Although Jefferson offered his congratulations, he didn't show much of a smile. He had originally planned to attract everyone's attention with the first item, but now that attention had been drawn, it was in the wrong direction. The wealthy Chinese in the room were now more interested in Zhuang Rui than in the item itself.
"Young man, congratulations! You're truly a force to be reckoned with at such a young age. Hmm, why do you look so familiar, young lady?"
A lady sitting in front of Zhuang Rui turned around and smiled kindly at him, but when she looked at Qin Xuanbing, she frowned slightly, as if trying to remember where she had seen Qin Xuanbing before.
Zhuang Rui quickly nodded in return, not worried that Qin Xuanbing would be jealous, because this lady was old enough to be his mother.
"Ms. Zhang, my surname is Qin, and my father is Qin Haoran..."
The woman didn't know Qin Xuanbing, but Qin Xuanbing did, and responded politely.
"Oh...I see, so you're the Qin family's little princess. Why do you look so familiar..."
Ms. Zhang laughed upon hearing this, and continued, "Then this must be Mr. Zhuang? I've heard people mention your name a while ago, but I've never met you before. I didn't expect to meet you here. Very good, very good. What you said just now was excellent..."
"I don't deserve such praise. I have a fiery temper; I'm easily provoked. Seeing these foreign devils using the cultural relics they stole from China to make money off the Chinese people just doesn't sit right with me..."
Zhuang Rui didn't recognize the person in front of him, but judging from his demeanor, he must be a person of importance, and he also looked quite old, so he quickly said a few words of humility.
However, the person Zhuang Rui described was the prototype of Liu Chuan. Zhuang Rui had a lot of personal reasons for buying the painting, but he didn't want people to think he was too scheming, so he had to put on an indignant act.
"Hmm, young man, you are indeed a good match for the Qin family's little princess..."
The woman smiled at Zhuang Rui, then turned away. She had only heard that a young man from the mainland had become the son-in-law of the Qin family and had embarrassed Bao Yugang's son-in-law on the gambling ship. However, she had only heard about it and did not take the matter of the younger generation to heart.
"Xuanbing, who is this?"
Seeing the woman turn around, Zhuang Rui whispered in Qin Xuanbing's ear.
"She's someone important..."
Qin Xuanbing leaned close to Zhuang Rui's ear and said, "Don't let her being a woman fool you. She's a director and vice president of the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, a director and general manager of Daqing Petroleum Co., Ltd., general manager of Hong Kong Wing Hing Enterprises Co., Ltd., chairman of a bank investment company, and chairman of the Enterprise Development Center of the Hong Kong Management Professionals Association. Her assets are enough to make her a super-rich person in Hong Kong, much wealthier than our family..."
"Is it her? Doesn't she have an older brother named Zhang Zongxian?"
Zhuang Rui was taken aback after hearing Qin Xuanbing's words, and then asked.
Qin Xuanbing gave Zhuang Rui a strange look and said, "Yes, she and her brother are both celebrities in Hong Kong. What, do you know them?"
"I don't know them, but those two siblings are very famous in the collecting circle..."
Zhuang Rui had never met Zhang Yongzhen and her brother, but he had heard many anecdotes about them.
Zhang Yongzhen comes from a family of antique dealers. Her grandfather, Zhang Jiru, was renowned for his skill in carving fan ribs. Her father, Zhang Zhongying, was one of the most famous antique dealers in old Shanghai during the Republic of China era. He ran "Juzhenzhai" on the Bund, specializing in antiques. Even renowned ceramic collectors like Qiu Yanzhi frequented "Juzhenzhai." When Uncle De was teaching Zhuang Rui about antiques, he mentioned "Juzhenzhai" in old Shanghai more than once, often saying that if he were a few years older, he would definitely apply to be the manager of "Juzhenzhai."
Zhang Yongzhen's brother is Zhang Zongxian, a renowned antique master both at home and abroad. Influenced by her family from a young age, Zhang Yongzhen has always been very interested in traditional Chinese culture and art.
