hollywood billionaire

Chapter 487: Dragon and Phoenix Combined (Part )

"Oh my god..."

Xiaoru couldn't help but let out an exclamation.

"I thought it must have a long history, but I didn't expect it to be so...Warring States Period?"

The fingertips hovered over the tattoo, but they didn't dare to put them down. This is the awe that every Chinese son and daughter has for the ancient relics.

"Yes, according to the appraisal of Christie's Hong Kong Art Assets Appraisal Department, this jade pendant was probably made between 300 BC and 141 BC."

"300 BC..." Xiaoru murmured, "It's two thousand three hundred years ago."

"I even went to look it up and found that in 300 BC, Qu Yuan was still serving as the Minister of the Three Lus in the court of the State of Chu."

Han Yi understood Xiaoru's shock at the time and space picture that slowly unfolded before her, because he, in London, had also experienced such shock.

"Even in 141 BC, Liu Che, who was only sixteen years old, had just ascended the throne."

"At that time, Chinese civilization was still a vibrant rising sun," Xu Yiru sighed.

"Isn't it the same now?" Han Yi smiled at her.

"That's right." Xiaoru also responded with a gentle smile.

"China, no matter which era we look at, is always full of vitality and has a long history." Han Yi took out two pairs of black cotton gloves that he had prepared long ago from the second layer of the jewelry cabinet. These were cultural relic appreciation supplies given by Christie's. "Don't think that this piece of jade has a history of more than 2,300 years, but among ancient jades, it can only be regarded as a junior."

"What is ancient jade?"

"The jade articles made in the Han Dynasty and before are called ancient jade. The jade articles before the Han Dynasty I am talking about here are not just the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, nor are they just the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. If you trace back all the way to Liangzhu, Longshan, Dawenkou and Hongshan, the oldest jade articles unearthed so far are 8,000 years old."

"I've been saying this all day... But really, I knew jade had a long history, but I didn't expect it to be this long. Eight thousand years."

"Yes, our jade culture and jade craftsmanship appeared even earlier than bronze ware and written language, and have been passed down to this day without interruption. Although the ancient civilizations of Central America also used jade and had jade processing technology, the Mayans mainly used Jadeite, which is hard jade rich in sodium and aluminum. The jade we Chinese have used since ancient times is basically Nephrite, a soft jade with calcium and magnesium as the main elements. Other regions and other cultures have never used nephrite on such a large scale, nor have they pushed jade to such a lofty status."

Speaking of this, Han Yi's own emotions even became surging.

"'A gentleman's virtue is likened to jade', 'a gentleman will never leave his jade unless there is a reason', even when dynasties change, you still have to get the 'jade seal' to pass on the dragon vein of China... It can be said that if you have to use an object or a thing to represent China, there is no other choice but jade."

"It seems... among these three collections, your favorite is this jade pendant?"

"The other two are great too." Han Yi paused for a moment, then nodded, "But I can't deny that this is my favorite."

"Then why don't you keep it for yourself?" Xiaoru put her hands behind her back and looked at him coquettishly, "Why did you give it to me?"

"What's the difference between yours and mine?" Han Yi shrugged. "Aren't they all ours?"

"That's not necessarily true." The tenderness in the corners of her eyes was about to overflow, but Xiaoru's mouth was still very hard, "What if my stock market investment fails one day and I sell it to pay off my debts?"

"What else can we do?" Han Yi sighed heavily, "You found this spendthrift woman yourself, so you should just bear with it."

"Mr. Han - your skin is itchy lately, isn't it?" Xiaoru narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"I'm kidding." Han Yi quickly lowered his voice to coax her, "Everyone knows that our Xiao Ru is the god of U.S. stocks? How could it be possible that you are the one who loses the family fortune? Not even a little bit. Even if I squander my entire fortune, you still can't lose..." "Pah, ah, ah, touch wood!"

"Bah bah bah."

"You keep talking nonsense every day." Xiaoru pouted and complained quietly, "If you say this kind of thing too much, your luck will really get worse, okay?"

"Got it. I'll pay attention next time." After holding Xiaoru's wrist, Han Yi carefully helped her put on gloves. "Actually, there are three main reasons why I want to give you this jade pendant."

