At the age of 23, Zhao Tailai's aunt who was dependent on him died. Before the tears of grief could be dried, a list of sky-high heritage representing hundreds of millions of dollars allowed him to come to England alone. When he saw the treasures of a cellar, the young man's flesh and blood surged up and he was at a loss.
"If you dare to donate all these things, then we will sever our relationship and no one will recognize you!" This is a story that has been triggered by a collection of more than 60,000 cultural relics for more than 20 years.
What would you do if, one day, you suddenly inherited a huge amount of wealth, and this wealth became more and more valuable? Zhao Tailai made his own choice.
After 20 years of incognito and fear, he despite the opposition of many relatives, he donated the ancient art treasures in his hands, including ancestral treasures.
Was he forced by the situation, or was he always thinking of the motherland with all his blood? Let the Ziya Childlike Character Ji reveal the secret for you.
Bumpy years know big secrets
I don't know how many people know Wu Tingfang, the first doctor of law in China's modern history. In addition to being a famous diplomat in the early days of our country, he was also a lover of cultural relics.
Influenced by the elders, the descendants mostly like to do some collection and collection work. In addition, at that time, the development of the country encountered various problems, how to leave cultural relics in the hands of Chinese was a major concern for many collectors.
Zhao Tailai is the great-grandson of Wu Tingfang. By the generation of his parents, there were already many cultural relics in his hands, which can be said to be a family fortune.
Later, due to the social conditions at that time, they were afraid of getting into trouble, and they hid many treasures from overseas. In order to protect the younger generations in the family, the parents did not tell Zhao Tailai about this matter.
When Zhao Tailai was 15 years old, both of his parents, who were implicated by political factors, died. The boy who was still a minor at the time was picked up by his aunt and taken to live in Hong Kong, China.
Zhao Tailai's aunt never married in her life and gave all her love to her nephew. Send him to the best school and cultivate Zhao Tailai with the method of cultivating the talents of his children in all aspects within the family.
Unfortunately, fate is not good. When the young man was 23 years old, his aunt, who treated him like a parent, was about to come to the end of her life, and she told Zhao Tailai a "secret" that her family has kept so far.
In Britain, across the river, my aunt had a private villa. And the cellar at the bottom of the villa contains treasure. Taking the thin paper in the hands of the relevant personnel with only his own name written on it, it was the voucher for inheriting the British villa, and it was also the beginning of 20 years that made Zhao Tailai's heart jump.
In the spring of 1981, the young man went to England alone, went through the process of receiving the inheritance, got the "treasure map" left by his aunt, and saw countless wooden boxes in the cellar.
Every time one was opened, the treasure inside surprised Zhao Tailai. From the very beginning of the unbearable dry mouth, the heart accelerates, to gradually numbness.
Part of this is the accumulation of great-grandfather Wu Tingfang, who in the early years was afraid of being tied up in a bad hat, so they worked together to transport it abroad.
Later, my aunt bought a house and was transported to the cellar. Another part is from my aunt's own private collection. But there are also some Chinese treasures that have been lost in the past years that my family has painstakingly bought from overseas collectors.
Quietly carry out 10 years of transfer work
Under the influence of the domestic political situation, they did not dare to transport them back to China, and they were unwilling to auction them abroad, so that Chinese cultural logistics fell elsewhere, and these historical bearers were thus sealed in darkness.
Now, these treasures that have been accumulated, loved and treasured by three generations are all owned by Zhao Tailai.
If at the age of 23, you inherited more than 60,000 pieces, at least more than 100 years of jade, ceramics, ancient paintings, famous paintings, etc., and each piece came from a clear way, what is your first reaction?
Zhao Tailai's first feeling was fear, and then the idea of bringing it back to China flashed. Behind the fact that cultural relics deserve to be treasured is the thick history they represent. If you want to make cultural relics visible to the world and dig out the marks of the times they represent, you must take them home.
Perhaps at this time, Zhao Tailai could not have imagined that to transport more than 60,000 treasures back little by little, he would not only have to be careful at all times, so as not to leak the wind and cause the disaster of killing, but also spend decades of time.
With the idea that the fewer people know, the fewer people face danger, Zhao Tailai did not disclose the news to anyone, even his wife.
A little bit of taking out the cultural relics for packaging and covering up, this process Zhao Tailai had to be 100% careful. Different things have different preservation methods, while understanding and learning relevant professional information, while seeking various channels to facilitate access.
It seems that every day he is struggling to survive under fear, and Zhao Tailai's more than ten years of time have not been easy at all.
It was hard to end the days of the two countries, hiding all the cultural relics in his home, and Zhao Tailai did not know what to do. Because of the fear of past memories, the fear of being hurt by knowing that he was carrying treasures, or not being "forgiven", and thus suffering from imprisonment.
In the next few years, Zhao Tailai did not dare to leave home, nor did he dare to reveal a trace of his family history to the outside world. If his family was in danger because of his actions, he could not forgive himself.
In order not to leak the news, he lived in trembling, and even bought back four fierce hounds to guard his home. Over the years, Zhao Tailai has also suffered from self-contradictions.
There was a line in his mind that told him that he could sell something for money, but as soon as this idea came out, there would be a line that could not make the cultural relics unsecured.
In the end, Zhao Tailai was completely wrapped in various thoughts. He once wanted to be like his aunt, so that the treasures that had been hard to see again were buried again. In the end, reason prevailed, and he wanted to fill history and make it credible.
Donating is a burden for oneself
Fortunately, at this time, a journalist friend came to visit, and Zhao Tai came to ask the other party to inquire about the donation of cultural relics. I didn't expect that soon after my friends arrived with relevant personnel, relatives who had not been in contact for a long time also came to the door.
Uncles and aunts, uncles and aunts, cousins and distant relatives, all of whom opposed Zhao Tailai's approach, even threatened: "As long as you dare to donate, we will sever all kinship with you."
The "threat" that caught him off guard made Zhao Tailai feel overwhelmed for a moment. At this time, the only one who stood up for it was his wife. Concealed his wife for 20 years, but finally his wife stood firmly behind her.
As if regaining confidence, Zhao Tailai and his wife eased the emotions of relatives while contacting relevant personnel and museums.
The final result can also be regarded as a good choice, Zhao Tai took the legal process to transfer one or two pieces of collection to each relative, and the rest was handed over to the state.
Anonymized for more than 20 years, zhao Tailai's behavior has made Zhao Tai known to the world. Thousands of national first- and second-class cultural relics, in addition to more than 50,000 collections taken by museums around the world. The total value was assessed at over 800 million.
1 This is a story of an individual who is intimately connected to the country, money and value. Some people think that Zhao Tailai is a fool, since there is no wrong way, why not leave all the collection, even if it is passed on to future generations, it is also the contribution of predecessors.
If you must donate, then why not keep some for yourself, why must you donate all of them?
If people have experienced 20 years of Zhao Tailai transferring and guarding cultural relics, I think everyone will be able to understand his approach. The quality and spirit of Zhao Tailai's donation of all the treasures is very commendable, but after the donation, the burden in his own heart was unloaded, which should be the happiest thing for him personally.
Life is only a short few decades, every day with heavy treasures, fearful to live a lifetime, it is better to donate all of it, not only beneficial to the country, beneficial to the people, promote the unveiling of history, but also live the next life.
A lifetime of being fascinated by money and tying his legs, such a life is probably not what Zhao Tailai wants. But his boldness in donating treasures is truly impressive.
Or the previous question, if overnight, you inherited 60,000 treasures worth 800 million, how would you choose? Everyone is welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss.
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