In the mid-1970s, Zhang Yongzhen, along with Fok Ying-tung's second son, Fok Chun-wan, and others, registered and established Hong Kong Daqing Petroleum Company to distribute China Petroleum.
With her extraordinary courage and resourcefulness, Zhang Yongzhen pioneered a 24/7 oil delivery business and established a sound sales network in Hong Kong. She then invested in mainland telecommunications, transportation, commerce, and real estate industries, solidifying her status as a successful businesswoman in Hong Kong and making her assets far exceed those of her brother, Zhang Zongxian.
Zhang Yongzhen's success in her career could not overshadow her reputation in the world of collecting. Her collection of porcelain was largely influenced by her brother, Zhang Zongxian.
At Christie's auction of "Zhang Zongxian's Collection of Porcelain" in November 1999, Zhang Yongzhen became a major buyer: she bought a Qing Kangxi rouge-red enamel lotus bowl for HK$12.12 million and a Qing Qianlong copper-bodied painted enamel peony vase for HK$2.275 million.
After the auction, Zhang Zongxian ran into his sister at a restaurant and said, "I know you have money, but you bought too much. It would have been better to leave some for others to buy. People who don't know the situation might think you were helping me prop up the market."
Chapter 650 The Bottom Line (Part 2)
At a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong in 2002, Zhang Yongzhen spent HK$41.5 million to acquire a Qing Yongzheng famille rose bat and peach olive vase, which she then generously donated to the Shanghai Museum. That auction was somewhat accidental for Zhang Yongzhen.
At the time, Zhang Yongzhen was on a plane back to Hong Kong, China. Out of boredom, she saw the news of the auction and immediately took a liking to the Qing Yongzheng famille rose bat and peach olive-shaped vase. This beautiful famille rose vase has an olive-shaped body and very graceful lines.
The bottle is decorated with eight peaches and two bats in famille rose enamel. The peaches symbolize "longevity" and the bat is a homophone for "good fortune." This auspicious pattern with bats and peaches is commonly found on official kiln porcelain during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns.
Most of the surviving Yongzheng imperial kiln famille rose wares decorated with bat and peach patterns are large or small plates, and olive-shaped vases are extremely rare. The only known example of a famille rose olive-shaped vase with bat and peach patterns is this one, making it a truly priceless treasure.
Zhang Yongzhen immediately resolved to acquire this exquisite piece. At the Sotheby's Hong Kong auction, she started bidding at HK$18 million, raising the price to HK$37 million before no one else raised the price. Finally, after adding commission, she won the "Treasure Vase" for HK$41.5 million, which at one point set a record for the highest price ever paid for a Chinese artwork on the international market. Therefore, Zhang Yongzhen's name in the antique world represents big spending, making many collectors with limited funds extremely envious.
Even Zhuang Rui now feels a sense of awe and reverence for such a figure, as there is still a significant gap between Zhuang Rui and him in terms of both wealth and status.
"Could we ask her to donate or display some items in her museum?"
Suddenly, a thought popped into Zhuang Rui's mind. Although he had quite a few good items, they were worlds apart from those of Zhang Yongzhen, who came from a family of collectors. Zhuang Rui couldn't help but set his sights on the other party.
Since he wanted to open a private museum, Zhuang Rui wanted to make it the most influential private museum in the country, but it was obviously impossible to do so with just his own collection of items.
Zhuang Rui had long had the idea of integrating some private collectors' collections, but the actual operation was quite complicated. Zhuang Rui was only at the conceptual stage at the moment. However, after meeting Zhang Yongzhen, the idea in his mind gradually took shape.
Zhuang Rui's current thinking is that as long as the other party is willing to exhibit their collection, the ownership of the items still belongs to the other party. He will sign a contract with them, and after one or two years of exhibition, he will return the items to their original owner and pay some fees.
