As a country with a history of more than 2,000 years of feudal period, "dragon robe" may be the highest fantasy of Chinese about "clothing".
However, the dragon robe is the emperor's clothing, even in modern times, we ordinary people can only take a look at the museum at most, and it is difficult to understand its details, naturally many people believe that the dragon robe is embroidered on behalf of the dragon power.
In fact, although there are dragon robes in all dynasties, but its details are constantly changing, in addition to the core of the "dragon", from the color, quantity, form and even the material of the clothes, embroidery, etc., are extremely particular, in a word: everything is the details.
As a symbol of imperial power, the dragon robe naturally has a very strict control in the feudal period, and if it is slightly implicated, it will be labeled as a "rebellion", therefore, there are very few dragon robes that can be handed down, and now the dragon robes that everyone sees in the museum are basically based on the dragon robes of the Qing Dynasty closest to us.
So, in 2010, when an old man took a dragon robe to participate in a treasure appreciation show, it attracted great attention for a while.
1. A dragon robe worth 500 million
I don't know when the treasure appreciation program has been a smash hit on CCTV and major local stations with its professionalism, knowledge and suspense. From "The World Collection" to "A Hammer Finale" to "The Great Treasure Inspector", not only has high ratings, but also attracts countless folk treasure collectors to bring their own collections to the show for on-site identification.
In 2010, a treasure appreciation program ushered in such an old man, for the effect of the program, before he brought the treasure to the stage, not only the on-site experts, but even the host did not know what he brought.
The audience only saw the old man personally carrying a large frame covered by a red cloth and a certain thickness, which was obviously not the most common porcelain, jade or calligraphy and painting.
The host first introduced the identity of the old man, it turned out that he was an overseas Chinese in the UK, who had lived in the UK with his parents for many years, and now he was old and wanted to return to his roots, so he decided to move back to China with his family.
Some of his assets are a large collection of cultural relics, some of which are of special significance, and he plans to donate them to the National Museum, but before that, he hopes to do an appraisal on the treasure appreciation program.
The reason why this show was chosen is because of its peculiarity - when a fake is identified, it will be required to be destroyed on the spot. Since the start of the broadcast, many imitations and counterfeits have been destroyed at the show site, so the popularity is very high and the authority is also very strong.
The host finally introduced: It is said that this collection is handed down by the ancestors of the old gentleman, and has always been regarded as a treasure, never easy to show people, and today the old gentleman brought it is to let the experts make an authoritative appraisal, and then donate it to the country. Now, even I don't know what this collection is, so I'll ask the old gentleman to reveal it for you.
The host's introduction has long aroused the curiosity of the audience, and there are many discussions, and even the treasure experts are guessing what is in the big box.
And the old gentleman was not ambiguous, and directly tore off the red cloth covering the big frame, only to see that in the frame protected by glass, there was a black robe, which was embroidered with several five-clawed golden dragons, and was also embellished with auspicious clouds, peonies and other treasures, which looked extremely luxurious.
Immediately afterwards, I heard the old man say: This is the third generation of my ancestors, to me this is the fourth generation, according to my father, he found someone abroad to appraisal, can be sold for 500 million yuan, but he did not sell.
The old man's words caused an uproar at the scene, that is, shocked by the collection that had never appeared on this show - the dragon robe, and shocked by its value - 500 million yuan.
The host quickly reacted from his surprise, and also guided with great interest: The old man brought such a precious collection, if it is true, it is also the honor of our program, and now I will ask all experts to identify this dragon robe.
After speaking, a professional staff member came to the stage and lifted the dragon robe in front of the experts, who checked and identified them in turn.
II. Goods
For the identification of experts, the old man seemed very confident, and he had been very relaxed on the stage to cooperate with the host's interaction, and at this time, several experts were indeed carefully inspecting the dragon robe.
As mentioned earlier, the evolution of the dragon robe has led to obvious differences in the successive dynasties of the mainland, from the color alone, from the black tone of the Qin Dynasty to the later yellow tone, during which there are also red, white and other main colors.
Even in the same dynasty, there are changes in details, some are 9 dragons, some are 12 dragons, and some dragons only have four claws, which is called "python robe", which is worn by dignitaries and nobles, and is essentially different from the "dragon robe" embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon.
And even in the same period, there is more than one style of dragon robe, and the emperor wears different dragon robes on different occasions and when he carries out different activities, mainly from the form of the dragon and the color of the dragon robe.
