Luo's pawnshop is on the north side of Xiguanxia 9th Road in Guangzhou, on Xilaizheng Street in the west, close to Hualin Temple on the left, and close to Hualin Street on the right. The streets in the vicinity have appeared in the embryonic form during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, which was called the jade workshop in the old days, the sour branch furniture street, the antique street, and now there are jade markets (morning market, night market, ghost market), Hualin Jade Street, Yuansheng antique street, Xiajiu Road Pedestrian Street, etc.

Xiguan is in the center of the city, Xilai Street is a prosperous section, and Luo's pawnshop has three floors totaling 500 square meters. There are two doors on the ground floor, with an area of more than 100 square meters, one is a pawnshop and the other is jewelry. The style grade, the layout is very exquisite, the door head hangs the "five bats and money" old "pawnshop" ancient signboard, the five bats carved by mahogany, surrounded by a copper coin of the "inner circle and outer square", the bat mouth "longevity" word corner, the metaphor is "Fu Lu Shou" three stars, the auspicious star shines, and the fortune is the head. The feng shui fish tank at the door, the beckoning cat at the counter, the fortune tree at the corner of the door, and a bronze gossip mirror at the top of the door.

Jewelry is customized, antiques only receive sharp goods, pawns are boutiques, are all intra-industry transactions, acquaintances introduced, so the store can neither see the glass containers, nor see the wooden lattice shelves, the main hall of a red sandalwood head of the big incense case, in the center of an incense burner, on the left a blue and white roll, inserted chicken feather duster, on the right a red plum bottle, inserted a few dried flowers. Above the case, hang a landscape painting vertical scroll, and a pair of calligraphy on the left and right are lined with it.

On the right hand side of the door, there is a red sandalwood roll-up foot piano table, and a guqin is placed on the table. The piano is three feet three inches long, two inches six inches wide, one inch one high, and pitch black. The shape of the piano resembles a blunt sword with a round head, with a semi-oval headstock on the right, and the two sides of the head obliquely to the left, and at the tail, a slight arc wraps around the circle. The body of the piano is abnormally dignified and heavy, simple and vicissitudes. The qin is a beaded type, with a small snake belly broken lines and a circular pond, which is the position where the guqin is played and the harmony is generated.

Next to the guqin is a rosewood relief flower flat-headed desk, a rosewood circle chair, the four treasures of the desktop study room are indispensable, the jade pen holder of the Ming Dynasty, tens of thousands of pieces, and the inkstone of the Song Dynasty, tens of thousands of pieces. Zhu Zi often carved red sandalwood pen holder, tens of thousands of pieces. Next to the desk is a 1.9-meter-high, 1.2-meter-wide red sandalwood carved bat longevity pattern with several bookcases, and the upper part is a 1.5-meter-high red sandalwood mullioned frame, depicting gold landscape painting bookcase-type multi-treasure grid. Several planes of Duobaoge are scattered, and there are several pairs of appreciation bottles, folk kiln pastel, enamel color, wide color, tens of thousands of large ones, and sandalwood boxes, which are full of high-end jewelry, tens of thousands of pieces.

The left hand is a red sandalwood engraved cloud dragon pattern with a seat and three stuffy household cabinets, the cabinet is equipped with two layers of plates, storing boxed toys, jade, and cylinder-bound calligraphy and paintings. The cabinet door is equipped with copper ornaments, decorated with double dragons playing with pearl patterns, and the tag is decorated with a phoenix pattern, and the rhombic flower is a wish-shaped hinge. The four legs are decorated with copper sleeves and engraved with cloud dragon patterns to protect the legs from moving and injuring the wood. On it are a celadon plate, a black porcelain jar, and a white porcelain bowl. Next to the cabinet is the red sandalwood chess table, and above it is a chessboard, on which are chess jars.

In the middle is a coffee table carved with red sandalwood, and on the left and right are two square stools with red sandalwood tunics. On the coffee table, there are tea sets and coffee cups. From a distance, the rosewood furniture is swarthy, but it is as hard as iron, and when you knock it, it makes a metallic sound.

There are calligraphy and paintings hanging around the wall, the horizontal axis and vertical axis are all the inscriptions and celebrity paintings of the celebrities of the Republic of China, there are Zhang Daqian, Qi Baishi, Yu Youren, Hu Shi, as well as the calligraphy of contemporary Qigong, Li Keran's cow, Qi Baishi's shrimp, Xu Beihong's horse, Huang Zhou's donkey, and several other people.

