According to Professor Meng's knowledge, some wealthy businessmen in China have more than 300 pieces of Yuan blue and white porcelain. Of course, there may be many fakes among them, but it is undeniable that the figure of 300 pieces given by foreign countries is not that accurate.
Furthermore, since the 1990s, there have been auctions of Qianlong imperial seals at international auctions, and the media has reported that dozens of them have been sold. However, according to Professor Meng's extremely professional and accurate research, there are no more than 10 Qianlong imperial seals. Could the extra seals have been made by Qianlong himself underground?
"Forget it, we can't control these things anyway. Let's wait until we have the chance to take over Japan, the US, Britain, Germany, Italy, and Austria..."
Thinking about these things, Zhuang Rui felt utterly disheartened. These foreign auction houses were exploiting the patriotism of the Chinese people, constantly presenting so-called national treasures in an attempt to get Chinese people to spend huge sums of money to buy them back. From a commercial perspective, this was understandable, but it greatly hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.
"Alright, I've applied for a bidding paddle for you for the auction the day after tomorrow. Go if you want, just don't make any moves. I'll contact some buyers from China in the next couple of days and hopefully convince them..."
Huangfu Yun was also helpless, but this time he successfully used the two samurai swords he had acquired from China as the auction items for this special auction.
The auction house appraiser concluded that they were 15th-century Japanese samurai swords. The starting bid for both swords together was $100,000. If they were sold, Huangfu Yun would have his expenses for making a mistake back home reimbursed, and he might even make a profit.
Currently, most collectors in the international sword market are from Europe, America, and Japan. Huangfu Yun has always been secretly pleased that he can fool these bastards with "Made in China" products.
The auction market is now flooded with fakes. Even if a buyer discovers the fakes after winning the bid, it's none of Huangfu Yun's business, since the auction house has already authenticated them. Whoever buys them is simply unlucky.
"Zhuang Rui, don't be angry. This has nothing to do with you. When we have money in the future, we'll buy all these things..."
Seeing that Zhuang Rui was still a bit down after Huangfu Yun left, Qin Xuanbing hugged him and comforted him.
"I'm not angry, I'm just feeling really pent up. Anyway, let's not talk about this anymore. Peng Fei and the others will be here soon. Let's have dinner together tonight and go out again tomorrow. You'd better be a good guide..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head, clearing his mind of all the unpleasant thoughts. It was his first time accompanying Qin Xuanbing abroad, so he should just enjoy himself and not let the trouble caused by that spendthrift old woman from over a hundred years ago affect his mood.
Just as Zhuang Rui finished speaking, there was a knock on the door. Zhuang Rui opened the door and saw Peng Fei and a few others. Zhuang Rui waved his hand and said, "Come on, the boss is in a bad mood today. I'll treat you to a big meal!"
Zhuang Rui only treats people when he's in a good mood, a rather peculiar habit that left the people outside the door looking at each other in bewilderment.
"What are you standing there for? Come on, you're free to do whatever you want tomorrow and the day after. We're going to London the day after that..."
Zhuang Rui calmed the white lion that had followed him, shooed it back into the room, closed the door, and changed the room status to "Do Not Disturb." He didn't want to go out for a meal and then have news of a lion appearing in a five-star hotel in the Paris newspapers tomorrow.
This French meal was eaten at the hotel where Zhuang Rui was staying, and it was really not cheap. The appetizers were things like smoked silver carp, oysters, or bread. Then came a thick soup made from a variety of ingredients, followed by fish, jelly, side dishes, barbecue, salad, and dessert.
Zhuang Rui also got to try the legendary golden snails and foie gras, but he felt they weren't as good as the lamb skewers he had on Wangfujing Street in Beijing at night.
However, this was the most expensive dish. After finishing the meal, the bill came to over 1,600 euros for Zhuang Rui. He simply swiped his card for 2,000 euros, paid the tip with the euros he had on him, and then packed some food to take to White Lion. ...
The next day, the weather in Paris cleared up, and Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing left the hotel early in the morning to head to the Eiffel Tower. This openwork iron tower, which was started in 1889 and is located on the Champ de Mars in Paris, is a technological masterpiece in the history of world architecture and an important tourist attraction and prominent symbol of France and Paris.
Standing at the base of the tower, looking up at the towering iron tower that resembles the sky, people appear so small. Zhuang Rui had seen a scaled-down model of the Eiffel Tower at Window of the World in Shenzhen before, but he didn't feel anything then. But now, facing this miraculous building, Zhuang Rui could only marvel at the power and imagination of humankind.
