Old Wu spoke first: "Hello everyone, welcome to the Beijing Hotel, and thank you for your support of the Zhouzhang branch. On this special day, our Zhouzhang branch has prepared an event, which will now be hosted by Ms. Fu Ying. Thank you!"
When Fu Ying stood on the stage, she won a round of applause from the hall before she even spoke. She was so beautiful!
Once the applause subsided a bit, Fu Ying quickly said, "Thank you everyone, please be quiet, please be quiet!"
Upon hearing Fu Ying's clear and melodious voice, the hall immediately fell silent.
"The event we have prepared for everyone in our store is a lucky draw. Each table in the hall has eight seats, and we have placed a number plate on each seat. There are a total of eight hundred numbers. Please take your seats. For this event, we have prepared one first prize, two second prizes, ten third prizes, and several last prizes."
Fu Ying smiled and introduced the prizes for the prepared event: "The first prize is a fine jade carving from our store, an old mine jadeite ornament worth 100,000 yuan; the second prize is an icy jadeite piece worth 50,000 yuan; the third prize is a jade piece worth 10,000 yuan; and the last prize is a jade pendant worth 888 yuan. Before the draw, our store will first conduct a fine product introduction and auction!"
After Fu Ying's introduction, Li Wei and two male shop assistants brought the safe over and placed it on the counter. After opening the safe, those in front could see that it was filled with small red brocade boxes, each marked with a number. Fu Ying picked up the first brocade box marked with number one, opened the lid, and found a crystal-clear, emerald-green jade pendant inside.
Suddenly, someone turned off the power switch in the hall, plunging the hall into complete darkness!
Then the area in front of the stage lit up, and a square projection appeared on the wall in front of her. In the dim light, Fu Ying held the jade carving in her hand, and the large image of her holding the carving was clearly shown on the projection.
Only then did everyone realize that cameras had been installed on the stage, and the large projector was for displaying the exhibits more clearly.
Fu Ying continued, "This jade carving is a masterpiece from our shop, made from the finest old Burmese mine jade. It has been appraised by experts from the Beijing Jewelry Appraisal Association and comes with a corresponding certificate of authenticity. Its market value is 17.8 million yuan. To thank all our friends and guests today, we are auctioning it off with a starting price of 5 million yuan. Now, interested customers, please place your bids!"
The large projector continuously displayed images of the jade carving from various angles. Most of the people present were antique and jade dealers. Upon seeing the images on the projector, as well as the transparency, color, and texture of the jade carving, they knew that it was a genuine piece of top-quality jade carving, worth 17 million yuan, which was slightly lower than the market price. This market price was only determined by their store after being appraised by experts from the Jewelry Association. On the international market, the value of this jade carving would definitely exceed 20 million yuan.
Five million? Of course, you can get it. But everyone knows this is an auction. No matter how low the starting price is, it's not yours. It only belongs to you when no one bids against you and no one is competing with you. But are all these experts fools?
Next, the bright lights in the hall were restored.
"Each bid starts at a minimum of 100,000 yuan. Please place your bids!" Fu Ying then introduced the increasing price increments.
"Five million five hundred thousand!" The guest holding up sign number fifty-six was the first to raise his sign.
"Five million six hundred thousand!"
"Five million eight hundred thousand!"
[Computer] 10.9 million visits! "Z
Volume 1, Chapter 326: Priceless Treasures
Old Wu was truly stunned!
He casually picked one out and glanced at it. At first glance, it seemed ordinary, but then he felt something was amiss, so he looked at it more closely. Then he put on his reading glasses and took a magnifying glass to examine it even more closely. Immediately, he became so excited that he gasped for breath and couldn't speak for a long time!
Since Zhou Xuan made it on the spot, there was naturally no birth certificate or expert appraisal certificate. But as Lao Wu looked at the jade carving in his hand, he became more and more excited, and he wished he could rip his heart out and make it beat wildly!
Fu Ying noticed something odd about Old Wu and asked in a low voice, "Uncle Wu, what's wrong?"
Old Wu immediately snapped out of his daze, stood on the stage, put on his headset, and said, "Yingying, let me say something."
Seeing that Lao Wu was trembling with excitement as he spoke, Fu Ying nodded and stepped aside, letting Lao Wu speak.
Old Wu carefully held the jade carving in his hands, placed it in front of the camera, and instructed the shop assistant to turn off the lights in the lobby. After the lights were off, he raised his voice and said, "Everyone, pay attention. I'm going to show you a piece of jadeite, a micro-carving. Have you ever heard of a micro-carving made of jadeite?"
