firmly holding it to her chest. Immediately following, the "Goddess Device Royal Witch - Azure Flame Modified - Succubus Mech" armored gloves, disguised in optical camouflage as Nanban torso gauntlets, slowly closed, obscuring the light of the lotus.

"Ahem!" Narumiya Taibei pretended to cough lightly and immediately signaled the Toba clan pirates to close the door again, concealing the glint of swords in the room: "Speaking of 'treasures worth showing off,' I do have one here."

"May I see it in person?" asked Dana Barrett, Paris's chief ambassador, in a generous reply.

"Please wait a moment." Narumiya Taibei clapped his hands lightly, and then Narumiya's head maid, Teruko, and her maid, Kayo, together carried in a lacquered wooden box.

Lacquerware from the Edo period was heavily influenced by Song and Yuan dynasty lacquer techniques. In Japanese, "壽朱杨成" (tui shu yang cheng) refers to vermilion lacquer art. "壽朱" refers to the Song dynasty technique of applying red lacquer in layers to create designs, while "杨成" refers to Zhang Cheng and Yang Mao, skilled lacquerware makers from the Yuan dynasty. During the Edo period, "杨成" even became a family name in Japan. The *Nihon Kokushi* (History of Japan) records: "In Edo, there was a family named Yang Cheng, whose family had served as officials for generations due to their skill in lacquer carving. It is said that their family's techniques were derived from Zhang Cheng and Yang Mao of the Yuan dynasty." This illustrates the influence of their art.

Upon opening it, a strangely shaped bronze Tang Dynasty artifact immediately came into view.

"Tang-mono" refers to art and crafts imported from China to Japan since the Middle Ages. From at least the 13th century, shoguns and daimyo used Tang-mono for interior decoration, and Buddhist monks used them as offering vessels, as evidenced by unearthed artifacts, temple account records, and paintings. Similar to China, the most popular category of Tang-mono bronzes in Japan were those that could be used as vases or incense burners. In Buddhist offerings, incense burners, vases, and candlesticks constituted a set of "three complete sets." Although these items are generally referred to as "ancient bronze," the vast majority of Tang-mono bronzes were made after the Song Dynasty, much later than their ancestral forms—Shang and Zhou bronzes. In other words, most Tang-mono bronzes circulating in the Japanese market are merely imitations of ancient styles, not truly ancient artifacts. As bronzes from China became increasingly popular, Japan began producing extremely similar replicas, to the point that a 16th-century author admitted he could not distinguish between the original Chinese works and Japanese imitations.

In fact, throughout history, China's cultural influence on Japan has never ceased, even in the modern era when the country was extremely weak and its technology was relatively backward.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Japanese upper class developed a greater interest in Chinese antiquities, and some Edo-era Confucian scholars imitated the lifestyles of Ming and Qing dynasty literati. They composed poetry, wrote calligraphy, played musical instruments, and appreciated paintings and calligraphy, much like Chinese literati. Along with this new trend, a completely different method of tea drinking, the "Sencha" style, which involved brewing tea leaves in a teapot, was introduced to Japan. This method was distinct from the "Matcha" style, which involved grinding tea leaves into powder and stirring them in a bowl to create bubbles, and was introduced during the Heian period.

Even the term "Jiancha Dao" (煎茶道), like "Wufu" (吴服), directly uses Chinese vocabulary: Jiancha Dao refers to the tea-making methods and related knowledge system that flourished from the Tang to the Song dynasties, systematically recorded by Lu Yu in his "The Classic of Tea." The first draft of this classic was completed in the first year of the Yongtai era of Emperor Daizong of Tang (765 AD), and after revision, it became the final version in the first year of the Jianzhong era of Emperor Dezong (780 AD), marking the birth of the Chinese tea ceremony. Its tea art encompasses five major aspects: preparing utensils, selecting water, making fire, waiting for the water to boil, and practicing tea, and has given rise to cultural forms such as tea etiquette and tea ceremonies.

