Riding the wind of rebirth

"May I ask, George, how much did you spend on this painting, 'Lotus, Stork, and Fish'?" Wang Shaofang asked.

"It was purchased together with a batch of other items. I remember there was also a Southern Song Dynasty Longquan kiln plum green lotus leaf lid jar, a Yuan Dynasty Jingdezhen blue and white dragon pattern lotus leaf lid jar, and Bada Shanren's "Lotus, Stork and Fish"."

"The total cost was 5,500 RMB, plus a Kangxi Langhong small garlic flower as a gift."

"Kangxi Lang's red garlic flower, a gift?" Except for Mai Xiaomiao, everyone else was stunned.

"Five years ago." Zhou Zhi said, "In the past five years, the country has undergone tremendous changes. The average resident's income has increased from 200 to 3000 yuan to 1,000 to 2,000 yuan. Five years ago, based on my parents' normal work income, this was almost the annual income of the whole family."

"And this doesn't even take into account the necessary expenses for daily life. If you take into account the expenses, even if an average family saves for ten years, it would be difficult to save 5,500 yuan."

"I went to China in 1985, so I know the situation very well." Weng Wange nodded and said, "I seem to have heard that at that time, people with an annual income of 10,000 yuan in your country were considered wealthy, right?"

"Yes."

"Then how do you have so much money?" Guan Shuning asked curiously.

"At that time, some people also became wealthy first. My downstairs neighbor's sister became a wealthy woman by selling cigarettes and alcohol. I helped her host her wedding, and she gave me a big red envelope of 5,000 yuan. Together with the royalties and rewards from a few published articles, it just made up this amount."

"Were you still so poor at that time?" People outside the industry were not very clear about Zhou Zhi's several important acquisitions, but the insiders present had a general understanding of them. Even if some of them seemed to be Zhou Zhi's actions on behalf of the country in the eyes of outsiders, even if one of them was a private collection acquired by Zhou Zhi, it would be extraordinary.

"Don't be too surprised." Seeing everyone looking at him like a giant panda, Zhou Zhi was a little embarrassed: "I was indeed very poor at that time, but at that time everyone in China was generally poor, and hundreds of millions of people were still struggling to get enough food and clothing. In that situation, expecting cultural relics to be protected and appreciated was simply a lack of understanding of the national conditions."

"However, the country still has basic laws on the protection of cultural relics, so the domestic price system and the foreign price system can be said to be a kind of... uh, dual-track system. At the same time, due to the gap in national laws, domestic cultural relics can only be auctioned and exchanged if they have been circulated in an orderly manner and legally acquired. Cultural relics of great value cannot be exported."

"Brother, you are trying to take advantage of us because we don't understand the domestic legal situation." Wang Shaofang said with a smile: "What you said is applicable to porcelain, jade, and bronze, but calligraphy and painting generally do not have such requirements."

"Because many of the porcelain, jade and bronze artifacts are unearthed objects and are stolen goods, they are not allowed to be bought or sold. This is of course reasonable." Guan Shuning also responded: "However, it is difficult for calligraphy and paintings to be preserved in tombs. Therefore, except for those preserved under special conditions like the Dunhuang scriptures, they can basically only be handed down from generation to generation."

"Since it is a heirloom, it can be exchanged, even overseas, and it is legal."

"I know that the auction prices of Bada Shanren's paintings abroad are extremely high now, but since the day I bought "Lotus, Stork and Fish", I have never planned to sell it." Zhou Zhi smiled and said: "It is the natural obligation of every citizen to abide by the law, but abiding by the law itself is only the bottom line for a social person to avoid being punished by the system. Of course, we cannot only require ourselves to be 'legal'."

"From the late Qing Dynasty to the founding of the People's Republic of my country, too many cultural relics have been lost. I can't restrict others, but at least I can try my best to prevent them from leaving my country."

"Do you know what the last auction price of "The Heron and Rocks" was?" Weng Yijun had been observing Zhou Zhi without saying anything, and now suddenly asked. "The last time it was auctioned was at Christie's in Hong Kong Island, right?" Zhou Zhi said, "I know it was last year, for 11 million Hong Kong dollars."