In the Ares Square in front of the Eiffel Tower, there are green spaces and countless fountains. Couples from all over the world are playing happily here. Qin Xuanbing also sheds her usual cold and aloof appearance and keeps taking pictures with Zhuang Rui.
Zhuang Rui looked around for a long time, but he didn't see any domestic newspapers mentioning any indecent nudist behavior here. He guessed it was probably because the weather was too cold.
Qin Xuanbing was very familiar with the sights of Paris. After leaving the Champ de Mars, she took Zhuang Rui to Notre Dame Cathedral.
This Gothic cathedral, described by Victor Hugo with poetic charm, is one of the most magnificent buildings in history. It is world-renowned for the sculptures and paintings on the altar, cloisters, doors and windows, as well as the large number of art treasures from the 13th to 17th centuries housed inside.
Stepping inside the church, Zhuang Rui was greatly impressed by the 33-meter-wide dome and the 24-meter-high pillars that reached the roof. The interior of the church was extremely simple, solemn, and almost devoid of decoration.
The dome, tens of meters high, shimmered faintly in the dim light, and with religious reverie, it seemed as if heaven was above it.
The third floor of Notre Dame Cathedral, which is also the top floor, is the bell tower described by Victor Hugo. From the bell tower, you can overlook the picturesque scenery of Paris and enjoy the view of the Seine River, where sightseeing boats carry tourists back and forth.
It is said that Victor Hugo once discovered a Greek word inscribed on the wall in a dark corner of the north bell tower of Notre Dame Cathedral: Fate. This word inspired him, and thus, his masterpiece, *The Hunchback of Notre Dame*, which is as immortal as the cathedral itself, was born.
Chapter 626 Antique Shops Abroad (Part 1)
Although he didn't see the Greek words discovered by Hugo, nor did he strike the 13-ton bronze bell that Quasimodo rang and shattered his eardrums, Notre Dame Cathedral still gave Zhuang Rui a mysterious and unpredictable feeling.
After coming down from the clock tower, Zhuang Rui saw a sculpture displayed in a glass case. His expression changed slightly, and he looked at Qin Xuanbing and asked, "Xuanbing, what's the story behind this statue?"
This sculpture depicts the scene of the Virgin Mary holding her dead son in her arms after Jesus Christ was crucified. The Virgin Mary lowers her eyes and looks at Jesus in her arms with infinite sorrow. Her expression is very lifelike. In the hands of the artist, the marble is given life.
What shocked Zhuang Rui was not the expressiveness of the sculpture, but the extremely rich purple spiritual energy he could see inside through the glass. If calculated according to the time period, it should be a work from the 14th or 15th century.
Since Zhuang Rui started paying attention to collecting antiques, he has only dealt with domestic items. Although he had seen foreign oil paintings and luxury goods when he was at Zhonghai Pawnshop, those items did not have any spiritual energy. Even if they did, they were just gemstones.
This sculpture, 100% hand-carved, is the first foreign artwork Zhuang Rui has ever seen that possesses spiritual energy. The intensity of this spiritual energy is in no way inferior to Zhuang Rui's "Dingguang Sword." Zhuang Rui came out this time to find out if foreign "antique" artworks contain spiritual energy. Now Zhuang Rui knows that art indeed knows no borders. The value of this sculpture is probably no less than any of his collections.
"Zhuang Rui, you don't know this? This is the crown jewel of Notre Dame Cathedral, Michelangelo's sculpture 'The Sorrow', created when he was 25 years old..."
Qin Xuanbing seemed somewhat surprised by Zhuang Rui's question, and smiled as she said, "When this work was first unveiled, it caused a huge sensation. People couldn't believe that such an outstanding piece could be created by a young man who was only 25 years old. Therefore, Michelangelo engraved his name on the sash of the Virgin Mary in the sculpture; this is also the only work he ever signed..."
Hearing Qin Xuanbing's words, Zhuang Rui placed his hand on the glass, wishing he could take a hammer and smash it open, carrying away the sculpture inside. He guessed that's what the Eight-Nation Alliance did in Beijing back then.
Of course, this was just wishful thinking; those big-nosed French policemen probably wouldn't understand Zhuang Rui's Chinese cultural principle of reciprocity.
After leaving Notre Dame Cathedral, Qin Xuanbing took Zhuang Rui to the Guimet Museum in Paris. Qin Xuanbing had been there before and knew that it had many Chinese artifacts, so she thought Zhuang Rui would like them.
After each person paid six euros to enter the Guimet Museum, Zhuang Rui's expression immediately turned somewhat unpleasant when he saw the first item hanging on the wall.