To identify the authenticity of an antique, experts must first determine a general age, and then combine the characteristics of the age and historical records to check whether there are any loopholes.
In fact, the most taboo in the identification of antiques is to "see the truth", because if it is a forged antique, it will definitely be processed according to the characteristics of the genuine product, if the identification is towards the "real", you can always find a support point, but this will lead to the "fake" place being ignored.
And an antique often only needs one place to be "fake", which is enough to overturn the cornerstone of its existence and see the truth through the confusion.
The experts invited by the program team are very rich in treasure appreciation, and their professional knowledge is even more solid, and they look at this dragon robe, which is judged by the details of embroidery, shape, production process, and decorative patterns.
Seeing that the experts were checking for longer and longer, the audience was a little restless, but the old man on the stage became more and more calm, because he also knew that the reason why the experts took such a long time to identify the dragon robe was because the folk identification of the dragon robe was indeed rare, and the other reason was that the experts had not yet found the "fake" place of the dragon robe.
Finally, just when many viewers began to get impatient, the experts sat back after some exchanges, and also asked the staff to send the dragon robe back to the stage and show it to everyone again.
At this time, the host also spoke in a very timely manner: It seems that the experts on the scene have already had results, and the expert group will be invited to reveal the authenticity of this dragon robe collection!
After saying this, the host glanced at the old man and continued: But before the reveal, we have a routine step, which is to ask the old man to confirm that he participated in the identification of our program, and if it is a fake, it will be destroyed on the spot!
Indeed, the on-site destruction of fakes is the biggest gimmick of this treasure appreciation show, and it has also established a lot of authority for it. And the old man was extremely confident in his ancestral dragon robe, and said without hesitation that there was no problem.
At this time, an expert surnamed Zhang in the audience finally began to explain: this dragon robe is finely made, and the whole shape is indeed similar to the dragon robe of the Qing Dynasty, and its auspicious patterns are mainly peony flowers, which can be inferred from the approximate age of the Daoguang period.
The color of this dragon robe is more special, it is not yellow, it is very dark, but it is not black, but it is a special color, called stone blue.
Although the dragon robe you see on the TV series is basically yellow, in fact, only on major formal occasions, the emperor will wear a yellow dragon robe to show solemnity, and in daily life, there are dragon robes of various colors, mainly depending on the emperor's preference.
Hearing the expert's introduction, the host also praised it very appropriately: Teacher Zhang, what do you mean that the ancestral dragon robe of the old gentleman's family is genuine?
Just when all the audience also thought so, the expert shook his head and said in surprise: It's a pity, my judgment is that this dragon robe is a fake, and I am afraid that it will be destroyed. As soon as these words came out, there was a lot of discussion in the audience, and the old man was also very excited, and said that it was impossible.
However, Expert Zhang then explained: From the point of view of appearance, this dragon robe is indeed very atmospheric, and it is also in line with the characteristics of the Daoguang period, but there are several aspects that make people suspicious.
First of all, the dragon in the middle of the dragon robe of the Qing Dynasty is entrenched in the dragon body, with the head facing outward, with teeth and claws, but in the middle of the dragon robe brought by the old man, it is a dragon with a head and tail down, showing the trend of a rising dragon.
It stands to reason that the emperor is already a true dragon emperor, and he will not need to ascend to the dragon, so this dragon form has not appeared before.
Another area of doubt is the cuffs, which are narrow-mouthed, that is, sleeves. In ancient times, this design was mainly for the convenience of people's work, not to mention the dragon robe worn by the emperor, and even the daily clothing of the nobles was rarely seen. Generally, it only appears in costumes for martial arts or hunting activities.
According to the color of this dragon robe, it is obviously positioned as what the emperor wears during his leisure, and there should be no restrictive design such as a narrow mouth.
Speaking of which, the audience also heard it, although what the experts said was "doubtful", it was actually what the experts considered "fake", so Zhang expert identified that this dragon robe, which was once considered to be worth 500 million, was a fake.
3. The life experience of the old man
As the expert's judgment came out, the audience discussed a lot, but soon everyone's attention turned back to the stage, after all, according to the agreement, the old man needed to destroy the fake on the spot.
But before the host could speak, the old gentleman took the initiative to speak: Hello Mr. Zhang, it can be seen from your analysis that you know the culture of the Qing Dynasty very well, but in the end your judgment is wrong, I can be sure that this dragon robe is real!
