In the 1960s, the general monthly salary was about 30 yuan. However, at that time, prices were very low, families with wage incomes were enviable, and peasants could only be paid according to "work points", and they could not share a few dollars a year.
Rural landscape in the 1950s and 1960s
In 1963, a farmer surnamed Lin in Xisonglan Village, Huang County, Yantai District, Shandong Province, sold some "firewood" that was almost burned, and received 1,800 yuan of "huge money", which caused a sensation in the countryside. For an ordinary peasant family, this is a surprise from heaven. You know, at that time, the cost of building three bungalows was only about 1,000 yuan.
Among the things that Lao Lin sold was a national treasure-level cultural relic. How did he get it? It all started in the '40s.
In 1947, the East China Field Army consolidated the victory in the Shandong battlefield, and the Jiaodong region began to carry out land reform, fighting local tycoons and dividing up the land, and the land of the landlords' old wealth was distributed to the poor people.
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Lao Lin was once a long-term worker in the family of the super rich "Ding Million" in Huang County. The Ding family had already run away. Speaking of the "Ding Million" Ding family, no one knew about it at that time, and its name shocked people at home and abroad. The Ding family, which started a pawnshop, has attached great importance to reading, becoming an official, and also an official and a businessman, and has produced more than 140 officials with more than five pins in the Qing Dynasty. His family's pawnshop and money bank business has reached 11 provinces in the country, with assets of tens of millions of taels of silver, and is recognized as the "richest man in Shandong".
Huang County is now Longkou City. Before the land reform in Jiaodong began, the Ding family, who had hurriedly ran away, left behind a large mansion in Huangxian County, with more than 3,000 houses, and a large number of belongings that were too late to take away, which were divided by the people.
The owners all ran away, and Lin Changgong was forced to "lay off" and return to his hometown. The wife found that he had returned empty-handed and asked, "Everyone else has divided things, why didn't you take anything?" The humble old Lin had no choice but to say, "The owner is very good to me on weekdays, and I'm embarrassed to take his things." The wife said angrily: "You are really stupid, you don't take it, others don't take it like this." ”
Longkou Ding's former residence
Old Lin thought about it too, and went to the Ding family house in Huang County again. But valuable things have long been swept away, and Old Lin turned around and found only two large bundles of old calligraphy and paintings in a courtyard, which may not have been discovered by others, or disdainful of taking them. Old Lin took these things, which was his only gain.
After he went back, he was reprimanded by his wife again: "You can move a piece of furniture at will, even if you take a scoop, it is a bit useful, look at the two bundles you took are broken, when the firewood is burned, it is not good to make it!" Old Lin couldn't make a sound, that calligraphy and painting were framed, and it was indeed not suitable for firewood." Frustrated Old Lin casually threw this thing on the attic.
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Fast forward more than ten years, and Old Lin was about to forget about it. Once, when I was watching the liveliness, he remembered the two bundles of old calligraphy and paintings.
Back in 1963. At that time, Li Jingzhang, one of the heads of the Yantai Regional Museum and an expert on cultural relics, often went to the countryside to collect antiques. Once, Li Jingzhang went to the home of a former Kuomintang officer in HuangXian County to buy calligraphy and paintings, which attracted a crowd of onlookers. Just as Old Lin was also watching the bustle, he remembered the things in his attic. He asked the expert, do you still want this thing, I also have two bundles at home.
Li Jingzhang felt a little strange, how can a peasant's family have calligraphy and paintings. But he went with it. Unexpectedly, he found the treasure in the old Lin family.
Today the Yantai Museum
Old Lin took down the two bundles of dusty calligraphy and paintings, and Li Jingzhang opened them to see, good fellow, there are more than 70 paintings in total. Li Jingzhang, who has a lot of connoisseurship, found that there were many good things in it and was overjoyed. For the sake of safety, he hoped to take the calligraphy and painting back to Yantai for identification, and then pay Lao Lin a reward. Old Lin waved his hand very happily and said, "If the country needs it, just take it away, don't give money, anyway, I have no use keeping it." ”
After these calligraphy and paintings were sent to Yantai for careful appraisal, experts found that 50 of them were more valuable, the most precious of which was the "Ancient Buddha Map" of Jin Nong, the head of the "Eight Monsters of Yangzhou" in the Qing Dynasty. Li Jingzhang was very happy and applied for 1800 yuan of financial funds, which were specially sent to Lao Lin's hands. Old Lin was very touched and said, "I really didn't expect that two bundles of firewood are worth so much money!" Too much to give! ”
Ancient Fotu partial
When the news spread, the villagers were also very moved, believing that the public office was "interesting enough".
Why is that "Ancient Buddha Map" in the Ding family? Originally, in the eleventh year of qing guangxu (1885 AD), Ding Shanbao, the richest man in Weixian county of the Ding family, bought the famous Weifang classical garden Shiwat Garden, which was the former residence of Hu Bangzuo in the Punishment Department during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, and was renamed "Ding Family Garden". The Ancient Buddha Map was originally collected in the Ten Wat Garden, and was later collected by the Ding family in the Huangxian Mansion. In the end, by chance, through the hands of Lao Lin, I arrived at the Yantai Museum.
In the 1960s, Mr. Zhang Boju, a famous connoisseur of cultural relics, saw the "Ancient Buddha Map" at the former Yantai Regional Museum, and his surprise was overflowing with words, and he repeatedly said: "Amazing! Amazing! No.1 in the world! No.1 in the world! It turned out that Zhang Boju had been searching for this rare treasure for more than 40 years, thinking that it had been lost overseas, but he did not expect to be well preserved in Yantai. Zhang Boju said in a loud voice, "Lucky! Lucky! ”
"Ancient Buddha Map" was identified as a national first-class cultural relic by the National Calligraphy and Painting Appraisal Group, and it is forbidden to be exhibited abroad. In 2012, yantai museum selected the "top ten town museum treasures", including this national treasure.
Reference: The Adventures of National Treasures