This is not like the shop of the commercial street, but like the study of the son, or the living room of the rich and noble, or the art exhibition center.

The first floor is the whole hall of red sandalwood furniture, the piano and chess calligraphy and painting are complete, and the second floor is the whole hall of yellow flower plough furniture, which is also the best qin, chess, calligraphy and painting. Laymen block the door, small traders are on the first floor, and big customers go up to the second floor. He Pengcheng is responsible for the daily reception, Mr. Luo is responsible for finalizing, if there is any doubt, Yuan Qiuhua will appear again. Yuan Qiuhua couldn't figure it out, so Xiao Lizi showed his face.

Why are antiques precious? First of all, because of their own value. Antiques are precious because of their rarity and quality of materials and textures, coupled with the exquisite level of craftsmanship, which are difficult for future generations to imitate. For throwing millions of dollars, bidding for antiques, many people do not understand, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, porcelain, copper, gold and stone, can not eat, and can not wear, is a plaything, especially the common people, think that the collection is only a very niche circle, in the playthings are demoralized, to put it bluntly, it is a loser to play, I think that the rich man is the money burned, the son is the loser, it is purely the behavior of the nouveau riche.

In fact, since ancient times, there have been many people who doubt the preciousness of antiques, believing that collecting antiques is the behavior of rich people, and it is the blind impulse of celebrities to be elegant. "Good ancients", it is true that literati, inkmen, politicians, and magnates have this hobby, and it can also be said to be a kind of scholarly atmosphere. Anyway, in all dynasties and dynasties, such a group of people, who have the right and leisure, are all good for this.

Let's take the Qing Dynasty as an example. Although the imperial court is corrupt, the system still exists, and the face still has to be there, and the imperial historians and officials are not dry. Even the princes and ministers who have the power in the world do not dare to keep their private wealth in the silver trumpet, or to buy real estate, and if they are accidentally reported, what should they do? Collect antiques! Although antiques have a price in the industry, they can be priceless to the outside world, and a thousand yuan of things can be given as a gift, and they can also be obtained, and will not attract the attention of social speech, so officials all collect antiques to hide their true financial resources. Moreover, antique dealers at that time also had a variety of roles, such as officialdom, dredging, and liaison functions. The person who sells the official position sends the worthless broken copper and iron to the antique shop, and the person who buys the official immediately buys it for 10,000 yuan, and in this way, there is no trace of accepting bribes and selling official positions.

In ancient times, the promotion and dismissal of officials throughout the country were all controlled in the hands of Beijing's magnates, but at that time, the news was not good, there was no office in Beijing, and officials from other provinces were not allowed to enter Beijing at will, and they were not allowed to accept Beijing officials. At the same time, officials in Beijing are not allowed to gather at will, and it is easy to get into trouble by forming parties and associations, and even drinking and writing poems together are prone to accidents. The central dignitaries are so isolated from the local subordinates, how can they communicate and dredge up? Visiting the antique shops, the vassal elegance is understandable. As a result, the antique shop became a meeting place for officials at leisure. At that time, antique dealers and courtiers were very close, and they knew in detail about the important news of the imperial court and the courtiers' preferences and taboos. Officials from other provinces often entrust antique dealers to handle the entertainment affairs of their capital, and antiques have always been the hard currency to maintain relationships.

In addition to this, antiques also have the function of pawning. In the past, after officials from other provinces made a fortune, they often brought a lot of money to Beijing to seek promotion, but so much money could not be placed in the silver number, which would be targeted by the imperial history, so it was stored in an antique shop to support it. Officials are very face-conscious, when the daily expenses are occasionally not enough, pawning the family property is not dignified, and will leave people with the impression of the decline of the family, deeply ashamed, they use antiques as collateral, claiming that they are tired of playing, because they want to buy another antique, the price is very high, and there is still a difference of 1,000 yuan, so this antique please sell on behalf of you, first borrow 1,000 silver, this method of misappropriating money does not show the poor face, it is indeed clever.

Collecting artworks symbolizes a person's cultural taste and social status, and is a passport to enter a high-level cultural circle. The art itself can not only be turned into wealth, but also can be invested, and it is very easy to pledge and borrow money from a bank or firm, or on credit. Cultural relics and artworks can not only be pleasing to the eye and dialogue with the soul, but also have historical, cultural and academic inheritance value, and at the same time embody the value orientation of traditional cultural concepts. The monopoly and monopoly of art has increased the value of artworks, especially high-end and scarce art products, and with the increase in income and inflation, the demand will become greater and greater, and its price will become higher and higher. In the face of the art consumer market, who has chosen art collection now, in the future, the richest will also be these people who understand art.

