Collectors aren't necessarily rich. Although the people in the car are well-known figures in the antique circle, they also earn a salary, and their wealth is far from comparable to Zhuang Rui's, not to mention the TV station staff. The girl doing makeup was now staring at Zhuang Rui with her eyes practically sparkling.
Master Zhu deeply regretted his attitude just now. In his mind, this young man's wealth was definitely not earned by him, but probably belonged to a wealthy family. His actions of offending him were extremely unwise.
Zhuang Rui's words above were actually said intentionally. In today's society, people associate your success with your wealth and status. The old-fashioned ideals of intellectuals have long been forgotten. Otherwise, these experts in the car wouldn't have been invited to participate in this treasure appraisal event.
Grandpa Gu had told Zhuang Rui that after this event, the red envelope would be no less than 30,000 yuan. Earning 30,000 yuan in two days, with food, accommodation, and a trip included, only a fool wouldn't come.
Zhuang Rui came to participate in this treasure appraisal event to make a name for himself in the jade industry. There was no need for him to play the low-key and humble role, as that would diminish the reputation of his elders, Grandpa Gu and Uncle De.
Sure enough, after Zhuang Rui said those words, the attitudes of the experts subtly changed. Even the members of the TV crew who had initially looked down on Zhuang Rui, this young expert, started addressing him as "Teacher Zhuang," making Zhuang Rui feel a little embarrassed. ...
Beijing is about 400 kilometers away from Jinan. Shandong's highways are famous throughout the country. After driving on the highway, we entered Jinan's territory around 11:30 a.m.
Jinan's name originates from Jinan Prefecture, established during the Western Han Dynasty, meaning "south of the Ji River." Also known as "City of Springs," it is the capital of Shandong Province, a major economic province on the eastern coast of China. It is one of the national historical and cultural cities designated by the State Council, the political, economic, cultural, scientific, educational, and financial center of the province, and one of the coastal open cities and fifteen sub-provincial cities approved by the state.
The birthplace of the world-renowned prehistoric Longshan Culture is located in Jinan. There is also the Neolithic site of Chengziya, the Qi Great Wall which predates the Qin Great Wall, and the Song Dynasty painted clay Arhat sculptures of Lingyan Temple, which are hailed as "the best sculptures in China".
Legend has it that Shun once "fished in Leize and farmed in Lishan." Lishan is the Thousand Buddha Mountain in the southern part of Jinan City. Therefore, there are still various place names named after Shun scattered throughout the city, such as "Shun Well", "Shun Farming Road", and "Shun Farming Mountain".
During the rainy season in Jinan, the areas with numerous springs present a beautiful scene of "springs in every household and willows by every door." As early as the Song Dynasty, the writer Zeng Gong commented: "Qi has many sweet springs, the best in the world."
The Yuan Dynasty geographer Yu Qin also praised it, saying, "Jinan's mountains and waters are the best in Shandong, and its springs are the best in the world."
At the highway exit leading into Jinan, a car with the words "Jinan TV Station" painted on its body was already waiting there.
After greeting the driver of the minibus carrying Zhuang Rui and the others, the vehicle led the way, driving directly into the parking lot of a five-star hotel. This amateur treasure appraisal event was being held at this hotel, and of course, the experts were also staying there.
At the hotel's main entrance, there was a large red banner that read "Promoting National Culture, Collecting and Appraising Treasures Worldwide," suggesting that Shandong Fangming had made considerable preparations beforehand.
In fact, this folk treasure appraisal event was hosted by Shandong, and Beijing TV was a sister organization because they had to get some resources, such as these six experts in long gowns walking in the hotel.
These days, aside from movie actors, who else would dress like this in a blue long gown? So when the experts appeared in the hotel, everyone's attention was drawn to them, and one foreigner even raised his camera to take pictures.
Zhuang Rui was quite uncomfortable, but seeing how calm and collected the others were, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow. Fortunately, the meal was in a private room; otherwise, if he were treated like a giant panda, Zhuang Rui didn't know if he would still have an appetite.
The Jinan authorities received the expert group with a very high level of hospitality. In addition to the presence of the director and deputy director of Jinan TV, the vice mayor in charge of culture and education also came to toast the experts, gave a speech, and then left in a hurry.
Although Zhuang Rui, an expert in jade appraisal, looked a bit young, the staff here didn't dare to neglect him because they saw how skilled the other experts were with him.
After dinner, the TV station staff gathered to discuss the specific details of the event, while Zhuang Rui and the other experts went to their hotel rooms to rest.
At 2:30 p.m., Zhuang Rui was woken up and met up with Jin Pangzi and the others. They took the elevator to the venue for this folk treasure appraisal - a large conference room on the first floor of the hotel.
