The 276th year of the founding of the Ming Dynasty is a rare period of enlightened, open, prosperous and stable dynasty in ancient Chinese history.
The people's life is very rich, and the artworks and handicrafts have reached a very high level for a while.
The wood carving of the Ming Dynasty penetrated into all aspects of the people's lives at that time with differences in various forms and processes. Therefore, with the world's love and collection of ancient cultural relics, more and more cultural relics appear in front of the public.
So in an auction appeared in a Buddha head wood carving caused people to rejoice, it turned out that in the process of testing people found that there were precious banknotes hidden in it, and up to 600 years, even the two collections that treasured this wood carving did not find so why is there a precious paper money in this Ming Dynasty wood carving? Why would anyone hide money in this wood carving?
What exactly is the wood carving hidden money?
When they heard the news, many people were curious about why someone hid money in wood carvings. For a time, many experts and netizens have analyzed this matter,
There is a saying that Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty was too strong in cracking down on corrupt officials and corrupt officials, and he was afraid that the powerful Jinyi Guards at that time would find evidence of his corruption, so he secretly hid the money in the wood carving to prevent it from being discovered.
However, some experts pointed out that this statement is not reliable.
Zhu Yuanzhang was in a mess when the banknotes were issued, and he did not have the energy and time to engage in the "purge" campaign.
Therefore, the original owner certainly did not hide the money because he was afraid of the emperor. In fact, the truth can sometimes be simple. This wood carving is called "Practitioner who has reached the state of Nirvana", and it is not difficult to see from the shape that it is a male collection.
Men secretly hide money in their handlebars, obviously to hide some private money, which is not unusual when you think about it.
Although the status of men in ancient times was very high, from ancient times to the present, Emperor Wen of Sui, Fang Xuanling... Many historical celebrities are also famous for their "strict wife control".
In order to please his wife and the salary that the Shanghai Stock Exchange has, when there is a need for money, he is embarrassed to ask his wife for money, and he will wake up to how important it is to have his own private money.
So this one
The Ming Dynasty's "wife Guan Yan" quietly hid a large amount of paper money in the wood carving, only to have the opportunity to exchange it for silver and silver to facilitate his daily expenses.
But who expected that after returning from a trip one day, his "virtuous wife" gave the wood carving to others, and proudly said that it was a comparison that could be seen, and the husband did not often give the collection of play to others.
But the wood carving with private money hidden, how dare this man frequently expose its figure, how dare the eager feelings for the wood carving be revealed in front of his wife.
The man gritted his steel teeth and did not dare to say that there was private money hidden in it, and he could only eat the loss, which made the secret of wood carving appear in front of us.
For 600 years, two generations of collectors have never discovered the mystery
When the reporter received the news that the wood carving contained paper money and interviewed the first known collector, he said that the wood carving had been in his home since he could remember.
It is said to have been handed down from the ancestors and has a history of more than 600 years. As his family emigrated overseas, wood carving also came to Australia.
However, it was not long before the company was poorly managed at that time, and could only choose to sell some of the collections so that the company could get a smooth turnover, so that this inconspicuous wood carving would fall into the hands of the second collector. The second collector chose to buy this wood carving, but only because he met it, the two did not go through the formal auction channels, after a certain identification as authentic, they traded.
He is also more fond of this wood carving,
When playing, I often lament the ancient Chinese craftsmen
Chi-chi chi chi ingenious
But he has never found that there is another mystery hidden in the wood carving. In 2016, he learned that an overseas auction in Melbourne was about to take place, and after sending the wood carvings to the auction, he discovered the secrets hidden in the wood carvings.
Professional instruments to solve the mystery of hidden money
After receiving the lot, regular auction houses will find professionals to identify their authenticity and appearance assessment.
For this wood carving, the staff did not pay special attention to it. Although the wood carvings of the Yuan Dynasty are relatively precious, they are not rare among the auction items.
But when the instrument scanned a small gap in the bottom of the wood carving, the staff was also a little excited. Because some ancient wood carvings often set up some dark grids or mechanisms, the location is more hidden, exclusively for the owner's collection.
In the past, there were also cases where cloth and paintings were found hidden in some wood carvings and crafts, and the staff did not dare to make a claim and hurriedly called the competent experts. Comprehensive assessment under experts
It is believed that the treasure banknote of the Ming Dynasty is hidden in this wood carving.
The Ming Dynasty Treasure Banknote is the world's most so far banknote
Format
The largest paper money, which is not very much alive, is far higher in value than the wood carving itself.
Moreover, it is hidden in wood carvings
The amount on the silver ticket is "one continuous", which is converted into Ming Dynasty currency, which is equivalent to 28 taels of silver, which is almost equivalent to the salary of a county magistrate for half a year under the living standards of the Ming Dynasty at that time.
Large-denomination Ming dynasty banknotes are more rare,
When the collector learned of this, he smiled and smiled, who could have imagined that there were more precious Ming Dynasty banknotes in this already rare wood carving?
The monetary system of the Ming Dynasty
In the Ming Dynasty, there was the germ of capitalism,
Handicrafts are very developed in the coastal areas, and some families have gradually evolved from workshop-style work to large-scale employment relations.
In this way, more wealth can be accumulated, laying the foundation for the issuance of large-denomination banknotes.
As early as the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a "Jiaozi", with which it could be exchanged for gold and silver, which was the earliest paper money issued in the world. The Ming Dynasty drew on the experience of the previous dynasty and issued The Ming Dynasty Treasure Banknotes, so that the transaction was not limited to gold and silver, so that more convenient paper money entered thousands of households.
At that time, the society was also relatively stable, and the people's lives were relatively rich.
However, due to the central regulations that only new banknotes are collected in taxes, there is a certain depreciation of old banknotes, which has caused the purchasing power of Bao banknotes to continue to decline, and finally had no choice but to withdraw from the historical stage.
summary
Among the precious wood carvings of the Yuan Dynasty, there are also Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes with higher collection value.
For the second collector, it was a "buy."
cabinet
Gift Beads".
This wood carving and the banknotes it contains will cause a huge sensation when auctioned in Melbourne,
Undoubtedly, the world has seen the highly developed handicraft industry and monetary system in ancient China and the wisdom of folk life.
The Ming Dynasty man who hid private money in the wood carving must not have thought of it,
His clever move has left a precious cultural heritage for future generations.