Of course, if the other party's collection is far larger than his own exhibition collection, Zhuang Rui wouldn't mind giving the other party a large portion of the museum's proceeds. However, shares are out of the question, as they involve the ownership of the museum's collections, and shares are very difficult to distribute.
As for whether the museum can make money, Zhuang Rui isn't sure. He's prepared to lose money. Currently, it seems that apart from Mr. Ma's museum, which can barely cover some of the museum's daily expenses, he hasn't heard of any other private museums making a profit. ...
"Excuse me, sir..."
As Zhuang Rui was deep in thought, the auction continued, and a middle-aged man walked up to him, interrupting his train of thought.
"Who are you?"
Zhuang Rui frowned slightly. He had just come up with some ideas about the future development of the museum when he was interrupted, which made him feel very uncomfortable.
"My name is George, and I am a lawyer from the Paris XX Auction House. I have been commissioned by the auction organizers to warn Mr. Zhuang that you refrain from making any politically biased or untrue statements at the auction venue. If this happens again, we will ask you to leave. Furthermore, regarding the truth of history, that has been buried by time. Sir, you have no evidence to suggest that these items were looted from your country..."
As George spoke, Zhuang Rui's expression gradually turned ugly. When he originally bid for the painting, he had largely wanted to avoid any competitors, but now George's words had completely enraged Zhuang Rui.
Zhuang Rui doesn't consider himself a radical or angry young man. When faced with a choice between national and private interests, he might very well choose the private interests.
However, this does not mean that he can tolerate being provoked. A person's patience has its limits, and George's words have already exceeded Zhuang Rui's limit.
"I'm sorry, but I think if I have violated your country's laws, you can sue me. If not, I will consider your words a threat. I didn't know that a well-known multinational auction house would do such a thing..."
Zhuang Rui suddenly stood up, his voice so loud that it almost drowned out Jefferson's voice in the microphone in front of him, and it was clearly audible in the auction hall that could seat more than 200 people.
"Oh...no, Mr. Zhuang, that's not what I meant..."
George noticed that the Chinese man in front of him was somewhat different from the Chinese people he knew. He had originally thought that after he issued a warning, the other party would humbly accept it, but he did not expect that this young man would have such a violent temper and would actually shout on the spot. This matter was getting out of his control.
"You've made your meaning very clear..."
Zhuang Rui coldly uttered a sentence, then strode to the front desk and said, "Mr. Auctioneer, would you mind if I said a few words?"
Ignoring whether Jefferson minded or not, Zhuang Rui grabbed the microphone from the auction stage and addressed the audience: "Ladies and gentlemen, friends from all over the world who love Chinese culture, I apologize for taking a few minutes of your time. I'd like to talk about something that just happened to me..."
"What kind of work is George the Dog doing?"
In a room on the second floor of the auction hall, a middle-aged man with gray hair, around fifty years old, smashed the ashtray in his hand to the ground.
"Go, have security drag that Chinese man away..."
“Richard, no, that person’s information has been sent back. He holds a position in the Chinese government; he’s a director of the China Jade Association. If we do this, it will cause an international dispute…”
Beside the middle-aged man, another person stopped him from making his decision, his brows furrowing as he looked at a fax in his hand.
This fax not only contained information about Zhuang Rui's position in the Jade Association, but also listed his family relationships, indicating that the auction house had a very complicated background.
"Damn it, Jefferson is an idiot. Why did he even bother to warn that young man and make him buy the painting? That would have been enough."
After seeing Zhuang Rui's family relationships, Richard slumped back onto the sofa. Their auction house also had branches in China, so they naturally knew what kind of background the family relationships on the fax represented.
Despite their influence extending to developed countries around the world, they wouldn't dare to lay a hand on Zhuang Rui, even if they had the guts to do so.
So Richard could only vent his anger on Jefferson, since it was Jefferson who had asked the lawyer to warn Zhuang Rui, and Richard felt it was justified, given that Zhuang Rui's interference had caused them losses.