It was a painting titled "Amitabha's Western Pure Land Transformation." Judging from its style, Zhuang Rui could immediately recognize that it was a product of the Tang Dynasty in Dunhuang, China. Next to it were "Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Riding an Elephant" and "Portrait of a Traveling Monk," both masterpieces representing the influence of Tang Dynasty art on the Buddhist world.
Walking through this museum feels just like being in China, as almost all of the collections originated from China.
The jade carving of the white tiger, placed under the glass cover, depicts a tiger walking sideways above clouds. The lines of its body are incised, simple and smooth, exuding a powerful and mysterious aura. It is clearly a work from the Western Han Dynasty. If it were auctioned in China, it would be worth at least 50 million yuan.
The bronze vessel with double animal ears, four legs, a square base, a missing top cover, a circle of phoenix patterns turning back around its mouth, and a belly composed of interlocking thunder patterns, should, in Zhuang Rui's opinion, be a work from the late Shang Dynasty and a priceless treasure.
Qin Xuanbing, who was standing next to Zhuang Rui, was unaware that Zhuang Rui felt more angry than anything else when he looked at these precious cultural relics. The Buddha heads that had obviously been forcibly removed and the huge "Kangxi Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour" hanging on the wall in glass made Zhuang Rui feel suffocated.
Through his keen observation, Zhuang Rui knew that all these objects were genuine. Needless to say, they were all stolen by those foreign devils who used guns and cannons to force open China's doors back then. Admiring his national treasures in a foreign country, Zhuang Rui felt an indescribable feeling.
In fact, the items here are not only those looted during that catastrophe, but also many that were smuggled out of China by so-called adventurers taking advantage of the internal turmoil and low prices.
Just like that idiot Wang Daoren (that's the only way to describe that moron) in Dunhuang back then, who sold 24 boxes of scriptures and 5 boxes of Buddhist paintings to the British-Hungarian Aurel Stein for a mere four silver ingots, equivalent to 200 taels of silver, leaving behind only the devastated murals of the Mogao Grottoes. (Damn, writing this makes me so angry, I wish I could drag that Wang Daoren out and whip his corpse.) Seeing some Chinese tourists in the museum pointing at those things that belonged to their own country with great awe, Zhuang Rui cursed the ancestors of those Qing Dynasty officials who committed those atrocities back then.
"I'm not watching anymore, it's boring..."
Zhuang Rui was somewhat uninterested. Compared to the many precious Chinese cultural relics displayed in foreign museums, Zhuang Rui preferred that foreign artworks be placed in Chinese museums.
Although China is much more developed than before, its overall national strength is still lacking. If it could flex its muscles more often like the United States, perhaps the so-called "Eight-Nation Alliance" would obediently return the wealth it plundered more than a century ago to China.
"What's wrong, darling? These are all the most precious cultural relics. Don't you like them?"
Qin Xuanbing grew up in Hong Kong and studied abroad for a long time. She knew very little about that period of Chinese history, so she could not understand Zhuang Rui's feelings at this moment.
"They are indeed precious, and I like them very much, but I would prefer them to be kept in a Chinese museum rather than here. This can only mean one thing: these things were stolen by robbers!"
Zhuang Rui was somewhat agitated and spoke loudly, which was heard by many Chinese tourists around them. Everyone's face showed a thoughtful expression. Zhuang Rui's words touched their hearts, and the excited expressions on their faces were no longer there.
"I'm sorry, Rui, I didn't know about these things..."
Seeing Zhuang Rui's excited state, Qin Xuanbing felt somewhat guilty and apologized to him.
"Hehe, this is none of your business. It's alright, let's go..."
Zhuang Rui smiled and put his arm around Qin Xuanbing, placing his right hand on her soft waist, and led her out of the museum.
"By the way, Xuanbing, are there any antique shops in Paris? Like our 'Xuanrui Zhai,' places that specialize in selling old items?"
After leaving the museum, Zhuang Rui had a sudden thought: since his spiritual energy could distinguish foreign artworks, why couldn't he find bargains abroad?
As long as it's a cultural relic, there will always be some hidden gems, and some treasures might be left in the hands of ordinary people. Zhuang Rui's "Dingguang Sword" and that piece of Longkou black pottery were both found in the antique market.
"Antique shops? I really don't know, let me think..."
Qin Xuanbing had never paid attention to these things before. After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, she thought for a while and suddenly said, "I remember now. There seems to be a street in the sixth district that sells all sorts of strange and unusual things. Shall we go take a look?"
After Qin Xuanbing finished speaking, she added, "But Zhuang Rui, I'm not sure if that's an antique shop..."
Zhuang Rui knew he wasn't in a good mood today and that it had affected Qin Xuanbing, so he felt a little embarrassed. He took Qin Xuanbing's hand and said, "It's okay, let's go take a look. We've already been to Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, so let's just treat it as shopping..."
