Chen Zhijun's alternative collection - cigarette boxes
Ichido
I have heard that there is a collector named Chen Zhijun who likes to collect cigarette boxes in Zhuzhou, and his alternative collection has aroused my great interest, and I always want to find an opportunity to visit.
On May 9, 2024, after making an appointment, I and Zhuzhou folk collectors Jiang Shengwu and Dai Lexin took a bus to the gate of the Lusong District Government to gather. At 9 o'clock in the morning, Chen Zhijun drove his car to the agreed place on time and picked us up at his home in the sturdy community.
Chen Zhijun, 65 years old this year, is 1.65 meters tall, wearing a red body blood shirt, radiant and smiling, giving people a feeling of affection and easy-going, and at first glance he is a shrewd and capable person.
The hall on the first floor is the exhibition hall of his collection, and we can't wait to visit it before we have time to rest. On the wall on the right side of the hall, on the left side is Chen Zhijun's favorite motto: "Collect ancient and modern tastes, browse Chinese and foreign boutiques, inherit the flame of civilization, and pass on the classics." And his collection of cigarette case samples and his "collection method: pick, buy, ask, give, exchange." On the right side of the wall, there is an autographed inscription given by the 87-year-old famous wine bottle collector Li Fuqing, "Although it is a small plaything, there is a big world". There are several landscape paintings hanging on the wall in the middle, which look like some years, and if you look closely, it turns out to be the new look of Dazhai in the seventies.
There are many folders on the table, such as "Guangdong, Fujian, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan", "Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai", "Northeast Three Provinces", "Yunnan", "Jiangxi, Anwei, Shandong", "Hubei", "Guangxi, Guizhou", "Shaanxi, Sichuan, Chongqing, Xinjiang, Gansu, Inner Mongolia", "Hunan" 2 copies, "Beijing, Tianjin, Henan, Hebei", "Cigarette Signature Collection" (seal), "Foreign Tobacco" and more than 20 copies are divided by province, and his cigarette box collection samples are placed respectively; Two large cigarette box collection catalogs, divided by hard boxes and soft boxes, with: number, year, month and day, product name, unit price, origin, Tibetan place, specification, color, gift friends and other 9 spaces, recording that he began to collect cigarette boxes in 1983, more than 1,000 cigarette brands and more than 5,000 cigarette boxes collected for more than 40 years. What time? What location? How do I get it? I remember it clearly, and I can see that he is a thoughtful and meticulous person.
During the conversation, Chen Zhijun told me that he was a retired employee of Zhuzhou Department Store Co., Ltd. Originally worked in Zhubai Logistics. Talking about the original intention of collecting cigarette cases, he said that it was in 1983, when a colleague came back from a business trip, he brought back a pack of British-made "LONDON" cigarettes, the cigarette case was golden, the front was marked "LONDON", and the pattern was very exquisite. I thought at the time, it's a pity to lose such a beautiful cigarette case, so it's better to keep it. So after handing out the cigarettes to my friends, I collected this cigarette case, which was also the first cigarette case I collected.
Chen Zhijun said that at work, there are many opportunities for business trips, and it has become a habit for me to go to the street to visit cigarette stalls after work. Sometimes I feel that buying a box of cigarettes is too expensive, so I discuss with the owner of the cigarette stall and ask the owner to sell me the empty cigarette boxes displayed on the counter.
He said, I love to collect cigarette boxes but not smoke, and most of these cigarette boxes are collected by "picking, buying, asking, and exchanging". Whenever I see someone smoking a brand of cigarette that I want to collect, I'll always try to strike up a conversation and get my hands on it. In those years, the emphasis on civilization and hygiene was not as particular as it is now, and the management was not very strict, and on several business trips, I found that there were cigarette boxes on the ground that I had never seen, so I picked up the cigarette boxes on the ground and put them in my pocket, completely ignoring the surprised eyes of passers-by. Now, under his infection, family, relatives, and friends have spontaneously helped him collect cigarette packs.
Chen Zhijun said, "Many small tobacco factories have now mostly stopped production, many cigarette brands have gradually disappeared, these cigarette boxes are also one of the witnesses of history, he hopes to have the opportunity to hold his own cigarette box exhibition in the future, so that the public can also share this achievement, but also hope to make more cigarette box collectors, exchange experience with each other, exchange cigarette boxes."
In the small house to the left of the living room, there are two antique cabinets, which we say can also be used as a collection of cultural relics. The top of the cabinet is filled with many unique wine bottles. Chen Zhijun said that people often say that there is no separation between tobacco and alcohol, and there are people who smoke where they drink, so when I see a beautiful and unique wine bottle, I will also collect it. When I opened the door of this cabinet, it was full of cigarette cases, which had been sorted and numbered.
Chen Zhijun, who is serious in his work, is also meticulous in his collection, he has collected thousands of cigarette boxes, according to the origin, name, shape of cigarettes, etc., to divide the cigarette boxes into good categories, and integrate the booklets, according to the name of the cigarette box is basically divided into five categories: the name of the provincial (municipal) capital, the name of animals, the name of plants, the name of places of interest and historic sites, and the name of famous mountains.
