Before reading this article, please click "Follow" to facilitate your discussion and sharing. Thank you! Your support is my biggest motivation!
It was just an ordinary koi fish, swimming freely in the pond and carefree. However, no one expected that this koi fish would become the focus of global attention in an instant!
Back in 2019, at a Tokyo auction that attracted much attention from the world, a mysterious buyer's agent Zhong Yingying from Chinese mainland quietly appeared. Her eyes as clear as mineral water are full of incomparable love and persistent pursuit of that koi.
Immediately afterwards, a fierce and long-lasting auction battle was set off on the scene. Zhong Yingying and a well-known Japanese fish farm president launched a fierce competition, the two sides were evenly matched, you fight for me, and the scene once reached a white-hot point. In the end, under the surprised attention of everyone in the audience, this seemingly ordinary koi was auctioned by Zhong Yingying at a staggering high price of 230 million yen. The entire venue immediately fell silent, except for the steady sound of the auctioneer's hammer.
This news instantly swept all corners of the world, causing many people to pay close attention and question. Why was a koi fish able to sell for a high price beyond the sky? Who was the mysterious buyer? This incredible event instantly became the focus of the world.
Digging deeper into the history of this mysterious buyer, we will find that he has spent a lot of money at international auctions on several occasions, and has sold many art treasures at very high prices.
As early as 2015, this mysterious rich man successfully purchased an oil painting called "Nude Girl Lying on the Side" at a sky-high price of 1.084 billion yuan. When he raised the bidding card in his hand, the scene was solemn, and everyone was deeply shocked by his pride and ambition. In the end, this masterpiece by the famous painter Modigliani was acquired without hesitation.
Prior to this, he had also spent 348 million yuan in cash at another auction to include two national treasure-level cultural relics, the "Imperial Embroidery Red Night Mothangka in the Yongle Period of the Ming Dynasty" and the Doucai Chicken Bowl Cup in the Ming Dynasty. At that time, he had a firm gaze, an auction card in hand, and calmly raised the price by millions of dollars in one go, and finally won the first place.
What's even more shocking is that the billionaire's obsession with collectibles is simply jaw-dropping. He has amassed a myriad of precious relics, from rosewood dragon chairs, official kiln vases to Tibetan bronze Buddha statues. Among them, the most eye-catching is that he successfully purchased Wang Xizhi's "Peace Post" at a sky-high price of more than 300 million yuan.
In the face of the confusion of many rich people, he just smiled lightly, and the conceited eyes were enough to show that he didn't care about it. The money he invested was nothing more than a trivial matter in his eyes. This extravagant and heroic style undoubtedly stems from his incomparably strong economic power.
In the process, other wealthy Chinese have followed suit, exhibiting similar "stupid people with more money" behavior, but their motives are different.
Some people just want to satisfy their vanity by spending extravagantly at auctions and bidding frantically on their beloved items. For example, in the shocking Tokyo auction in 2019, Zhong Yingying, a wealthy woman from Taiwan, had a fierce competition with the president of Japan's fish farm for a koi.
The two sides are fighting for each other, and the atmosphere is extremely tense. Zhong Yingying's eyes were resolute and her expression was cold, as if she had a special attachment to that koi. In the end, under the jaw-dropping gaze of everyone, she successfully auctioned the koi fish at a staggering 230 million yen.
When asked why she was so generous, Zhong Yingying smiled and seemed unhurried. She did not say anything outright, but modestly stated that she was only bidding on behalf of an unidentified Chinese mainland buyer.
Others, on the other hand, want to improve their aesthetic literacy and hope to show their value by buying art. For example, Mr. Liu Yiqian, due to the limitations of his educational background, he chose art collection as his pursuit.
However, in the eyes of others, this seemingly ignorant behavior is just another manifestation of "people are stupid and have a lot of money". Although their homes are full of precious calligraphy, painting and antiques, their inner temperament and cultivation have not been substantially improved, which is really sad.
However, instead of winning people's respect, this extravagance has attracted criticism from the international community and left Chinese businessmen with a bad image of "international liarity".
The irony of this happened at an auction in 2009. At that time, a Chinese merchant named Cai Mingchao participated in the auction of two beast heads from the Old Summer Palace.
Let's focus on Cai Mingchao, a brilliant business leader, dressed casually and gracefully, who stands in the midst of a crowd of people who looks so calm and confident. However, when the auctioneer showed the two precious beast heads, his eyes instantly became firm and persistent, as if to tell the world that he was ready to take on the challenge!
