As we all know, many cultural relics and national treasures left by the ancient ancestors have been lost to various places in the past thousand years, some of which have been found by the state and collected in museums, and the rest have also been exiled to the people and become heirlooms of the people.
About these cultural relics that are scattered in the folk, usually there will be related stories, and what this article wants to tell is a remarkable story of the flow of literature in the folk, an old man in Beijing wants 8 million to sell heirlooms, but the experts only gave 10,000 yuan, did not expect the old man to turn around and auction off 19.8 million! What's going on? Let's take a look at what's going on.
It happened in 1992. At that time, there was an old man surnamed Li in the northeast, who knew that he would die soon, but he had a difficult matter, that is, after his death, the inheritance was divided, in fact, the old man did not have much family property in his hands, so in order to give the seven children in the family a little money, so he had to take out a painting that was regarded as an heirloom and wanted to discount it to his children.
This is the background to the beginning of the story.
After making up his mind, the old man did not want to sell the heirloom, he found the relevant cultural relics department, and told the experts inside that he wanted to sell the painting for 8 million. When everyone here heard that it was such a valuable treasure, they quickly contacted authoritative experts to identify and confirm that the heirloom of the old man was authentic.
After the relevant staff of the Cultural Relics Bureau heard about this, they immediately came to the scene and discussed with the old man that they were willing to buy the painting for 10,000 yuan. But the old man could not accept it, to know that it was 1992 at that time, and the price of 8 million was indeed difficult for the Cultural Relics Bureau to accept.
So, what exactly is the painting? How could the well-informed Antiquities Bureau be so surprised?
It turned out that this painting was Zhang Xian's "Ten Yong Tu". The Ten Yong Tu is a hand-scrolled silk scroll with a size of 52 × 178.7 centimeters, which was introduced by the Qianlong Emperor's imperial inscription and made a long trek by four people, including Chen Zhizhai, Yan Yaohuan, and Xian Yushu of the Song Dynasty. This is a landscape figure painting, in addition to the landscape and scenery, it also depicts 26 people, two horses and a fairy crane.
The contents of the "Ten YongTu" are landscapes, figures, pavilions and pavilions, and flat boat travels, etc., and there are many seals such as the Song Dynasty Minister Jia Xiangdao, the Ming Hongwu Inner Mansion, and the three emperors of the Qing Dynasty. Perhaps because of the rarity of things, this painting has become one of the precious collections of the royal family and has been highly praised by famous artists of all generations.
So, why does such a valuable painting appear in the hands of an old man?
Speaking of which, this matter is also related to Puyi.
On February 12, 1912, Empress Longyu took the last emperor Puyi and held a final court ceremony in the Yangxin Hall, and announced the abdication of the Qing Emperor.
At the beginning of Puyi's abdication, there were "Preferential Conditions for the Qing Dynasty" to ensure their lives: "After the abdication of the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the age was 4 million taels. After the new coin was minted, it was changed to 4 million yuan, which was allocated by the Republic of China. ”
However, the "Preferential Conditions for Qing Room" also stipulates: "The antiquities in the Forbidden City, the Qing Room only has the right to use, and may not be sold or mortgaged." Therefore, Puyi guarded the treasures of the palace, but he had no right to enjoy them, which made him very angry in his heart. However, because of the support of 4 million taels of silver per year, his life is still quite comfortable.
But when Yuan Shikai died, everything was different, so no one would provide Puyi with money again, for future plans, Puyi started the idea of treasures in the palace, Puyi himself could not take these items out, so he transported a large number of treasures out of the palace in the name of rewarding Pujie.
The calligraphy and paintings and ancient books that were shipped out were all outstanding and exquisite treasures, with about a thousand hand-scrolled calligraphy and paintings, more than 200 kinds of hanging books and albums, and more than 200 kinds of upper and lower Song editions. These include the inkblots of Wang Xizhi's father and son, "Cao'e Monument" and "Er Xie Ti", as well as the original manuscript of Sima Guang's "Zizhi Tongjian", and Zhang Zeduan's "Map of the Upper River of the Qingming Dynasty". At the same time, it also includes the "Ten Arias" brought by the old man.
Therefore, during that period, this "Ten Yong Tu" has been in Puyi's collection.
Until August 1945, when Japan announced its unconditional surrender, Puyi fled, and before fleeing, he chose some light Jin, Tang, Song, and Yuan calligraphy paintings and jewelry and jade to take away. As a result, the remaining national treasures in the small white building began to disperse in large quantities, many of which were robbed by guards and eunuchs. The elder of the old man surnamed Li had once served as Puyi's bodyguard, so he had the opportunity to take advantage of the chaos to obtain Zhang Xian's "Ten Yong Tu".
Since the Cultural Relics Bureau could not provide the price requested by the old man, in 1995, the old man approached the Beijing Hanhai Auction Company and prepared to auction off the "Ten YongTu".
In the face of this painting, the Palace Museum is determined to win. After fierce bidding, the hammer was finally dropped for 18 million yuan, plus a 10% commission, and the work was auctioned for 19.8 million yuan!
Now that I think about it, if the Cultural Relics Bureau was willing to pay 8 million yuan to buy it, the Palace Museum would not have to spend tens of millions more to bid.
What do you think about that?
References: "Preferential Conditions for Clearing the House", "The First Half of My Life"