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Wen 丨 Yujie History Museum
Editor丨Yujie History Museum
On July 5, 2021, a thousand-year-old goldenrod in Guizhou was priced at 250 million yuan.
However, what is strange is that this tree, worth hundreds of millions of yuan, its sapling is only about ten yuan.
If there is such a big profit, why has it never seen anyone willing to plant?
Expensive goldenrod
In 2021, a 4,300-year-old giant tree appeared in Guizhou, estimated by professional institutions at least 250 million yuan, and it cost the owner tens of millions of yuan to maintain and protect the tree alone.
The reason why golden silk nan wood is scarce and expensive is its unique golden grain, which emits a golden glow in the sun, that is, the name "golden silk", in ancient times, golden silk nan wood was only used by the royal family and became a symbol of power.
In the contemporary auction market, Jinsi Nan wood products have repeatedly reached sky-high prices, and at the 2011 Beijing Luxury Goods Exhibition, a gold silk nan wood luohan bed with a price tag of 110 million yuan attracted many attention.
In 2013, a piece of Qianlong Golden Silk Nan wood carved squirrel grape floor cover was auctioned, up to 61 million yuan, and in 2019, a 1300-year-old Golden Silk Nan broken branch in Guizhou was auctioned for 400,000 yuan, which shows people's love for it.
In an ancient house in Jiangxi, more than 70 goldenrod beams and columns were found, the largest of which was 60 centimeters in diameter, 8 meters in length and weighing about 1 ton.
A 1-ton gold silk nan beam and pillar found during the demolition of an old house in Jiangxi is also worth about 30 million.
Experts estimate that the gold silk nan in this house is worth at least 8 billion yuan, and the owner's decision to donate it to the state for protection also confirms the rare status of the golden silk nan.
Most of the goldenrod wood that can be seen on the market today comes from demolished ancient buildings, which are increasingly rare, making its value more expensive, and a goldenrod chair can cost a few dollars.
So, why is goldenrod so expensive?
The reason why goldenrod is precious and expensive
Golden silk nanmu, a kind of the best of nanmu, has been a treasure in ancient Chinese architecture since ancient times, and its high cost comes from its unique practical value and profound cultural connotation.
The wood of the golden silk nan wood is hard and fine, the cut surface is like satin, the light of the caressing is moist and warm, its best thing is that the wood grain gap is fine, shimmering in the light, as if weaving countless gold wires, hence the name "golden silk nan", this unique wood grain is not only beautiful, but also makes it practical.
Golden silk nan wood has strong antiseptic properties, and the imperial tomb made from this can be immortalized for thousands of years, and legend has it that Emperor Lidi of Hanwu once used golden silk nan wood to make coffins, which are still intact.
There is a poem: "Who knows that the coffin nan, ten years is like a day", it is the admiration of its antiseptic effect, which also makes the golden silk nan a necessary funeral material for emperors.
The distinctive feature of goldenrod is that it emits a fresh and unique aroma, which dispels heat when placed in the house, and is said to preserve food even in the hot summer.
Therefore, the boxes and cages made of golden silk nan are very popular and have become the best choice for wealthy people to collect jewelry and cultural play.
Not only that, the wood is fine and hard, the texture is stable and not easy to crack and deform, is an ideal material for making high-end furniture, the literati Yashixi made the wood into desks, beds and other supplies, to show the admiration for the beauty of quaintness and nature.
Regardless of these practical values, goldenrod wood carries a heavy historical and cultural significance.
In traditional Chinese culture, Nanmu symbolizes the character of purity and chastity, and among the many Nanmu, the wood grain of Jinsi Nan is particularly beautiful and dignified, which coincides with the temperament of ancient scholars.
Therefore, goldenrod is often compared to the embodiment of "the virtue of a gentleman", and literati and elegant people compete to use it to make bookcases, musical instruments and other objects to show their noble temperament.
So, what do people like about goldenrod?
The popular goldenrod wood
Golden silk nanmu, since ancient times has won the reputation of "Nan, wood honorable", it is loved by kings and nobles because of its unique aesthetic value, but also carries too many shadows of luxury and greed.
When Ming Chengzu built the Forbidden City in Beijing, he procured a large number of golden silk nan wood, which according to the "History of Ming", was mostly produced in the southwestern mountains, and the transportation process was extremely difficult.
Wood pickers need to go deep into the old forest infested by snakes, tigers and beasts, and then float from the mountain stream to the Yangtze River by hoisting and damming, and go north along the river, which takes two or three years, with countless deaths and injuries, and these well-selected golden silk nan trees eventually become the pillars and beams of the magnificent palace in the capital, illuminating in all directions.