At this moment, long queues had already formed in the corridors inside and outside the conference room, with many people holding or carrying various antiques, waiting for the experts to enter.
Chapter 312 Folk Treasure Appraisal (1)
We live in an era of mass entertainment. Even antique appraisal has become a form of entertainment. When experts enter, there is not only background music, but also a beam of light that closely follows their figures. The host introduces each expert to the audience as they enter, and each introduction is met with applause.
Back in 2004, experts and professors were highly respected. Several experts, with the air of renowned figures, bowed to the surroundings and took small steps to sit down behind the table.
When it was Zhuang Rui's turn to appear, things got a little awkward. The music and lights were just as good, and even Liu Jia's sweet voice was raised a bit higher, but the crowd in the audience didn't seem to like it and booed. If it weren't for the valuable item in his hand, they probably would have thrown it at him like a rotten egg.
"Teacher Zhuang, it's alright. The meat in the bun isn't on the pleats. They'll need your help when they appraise the jade later."
Sitting next to Zhuang Rui, General Manager Qian, fearing that Zhuang Rui might be upset, whispered a word of comfort. Apart from him, who changed his address to "Teacher Zhuang Rui," the others all called Zhuang Rui "Little Zhuang," after all, there was a significant age difference between them.
"It's alright, Mr. Qian. If you can't handle this kind of setback, then I wouldn't have come..."
Zhuang Rui smiled slightly, opened the bottle of mineral water in front of him and took a drink. This situation was exactly what he expected. If he were the owner of the treasure, he would probably have booed the appraiser if he saw that the expert was so young.
However, Zhuang Rui was still somewhat unconvinced. Let alone jade, even in the realm of antiques, if it came down to identifying authenticity, no one in the venue could compare to him. Of course, he only thought about it in his mind. Being an all-rounder wasn't so comfortable, and it only made him the target of people's jealousy.
"Distinguished guests, fellow collectors, welcome to the first 'Promoting National Culture, Collecting and Appraising Treasures Worldwide' folk appraisal event, jointly hosted by Beijing Television and Shandong Television. Now, please welcome Mayor Tan to speak..."
After the experts were seated, Liu Jia and a chubby male host from Shandong TV stood on the stage in front of Zhuang Rui and the others, taking turns hosting the event. Then, the vice mayor, who had made a brief appearance at noon, took the stage to speak. Fortunately, the vice mayor did not give a long speech; after a few simple words, he announced the start of the appraisal event.
Shandong, as a traditional cultural city, has been visited by countless literati and scholars throughout history, resulting in a strong foundation for private collections. In addition, Shandong TV advertised more than a week in advance, attracting over a thousand people to the event today. A long queue formed at the side entrance of the hotel, and many people even braved the sweltering heat to wait outside the hotel.
There was also a squadron of armed police officers maintaining order at the scene. Five meters away from the row of long tables where the experts were appraising the items, a cordon was set up with ropes. Because they were worried that several people would bring the same type of items, only three collectors were allowed to enter the cordon at a time with their belongings.
"Expert, could you please take a look at this thing? It was left to me by my elders. I saw it when I was four or five years old. It's quite strange (Jinan dialect: odd). Could you tell me if it's genuine?"
The first person to enter was a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed very plainly. Perhaps because of the heat, he was still wearing slippers. He was carrying a brownish-yellow jar in his arms. The jar was more than half a meter tall, with a large belly and a narrow mouth, and it looked quite heavy. The man was also breathing heavily when he spoke.
"Come on, let's put the things on the table first..."
This task fell to Tian Fan, a ceramics appraisal expert. He got up and asked the man to place the jar on the table in front of him, then took a magnifying glass and began to examine it.
Behind a row of tables covered with red silk, six people sat. Zhuang Rui was sitting at the far end. After glancing at the other two people, who were not carrying jade, he turned his attention to the jar that the first person brought. The jar had some irregular patterns around its edges, but the more Zhuang Rui looked at it, the more it reminded him of the pickling jar his family used when he was a child.
There were two people between Tian Fan and Zhuang Rui, so Zhuang Rui couldn't see very clearly. He simply released his spiritual energy and entered the vat, only to find that the vat's interior was of poor quality, unevenly fired, and devoid of any spiritual energy. He guessed it was probably just a pickle jar. At this moment, Tian Fan finished looking and sat back down.
Seeing that Tian Fan had examined it with a magnifying glass and then sat back down, the middle-aged man became anxious and said, "Expert, please look more closely! This thing existed when my grandfather was alive..."
