Post-90s girls don't go to work or rent a house, but they spend a lot of money on second-hand old things

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2024-04-26 16:16Posted in Anhui Life Field Creator

In the liveliest neighborhood in the center of Shanghai,

Wang Zixuan, a post-90s girl, is quiet in the noise,

Living a secluded oriental life in the alleys:

Research Tea Ceremony, Flower Ceremony, Incense Ceremony,

Be accompanied by oriental antiques from all over the world.

She said that she is not a rich second generation and does not buy luxury goods.

But he will spend a lot of money for the antiques he likes.

Her hobby of collecting began while studying abroad in London.

A few years after returning home,

She decided to escape from the life track of her part-time job.

Make a living from your favorite collection of antiques,

Open your own studio and be responsible for your own profits and losses.

In April, one came to Wang Zixuan's studio to visit,

Talk to her about how contemporary people live an oriental life.

Statement: Wang Zixuan

Editor: Ma Shiyun

Editor-in-charge: Chen Ziwen

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Wang Zixuan sipping tea with Grace, a collection consultant

I really like the atmosphere of the alley, but I never considered opening the studio in the Wutong area, which is so lively, and it is close to Anfu Road and Wukang Road.

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Patio Garden

Last year, I found this old house by chance, and what attracted me the most was the broken iron door, which opened with a patio - I later turned it into a garden - at that time I felt that there was a cave, like an ancient poem "There is no sun, moon and sky in the pot", which talks about the quiet and inactive life of Taoism.

I rented it without hesitation. My house is two kilometers away, and it's only a 10 minute bike ride away.

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After entering the entrance, there is the main exhibition space, and the display is regularly adjusted according to the season or theme. In spring, there are many plants with the atmosphere of the mountains

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One of the rooms is more like a personal space, which was restored as Natsume Soseki's study in the previous exhibition

I studied in London, and after I came back to China, I kept thinking: What kind of contemporary Oriental am I? We can't imagine what contemporary Oriental people are like, they wear suits, sneakers, and baseball caps, just like Westerners, except for yellow skin and facial features. I think we can explore how to live an oriental life in the present day.

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Flower arrangement with flowers grown in the patio

My first contact was ikebana, and I went to see exhibitions of Western ikebana and oriental ikebana. The West pays more attention to the sensory experience and pays attention to the abundance of flowers in nature, so the British are also proud of their gardens. Orientals, on the other hand, are more focused and pay more attention to the private spiritual world in ikebana. Looking at one flower at a time, it is as if you want to see yourself in the flower and think about how it sees the world.

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Tea tasting in the tea room

Regarding the tea ceremony, I first liked tea props and used them repeatedly, and then I gradually fell in love with drinking tea. The innermost part of the studio is the tea room, a small world, just like the tea room of the tea ceremony master Chiri Xiu. No matter how rich and powerful you are, you have to focus on tea when you come here.

I will choose different tea props according to different visitors. I have a friend who usually drinks alcohol and only drinks tea when he's with me. In the spring, I would find him a mini goblet decorated with wild flowers. I said, replace wine with tea today, be healthier. Some friends who have been drinking tea for many years, they said that you are young, how to make tea is delicious, I said that I have my own magic.

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A Buddhist shrine with a hood of incense

The incense is new. The small niche in the studio enshrines an inconspicuous but very popular Kannon with a hood, and I usually light incense in this area.

A lot of people would say they like my lifestyle. That's my life, but not my "way". What is now called the "Oriental way of life" is a phenomenon that puzzles me. You have to have a life before you have a way, instead of imitating "Chinese old money dressing" and following the trend to buy things. If you don't live this kind of life yourself, you will be distancing yourself from your true self and misleading.

I'm not a rich second generation, my consumption concept is more extreme: I am a thrifty person in daily life, I ride a bicycle or walk to work every day, I don't spend much on dressing up, I hardly buy luxury goods, I don't feel that there is any need, but for something particularly exciting, I will spend a lot of money.

To enter the antiques industry, you certainly can't go without money, but you don't have to be particularly rich either. The funds in the early stage of opening the studio are my own savings, and my parents sometimes give a little, but only a little support. My experience is that in this industry, the more money you have, the less you can spend, because your aesthetics, cognition, and goals will go up.

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A folding fan of the collection

I started with the earliest collection of a few hundred yuan, mainly in the mode of collecting and raising. An item comes to my space from all over the world, and I send them to the new owner's house. I handled maybe a few thousand fans, and then I collected screens and paintings, and then I extended to other categories.

Unlike traditional antique stores, I don't blindly pursue appreciation when selecting products. I think about how this thing was used in ancient times, so how can we continue to use it in modern times, how can we continue to use it, how can we connect with ancient traditions, and not completely copy it.

