The age of unearthed paintings and calligraphy is basically clear at a glance, and there is no need for too much identification. The time of Shenshan Chess Manual and the Bamboo Bird and Two Rabbits Map unearthed from Liao Tomb should be similar to that of tombs, that is, from the end of 10 to the beginning of10.
The identification of calligraphy and painting contains two meanings: one is to identify the authenticity, and the other is to determine the quality. The former is a "mirror" and the latter is a "reward". Whether a work is original or not is the most important thing, otherwise no matter how good it is, it is meaningless. Zhang Daqian, a master of calligraphy and painting, is not only good at poetry and painting, but also a master of counterfeiting. There are a considerable number of fake paintings and calligraphy in his life, and the quality is also very high. His forgeries of Shi Tao, Xu Wei and others are more handy and lifelike. Even a master like Huang was cheated by him.
On the one hand, it shows that Zhang Daqian has a high level of forgery; On the other hand, it also shows the difficulty of painting and calligraphy identification. This is just an example of modern counterfeiting, and the fakes made by ancient masters are even more difficult to identify.
Therefore, the task of calligraphy and painting appraisal is to restore the true colors of calligraphy and painting works handed down from generation to generation: to judge the authenticity, define the age and prove the authenticity.
Calligraphy appraisal is basically an empirical science. A person's appraisal level is directly proportional to the original works of painting and calligraphy he has contacted, his understanding of painting and calligraphy and related knowledge. For example, a person we know very well will know that he is coming as long as he hears his cough from a distance. In the same way, if we read more works of a certain era and a certain painter, we will have a certain understanding and sum up some characteristics. Then we can draw an analogy from others and recognize other works of this painter.