Cai Mingchao did not hesitate to raise the auction card in his hand and challenged all the bidders present. After raising prices again and again, round after round of competition, other bidders gradually lost confidence and chose to withdraw, and in the end, only Cai Mingchao was still insisting.
In the end, the two auctioned beast heads of the Old Summer Palace were successfully acquired by Cai Mingchao at a staggering high price of 14 million euros. The scene burst into thunderous applause, and people cheered for the feat of the patriotic businessman.
However, to everyone's surprise, Cai Mingchao announced that he refused to pay this huge auction price. He candidly stated that these cultural relics should be returned to China free of charge, and he would never pay any price for them.
This unexpected decision immediately caused a huge repercussion around the world. Public opinion has accused Cai Mingchao of his unreasonable behavior, and even labeled him as an "international liar".
In order to avoid a diplomatic dispute, the Chinese government has had to make several public statements to distance itself from Mr. Tsai's personal actions.
In the end, the French Pinault family generously purchased the two animal heads in their own name and donated them to the Chinese government free of charge. Although the incident finally came to an end, the negative impact of Cai Mingchao on Chinese businessmen has been deeply imprinted in the hearts of every Chinese people.
At an auction in Tokyo, a Taiwanese tycoon frantically raised the price of an ordinary koi fish and finally sold it for a whopping 230 million yen, while another mainland tycoon spent hundreds of millions of yuan on various art treasures.
These jaw-dropping events have undoubtedly become the talk of the world after dinner.
When Zhong Yingying appeared in front of the camera for an interview, she was wearing a plain cheongsam and had a good demeanor. In the face of the reporters' barrage of questions, she still maintained that calm and elegance, and with a slight smile, all the tension was resolved.
"This mystery buyer is about to enter retirement, and buying this koi fish is a retirement gift for himself. Zhong Yingying explained softly, revealing the tranquility and indifference between her words.
When the journalists present heard this, they all laughed dumbly, and some of them joked: "It turns out that this is a retired old man, and he has such a wonderful idea to even dream!" However, some people expressed disappointment and could not understand this extravagant behavior.
For Mr. Liu, however, his motivation for frequently buying art is clearly more noble. When asked why, he replied calmly with a solemn face: "My educational background is too thin, so I have to use this way to improve my artistic quality." ”
The surrounding reporters looked at each other, and they didn't know how to respond for a while. Seeing this, Liu Yiqian shook his head indifferently, as if he had long been accustomed to this kind of reaction, and then turned away gracefully.
This scene may be a vivid microcosm of the image of China's wealthy overseas. With their vast wealth, they spend a lot of money on the auction floor, and do all kinds of strange things that make people laugh, but they have no regard for the eyes of others.
In stark contrast, ordinary people may have a difficult life, but they have a simple and kind heart, and they can win people's respect more. As the saying goes, "Wealth is on the outside, but it is ruined on the inside", wealth does not fully reflect a person's intrinsic value.
The accumulation of wealth is not the same as the acquisition of dignity, and some of the misdeeds of China's wealthy are becoming a global laughing stock.
In this age of extreme material abundance, money seems to have lost its original weight. Zhong Yingying spent as much as 230 million yen for a fish, and Liu Yiqian paid more than 1 billion yuan for an oil painting, which is undoubtedly a contempt and waste of money.
Cai Mingchao directly refused to pay the 14 million euros for the lot, completely negating the meaning of the transaction. He obviously has deep financial resources, but he has committed such an "international cheating" act, which has attracted condemnation and ridicule around the world.
They often use the purchase of art as an excuse to promote their taste, only to be exposed as an excuse to cover up their hypocrisy. There are countless collections at home, but they have not been able to obtain the slightest inner sublimation, which shows the absurdity and ridiculousness in it.
These wealthy people have a lot of money, but from the perspective of an onlooker, their words and deeds are like funny clowns, which makes people laugh. Look at their profligacy and ignorance of money, their utter disregard for the value of art treasures, and their total disregard for business principles, all of which inexorably reveal their lack of education and low quality.
It is true that money has a great magical power, and can even drive demons and spirits to work for it, but that doesn't mean that we can do whatever we want. Although money is an indispensable element in life, it is undoubtedly insignificant compared to spiritual qualities such as personality charm and inner cultivation. Today, China's tycoons are gradually becoming the laughing stock of the world through their actions, and at the same time, they are gradually losing the respect of the public.