“What three reasons?”

"The first reason is that you see that the two sides are symmetrical, with a single-horned dragon carved on each side. The head and tail are reversed, and the back is a necklace. And if you hold it up...it's okay, it won't fall if you hold it up. Look closely, the tails of these two dragons are actually a phoenix, right? Not only does it have a beak, but the crown is upturned, and you can see feathers on its neck."

"It's not very obvious, but it seems... I can see it." Xu Yiru carefully held the tattoo in her palm, not daring to breathe. "It's mainly because there's a lot of rust on the edge, so it's not easy to identify."

"Yes, I was wrong about this. The oxidation of jade is not called rusting, but a professional term, called rusting. The dark brown color we see now is called soil rusting. After all, it has been buried in the soil for more than 2,000 years, so it is bound to change color. However, the rust on this jade pendant is very light, and it basically retains the original color of the jade."

"Yes, you can see that it is in very good condition. It may look a bit old at first glance, but if you really look at it carefully, you will find many exquisite features."

"Yes, according to Christie's, this jade pendant represents the pinnacle of jade carving from the late Warring States period to the early Western Han Dynasty. It has openwork, bas-relief, and intaglio carvings, and the patterns are extremely complex, with grid patterns, twisted wire patterns, arc patterns, and everything else. Especially the hair bundle pattern at the curled hook of the dragon's cheeks, even modern jade pendants made by machines may not be as fine as this."

Han Yi also put on gloves, then held Xiaoru's hand, and felt the charm of China two thousand years ago with her.

"Moreover, this jade pendant is not only a symbol of jade craftsmanship in the late Warring States period, but also a symbol of cultural integration in the late Warring States period. That day in London, Christie's consultant showed me photos of many other jade artifacts from the same period. Our jade pendant, from design to workmanship, is very similar to the Qi jade artifacts unearthed from the Warring States tomb in Shangwang Village, Linzi. If I remember correctly... your ancestral home should also be Shandong, right?"

"Yes, my mother and...both sides are from Shandong." When answering this question, Xiaoru's eyes flickered twice.

"This is the first reason why I want to give it to you. We share the same roots and origins." Han Yi extended the index finger of his left hand. "Although the actual origin of this jade pendant is unknown, since it is similar to the jade artifacts of Qi State, I am willing to believe that it is from Qi State. Since 300 BC, Qi State has experienced ups and downs. First, it was called the Eastern and Western Emperors together with Qin State, and it destroyed Song, invaded Chu, and invaded the Three Jins, and it was at its peak. Later, it was attacked by the army led by Yue Yi, and only the two cities of Ju and Jimo remained. Later, it was Tian Dan who restored the country and managed to maintain it, and finally it became the last piece of the puzzle for Qin State to unify the world. After so many years of turmoil, it is natural for a beautiful jade like this to be lost in a foreign land... Just like you."

"Huh?" Xiaoru pointed at herself, "Like me?"

"Yes, if there hadn't been that impoverished and weak China before, and if there hadn't been that turbulent and chaotic world before, you should call me 'Teacher Han' now, instead of 'Mr. Han'... Oh, yes, in that case, we two inverted sentence lovers have come together and we'll just... "

"What the hell." Han Yi's lifelike imitation of the accent and language habits made Xiaoru smile. "But I'm curious, where did this jade pendant end up? Was it sold to Europe as well?"

"No, I'm still in Asia, and I'm still in China."

"It's still in China. I didn't expect it. I thought..." At this point, Xiaoru suddenly realized something. "If it's still in China, how come it's here? It can't be that you took the photo when you returned to China? How can you have the time to go back?"

"That's the second reason why I want to give it to you."

With a mysterious smile, Han Yi raised his eyebrows at Xu Yiru.

"Do you remember I told you that I saw many photos of the same jade at Christie's in London? In fact, when I bought this jade pendant, I didn't see the real thing, but a photo."

"The auction house that the seller entrusted the painting to is Christie's in Hong Kong, and the seller has been collecting and caring for it since 1996..."

“From Taipei.”

"In Taipei, Jinhuatang."

(End of this chapter)