In the Chinese collection world, Ma Weidu is definitely a well-known figure, and for decades, he has found one rare treasure after another with a pair of "wise eyes". In 1996, Ma Weidu established China's first private museum, the Guanfu Museum, and his collection of porcelain, jade, lacquerware, and ancient furniture was worth more than a city? However, the reason why Ma Weidu can have such achievements in the antique industry, in addition to talent, is also inseparable from the guidance of a high person, that person is Wang Shixiang.
Wang Shixiang, born in 1914 in Beijing, a native of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, is a famous collector in China and was once known as the "first player in Beijing". However, the birth of any "genius" is inseparable from the influence of the family and the education of his parents, and Wang Shixiang is no exception. At that time, his father was a full-time diplomatic treaty department, and after every day's busy work, he would go to the antique shop for a walk, and when he encountered a broken orphan book or a worn-out porcelain that looked at the right eye, he would decisively pocket it, and Wang Shixiang, who often walked with him, also unconsciously exercised a good eye.
In addition, his mother was an excellent woman from a noble and thrifty family, and in order to cultivate Wang Shixiang's artistic cells, she not only invited many teachers who taught ancient Chinese, scriptures, history and poetry to give lectures at home, but also supervised her son's learning progress day by day. However, Wang Shixiang was most interested in poetry and song, and he could not learn other disciplines at all. Later, Wang Shixiang went to a school specially opened by Americans for the children of high-ranking cadres, from primary school to high school, Wang Shixiang has been growing up under a Western-style education, not only learned fluent English, but also developed an eclectic nature.
Wang Shixiang once laughed at himself: "I have always been a plaything, a wild karma, an autumn cricket, a winter singing insect, a dog catching a badger, and everyone is happy." In fact, for Wang Shixiang, who grew up in a superior environment, this is not a bad habit, it is human nature to love to play, as long as it can "play the essence", it is not a waste of time. In addition to his love of fun, Wang Shixiang's study is not bad at all, he graduated from the Department of Chinese Literature of Yenching University with a master's degree, and in terms of cultural level, he definitely surpasses most people.
Later, Wang Shixiang gradually found a balance between play and school, and under the influence of his father, he became obsessed with Ming-style furniture and fell in love with collecting. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Wang Shixiang was recruited by the Ministry of Education of the Nationalist Government and became an assistant representative of the Committee for Cleaning Up the Loss of Cultural Relics during the War, and he was responsible for investigating, negotiating, and recovering cultural relics. According to statistics, Wang Shixiang recovered more than 2,000 cultural relics, and after cleaning up, he handed them over to the Palace Museum to avoid the loss and damage of cultural relics.
In fact, before becoming an assistant representative, Wang Shixiang also did something that people talked about. In 1945, someone sold a batch of old goods at Xuanwu Gate in Beiping, and Wang Shixiang quickly rushed to the scene after hearing about it. Not surprisingly, there were indeed valuable treasures in this batch of dilapidated furniture, and Wang Shixiang found the inscription of Qingzong Pudong in a rosewood case, and he immediately realized that this rosewood case was owned by Song Meat.
Song Yu was an upright official, and was once praised by Kangxi as "the first inspector of the world in incorruptibility", and regardless of his identity, the value of this rosewood case alone is extraordinary. Later, after some haggling, Wang Shixiang spent 80 yuan to buy the rosewood case, which, according to his later recollection, was the biggest bargain he had ever picked up in his life. However, Wang Shixiang was not the kind of person who was reluctant to give up the treasure, and he donated the rosewood case to the Shanghai Museum, not as an heirloom of the Wang family.