In modern history, there are countless controversial figures, and their exploits and twists and turns cannot be explained for a time, and Lu Qinzhai is obviously one of them.
In the French capital of Paris, there is a quaint Red Chamber, which has now been listed as a key protected building by the Paris Municipal Government, in the eyes of the locals, it is also called "China Tower", walking into the Red Chamber, trance is like entering a rich and colorful ancient world, antique picture screens, Wei and Jin style reliefs: In fact, 90 years ago, this was once the largest Chinese antique shop in Europe, and the owner of the Red Chamber was Lu Qinzhai. Some people say that he is a thief of cultural relics, but some people think that he has protected traditional culture.
Lu Qinzhai was born in Huzhou, Zhejiang in 1880, and by the age of 22, Lu Qinzhai had come to Paris to start an antique business with friends, selling Chinese porcelain and calligraphy and paintings to raise funds for the revolution.
Here, Lu Qinzhai learned fluent English and French, and after the success of the Xinhai Revolution, Lu Qinzhai of Kung Fu Cen also founded his own antique shop and established the Lu Wu Antique Company.
At that time, it was a chaotic world, with the turmoil of the domestic situation, many Qing Dynasty nobles, have sold their own treasures, and Lu Qinzhai also took the opportunity to buy, and then sold at a high price in the European market, which became a black history that he could not erase, but on the other hand, this also made domestic cultural relics, famous in the European antiques industry, became a rare collection, as for Lu Qinzhai, transformed into a well-known Chinese antique connoisseur, and will be picky European collectors will be simple decorative porcelain, Guided to a deeper Buddhist art, Lu was, in a sense, an enlightener to the West to understand Chinese antiques.
In 1916, Lu Qinzhai sold the greatest masterpieces in the history of domestic art, the "Salu Zi" and "Fist Hair" in the Zhaoling Liujun, but he made a lot of money, which is also a huge loss for the mainland archaeology community.
In 1908, Lu Qinzhai met Olga, the hostess of a hat shop in Paris, at this time Olga was already an unmarried mother, with a 15-year-old daughter named Rose. Also has another lover.
Olga, who wants to step on two boats, is not willing to give up dating this oriental man who is 4 years younger than himself, and in order to hide his eyes, Olga actually married his daughter Mary to Lu Qinzhai.
Since then, Lu Qinzhai's life has begun to revolve between his 15-year-old wife and 34-year-old mother-in-law, Olga did not have children, but his daughter Rose gave birth to 4 daughters for him, but Lu Qinzhai believed that these daughters were French, did not teach them to say Chinese, and said to the outside world that he had no heirs.
With the outbreak of the War of Resistance, after hearing about the atrocities of the Japanese army, Lu Qinzhai took the initiative to gather overseas Chinese in France, generously donated money, and collected donations for the country, his wife Mary, served as the financial work of the War Orphans Relief Society, providing help and relief to orphans who lost their parents in China, after this, Lu Qinzhai then joined forces with Gu Weijun Lin Yutang and other couples to organize several charity auctions, and all the funds obtained were donated to the Red Cross Society of China... In the Later Red Chamber, Lu Qinzhai also provided a free lunch for Chinese students living on a tight budget.
However, due to various factors, Lu Qinzhai did not have the opportunity to return to his hometown, but chose to die in Switzerland, and his last wish to be buried in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, was not fulfilled. At the age of 78, what do you think about Lu Qinzhai's life?