From Marco Polo onwards, Westerners began to imagine the rich Eastern empire rich in silk, spices and porcelain, and one of them was particularly fascinated by porcelain, and was born in the 17th century by King Augustus II of Poland, also known as the "Mighty King".

Robin said: "I think it is necessary to introduce the story of this 'powerful king', a crazy obsessive collector of Chinese porcelain like him, is still very representative, and I want to introduce it to you." ”

The Zwinger Palace in Dresden, Germany is currently the largest porcelain museum in Europe, which now has a collection of more than 42,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain in the past dynasties, including more than 24,100 pieces of Chinese export porcelain in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and most of the porcelain in the museum comes from the royal collection of Augustus II and III.

When Robin took everyone to visit, Qu Lihua and Meng Wenjie were shocked.

"As a famous Chinese, our generation of young people still don't know much about Chinese porcelain, thinking that it is only blue and white porcelain famous, but I didn't expect that there are also Chinese porcelain of all ages, each era of porcelain has different characteristics, and the production process is constantly improving. Meng Wenjie said.

Qu Lihua nodded, "Yes, I don't know much about porcelain, but I've heard that Jingdezhen's blue and white porcelain is very famous, and I still don't see much porcelain in Chinese dynasties!"

Head Xia Yuxiang was also shocked, he sighed: "When I came to Germany, there were so many Chinese porcelain collections in the royal collection, which shows that these two kings were full of yearning for the mysterious and rich Orient, and they hoped to express their desires and dreams for the mysterious Orient by collecting commodities with representative Orientals." ”

"How did they collect so much Chinese porcelain?"

Robin smiled, "You must be curious to know, right?

"Augustus II made a deal with Williamham I, exchanging 600 Saxon nylon dragoons for 151 pieces of blue and white porcelain from the Kangxi period. ”

These porcelain pieces were known to the world as the Dragoon Bottle Group, and the Dragoons he sold were later incorporated into the Prussian Army, known as the Porcelain Corps. ”

The porcelain corps continued for centuries until the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-1943, during World War II, when they still wore the coat of arms of Augustus II as Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire, with two swords crossed and the Meissen porcelain hallmark. ”

"Oh, they Europeans name their collections of porcelain after their aesthetics!" Meng Wenjie said.

"Yes!" Robin nodded, "They yearn for the mysterious oriental culture, and they are not very accurate in Chinese, Europeans are still used to thinking with their usual thinking, that is their habit, they see very beautiful, very interesting Chinese porcelain and can't put it down, must collect." ”

On the island of Mali in Lake Tana, East Africa, in an ancient church, a fine Chinese Ming Dynasty blue and white porcelain altar became the national altar of Ethiopia, and it was chosen by the famous Ethiopian king of kings in the late 16th century as his habitat for a hundred years later.

In the late 17th century, King Louis XIV of France made a porcelain statue of him and his wife in Jingdezhen through French merchants, and the king and his wife were dressed in Chinese costumes made of Chinese silk, singing and dancing.

He may have done so because he believed that only Chinese silk, Chinese clothing, and porcelain from Jingdezhen were suitable for his noble temperament as a king and the perfect love of their husband and wife.

"At that time, there were still a lot of Europeans who liked Chinese porcelain, Chinese silk, Chinese goods were really attractive, very exquisitely made, porcelain was also carved with a lot of patterns, exquisite shapes, with oriental beauty, which was lacking in Europe, rare things are expensive, the more no, the more attractive. ”

Peter the Great of Russia once ordered porcelain produced in Jingdezhen, and Queen Mary II of England was also a king who loved Chinese porcelain, and she set up a glass cabinet in her palace to display Chinese porcelain, including Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain, to highlight the majesty and nobility of the palace.

King John of Poland and King Louis XIV of France both had porcelain palaces dedicated to Chinese porcelain, and more than 10,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain are on display in the large kitchen of the Tobkapu Sarai Palace in Istanbul, Turkey.

It can be seen that Chinese porcelain has been welcomed by so many people, Chinese porcelain is very charming, with the oriental charm, the unique culture of the orient, and the delicacy and elegance of the orient are welcomed by more and more people, this is the charm of Chinese goods, it can be seen how great and far-reaching the impact of the Silk Road on Europe at that time was. ”

Robin takes everyone to see a six-piece set of Chinese blue and white porcelain, there is a large teapot around it, and five small teapots, each with different shapes, very delicately made, and the patterns on it echo each other, which is really very beautiful.

"Wow, it's so beautiful, no wonder so many people in Europe like Chinese porcelain, so many years, so well preserved, it's really beautiful!" Qu Lihua exclaimed.

"So many foreign emperors and kings were madly in love with Chinese porcelain, and they rushed to use special palaces to support the blue and white plants that grew on the porcelain walls, so that these blue flowers from China could bloom in the land under their control. ”

"All Europeans who have seen Chinese porcelain will be amazed by the delicacy and elegance of the Chinese, which is diametrically opposed to the recklessness and roughness of Europe in the past, and it is indeed lacking in Europe, so I like it very much, people will appreciate beautiful things, Chinese porcelain is beautifully made, the surface is shiny, the patterns are different, it is indeed beautiful!"

Robin said: "Marco Polo, an Italian who spent 17 years in China, had a great impact on the world with his travelogues, and in his book that swept Europe, he did not hesitate to use the best words to praise China. ”

"Anyone who reads his book will have an infinite yearning for the great powers of the East, and the more mysterious they feel, the more they want to understand that when China's Silk Road, some ancestors brought Chinese goods, such as Chinese silk, Chinese porcelain, Chinese tea, etc., were welcomed. ”

Robin took everyone to visit, and when she saw the prosperous pictures of the year, Qu Lihua was very emotional.

The river is full of ships, and the tonnage and number of ships carrying priceless commodities are astonishing.

"A mile from the sea there was a wharf, which could moor fifteen thousand ships, which were mainly for industry and commerce, and which was rich in silk, and could make all kinds of fabrics of gold thread, and grain was abundant, and domestic animals were everywhere, and birds and beasts were hunted everywhere, and tigers were even more, and beautiful cities were full of silk, and with which silk could be woven of all kinds of colors. ”

"The lake is wide and beautiful, and from a boat not far from the shore, you can not only see the grandeur of the whole city, but also the palaces, temples, temples, gardens, and towering trees that grow at the water's edge. ”

"These scenes of China's prosperity have become the envy and longing of Europeans, full of fantasy and amazement, that Europeans could not imagine before, after Marco Polo went to China, returned to Europe, and depicted a beautiful and rich oriental country to Europeans, this charm, no one can resist!"