The people in the hall were quite curious. To be honest, they had seen and heard of micro-carving works before, but there were very few of them because the technique was too difficult.
Micro-carving is one of the most exquisite and minute crafts in traditional Chinese arts and crafts. It is carved on ivory pieces the size of a grain of rice, bamboo pieces, or even hairs only a few millimeters thick. The carved content can only be seen with a magnifying glass or microscope, hence it has been called a "master skill" throughout history.
I'd heard of various materials, but never of jade being used for micro-carving. Jade is a hard material with a Mohs hardness of 7, unlike ivory, bamboo, or wood which are not very hard. Micro-carving is extremely particular about material selection; the material must be absolutely pure, with no sand or cracks to be tolerated. In ordinary micro-carving, even a tiny sand spot can carve out multiple Chinese characters. Secondly, the tools used for micro-carving are special fine knives that must be both fine and sharp. Thirdly, one must have exceptionally high levels of skill in calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting to achieve "intentional carving." Fourthly, one must be completely focused and concentrated, executing each stroke with precision and speed. Fifthly, the knife work must be steady, accurate, and decisive; only in this way can the calligraphy and the knife technique achieve perfect unity.
These conditions are all indispensable. As a micro-carving master, not only must the carving technique reach the pinnacle, but the calligraphy and painting skills must also reach the level of a master. Otherwise, even if your carving skills reach that level, your work will be like the scribbles of a three-year-old child. If you only reach the level of a master in painting and calligraphy, but do not have carving skills, that will not work either!
But among all these innovative types of micro-carving, no one has ever seen a micro-carving made of jade!
Old Wu said in a trembling voice, "Fellow immortals... please pay attention. I don't need to introduce micro-carving much, as everyone has heard of it. However, I still want to elaborate a bit more. The history of micro-carving in China is long and rich. Miniature carvings appeared as early as the oracle bone inscriptions of the Yin and Shang dynasties. Seals from the Warring States period were as small as millet grains, yet the inscriptions were distinguished by red and white. The well-known 'Carving a Boat' by Wang Shuyuan is also a classic work of micro-carving art in Chinese history."
"For example, in seal engraving, since the Ming and Qing dynasties, many literati have used iron pens to write and paint on the small space of seals to express their feelings and amuse themselves. After Shoushan stone became a material for seals, the art of micro-carving of Shoushan stone began to emerge. In the early Qing dynasty, Yang Wei and Zhou Bin carved small characters in secluded places on the patterns of Shoushan stone carvings. The Ximen shallow relief school, carving master Lin Qingqing, also often carved his name and the date of production in the grass and stone crevices of his works with extremely fine strokes. Later, some people even carved ancient poems as inscriptions on the four sides of the square pillar of the seal with extremely fine characters."
"Until the 20th century, with the introduction of advanced scientific instruments such as magnifying glasses into the field of micro-carving, micro-carving flourished. The objects depicted in the works became smaller and smaller, and the content became more and more abundant. However, bamboo, wood, ivory, and wood roots were still the most common types of micro-carving. Later, Shoushan stone emerged as a new type of micro-carving, but Shoushan stone was limited to seals and ancient poems, etc. As for micro-carvings made of jadeite, I, Old Wu, have been in the antique world for decades, but I have never seen a single one. This is of course due to the limitations of jadeite material. It is hard and brittle, and to make micro-carvings with it is as difficult as a child climbing Mount Everest. To this day, no one has broken this barrier. But now, I want to introduce and show you a piece of jadeite micro-carving!"
Old Wu was panting, his hands trembling slightly, and the image on the projection screen was also shaking a bit. After a while, he finally calmed down and said, "Everyone, please look. The original jade piece in my hand is a cylindrical shape, about four centimeters long and about two centimeters in circumference. The overall shape is just like a four-centimeter-long pencil. But you would never guess what is carved on this pencil-sized piece of jade. Please look carefully!"
Within the bright, enormous projected image, everyone saw a scroll painting, narrow horizontally and long vertically. At the top, nestled in sparse woods and a thin mist, were several thatched cottages, a grass bridge, flowing water, old trees, and a small boat. Two porters were leading five donkeys laden with charcoal towards the city. A willow grove stretched out, its branches just beginning to sprout tender green leaves. Along the road was a sedan chair, inside which sat a woman. The chair's roof was decorated with willow branches and wildflowers. Behind the chair followed people on horseback and those carrying loads, returning from a spring outing and tomb sweeping in the outskirts of the capital.
