Ma Weidu still has some research on calligraphy and painting, and he is by no means the kind of person who knows a little bit about it. As a collector famous for collecting porcelain in the literary and art world, he is definitely no stranger to calligraphy and painting. As we all know, porcelain and calligraphy and painting are closely related. Under certain circumstances, a small flaw in the painting on the porcelain can determine the success of the cultural relic identification. To give the simplest example, the painting method of the five-clawed dragon in the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty is definitely different from that of the dragon in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. The lack of research on calligraphy and painting makes it impossible to see the fishiness in it.
Therefore, the reason why Ma Weidu accurately identified porcelain depends to a large extent on a comprehensive understanding of porcelain, which naturally includes in-depth research on calligraphy and painting. Despite this, it is rare to see Ma Weidu collecting paintings and calligraphy. In fact, this is indeed the case. There is basically no trace of calligraphy and painting in Ma Weidu's Guanfu Museum. Why didn't Ma Weidu dare to collect calligraphy and paintings easily? The reason is realistic and helpless.
In fact, strictly speaking, it is one thing to study calligraphy and painting, but collecting calligraphy and painting is another knowledge. The collection of calligraphy and painting is a systematic collection category with its own professional system. For example, the Red Letter Gate in "Antique Bureau Middle Game" focuses on calligraphy and painting. It can be seen that even a collector like Liu Yiming can only achieve success in calligraphy and painting throughout his life. The collection of calligraphy and painting requires a profound cultural background, good artistic aesthetics, and a comprehensive understanding of seals, calligraphy, paintings, and paper. In a word, the knowledge of calligraphy and painting collection is vast.
The most important thing is that collecting paintings and calligraphy is highly subjective. This is the reality of why Ma Wei does not collect paintings and calligraphy. This is nothing like porcelain research. If the glaze is wrong, it is wrong. If the shape of the vessel does not conform to the characteristics of the times, it is fake. Ma Weidu encountered this situation in his early years, which had a profound impact on his subsequent collection. When Ma Weidu was young, it didn't mean that he didn't have the opportunity to collect calligraphy and paintings.
As for why he does not collect calligraphy and painting, he also sees that it is difficult to distinguish the authenticity of calligraphy and painting collections, and lacks fixed and unified standards. This is also the reason why Ma Wei does not collect calligraphy and painting. Ma Weidu had seen a group of senior experts with names and surnames appraising calligraphy and paintings. One party said it was true and showed 1,234,5, while the other party said it was fake and had not changed, and also presented conclusive evidence to support their theory. In a word, what Ma Weidu saw was a completely opposite painting and calligraphy appraisal scene, which made him completely confused.
Ma Weidu also specifically gave a simple example, that is, Zhang Daqian's fake painting of "Imitation Stone Creek Landscape". For this reason, two old gentlemen, Xu Bangda and Xie Zhiliu, came into conflict, and neither could convince the other. Fundamentally, the two people's views are completely opposite, and it is difficult to draw a convincing conclusion. Onlookers were confused by the authorities, and the "Imitation Rock Creek Landscape Painting" was submitted to the National Cultural Relics Appraisal Committee for appraisal. Under the leadership of Qi Gong, more than a dozen experts personally conducted an appraisal and concluded that Zhang Daqian's "Imitation Stone Creek Landscape Painting" was a fake. This was the end of the Xu Xie dispute.
Perhaps his early experiences were too profound, so Ma Weidu stopped collecting paintings and calligraphy, and instead focused on porcelain, furniture, and jade. Although Ma Weidu does not collect calligraphy and painting, it does not mean that he does not study calligraphy and painting. After all, studying calligraphy and painting is also required for porcelain appraisal. As the saying goes: "If you don't have diamonds, don't do porcelain work." Ma Weidu knew this very well, so he stopped collecting paintings and calligraphy. Having said that, there is a specialization in the art industry, and doing what you are good at is also a kind of self-knowledge.