Get a glimpse of the whole leopard.

Chinese civilization is the only original civilization in the world that has never been interrupted. With Huaxia as its core, the countries within its sphere of influence are all secondary civilizations (compared to the original civilization, secondary civilizations usually originated later and borrowed from the achievements of the original civilization in terms of culture, technology, or institutions).

The distinction between primary and secondary civilizations should be settled here.

"As you can see, this invaluable 'bronze bell bottle' dates back to the Tang Dynasty. After being buried for hundreds of years, the surface of this bronze has become as beautiful as pearls. After several more centuries of immersion, its color will change from the hazy appearance of morning dew to the crystal clarity of afternoon water droplets. It will not reveal its truly exquisite color until a thousand years later." Narumiya Taihei enthusiastically recommended the treasure before him in an ethereal tone.

"..." Wu Chen understood. This was actually a metaphor used in the antique world to describe the beauty of the patina on old objects, a term often used to describe the patina that develops over time. Scientifically speaking, the patina on bronze ware refers to the natural oxidation layer and luster formed on the surface of bronze ware due to long-term oxidation, handling, or specific protective treatments. It is, of course, an important basis for identifying the age and authenticity of cultural relics.

However, the way these bronze bowls were stacked upside down in a tower shape, from largest to smallest, is not the aesthetic expected of the Tang Dynasty.

This is a typical example of a secondary civilization with only a superficial understanding of civilization, using the most common method of simply piling up artifacts from the original civilization to inflate their value. Piling together all the precious bronze bowls they could collect would certainly be incredibly valuable!

This is the same technique used by the Santos Palace in Portugal, which has 272 pieces of Ming Dynasty Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain plates inlaid on the ceiling!

To be fair, if the Japanese envoys to Tang China had truly understood Chinese characters, they wouldn't have broken them down into radicals or even individual strokes!

Putting aside our understanding of the real world, from an artistic perspective, this bronze bell-shaped vase is indeed quite remarkable.

Like the pagoda in the hands of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, the bottle-shaped object with five bowls and copper bells stacked together is a Buddhist ritual implement.

Wu Chen's fleeting True Sight confirmed that it contained a Buddha relic.

So this is actually a stupa.

Interestingly, white rice has a unique name in Japan—"silver relic." In sushi restaurants, it's also elegantly called "relic." The meaning is the same as the Chinese "relic"—the remains or ashes of Buddhist monks after cremation, especially the remains of Shakyamuni Buddha, which are considered supreme sacred objects. The shape and color of white rice grains are quite similar to these tiny relics, hence the auspicious name "relic" for white rice. Another explanation is that the relics of monks, after reincarnation in the soil, eventually transformed into grains, and rice, as one of the five grains, is naturally closely associated with "relics." Regardless of the explanation, rice is revered, even being called "silver relic." This clearly demonstrates the preciousness of white rice in the hearts of the Japanese.

So much so that recently, Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries shared a food recommendation on its official account: "Porridge over rice".

Yes, you read that right, it's "rice bowl with congee," with congee as the side dish. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries explains, "With just a little effort, you can enjoy two different textures of rice—it's incredible!"

Upon seeing the picture, the Chinese people were completely dumbfounded.

This is just rice with rice!

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries even solemnly shared the cooking method for "rice bowl with white porridge"—

First, prepare the ingredients: 150g rice, 200g water (for cooking rice), and 200g water (for cooking porridge). ① After rinsing the rice, soak it in cold water for about 1 hour. ② Put the rice and water into a rice cooker and start cooking. ③ After the rice is cooked, remove half of it, add more water, and cook for another 15-20 minutes to make porridge. ④ Transfer the cooked rice to a bowl, then pour the porridge over it. A fragrant bowl of "porridge over rice" is ready!

Recalling the "plain congee over rice", and then looking at the copper bell bottle in front of me.

Wu Chen suddenly understood.

Poverty is always caused by backwardness, and ignorance is always caused by lack of knowledge.

This has always been true throughout history.