Antique calligraphy and paintings, jewelry and jade, as collateral to borrow money from banks, as early as the establishment of banks, has been a common practice. Out of recognition of spiritual and cultural values, the institution also cherishes talents and cultivates talents through collection, investment, sponsorship, exhibitions, etc., and carries out the "collection" of human resources, and strives to support the development of art finance. Of course, in addition to appreciating the talents of young calligraphers and painters, they are also closely related to the artistic accomplishment and hobbies of the bankers, and their collection and public welfare often go hand in hand.

Antique dealers need to have a comprehensive understanding of literature and art from ancient times to the present, whether it is a work of art or an artist. Whether it is bought or sold, or appraised, many goods do not often appear in museums and book galleries, and the number of artworks handled is not at all in the same order of magnitude. If a book gallery usually has dozens of works, a museum usually has a permanent collection of thousands of pieces, and the number of goods that antique dealers trade in and out every year is thousands. Usually, you need to do market research, understand the ups and downs, and conduct a preliminary valuation of each item you get started, so you must have a lot of contact with artworks, artists, exhibitions, and art fairs to gain a variety of experiences. Not only do you have a strong network of people who know a lot of artists, collectors, and other industry insiders, but you also need to improve your problem-solving skills and respond to inquiries about various relationships between collectors, artists, and curators.

People are divided into groups, different levels, if you don't understand, you don't understand, the road is facing the sky, and each goes half of it.

As soon as the door was opened, a person rushed in from outside the door, burrowed under the desk, and hid.

An old man chased after him. In his early fifties, he was unkempt, his hair was messy, his beard was scruffy, and he looked like an honest old peasant. He was wearing a thick military cotton jacket (relief clothes for poor households), which was torn in many places, his big trousers were still curled, a pair of tattered mille-feuille shoes, a five-piece soft red double happiness in the corner of his mouth, and the two fingers of his left hand were sallow and soothing.

He Pengcheng said: Contemptible He Penghe, what can help you?

The old man sat on the ground, his face was like ashes, his eyes were slanted, his eyes were miserable, angry, unwilling, and desperate, his thick and convex lips were black and thick, and his lips kept trembling, but he couldn't speak, and he looked very terrifying.

He Pengcheng poured a cup of tea and handed it over. The old man took a sip and said, "I'm tired, give me another drink, okay?"

After drinking three cups in a row, he relieved himself and smiled bitterly, and the old man said: The old man had blood luck today, rushed to the morning market, met the evil woman, snatched the old man's ancestral painting, and tore the old man's padded jacket.

He Pengcheng asked: Is there such a thing? Ancestral heirloom, what kind of painting?

The old man said: Tang Bohu's "Tang Lady Picture".

He Pengcheng said: Hundreds of thousands of paintings, rob them, this is worth paying back! Call the police!

The old man said: "Hou Shengzi, you lock the door of the store, come with me! I am an old man in the countryside, I am afraid that I will not be able to tell!"

He Pengcheng called Mr. Luo, saying that there was a theft in the store and asked him to call the police.

Hiding under the table, they rushed out: Tell nonsense! Frame the old lady! This painting was painted by my son! You two are talking nonsense!

He Pengcheng said: Who is your son?

The old man said: Tang Bohu is your son?

The old woman said: My son is Lan Xinyan, a professor at CUHK, and every painting will be sold for 1 million! Tang Bohu can't compare, and he doesn't deserve to lift shoes.

He Pengcheng said: In my store, there are a lot of calligraphy and paintings. It doesn't matter which painting it is? Can you show me it?

On the table of the painting stall, He Pengcheng took a magnifying glass and looked at it carefully. Identification of calligraphy and painting, one look at the paper, then look at the stamp, and then look at the content, then you know everything.

Seeing Yuan Qiuhua's collection seal, He Pengcheng called her: Sister Hua, your stolen, Zhang Daqian's painting, someone accidentally hit it and sent it back to you.

When Lan Mu heard this, the situation was wrong, and she wanted to slip away. Two big men guarding the door, how could she succeed?