"This is a jar used for pickling vegetables. It still smells of pickled vegetables. It's quite old, probably produced before the liberation. However, it's crudely made and produced in large quantities, so it doesn't have much collectible value. You should take it back."
Tian Fan pushed up his glasses and said something that disappointed the middle-aged man.
"Isn't it said that anything that has been preserved for a long time is an antique? I had to bring this all the way from home. Expert, are you sure this thing isn't worth anything?"
The middle-aged man was somewhat unwilling and asked another question. After seeing Tian Fan nod, he picked up the pickled vegetable jar from the table and left, cursing.
Zhuang Rui was quite shocked by this person. Treating a pickle jar like a treasure? Is this what folk treasure appraisal is all about?
Old Sun, who was sitting one seat away from Zhuang Rui, smiled and said after seeing the expression on Zhuang Rui's face, "Don't be surprised. These people all feel that their things are treasures. If you tell them the truth, sometimes they will think that we are deceiving them. Old Tian is a bit straightforward and has always been like this. Young Zhuang, don't make any promises. If you can't see through the truth, just say that you can't tell."
Zhuang Rui laughed upon hearing this. It seemed that this phrase was indeed jargon in the industry. Old Master Gu had taught him to say it, and now the person beside him was saying it as well. It was truly universally applicable.
“I say, young man. This thing is older than you, but not by much. It’s a print from the 1960s. If it were left for a few more decades, it might become an antique. But it’s still a bit too young for this.”
Zhuang Rui was chatting and laughing with Old Sun when Jin Pangzi's voice came from the side. It turned out that he had finished appraising the item he had been examining. The person he had appraised was holding a fan, which was said to be an authentic work by Tang Bohu. After examining it, Jin Pangzi was both amused and exasperated. It was just a print from the 1960s. He had no choice but to ask the person to leave.
Because there were too many people coming to have their artifacts appraised, the organizers and experts discussed the matter and decided that different types of artifacts could be appraised at the same time. This way, all six experts could be busy, and the speed of appraising the items could be increased.
As a result, everyone except Zhuang Rui became busy. Perhaps because there were relatively few people who collected ancient jade, none of the twenty-odd people who came up one after another were appraising jade artifacts. Zhuang Rui seemed to have some free time, but this suited him just fine. He watched with great interest as the other experts appraised the objects.
Among these antiques, calligraphy and paintings were the most numerous, and Fatty Jin was the busiest person. He examined eleven calligraphy and painting works and identified them all as fakes. His eye for art was extremely sharp and unique. Zhuang Rui had used his spiritual energy to examine them, and Fatty Jin had not made a single mistake. Zhuang Rui could not help but admire him.
“Xiao Zhuang, you should be familiar with miscellaneous items since you’ve been following Brother Ma, right? Come on, take a look at this snuff bottle.”
Seeing that Zhuang Rui was looking around with nothing to do, Old Sun handed him a cloisonné snuff bottle that he was playing with.
"The item is fake..."
Zhuang Rui took it and pretended to look at it with a magnifying glass before giving the answer.
"Hey, young man, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. This snuff bottle has been in my hands for quite some time."
Zhuang Rui didn't realize that his words were a bit too direct, which angered the owner of the item.
Zhuang Rui looked up and saw that the owner of the snuff bottle was an old man in his fifties, dressed quite elegantly, who was looking at him with a resentful expression.
"Xiao Zhuang, how can you be so sure it's fake?"
Old Master Sun also intended to test Zhuang Rui.
"The murals inside this thing were painted on after the original was fired; how could it not be fake?"
Zhuang Rui blurted out that when he used his spiritual energy to look at it, he discovered that the mural and the glass bottle were not fired together at all.
"That's impossible. I washed it with water when I bought it a while ago. If I painted on it later, the color would definitely come off."
The owner of the snuff bottle grew increasingly displeased, but he inadvertently let slip that the object was not, as he claimed, something that had been in his possession for many years.
Zhuang Rui thought for a moment, then picked up a single-headed, long-handled cotton swab from the table, which was prepared for wiping objects. He dipped it in the alcohol in the bottle in front of him. These items were provided by the organizers and were frequently used during the identification process.
Zhuang Rui dipped a cotton swab in alcohol and rubbed it vigorously inside the snuff bottle for a while. Then he took the swab out and placed it in front of the snuff bottle's owner, saying, "Uncle, there's a lot of pigment in this stuff that can't be washed off with water. You should be more careful when buying this stuff in the future..."
The old man blushed deeply after Zhuang Rui's words, but looking at the color on the cotton swab, he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal. He snatched the snuff bottle from Zhuang Rui's hand and slipped out of the crowd.
"Alright, not bad, you've learned some of Brother Ma's true skills."