Of course, Richard doesn't think that way now. ...
Zhuang Rui's sudden outburst not only caught the auction house off guard, but also left the many buyers who participated in the auction bewildered, staring blankly at Zhuang Rui standing in front of them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, just now, a man claiming to be a lawyer from this auction house warned me, saying that I had said something untrue. He meant that the painting I just bought was not looted from China, as I claimed. Here, I can say with absolute certainty that the painting by Giuseppe Castiglione was 100% stolen by the French troops during their invasion of China. Do you dare say that what I said is not true? Do you dare to call out the owner to testify against me?"
Zhuang Rui took a long breath to calm his agitated emotions, and then said, "I originally thought France was a country with freedom of speech, but I didn't expect them to be afraid to face their past history. This makes me feel very disappointed. Have you forgotten about the German invasion of your land back then?"
"Speaking of Germany, I must say that postwar Germany is still worthy of our respect. They dared to face their mistakes, take responsibility, and compensate for the losses. I suppose France has benefited a lot from this, hasn't it?"
But have you reflected on the disasters you have brought upon the Chinese people? Are you not even allowed to explain why you are auctioning off cultural relics looted from China?
Of course, there are still many friendly people in France who can face history squarely. I am currently in talks with a museum about the return of some Chinese cultural relics, but I feel extremely angry about the actions of your auction house.
If that's the case, I think you don't need to warn me. I can withdraw from this auction myself. At the same time, I hope that all conscientious Chinese people can make the same choice. Thank you everyone, I'm sorry to have taken up your time..."
After Zhuang Rui finished speaking, he bowed deeply to the audience and strode towards the door. Qin Xuanbing and Huangfu Yun also stood up and walked to Zhuang Rui's side.
"Slap... slap slap..."
Starting with Ms. Zhang, applause gradually began, and behind Zhuang Rui, people kept leaving their seats to join in.
Chapter 651 The Bottom Line (Part 2)
This auction of Chinese art held by the Paris auction house invited more than 100 Chinese collectors from all over the world, but the total number of participants was less than 200.
It's fair to say that if all the Chinese people in the room had left, the auction would have ended inconclusively.
No matter how much the Chinese people enjoy infighting or how disunited they are, after Zhuang Rui's words, they all stood up and followed behind him, using their silent actions to protest against the auction committee.
Even those who didn't want to leave had no choice but to follow the trend. The distance from the auction stage to the door was only a few dozen meters, and behind Zhuang Rui, who was walking at the front, there were already more than a hundred people.
Flashbulbs went off continuously in the room. This Paris auction of Chinese art had been protested by the Chinese government and had therefore attracted the attention of many media outlets, with many media organizations sending reporters to cover the auction.
Not only were there media from Paris present, but also news media from China. The huge buzz generated after the first item was sold undoubtedly got these journalists incredibly excited, as if they'd been injected with adrenaline.
"Hey buddy, move aside, you've taken my spot..."
A person holding a camera is pushing the person in front of him.
"Sorry, I got here before you..."
The person in front refused to budge. This was big news! It would definitely be on the front page of every major newspaper tomorrow. The photos he took from a good spot would surely fetch a good price. Uh, this guy was a freelance journalist.
"Excuse me, could you please move aside..."
At this moment, Zhuang Rui, who was walking at the front of the crowd, was blocked by a group of reporters. Countless flashes were going off in front of him, which made Zhuang Rui a little annoyed. He had just been being a bit of a hothead, so why did it attract so much attention?
"Sir, I'm a reporter from The Times of London. May I have the honor of interviewing you?"
"Hey buddy, that's great! Can I get your number? I'll do an exclusive interview with you later..."
"Hello sir, I'm a reporter from CNN. May I ask you a few simple questions?"
"Hello, I'm a reporter from France Soir. May I ask you a few questions about what you just said?"