golden ear

Chapter 133 Hollywood Road
After the three of them had dinner at noon, Zhai Jianmin took them to the most famous antique street in Hong Kong, Hollywood Road, where Yongbaozhai was located.

Hollywood Road, located in Sheung Wan, is the first street built after the opening of Hong Kong.The name of Hollywood Road has nothing to do with Hollywood in the United States, but it comes from the holly trees around Hollywood Road in the early years.

"There are three antique streets in Hong Kong, the most famous of which is Hollywood Road, which was once listed by a foreign magazine as one of the ten most popular tourist attractions in the world."

Zhai Jianmin introduced as he walked: "Look at this ancient street on Hong Kong Island. It is long and winding, stretching from Central to Sheung Wan and Western Wan. There are more than a hundred antique shops, large and small. There are many good Chinese antiques on display. And there are many kinds, including ceramics, jade, stone carvings, ivory carvings, bronzes, silverware, lacquerware, furniture, screens, calligraphy and paintings, ancient books, and even rare ancient Chinese wedding dresses.

The three of them came to Yongbao Zhai. The area was small, and there were all kinds of antiques, most of which were from the Qing Dynasty, and the treasures were all in the safe.

"When I was 12 years old, my family was in trouble, and my father began to get sick again. Whenever the family was short of money, he would see my mother go out with the porcelain that my father had collected in the early years, and bring back hundreds of dollars to support the family. At that time, the first Once I realized that these seemingly ordinary bottles and jars can turn into money."

Zhai Jianmin chatted while making tea: "When I was 15 years old, because of the pressure of life, I started to work to earn money to maintain my family's livelihood. At the beginning, I sold drawn yarn in a shop and started as an apprentice. At that time, his English Not so good, whenever foreign customers come to the store, I am afraid to communicate with each other, but the proprietress's English is very good, so I pay attention to learn."

"After only half a year, I was able to communicate with foreign customers relatively freely. The next door to the drawing shop is an antique shop. I met Huang Yinghao, the master of this antique shop at that time. Master Huang asked Zhai Jianmin if he could help out after get off work. Customer delivery, of course I will not refuse to be loyal, so every night after get off work at 6 o'clock, I will help Master Huang deliver the goods to the customer's home."

Zhai Jianmin recalled: "A year later, Master Huang told me that he wanted to open his own antique shop and asked me to do it together. Only then did I realize that Master Huang used this year to test his patience and inspect me. for human beings."

Wu Tianyuan lamented that Hong Kong still retains the oldest tradition of masters leading apprentices. After three years in the door, the master raised the apprentices as children, taking care of food, housing and teaching skills.Three years after leaving the teacher, the apprentice gave the master Baigan for three years, which is considered to be a kindness.Then you can stand on your own and have your own store.

Antiques business is more complicated. In addition to having luck to meet a master, you also need to have understanding and the spirit of assiduous study. Eyesight and luck determine life and death.

"In 1973, I entered the Fuchenghang opened by Master Huang and started to get in touch with antiques. I was ignorant when I first started, and I didn't know how to distinguish dynasties between porcelains with and without bottoms. I could only study hard on porcelain knowledge, and gradually became expert."

"When I first visited the British Museum, the David Foundation and the Victoria Museum in the UK in 1976, I was shocked by the dazzling Chinese cultural relics inside. In Hong Kong at that time, generally only some "licensed goods" could be seen, and occasionally some small official kilns and old kilns. Seeing such a vast European market, I realized how important the European market is to Hong Kong antique dealers.”

Wu Tianyuan listened carefully to Zhai Jianmin's life experience. Their generation happened to be in the golden age, and many big collectors seized the opportunity to establish a collection system, which is very valuable for reference.

"In 1981, I decided to leave Fu Shing Hang, which had a certain scale, but I already had a deep friendship with Master Huang. In order to repay the master's cultivation, I would return to Fu Shing Hang every day for a year after I left Fu Shing Hang. Teach the business, and this lasted for more than a year before leaving."