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It can be used as a hairpin or chopsticks, and it can also be used for defense

I have a small accessory on my katana that can be used as chopsticks and for melee defense. In ancient times, it was an item associated with warfare. In modern times, we can use it as incense chopsticks or as a hairpin, turning the bloody wind and rain of hundreds of years ago into the current wind and snow.

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Left: Victorian coin bag

Right: Seal cage

I put a Victorian coin pouch on leather and turned it into a sweater chain. In the past, the rich used it to hold change and give tips to the actors in the opera house. Now we can also use it to make sachets and hold small things. I also use the seal cage of the ancients to pack airpods to create some fresh fun.

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Make bookmarks of ancient scriptures

I collected some ancient Chinese scriptures, selected words and phrases that can warn the current generation, and mounted them on vintage tapestry. Its main function is to bookmark, and I will also put it behind the phone case as a talisman, and I often see a warning effect.

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Wang Zixuan is adjusting the antique display

I was born in Tianjin in 1992. Every weekend, my parents would take me to Tianjin's Ancient Culture Street. For a little kid, it's the most fun place in the world. There, my mother bought me my first bonsai toy. I've loved these since I was a child, and they have subtly influenced my later life.

At the age of 12, I returned to my ancestral hometown of Zhejiang and lived in Hangzhou, in the real landscape. I imitated the ancient literati and traveled to the mountains and rivers of Hangzhou.

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A painting by Wang Zixuan

When I was a child, I studied painting and calligraphy, but I chose oil painting as a university major, and I thought Western things were cool. Later, in the process of systematic study, I found that Western art pursues the expression of structure and perspective, while Chinese art pays more attention to rhyme and line, and pays more attention to the inner world of people, and I am still more interested in Eastern traditions and art.

When I first came to study in London, I had a very strong sense of homesickness. In China, there is no doubt that I am Chinese. When I arrived in a country like the UK, which was thousands of miles away, I suddenly felt very lost and did not know who I was. The local students can't tell whether you are Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, and it probably doesn't matter to them.

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Chinese blue and white porcelain was found in museums in the United Kingdom, and the shape is a typical tulip tower flower vessel of the European court, and the pattern is also European people and European plants

When I visited antique shops, second-hand markets and flea markets, it was natural for me to collect something familiar, something from the East. Using them to decorate the room, I feel that I have a home here, and my spirit has a place to rest.

These things are cheap for only 20 or 30 yuan, and the expensive ones are less than 10,000 yuan. Some of them are antiques, while others are Oriental antiques imitated by Westerners, that is, the second-hand impression of the East by Westerners. For example, if you look closely at a piece of blue and white porcelain, you will see that it is painted with Westerners with high noses.

From the perspective of the West, I will find out how great and wonderful China's civilization is as the main cultural body of Asia on the whole earth, and I will feel an inexplicable sense of pride.

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Left: A screen designed and made by Wang Zixuan

Right: In the work "Seeing and Hearing the Wind", when the wind blows, the curtain made of eyelashes will "blink"

I did a lot of work before starting the studio in 2021. After returning to China, I first worked in an art museum, and although I entered the art industry, I had a very big psychological gap. I've been doing repetitive tasks with little mental feedback and no sense of self-worth.

Later, I created artworks and participated in exhibitions, worked as a graphic designer, model, and basically did anything related to art. One day I suddenly realized that no matter what I did, I was more interested in collecting. My father said, "Do whatever you want to do without making money." It was during the pandemic, and I didn't know what the world would become, so I thought, just focus on what you love.

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Wang Zixuan reluctantly came up with a collection, is a pair of boat earrings, she likes the image of the boat, symbolizing the private spiritual world of the Oriental

Making a living as an antique collector is self-responsible, and there is a lot of pressure compared to going to work. But I prefer my current life, to earn back when I lose, and to do more when I make a profit. Importantly, I wanted to convey the oriental aesthetics that I admire.

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Tea hanging

One of the most precious collections for me is a pair of tea hangers, and the price is not particularly high. It reads Bai Juyi's poem "Not warm, not cold, slow wind", and the first half of the sentence should be "Unknown and not dark and hazy moon", which was written by an unknown writer. It can represent a very relaxed state of life, and I want to infect others with this kind of life and rhythm, so that we can live as beautiful as poetry.

I hung it in the tea room to remind myself not to be anxious about doing things. Just like the flower in our garden, as long as it is allowed to live well, it is a matter of time before it blooms, and there is no need to rush.

In the antiques industry for six years, I have also stepped on many pitfalls. I don't think it's a bad thing to take detours, beauty is a kind of sensibility, you have felt both the true and the false, and you will know what you really like.

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Personal opinion, for reference only