There are many valuable things in this world, antiques are one of them, but because it is difficult to identify, not everyone can see their value at a glance, in the antique world, because they have seen too little and missed the treasure and the example of Bibi.
But all this is a bit insignificant in the case of this old man in Chongqing mistakenly treating pearls as fish eyes, after all, who can use a sword worth a million dollars as a kitchen knife?
Obtained by chance
It happened in a rural area in Chengkou County, Chongqing in 2010, where most of the young and strong adults went out to work, and those who stayed in the countryside were basically either old people or children, and this old man named Yi Shouxiang was one of them.
The old man's daily days are basically repeated, sunrise and daily income and rest, on this day, he still goes out as usual to herd cattle, walking unconsciously far away, feeling that the surrounding environment is getting stranger and stranger, just near a dilapidated old house, the old man simply stopped, resting here.
The process of herding cattle is actually very boring, Yi Shouxiang stared at the cattle for a while, after determining the number, he no longer looked at this side, but looked left and right to look at the surrounding environment, this place is overgrown, and there is a rare appearance everywhere.
Just looking aimlessly, suddenly, the cold light reflected by a piece of iron in the sunlight attracted his attention, and Yi Shouxiang, who had nothing to do, walked over and casually took the dead branches around him, and in a short while, a rusty sword shape was there.
Yi Shouxiang was just a little curious at first, but now after knowing that this glowing thing was a sword, he was not so excited, and subconsciously felt that he could not dig out anything good in such a desolate mountain.
And it may be because part of the sword body has been in contact with the air, most of the sword body is rusty, but it can be vaguely seen that there are carved patterns on it, and there are still a few words on the sword, because it is too old, some blurry.
After returning to his village, Yi Shouxiang talked about this accident as a talking point after cooking with the neighbors, and the neighbors only took a cursory look, although it was not clear whether this was worth it or not, but subconsciously still wanted Yi Shouxiang to keep it, and then send it to the museum for those experts to see.
Yi Shouxiang actually refused at first, because he was not very willing to run for such a little broken copper scrap iron, but under the strong recommendation of his neighbors, Yi Shouxiang still embarked on the road to identification.
Turn treasure into waste
Yi Shouxiang only wrapped it roughly with a cloth, and after the museum explained the meaning, there was a staff member who led Yi Shouxiang to meet with the expert, after professional judgment, the expert explained to Yi Shouxiang that the origin of this sword should belong to the Qing Dynasty, but because it has not been carefully examined and identified by professional institutions, and the handwriting on the sword is not clear, it has not been able to estimate a general value.
When he heard this, Yi Shouxiang was a little disappointed in his heart, he didn't understand what value was not worth, only that this sword could not be sold for money now. Experts did not notice Yi Shouxiang's look, but only single-mindedly persuaded Yi Shouxiang the importance of this antique to the country, if you pick up antiques, it is best to hand them over to the state.
But after all, this is a sword with no owner and unknown origin, and now its owner is Yi Shouxiang, if Yi Shouxiang does not want to hand it in, then this group of experts has no way, just like this, Yi Shouxiang returned home with this sword.
The Qing Dynasty is our last great unified dynasty, after enduring the invasion of the Eight-Power Alliance, and then fighting against Japan for a long time, for a long time, our country belongs to an extremely turbulent period, those treasures that should have been treasured, also lost, robbed, we can try to preserve, in fact, there are very few left.
For a long time after that, the country was committed to getting these things back, which was an extremely difficult process, but when people like Yi Shouxiang did not understand their value, this accidental treasure was doomed to become waste.
Yi Shouxiang's intention to take this sword home is also very simple, anyway, this is not worth a few dollars, rather than handing it over to the state, it is better to take it home and "turn waste into treasure". A basin of water came out, and as soon as the whetstone was swinging, Yi Shouxiang began to want to sharpen this knife like a kitchen knife, and he could use it as a kitchen knife in the future.
As Yi Shouxiang polished hard, the sword body also began to become bright, and the pattern carved on the sword body could be faintly seen on it. Yi Shouxiang didn't care about this, he only felt that the blade had become sharper, and it was more forceful as it polished.
The sword becomes a kitchen knife
The whole body of the sword body was almost remodeled by Yi Shouxiang, and the original vague and indistinct words could now be seen, but Yi Shouxiang had not recognized what it was because he had not read any books, or the neighbors around him came to take a look, only to find that there was a traditional character similar to a dragon carved on it.