"From 1982 to 1987, I did business with some old customers at home. Until 1988, I finally opened my own shop on Hollywood Road - Yongbaozhai. What a customer buys here is always a treasure.”

Zhai Jianmin let Wu Tianyuan and Wang Dagang into the inner room, and took out his treasures from the safe to share, six or seven official kilns of the Qing and Three Dynasties, and two blue and white pieces of the Ming Dynasty.

"Just when my career was going smoothly and I had full confidence in porcelain appraisal, I almost suffered from overconfidence."

Zhai Jianmin picked up a blue and white plate and sighed: "A person brought a blue and white plate. I felt that the plate was exquisite at first sight, and I even had a determination to jump off the cliff. After bargaining, from 200 The 130 yuan was reduced to 3 million yuan, and it was agreed to pay at [-] pm."

"It was one o'clock in the afternoon, and I left with my plate in my arms. Perhaps it was God's will. I didn't take the usual way back to the store, but walked a long way but passed Master Huang's store. The master was not there. In the store, I couldn't let the master appreciate this treasure with his own eyes, and I feel a little regretful."

"At 01:30 when I returned to the shop, the phone rang. It was from a master who would never answer the phone. Master Huang came to my shop at two o'clock. Usually, you only need to open the porcelain and have a look at it. Master Huang got up and watched this set for 15 minutes this time."

"At that time, I thought to myself, Master must have never seen such a beautiful plate before, right? But then when the master put his glasses on, he was taught a lesson: You have tried so many Yongle dishes, how can you see this for real?

Zhai Jianmin said with a wry smile: "After the master pointed out a few things that were wrong, I also found that the folding edge of this plate is slightly thicker and the bottom foot is higher. Although I am unwilling, but based on the principle of only selling genuine products, I still sell them before 3 o'clock. Return this plate to the seller."

"Three months later, high imitations kept pouring into the Hong Kong market. When I saw these high imitations, I felt that the original decision was right. Until now, I have kept a high imitation from that time as a lifetime Lessons!"

Wu Tianyuan nodded. With him, there is no danger of piercing eyes. He has supernatural powers. As long as he does not choose the Yuan Dynasty, a dynasty that can neither listen to nor absorb energy, the Ming and Qing Dynasties will definitely not eye piercing.

"After the return of Hong Kong, my wife insisted on continuing to develop the capital. I was already in my 40s and made up my mind to study at BJ University. Although there were many difficulties and worries, my thirst for knowledge and love for porcelain made me bear the pressure , Overcame difficulties and entered the Department of Archeology of Peking University to study.”

"In the first two or three months, because I couldn't understand the teacher's Mandarin and some professional vocabulary, I was confused in get out of class, and I asked my classmates to help after class. In order to overcome this difficulty, I recorded in class, When I go back, I will listen to it and learn it over and over again.”

"Although there are only two classes a week, every time I take a class, I have to go out early and return late, and fly back and forth between the two places. Every time I return home after listening to the class, it is after 10 o'clock in the evening, and I review the day after eating a meal. The knowledge I learned lasted until the early morning, and I had to go to work in good spirits at 10 o'clock in the morning the next day."

At this time, Wu Tianyuan was really impressed by Zhai Jianmin. Some of the small grievances disappeared, and a 50-year-old man still has such enthusiasm for antiques, which moved him very much.

Wang Dagang also sighed: "Now Lao Zhai has attended five years of classes at Peking University. Five years of study expenses and five years of hard work are beyond the reach of ordinary people, but he is still persisting."

"A person's success is directly proportional to his efforts. This reason is very simple, but if you want to practice yourself, few people have the perseverance like him. The most precious thing in the world is time; the most extravagant thing in the world is waste time."

Today is a worthwhile trip. Wu Tianyuan has seen the demeanor of real Hong Kong connoisseurs. Here still retains the most traditional master-student etiquette, the most regular connoisseur rules, and a group of collectors who really love antiques. No wonder it can become an Asian art Trading Center.

(End of this chapter)