When Old Sun saw that Zhuang Rui had humiliated the old man who wanted to take advantage of him with just a few words, he couldn't help but give Zhuang Rui a thumbs up.
The TV station is hosting this program, and if the items are identified as genuine antiques, they will issue an authentication certificate. As a result, there will be some people who try to pass off fakes as genuine antiques. You should know that after being authenticated by these experts, the certificate issued can immediately turn a worthless fake antique into a genuine item worth a fortune.
Chapter 313 Folk Treasure Appraisal (2)
Every dynasty in China produced a large number of counterfeit antiques. The motivation was nothing more than profit. However, collectors today have become more shrewd. They generally don't act unless they are absolutely certain of their success, and rarely spend huge sums of money to buy items they are unsure about.
As a result, many antique dealers are finding it difficult to make a living, because they mainly make money from high-quality fakes. So some people go to great lengths to repackage their fake items and then resell them.
This "package" refers to the certificate of authenticity issued by experts or professional institutions. Ordinary people generally trust experts or professional institutions. With this "package," counterfeit antiques can not only be sold as genuine, but their prices can also rival those of genuine antiques.
People with this mentality aren't just antique dealers; some collectors who have been fooled and paid their dues will also bring out fakes. They want to take advantage of the situation, get a fake certificate, and then make back their money. In short, there are all sorts of people with various motives.
Since ancient times, there has been a saying in the antique world: "There is no such thing as a fake antique." Antique transactions are based on the principle of cash on delivery. As for whether the item being sold is genuine or fake, the seller is not obligated to tell you. Whether the item you buy is good or bad depends entirely on your judgment. You have to accept the goods regardless of their quality, and there is no reason to return them.
However, with record-breaking prices for numerous items at auctions in recent years, the art market has once again become a hot investment. Many people are spending their entire fortunes just to buy a few antiques of dubious authenticity, dreaming of getting rich overnight.
How can you sleep soundly with hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars worth of dubious items at home? The answer is simple... certificates. These days, a stamped piece of paper is more effective than anything else. Even giants like Microsoft and Shanda have suffered in silence.
While many people share this view, most of the people present today are unsure about the authenticity of the antiques they own and want to have them appraised by experts.
Just now at Zhuang Rui's table, no one took the initiative to come up to him for appraisal. The main reason was that Zhuang Rui looked too young and didn't have the demeanor of an expert. So many people were afraid to have their collections appraised by Zhuang Rui. What if their items were genuine and he said they were fake?
However, there were only six experts on the stage, while thousands of eyes were watching from below. Many people also saw Zhuang Rui's actions in appraising the snuff bottle. As soon as the old man who wanted to take advantage left, two people came over to Zhuang Rui's table.
"Professor Zhuang, could you please take a look at this manuscript? Is it an antique?"
The person walking in front placed a wooden box in front of Zhuang Rui.
"I'm sorry, this mainly focuses on jade artifacts. For calligraphy and paintings, you should contact Teacher Jin."
Although Zhuang Rui was a little curious, he couldn't take away someone else's job, so he told the other person to go and get in line, since Fatty Jin was the busiest person right now.
"Teacher Zhuang, this is a jade artifact. Could you please take a look at it?"
The second person to come up also carried a box about the size of a palm and placed it in front of Zhuang Rui.
Zhuang Rui opened the box and saw five jade figures, each about the size of a thumb, carved from white jade. Some had a drum hanging from their waists, some held a drumstick high in their hands, and others were in a kneeling posture. The five jade figures were all different in shape, and their facial expressions were vividly depicted. They also had obvious patina. Judging from their appearance, they should be a set of jade carvings reflecting ancient sacrificial rituals.
After handling them for a while, Zhuang Rui noticed that the patina was quite thick. As he raised the magnifying glass, his spiritual energy subtly seeped into the small objects. Upon closer inspection, Zhuang Rui was greatly disappointed. He had thought he would find a genuine object, but it turned out to be fake.
It can't be called fake; the jade is real, and the carving is quite good. However, the age has been artificially created, likely dating back to recent years. Zhuang Rui discovered that while these jade figures possess a faint spiritual aura, the color is very pale, and the artificial coloring is merely adhering to the surface of the jade, without penetrating it. In other words, the forger didn't color these jade pieces for very long.
Zhuang Rui put down the magnifying glass in his hand, looked up at the person holding the treasure in front of him, and asked, "Sir, could you tell me the origin of this set of jade artifacts?"
The owner of the treasure was around thirty years old, wearing glasses and appearing refined. Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, he quickly replied, "I'm a history teacher at a middle school. I bought this from an antique market two years ago after watching an appraisal program on CCTV..."