For example, the cigarette packs named after the provincial (municipal) capital are: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Changsha, Nanjing, Nanchang, Hangzhou, Hefei, Shijiazhuang, Lanzhou, Harbin, Shenyang, Chengdu, Chongqing, etc.;
Cigarette boxes named after animals (including the 12 zodiac signs) include: Panda, Golden Rat, Five Ox, Weihu Mountain, Moon Rabbit, Platinum Dragon, Pegasus, Sheep, Golden Monkey, Big Chicken, Famous Dog, Hai Pig, etc.;
The cigarette boxes named after the plant name are: red bean, Xianglian, apple, ancient pine, golden mango, ganoderma lucidum, ginseng, peony, hibiscus, camellia, plum blossom, osmanthus, azalea, etc.;
The cigarette boxes named after the names of scenic spots and historic sites are: Taohuayuan, Nanyue, Dongting Lake, Dishui Cave, Yellow Crane Tower, West Lake, Taihu Lake, Yan'an, Dunhuang, Beidaihe, Gulangyu Island, etc.;
The cigarette boxes named after the famous mountains are: Mount Tai, Lushan, Huangshan, Jiuhua Mountain, Changbai Mountain, Jinggang Mountain, Wutai Mountain, Wuzhi Mountain, Daqing Mountain, etc.
Chen Zhijun also read us a Hunan cigarette oil poem he created: his family lives in Changde and Wulingyuan, and the marshal's name is Furong Wang; Lu Xian is 909 years old, take a walk in Chenzhou, Changsha; often go to Huaihua and Zhangjiajie; Nanyue and Dongting are not bad; The eldest husband is the big brother, and there are many eagles on Xiangling Mountain; Xiaomei, red bean, white peony, phoenix, silver elephant, peach blossom river; White sand, five ridges, acacia birds; Daqing, auspicious luck, a cut plum; There are a lot of cigarettes in Hunan, and smokers have smoked them and said they are good!
Note: The bold characters in the poem are the names of various cigarettes.
Chen Zhijun picked up the cigarette case and introduced to us that the "Five Consecutive Championships" card is to celebrate the five world championships of the Chinese women's volleyball team in 1986, the "Dajili" is to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mao Zedong's birth, the "Golden Hong Kong" is to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, and "Sisi", "Shulian" and "Xintian" are local characteristic cigarettes in Hunan......
Looking through his collection of cigarette cases, it seems that he is reading "Map of China", "Beijing", "Nanjing", "Changsha", "Yellow Crane Tower", "Huangguoshu", "Lushan", "Kuanzhai Alley" and so on. There are also "London brand" cigarettes made in the United Kingdom, "Hai Pig brand" cigarettes in Shandong, and "Longmen" brand cigarettes in Hunan...... Many smokers have never smoked these rare or discontinued cigarette brands, and many people may not have seen them, but they have "reappeared in the rivers and lakes" in the hands of Chen Zhijun.
We picked up a cigarette case, the surface of which had been plasticized, and a note was attached to it, indicating the time, place, and source of collection. "To prevent the cigarette case from deforming, the cigarette case is stuffed with foam. It takes at least 20 to 30 minutes for each cigarette cartridge to be framed. Chen Zhijun said that he has a special tool for framing cigarette cases, and on his workbench, we see paper, pens, rulers, transparent glue, double-sided tape, tool knives, and common stationery. At our request, he demonstrated the whole process of sorting a cigarette box in front of us on the spot, and the technique was mature and sophisticated, and we praised it again and again!
The soft cigarette boxes collected by Chen Zhijun have been bound into a book, and the information has been filled in order, including a few cents a box of cigarettes. And that's not even the cheapest. Chen Zhijun said that in the 70s of the last century, when Zhuzhou held a red and white wedding, the first cigarettes were "Torch Brand" cigarettes, then "Wuling Brand" cigarettes, and then "Chenzhou Brand" or "Changde Brand" cigarettes, these were the best cigarettes at that time, and the guests could use these brands of cigarettes, and the family's economic conditions should be good, "Even so, at that time, each pack of cigarettes was only 2 cents and 8 cents." ”
Nowadays, a pack of "Nanjing brand" cigarettes costs 100 yuan, a pack of "Diamond Hibiscus Ace" cigarettes costs 150 yuan, and a pack of "Panda brand" cigarettes cost more than 1,000 yuan.
Chen Zhijun said that collecting cigarette boxes is a thankless task, which consumes a lot of energy and time, but fortunately, my lover and daughter and son-in-law can understand me and give me strong support and help for a long time.
06:41
03:20
Chen Zhijun's selfie video introduces the collection and the story behind it......
In addition to collecting cigarette cases, Chen Zhijun also collected a lot of red envelopes, such as "Zodiac", "New Year", "Fu Zi", "Kang Zi", "Cai Zi", "Zhu Bai" and so on.
At our request, Chen Zhijun demonstrated the whole process of sorting a cigarette box in front of us at the scene.........
07:06
Thank you Mr. Chen Zhijun for your warm reception and relevant information! Thank you to Mr. Jiang Shengwu and Mr. Dai Lexin for accompanying me! Some of the text in the article is excerpted from the Internet, hereby explained, and thanks to the original author and editor!