Mr. Luo arrived first, and Yuan Qiuhua also arrived later. There is a collection seal of Yuan Qiuhua on the painting, and Lan Mu has nothing to say, admitting that she stole it from Lan Xinyan's studio, she lost money in gambling and wanted to sell it to pay off her debts. She didn't know which Tang Bohu was, and she didn't know which Zhang Daqian was, thinking that it was painted by her son. This painting of Zhang Daqian imitating Tang Bohu was lent by Yuan Qiuhua to Lan Xinyan for viewing.

Lan Xinyan was notified and came to bring her mother back.

From the beginning, Lan Xinyan said that the painting was missing, and Yuan Qiuhua suspected that Lan Mu stole it, but no evidence was found. Xuanwu disguised himself as an old man in the countryside to spy on Blue Mother. This morning, I followed Lan Mu to the ghost market, and when I looked at the painting, I recognized her, led her to the pawn shop, and closed the door to catch the stolen goods.

THE LENGTH OF THE PAINTING IS ABOUT 120CM AND ABOUT 63CM WIDE. Mr. Luo took a closer look: it's not like an imitation painting, it's a real handiwork!

The heavy makeup of women in the Tang Dynasty was generally one application of lead powder, two rouge, three eyebrows, four appliques, five dots, six oblique red, and seven lip grease. Huadian is a kind of forehead ornament, and its rich colors are determined by the materials used to make it, such as gold leaf for gold, black light paper for black color, etc., with different patterns, the more common ones are plum blossoms, orchids, etc. The oblique red is the side of the woman's temple, with a red crescent-shaped decoration, which is brilliant and bizarre. If you want to draw a picture of a lady in the Tang Dynasty, these makeup looks are indispensable.

Unlike hairpins, hairpins are used to tie hair, while hairpins are directly inserted into the bun to decorate. It is usually made of gold, silver, pearls, and precious stones, and looks like a flower. One is to have a small handle at the back and insert it into the bun like a hairpin, and the other is to leave a small hole around the center of the flower or petals, and use a hairpin or hair pin to thread it and fix it on the bun.

Tang Bohu painted figures and was accustomed to using the "three whites" method. In Chinese painting, lead powder and clam powder can be used as a base for the figure, but the clam powder is more transparent in color, and the coverage is not as strong as the lead powder. Zhang Daqian's imitation of the painting was seen through, and the problem was here.

Lead powder is the product of ancient chemical industry, legend has it that it was brought back by Zhang Qian's envoy to the Western Regions, the lead was melted and rolled into a lead cylinder, sealed in the barrel with vinegar, and the "hoarfrost" could be scraped out after seven days. With a pound of hoarfrost, mix four taels of clam powder to form lead powder. Clam powder is available in Chinese medicine stores. However, lead powder also has a major disadvantage, that is, once it is wet, it will turn black and discolored. When the lead powder is old, it will be anti-lead, the picture will turn black, wash it with hydrogen peroxide, and it can be reversed white.

Mr. Luo said: Look here, there is a seal, and there are eight big characters on it: the first merry genius in the south of the Yangtze River. Look here, there is also a "Tang White Tiger" seal.

Tang Bohu is one of the four great talents in Jiangnan in the Ming Dynasty, a talented man among talents, and an unlucky one among unlucky eggs. He carved the other white tiger mark, which is self-doubt, "Am I really the reincarnation of the White Tiger Star?" Life treats me like a play, and I also play life, "I only sit in front of the flowers when I wake up, and I go to sleep under the flowers when I get drunk." Life is bohemian, but painting is serious. Tang Yin's paintings, you can look left and right, up and down, get closer, zoom in, and see a trace of arrogance when you see his old age when you were a teenager? You can't see a trace of scribbling and casualness! In Tang Yin's body, there are two people, one strict and the other crazy, who often pinch each other. One said, "People laugh at me for being crazy, I laugh at others for not being able to see through it," and the other says, "Even so, I'm crazy enough for two days," and I can't reconcile for the rest of my life.

In addition to his poetry and songs, his calligraphy and paintings are also very famous, and his imitation of the calligraphy and paintings of the Tang Dynasty is also very valuable today. In particular, one of his genuine works once sold for a high price of 590 million US dollars overseas, which means that it is converted into 2.6 billion yuan. It can be seen how valuable Tang Bohu's calligraphy and paintings are, which also set a world auction record for calligraphy and painting.

Mr. Luo said: "Tang Dynasty Ladies" is full of color, and the "three white methods" are used to dye the faces of ladies, highlighting the strong application of women. The clothing pattern is drawn with fine and smooth iron lines, and the clothing is applied with strong colors, which looks gorgeous.