The 6th arrondissement of Paris, also known as the Luxembourg arrondissement, is located on the south bank of the Seine-Marne department. It is home to numerous shops, cinemas, theaters, and the expansive Luxembourg Gardens.
The area boasts numerous schools and colleges, including the French Academy of Sciences, the School of Architecture, the School of Dentistry, and the School of Mines, as well as many primary and secondary schools. The Senate building is located within the Luxembourg Gardens, creating a rich cultural atmosphere.
Zhuang Rui and his group are currently in the 16th district. It took them more than half an hour by taxi to find the place Qin Xuanbing had mentioned.
According to the French driver who spoke English, this place is called Furstemberg Street, an extremely quiet street full of Left Bank artistic atmosphere. He didn't know what antiques were, but he knew that there were many things with a long history there.
Walking hand in hand with Qin Xuanbing down this street, which was noticeably less crowded, Zhuang Rui felt that although it wasn't as famous as landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, or Champs-Élysées, it possessed a unique intellectual and emotional side, exuding a distinctive Parisian romantic charm.
The street was lined with shops boasting classic interior design, which suited Zhuang Rui's tastes perfectly. He dragged Qin Xuanbing around, browsing through each shop. ...
Qin Xuanbing held up a puppet of Pinocchio with the big nose from "The Adventures of Pinocchio," looked at Zhuang Rui, and said without any attempt to hide her feelings, "Zhuang Rui, this is so cute..."
"purchase!"
Zhuang Rui nodded heavily. He didn't know if coming here was the right or wrong decision, because after browsing around for half a day, most of the items in these shops were just interesting things. Although there were also replicas of Renaissance oil paintings and some artworks, they clearly did not meet Zhuang Rui's requirements.
After browsing for more than an hour, Zhuang Rui hadn't bought anything, but his hands were full of trinkets that Qin Xuanbing had purchased.
Chapter 627 Antique Shops Abroad (Part 2)
"Damn it, why didn't that old bastard Hitler bomb Paris back then?"
After leaving a shop, Zhuang Rui cursed inwardly, "Back then, the Japanese ravaged China, and Hitler also occupied Paris. Why didn't he loot and burn everything?"
Zhuang Rui felt very resentful when he heard the proprietress, whose waist was thicker than a bucket, say that this street was built in 1886 and survived two world wars without suffering any damage.
Compared to Hitler, who had an artistic temperament and a love for beautiful architecture, the Japanese Emperor was simply a piece of trash.
"Zhuang Rui, come look at this house! They have so many Chinese things inside..."
Zhuang Rui, who was no longer interested in shopping, reluctantly followed Qin Xuanbing after hearing her call. He had come here of his own accord, and he couldn't spoil his wife's fun, could he?
"Hmm? It really is..."
Zhuang Rui entered the store and glanced around. The store was quite large, divided into five or six areas. The area at the entrance was filled with Chinese handicrafts. Of course, before Zhuang Rui used his spiritual energy to identify them, these things could only be called handicrafts. You know, "Made in China" is very powerful.
Many tourists who travel abroad see some exquisite handicrafts and plan to buy them to bring back home as souvenirs. However, when they show them off to their friends back home, the English letters "made in China" on the bottom of the handicrafts clearly indicate their origin.
Sure enough, after Zhuang Rui carefully examined them, he found that these things were all exported and then resold domestically. They were either used to fool foreigners who did not understand Chinese culture or to deal with Chinese people who came abroad to shop. In short, none of the seemingly exquisite items were genuine.
On the other side, there were some medieval European weapons and armor, as well as many spears, halberds, warhammers, battle axes and bows and arrows. However, Zhuang Rui could tell from the patina of these items that they were all modern handicrafts, even without using his spiritual energy.
On both sides of the corridor were closed and locked glass display cases, which displayed many handicrafts of various countries, including Japanese paper fans and lacquerware such as dressing boxes. The paper fans were painted with erotic pictures, which should be the earliest prototype of the Japanese AV industry.
Inside the glass window were various lighters, worn and faded, and even old revolvers and flintlock pistols, all neatly arranged in a row.
Zhuang Rui examined these items carefully, but to his disappointment, what looked like old things were actually modern handicrafts.
Judging from their appearance and patina alone, Zhuang Rui could not tell the age of these items. However, under the observation of spiritual energy, the authenticity of these items was naturally hard to hide. Zhuang Rui did not expect that counterfeiting and piracy were so prevalent in Europe.
At the very back of the shop are some works from the late 12th century Renaissance period. The most eye-catching are, of course, paintings by Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael, but it's obvious to anyone with a brain that these are fake.