In order to seek golden silk nanmu, Ming Chengzu spared no effort and military strength, in order to ensure the supply of wood, but also set up a special department to purchase golden silk nanmu, so that officials to pay tribute to nanmu as a political achievement, although civilians can also be awarded officials by paying tribute to a small nanmu, but privately holding goldenrod will be severely punished, making it rarer and more valuable than gold.
After entering the Qing Dynasty, Prince Gong's grandeur and extravagance also became part of his crimes, and Hejun built Prince Gong's mansion, using a lot of gold silk wood and gold bricks, which was regarded as trespassing.
It is also rumored that the Qianlong Emperor took a large amount of Ming Ling raw materials back to the palace to build the Shouling Tomb in the name of repairing the Ming Tomb, although it did not actually hammer, but it also reflected the king's desire for golden silk nan wood that was difficult to satisfy.
Fortunately, Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty still had a heart of awe, and in the face of the treasure of the town city Shenmu for a long time, he renovated the temple to show respect.
Seeing that this excessive preference would lead to greed, he relaxed the rules on timber rewards and opened up the southwest to increase timber production, which to some extent resolved the contradiction between supply and demand.
Whether it is an imperial general or a rich and celebrity, they all admire and love the golden silk nanmu, which bears witness to the spiritual pursuit of the Chinese nation and shines with the light of the times.
Today's people's love for golden silk nan wood is not only a continuation of traditional culture, but also a yearning for extraordinary temperament, which comes from its rarity, and has experienced vicissitudes and contains historical imprints.
While we feel the unique charm of golden silk nanmu, we also see the infinite pursuit of a better life by generations of Chinese sons and daughters in the intersection of tradition and modernity.
Unfortunately, today the golden silk nan wood is on the verge of extinction, and since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a large number of logging has made it difficult to find in nature.
So, why don't people plant the much-loved goldenrod in large quantities?
It is difficult to cultivate goldenrod
The value of goldenrod is so high, but few people really want to grow it, and the reason is that growing goldenrod is facing many challenges and difficulties.
The main reason is that the slow growth of goldenrod takes at least 100 years from seed to maturity, which means that to reap the rewards of cultivation, it is necessary to have a rare ultra-long-term vision and patience.
The average person has a limited lifespan and cannot witness the whole process with their own eyes, and if they want to complete it through future generations, the risk is also great, because whether they can be completed depends on the will of God, and they may be in vain.
More demandingly, the golden silk nan wood has extremely high requirements for the growing environment, it prefers a moist, shady environment, and requires a high altitude and fertile soil, which limits its suitable planting areas.
Not only that, but also need to plan a large enough planting space, otherwise the development is limited, which increases the threshold for planting, according to records, the golden silk wood is mainly distributed in the southwest mountains of the mainland in the humid valley or hillside area, such as Chongqing, Guizhou and other places.
Such areas have a humid climate and no severe cold in winter, which is an ideal place for the growth of goldenrod, however, such areas are mostly remote mountainous areas, inconvenient transportation, and also bring certain difficulties to planting.
During the planting period, it is necessary to continuously invest various resources to take care of, including human, material and financial resources, which is costly.
With so much planting input, but no guaranteed return, it undoubtedly reduces planting enthusiasm, according to data, the price of goldenrod is directly related to the density of its gold wire.
Only gold wire accounting for more than 85% can be sold at a high price, but if after long-term care, the final gold wire density does not meet the standard, the grower will waste time and money, this uncertainty is also one of the difficulties of planting.
However, the reason is that many people now abandon the planting of goldenrod because it has been listed as a national second-class protected plant, and there are legal risks in commercial cultivation without supervision, and even if it is successfully planted, it may not have the right to dispose of it independently.
This also increases the difficulty of planting, in the mainland, golden silk nan is an endangered species, and no organization or individual can illegally collect and trade.
Once found illegal, they will face heavy fines, and there have been incidents of illegal harvesting of goldenrod for a long time, and then they have been investigated and dealt with by the relevant departments, which shows the contradiction between its commercial value and protection policy.
Ultra-long timber cycles, harsh growing conditions, high input costs and regulatory policies are all important reasons why goldenrod is not planted on a large scale.
Nowadays, there are several thousand-year-old trees in the mainland, they have grown for a hundred years and are cherished by the country, which shows that it is not easy to successfully cultivate golden silk nan wood, for ordinary people, to plant golden silk nan, full of hardships and risks, the possibility of success is extremely small.
Therefore, people would rather buy ready-made goldenrod wood or products, and it is difficult to make up their minds to grow on a large scale, and the rarity of goldenrod plants is in direct contrast to the harsh conditions of its cultivation, which is an important reason why goldenrod can be regarded as a luxury and a symbol of power.
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