Listening to the old man's words, Expert Zhang also smiled and said: I can understand your feelings, after all, it is an item that has been collected by the family for many years, but the identification is objective, and according to my knowledge, it is a fake.
The old man was not in a hurry, and said slowly: The reason why you have this judgment is because you don't know my identity yet.
Now it was the turn of the experts and the audience in the audience to wonder, who is this old man? What does his identity have to do with the authenticity of the dragon robe? And the host asked this question for everyone in a timely manner: May I ask the old man, what is your identity?
The old man replied very solemnly: I am the Aixin Jueluo family after the Manchurian Zhenghuang Banner, and my full name is Aixin Jueluo Keli. In the exclamation of the host and the audience, the old man slowly told the origin of this dragon robe.
It turned out that Aixinjue Luokeli's grandfather was an "imperial merchant", but at this time, the good saying was actually that after living in the Eight Banners in Beijing City, after going through the relationship between the palace and buying eunuchs, he could supply the Forbidden City.
Don't look at the fact that he was born in Zhenghuangqi, and he is from the Aixin Jueluo family, in fact, in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the children of the Eight Banners were basically very depressed, like Aixinjue Luokeli's grandfather, who was able to make a living by reselling, although his face was not good-looking, but his life was more nourishing than others.
Later, a wave of revolution was set off in the land of China, and the Qing court was in chaos, and almost everyone knew that the emperor's reign was short, and his great-grandfather could only find another way.
During that time, many eunuchs and palace maids in the palace would steal some items and sell them to save some money for themselves and leave a way back.
Subsequently, he took his family incognito to do business in other places, and later gradually moved abroad. According to the information told to him by the old man's father, the ancestor bought this dragon robe for six thoughts, after all, he is a royal family, and more importantly, if the family is really difficult one day, he can also sell it as the capital for the future generations to make a comeback.
But maybe his great-grandfather is really a bit of a businessman, and his children and grandchildren are also very competitive, and their family's business is getting bigger and bigger, and their assets are getting more and more, so even if they know that this dragon robe is worth a lot, they don't think about selling it.
And this time when he returned to China, as the old man himself said, since he has returned to his roots, he also hopes to return this dragon robe to its original owner and donate it to the National Museum to become the common wealth of the Chinese people.
This story was told by the old man, which made the people at the scene feel as if there was a piece of history unfolding in front of them, which was moving, and the experts present couldn't help but talk about it.
Fourth, two-level reversal
After the old man finished telling the past of himself and the dragon robe, he quietly looked at the audience, and at this time, another expert picked up the microphone and spoke again in surprise.
He said: Actually, I prefer that this dragon robe is genuine. Of course, this is not because of the story of this Mr. Aixin Jueluo, but because I have seen a similar dragon robe in the fifth "King James Daqing Huidian Map".
"King James Daqing Huidian Map" can be said to be an encyclopedia of the Qing Dynasty, after many revisions, and the fifth part is revised in the Guangxu period, basically including all the things of the Qing Dynasty, of which the seventh letter and the eighth letter are about the crown and clothing.
According to the judgment of experts, the previous questionable dragon pattern is indeed rare, but it is not completely absent, and cannot be used as evidence to deny the authenticity of the dragon robe.
As for the narrow sleeves, it is completely related to the emperor's habits, after all, the dragon robe is for the emperor to wear, especially this kind of dragon robe worn in leisure, there are no strict etiquette requirements, and it can be changed according to the emperor's requirements.
At this time, other experts also spoke, saying that after collective discussion, it was finally determined that this dragon robe was genuine, and it should be a dragon robe that the emperor usually does not use, because there are not too many historical records.
At this time, the emotions of the audience were completely ignited, some of them have participated in many program recordings, and they have never seen two diametrically opposed conclusions appear in an appraisal, which is really eye-opening.
However, in the face of the affirmation of the experts, the old man was still very calm, first opened his mouth to express his gratitude, and then solemnly stated again that he had already decided to donate the dragon robe, as long as the National Museum was willing to accept it, he could arrange it immediately when he went back.
Everyone at the scene, including experts, was moved by the feelings of the old man and applauded him, and some experts said on the spot that they could help the old man contact the museum and promote this good story as soon as possible. This dragon robe, which represents the last feudal dynasty on the mainland, finally returned to its roots with the wanderer after many years of wandering.