The price of oriental artworks, especially calligraphy and painting, has risen a bit frighteningly recently, but Zhou Zhi knows that this is far from the end. In his previous life, he remembered that a work of Bada Shanren had been auctioned for a high price of 30 to 40 million Hong Kong dollars, but he could not remember which one it was. However, since "Lotus, Stork and Fish" was Bada's masterpiece, the price should not be lower than this number.

"It seems Shu Ning has found the right person." Weng Yijun smiled to Weng Wange.

Weng Wange also nodded: "In 1985, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York held a discussion meeting on Chinese poetry, calligraphy and painting. At that time, Xie Zhiliu, Xu Bangda, Yang Renkai, Yang Boda, Wang Jiqian, Huang Junshi and others were invited to participate. After the meeting, I invited these calligraphy and painting appraisers to gather at Laixiju. At that time, Mr. Xie Zhiliu, who was outspoken and quick-witted, said as soon as he stepped into Laixiju: 'Is this place a good place to live? It's been robbed by everyone!' Hahahaha..."

"The elegant conversations at that time are still fresh in my memory." Weng Wange sighed, "Unexpectedly, today, I see their shadows in the children again."

"Among the people you mentioned, Mr. Xu and I have a good relationship." Zhou Zhi said, "He is also a man of temperament. Last time, I asked him to help the old chairman of Samsung to repair calligraphy and paintings, but he complained a lot."

"Oh yes, I remember now!" Weng Wange clapped his hands and laughed, "Last time Old Xu called me, he said that he had been aloof all his life, but was forced to bow down for wealth and fame by a little brat. It turns out he was talking about you!"

"Well... Old Xu is modest. Through this incident, he won Samsung's visit to Shanghai for the country, promoted several super large investment projects, and the products produced filled the domestic gaps. He also gained a lot of international market share. It can be said that he has done a great job." Zhou Zhi smiled a little slyly: "It is indeed me who found that job, but I didn't intend to alarm Old Xu. I just told Samsung Chairman Li that we need to purchase some restoration materials from Rongbaozhai. Who knew that the country attached great importance to it, not only allocated mounting materials, but also sent Old Xu to repair it personally. So Old Xu went to fight for the country, how can it be blamed on me!"

Everyone laughed. Guan Shuning said, "In fact, it's enough to have George there. Everyone has seen and praised his restorations of The Inscription on the Buried Crane and Thousand Characters in Cursive Script."

"Yes, the expert is here. Come on, help me check the conservation status of the Yangtze River Painting," Weng Wange invited, "and explain the knowledge of mounting to us."

Zhou Zhi was overjoyed and bowed deeply: "That is what I really want, but I dare not ask for it!"

Weng Tonghe was the imperial tutor for two generations and could be said to be the leader of the cultural world at that time. The calligraphy and paintings he collected were naturally exquisite. The most important piece in Weng's collection was "A Thousand Miles of the Yangtze River" by Wang Hui, a painter from the Qing Dynasty.

Wang Hui was born in the fifth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty and died in the fifty-sixth year of Kangxi. It is said that when he was born, "the fragrance of ink filled the room for three days."

His hometown Yushan is a famous scenic spot in the southeast. During the Yuan Dynasty, it produced a great painter named Huang Gongwang. From then until the Qing Dynasty, it has been a place where painting art flourished.

Wang Hui's five generations of ancestors were all involved in painting. His ancestors Wang Bochen and Wang Zaishi were both famous painters respected by celebrities at that time.

By the time of Wang Hui's generation, he had finally mastered the brushwork of various schools of painting and became an outstanding master. Together with Wang Shimin, Wang Jian, and Wang Yuanqi, they were called the "Four Wangs". Together with Wu Li and Yun Shouping, they were collectively known as the "Six Masters of the Early Qing Dynasty" or the "Four Wangs and Wu Yun". (End of this chapter)