There is a saying in the folklore called "prosperous antiques, chaotic gold", although it is about the wisdom of financial investment, but from the literal meaning, there is also a certain truth. Of course, there are still cultural relics dealers who make a fortune from antiques, such as Lu Qinzhai, who smuggled one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of Chinese art, "Zhaoling Liujun", out of the country, causing the national treasure to be lost in a foreign land and unable to return.
In recent decades, the protection of cultural relics has been paid more and more attention by the state, although there are still people who secretly steal tombs and sell cultural relics privately, but once discovered, they will be punished without exception. China's "Cultural Relics Protection Law" has long stipulated that the ownership of cultural relics unearthed in China belongs to the state, and while the public's legal awareness has increased, there are more and more selfless donors after accidentally discovering cultural relics.
He Gang is an ordinary villager in Shangshui County, Zhoukou City, Henan Province, only has a primary school education, and does not know how to identify cultural relics, but he accidentally found a lot of cultural relics in his home, so he formed a fate with the Forbidden City. In 1985, the 22-year-old He Gang pondered making money by grinding tofu, digging his own foundation at home to prepare a stone mill, who knew that the pit was digging deeper and deeper, and a large vat that looked very old suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.
There are many old utensils hidden in the large vat, oval plates, cups that look like half a melon, and silver boats, etc., there are always 19 pieces. Although looking old, but to touch it feels exquisitely crafted, He Gang feels that he has dug up the treasure, which may be the treasure hidden by the big family in ancient times! Rubbing his hands and thinking for half a day, he didn't know what to do with these things, so he had to quietly go to Liu Hongen, deputy secretary of the village branch.
The two got together to discuss for half a day, and finally decided that the cultural relics could not be sold and should be handed over to the state. But how to make it is also a problem, they know that they can go to the Palace Museum in Beijing, but there is no one they know in the Forbidden City. Fortunately, there was still a director of a food company named Yu Donghan in the village who had been a soldier, and he knew the comrades-in-arms guard of the Palace Museum, and the three of them took a few cultural relics together and took the train to Beijing.
Because of the fear of thieves, the three of them did not dare to sleep on the train, and they were already sleepy in Beijing. He Gang met the cultural relics experts of the Forbidden City for the first time, very shy, almost all of which were Liu Hongen talking about the causes and consequences. Experts found through appraisal that the cultural relics brought by He Gang are all Yuan Dynasty silverware, and the Yuan Dynasty silverware collected by the Forbidden City is originally small, and He Gang's donation is undoubtedly a big surprise. Knowing that He Gang still had the remaining silverware in his home, the expert told him to bring them all to see.
In this way, He Gang sent the 19 pieces of silverware he found in the cylinder to the Forbidden City, along with the large cylinder, so he received a reward of 8,000 yuan from the Forbidden City, plus 1,000 yuan for the road. He Gang's family is not rich, and he even borrowed money to buy a ticket to take the train to Beijing, but He Gang still believes that he has done the right thing, and he is happy to go home, but he did not expect to meet a bunch of cultural relics dealers.
These people did not believe that He Gang really handed over all the cultural relics, always felt that he had hidden secrets, and even carried a sack of money to buy cultural relics. He Gang explained countless times that those people had to give up hope and leave sadly. In the days that followed, He Gang traveled to work in various places, but because his wife and father were ill, He Gang found the Forbidden City twice, hoping to get help.
According to the villagers' recollections, He Gang was very upset at that time and felt embarrassed to reach out for money again. But the Forbidden City still remembered He Gang's name and gave 100,000 yuan of relief money, although He Gang's wife died of uremia, his father still relied on this money to support him for more than ten years.
In 2017, He Gang died unexpectedly while working at the construction site, and the Forbidden City specially held a memorial service for him, and He Gang's name will forever remain on the "Jingren List" set up by the Palace Museum for donors. Perhaps many people will feel that He Gang has suffered a loss, and if the cultural relics are sold at a high price, he does not need to find help. But there are always some people in this world who do not put money first, compared with the aforementioned Lu Qinzhai, Although He Gang is a small person, his noble qualities are amazing.