It should be known that in the feudal society of ancient times, most of the things next to the "dragon" were not vulgar things, and everyone discussed it with their tongues, and they felt that what Yi Shouxiang picked up this time may not be a vulgar thing.
But Yi Shouxiang felt that they had been sent to the experts for identification, but they had not been "sold", where there was any value to speak of, after sharpening the blade, they wholeheartedly used it as a kitchen knife, because the handle and the tip of the sword were not easy to use, Yi Shouxiang also slightly repaired it, so such an important antique was completely plunged into the fate of being used as a kitchen knife.
After a long period of time, the state has paid more and more attention to these lost antiques, and all localities have sent some personnel to popularize this kind of cultural relics knowledge in some remote rural areas, by the way, to inquire whether anyone has seen similar things, you can take it to identify, rather than bother, rather than let go of one. As soon as he came and went, Yi Shouxiang's "kitchen knife" began to be frequently mentioned by the villagers.
At this time, five years have passed since Yi Shouxiang picked up the sword, this kind of cultural relics themselves are more "delicate", an old man in the countryside, the staff really dare not imagine, how Yi Shouxiang saved this antiquity on weekdays, after listening to the introduction of the entourage of the same township, this group of people is even more frightened, always feel that it is difficult to find an antiquity, afraid that it is going to be destroyed.
After coming to Yi Shouxiang's house, the staff could not wait to ask Yi Shouxiang to take out the sword, but when they really saw it, the hearts of this group of staff members were also cold, at this time the handle of the sword had been polished and deformed, and the tip of the sword had also been remodeled, and it was completely impossible to see what it had been.
Despite this, the staff still took this sword back well and handed it over to experts specializing in this area to identify, and after identification, it was concluded that it was a sword from the end of the Qing Dynasty, and the three words on it were "Green Dragon Sword".
The reason why the villagers did not recognize it was because it was carved from the most well-used seal book of that era, so some people vaguely guessed that there was a dragon character, but there were no other two words, but they could not see the reason.
Value that cannot be measured
Experts at the local cultural center said that the sword was made of red bronze from the Qing Dynasty, and its value itself is immeasurable, even in this era, how to put it is a very valuable treasure. This news was later spread more and more exaggerated by the villagers, and it was directly rumored that this was a sword worth millions or even tens of millions, which was sharpened by a villager as a kitchen knife.
Because it had never been seen as it was, the value could not be estimated, so this statement could not be confirmed to be false, and now the sword body had now been completely destroyed, and it had lost its historical value that could be studied, and now it had really become a scrap iron. In the face of Yi Shouxiang's ignorance, the experts became more and more distressed, and thousands of instructions were given, hoping that if Yi Shouxiang encountered such a situation in the future, he would remember not to destroy the cultural relics like this again.
In fact, in terms of our country's punishment, deliberately damaging cultural relics can already be convicted, but from the objective conditions, Yi Shouxiang did not know that this is a cultural relic and deliberately destroyed it, but felt that this is just a worthless old thing, rather than losing it, it is better to re-pick up and decorate the heart that can be used again, and inadvertently destroyed this cultural relic.
On the other hand, the definition of cultural relics, in fact, there is also exquisite, only the precious cultural relics specified by the state, as well as the regular departments such as the national key cultural relics protection unit, the antiquities identified, if you are damaged, it can be regarded as damaged cultural relics in the true sense.
According to the value of cultural relics, if something too valuable, even if you are unintentionally damaged, you may face a huge fine.
In addition to Yi Shouxiang's "treasure into waste" green dragon sword, there are still many treasures in various parts of the country that cannot be seen by the "ancestral lineage", and these are still relatively well-destined, taking the Wu Wang's sword, which was just unearthed and was rushed up by the peasants to rob it into three pieces, which in the eyes of historical researchers, how heartache it is.
epilogue
But it is precisely because of these examples that people's cognition of antiquities is getting deeper and deeper, and they have begun to pay attention to cultural relics in their hearts, and then encounter something like this in the future, and they will no longer be reckless, first hand it over to the hands of local cultural museum experts to see, in case they find the treasure themselves, have you seen any legendary treasures around you?
Resources:
Baidu Encyclopedia - Yi Shouxiang
Chongqing Evening News - "Old Farmer Digs Out Qing Dynasty Bronze Ancient Sword and Polishes It for Kitchen Knives" - June 15, 2015