Further downstream, the river became densely populated, with numerous grain boats. People rested in teahouses, had their fortunes told, ate in restaurants, and there was even a shop called "Wang Family Paper Horse Shop," selling offerings for tomb sweeping. Boats ply the river, one after another, some pulled by boatmen, others rowed by oars. Some were fully loaded, going upstream, while others were moored on the bank, busily unloading their cargo. A grand wooden arched bridge spanned the river. A large boat was waiting to pass under the bridge. Boatmen were using bamboo poles to push, long poles to hook onto the bridge, and hemp ropes to hold the boat in place. Several others were busy lowering the mast to allow the boat to pass. People on neighboring boats were pointing and shouting, everyone inside and outside the boats busily preparing for the crossing.
At the very bottom stood a tall city gate, flanked by rows of buildings: teahouses, taverns, inns, butcher shops, temples, and more. Shops offered silks and satins, jewelry, spices, and paper money; clinics, cart repair shops, fortune tellers, and shaving and grooming services—every trade imaginable. The streets teemed with people, a constant flow of people: merchants, street-watchers, officials on horseback, hawkers, wealthy families in sedan chairs, traveling monks, tourists asking for directions, children listening to storytellers, wealthy young men drinking heavily in taverns, and disabled elderly beggars on the outskirts of the city. Men, women, children, scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants—everyone was represented. Transportation included sedan chairs, horse-drawn carriages, oxcarts, rickshaws, and various types of vehicles. It is vividly presented to people.
Upon seeing this scene projected on the screen, some people exclaimed in surprise: "A miniature river painting of Qingming Festival!"
Old Wu nodded, panting for breath, before saying, "Yes, it's the 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival.' Most of you are in the same profession, and even those who aren't know it. It's one of my country's ten most famous paintings, a masterpiece by the Northern Song Dynasty painter Zhang Zeduan. The scroll is 1 meter wide and 5.287 meters long, depicting over 550 figures, 50-60 cattle, horses, mules, donkeys, and other livestock, over 20 carriages and sedan chairs, and over 20 boats of various sizes. This national treasure-level painting, with so much content, is all depicted on a tiny piece of jade, no bigger than a pencil. Putting aside the insurmountable difficulty of carving on jade, just consider micro-carving—to shrink such a grand scene into such a small area is something even the most famous masters today couldn't do!"
Of course, the masters that Lao Wu mentioned were only those he knew. As for micro-carving, it is a unique Chinese craft and a national treasure. If there are any top masters that Lao Wu doesn't know, then there really aren't any. He knows all the most famous ones, but this jade micro-carving is obviously not made by any of them, because none of them can make it.
First, the micro-carving technique cannot reach such a fine level. Second, the painting skills on this work are so exquisite that only Zhang Zeduan could have achieved it if he were resurrected. To paint the same artistic conception as the original painting, one would need the same skill as the original artist. Moreover, even if the painting skills were that good, no two painters throughout history would be exactly the same, just like fingerprints on your hand; you can never find two people who are exactly the same.
This painting is not a copy or a photograph, but a miniature repainting on jade. It's like repainting it from scratch. With such painting skills and such micro-carving expertise, what other master in the world could do this?
Old Wu stopped explaining, leaving everything unsaid. He simply rotated the small jade piece slowly under the camera lens, trying his best to let the audience in the hall see it clearly.
The jadeite is a vibrant green, of the highest quality, and incredibly translucent. But people no longer pay attention to the quality of the jadeite; all their attention is focused on admiring the painting, and they are immersed in the magnificent and expansive artistic world!
Because this is a micro-carving, not an original painting, but in terms of painting skills, micro-carving skills, and the quality of the jadeite, it has reached the pinnacle!
It can be said that this also reaches the level of a national treasure!
Old Wu stopped turning the jade and carefully placed it on the table, aligning it with the camera to fix the image. Then he said, "Everyone saw it, right? To be honest, I can't figure out what tools or techniques were used to carve such a grand scene and so many figures onto such a small object. Let alone jade, even on easily carved ivory, wood, or bamboo, it would be impossible to carve the complete picture of 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival.' I can't estimate the true value of such an item, but it has truly appeared before me and everyone here. This was entrusted to me by a friend for sale, and I can't say how much the starting bid is. You all decide. If you're willing to bid, then you can make your own bid!"
Old Wu said this not because he didn't want to bid, but because he really didn't know how to bid, because in his mind it was a national treasure, a priceless treasure!