Yuan Qiuhua looked very excited, and his hands trembled a little. Although his hands were trembling, he insisted that this was not a true work of Tang Bohu: calligraphy and painting tested people's eyesight, intelligence, and knowledge level. Forgive me for being clumsy, sir. I'm not sure about this.

He Pengcheng said: Well, the heat is hot, yin and yang are out of balance, drink more ginger soup to cool down the fire.

Yuan Qiuhua said: What do you mean?

He Pengcheng laughed: Poverty limits imagination, rich people only have fun with rich people.

Xuanwu said: Find a boyfriend, lean on it.

Mr. Luo's hands were also shaking, and he felt that he needed to change to a high-powered magnifying glass and observe further. The question of whether it is true or false must be determined. First of all, for this work, if it is not the authentic work of Tang Bohu, if it is an imitation from Zhang Daqian, it is also a genuine work, and it is also very valuable, or even more valuable.

He Pengcheng was puzzled: This is a fake painting, not the real thing, and it can be more valuable than the real thing?

Mr. Luo explained: Although it is not Tang Bohu's genuine work, the imitation painting from Zhang Daqian's hand is because the price of Zhang Daqian's painting is originally higher than that of Tang Bohu.

Yuan Qiuhua said: The value of this painting, no matter which author it is, is very valuable.

He Pengcheng smiled: You can't buy a loss, you can't be fooled!

Mr. Luo said: Zhang Daqian's paintings, the number is large, Tang Bohu's paintings, there are few survivals, rare things are expensive, Tang Bohu's paintings are more collectible!

Zhang Daqian is evaluated by others, he is Sun Monkey. Pluck a hair down, if you want to become Tang Bohu, you will become Tang Bohu, if you want to become the Eight Greats, if you want to become Qiu Ying, you will become Qiu Ying, and if you want to become Tang Yin, you will become Tang Yin.

This is a bit exaggerated, but in fact, Zhang Daqian is even more powerful than this. Zhang Xueliang bought a lot of paintings by Tang Bohu and Shi Tao, most of which were imitations of Zhang Daqian's paintings. The big collector Wu Hufan was also deceived by Zhang Daqian and took medicine. Even the master Huang Binhong has been tricked by Zhang Daqian, and he actually used his treasured Shi Tao's authentic handiwork to exchange for a fake Shi Tao album and came back.

Yuan Qiuhua said: Lan Shao, will it be Zhang Daqian's second?

Mr. Luo said: The rich are supported by the poor, and if the poor are raised, the poor will be rich, and the poor will be defeated! Don't you still understand this principle?

He Pengcheng said: God helps, self-helpers. If you want to die, no one can stop you.

Xuanwu looked at Duobaoge's porcelain and sighed: Xianfeng, Tongzhi, Guangxu, Xuantong, the dishes of these dynasties, in the Liulichang antique store in the Republic of China, you buy a small bowl of the Ming Dynasty, or Kangxi's general jar, and the boss will give you one or two dishes from these four dynasties as a match.

Mr. Luo said: Before the reform and opening up, in order to exchange for foreign exchange, in the state-run cultural relics store, the porcelain of the Kang Yongqian and the three dynasties was sold openly, and there was not a single fake, all of which were genuine. A Kangxi blue and white plate costs forty yuan.

Yuan Qiuhua said: Pick up the leaks! Leave it until now, and make millions of dollars!

Xuanwu said: At that time, only takeaway was accepted, and only foreign exchange was accepted, so each piece was a real official kiln boutique, without the slightest damage. All the things after Qianlong, unless they are the best of the best, can be placed in the corner and waiting for the blind cat to catch them, and the others are not eligible to enter the store.

Mr. Luo said: The genuine products of the three dynasties of the Qing Dynasty are all placed in the cultural relics store to exchange foreign currency. All of them are genuine, with dozens of pieces of mutton fat jade, imperial green, big red robe, and old sky yellow.

He Pengcheng said: Twenty years ago, you couldn't imagine what it was like today, and now we can't imagine what society will be like in 20 years.

Xuanwu said: After the three generations of the Qing Dynasty, Jiaqing, Daoguang, Tongzhi, those things, bought for a few dollars, are still high-quality products. Blue and white, pastel and enamel bottles, Jiajing Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, those small bowls and cups, can be seen everywhere, and even you can meet the blue and white large plates of the Xuande period, more than a dozen pieces.

Mr. Luo said: Twenty years later, the grass on the graves of the old men has grown.