After receiving an affirmative answer, Qiao Zhenzhen also asked for an E-mail address before leaving, and sent the specific content of the special auction of Hailao porcelain to Qin Fan's mailbox. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

In this era, a home computer with a slightly better configuration starts at more than 10,000 yuan, which is difficult for ordinary families to afford. In addition, many parents think that buying computers is used to play games, and some are not doing their jobs, resulting in the popularity of home computers is far less than that of European and American countries. This made Qin Fan, a traverser who was used to computers, quite uncomfortable.

Qin Fan also took a lot of words to persuade Qin's father and Qin's mother to buy a home computer with the most top-notch configuration in China.

After returning to the room, Qin Fan carefully studied the information of this special auction of Hailao porcelain.

The auction of Hailao porcelain was organized by a well-known large-scale auction company in Xiangjiang, and the Hailao porcelain they auctioned this time was salvaged by an ocean-going salvage company near the waters of Sumatra.

Due to the long-term ban on the sea in the Ming Dynasty, there were not too many shipwrecks salvaged, and the most impressive thing about the navigation of the Ming Dynasty was often Zheng He's voyage to the West.

During the Yongle period, Zheng He, the eunuch of the Three Treasures of the Ming Dynasty, led more than 200 sea ships and 27,000 people to set sail from Liujiagang in Taicang, sailed to the western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean to visit more than 30 countries and regions, and had reached Java, Sumatra, Sulu, Pahang, Siam, Adan and other countries, and the farthest known had reached East Africa and the Red Sea region.

Zheng He's voyage to the West was the largest, most ships, most seafarers, and longest sea voyage in ancient China, more than half a century earlier than the sea voyage of European countries.

According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty", Zheng He had a total of 63 nautical treasure ships, the largest of which was 44 zhang 4 feet long, 18 zhang wide, and had a carrying capacity of 800 tons. Majestic and incomparable, this treasure ship could accommodate thousands of people, making it the largest ship in the world at the time.

The treasure ship has four layers, the 9 masts on the ship can hang 12 sails, the anchor weighs several thousand catties, and it takes 200 people to set sail. Amazingly, the largest treasure ship at that time had a surface area of nearly 7,000 square meters, and it was no problem to ride a horse back and forth on the ship.

However, the Yongle Emperor wanted to build such a huge treasure ship, not entirely depending on the actual load capacity, but to give people a sense of "towering like a hill, floating on the waves", in order to promote the prosperity and strength of the Ming Dynasty. And in order to ensure the creation of a high-quality treasure ship, Ming Chengzu did not hesitate to support the world's thirteen provinces to obtain money and grain.

As for the purpose of Ming Chengzu sending Zheng He to the West, there are different opinions in the historical circles. It is said that Emperor Yongle is to promote the virtue of the Ming Dynasty, and it is recorded in the "Biography of Zheng He in the History of the Ming Dynasty" that "he wants to show off his troops in a foreign land and show that China is rich and strong." One theory is to find Emperor Jianwen, and the other is to outflank the Timurid Empire, sweep Zhang Shicheng's old department, and solve the problem of military demobilization.

Some historians believe that Zheng He's silver consumption during the Yongle period was about 6 million taels, which was equivalent to twice the annual expenditure of the national treasury at that time, and this does not include the cost of shipbuilding.

The average cost of building and repairing a ship is 1,600 taels of silver, and more than 260 ships are needed for each voyage, so the cost of construction and repair alone is hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

Because Zheng He spent a lot of money and grain on his voyage to the West, the treasury was empty. Therefore, since Xuande, the Ming Dynasty began to close the sea and strictly prohibit private merchant ships from going to sea. It was not until after the opening of Longqing that the overseas trade of the Ming Dynasty began to flourish again.

In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, countries began to form the East India Company to trade with China. Since the Europeans could not burn porcelain, they had to ship Chinese porcelain back by sea.

At that time, China's top three commodities were tea, silk and ceramics.

The vast majority of shipwrecks found in Southeast Asian waters today are from after the late Ming Dynasty.

Qin Fan took a look at the porcelain auctioned at this special auction of Hailao porcelain held in Xiangjiang and found that there were some beautifully painted Clark porcelain.

In 1602, the Dutch East India Company intercepted a Portuguese merchant ship, the Clarke, which was loaded with a large amount of blue and white porcelain from China. This kind of porcelain is very special, it is a plate with a polished, thin tire, and a discounted edge. Because the origin is unknown, the Europeans named this porcelain Clark porcelain.

In the mid-80s, at the large-scale auction "Chinese Porcelain Four Hundred Years Late" held in Amsterdam, the auction items were all Chinese porcelain salvaged from shipwrecks from the 16th and 17th centuries, and many of them were beautifully shaped "Clark porcelain", which attracted the attention of the world.

Judging from the lots in this auction alone, this batch of Hailao porcelain is undoubtedly a rare fine porcelain, with great collection value and appreciation space.

However, Qiao Zhenzhen is not the only one who is interested in this batch of Hailao porcelain, there are also many international collectors with strong financial resources. If the Qiao family wants to win this batch of Hailao porcelain, I am afraid it will be very difficult.

Qin Fan is interested in the fact that there are many ocean-going salvage companies in Xiangjiang, and genuine Hailao porcelain with exquisite shapes can often be seen in the antique market.

The reason why Hailao porcelain can be favored by collectors at home and abroad is no more than three reasons.

One is the innate historical background of Hailao porcelain. Second, compared with the official kilns of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the number of Hailao porcelain is much larger, and the price is more close to the people, which can be said to be of good quality and low price. Third, the authenticity rate of porcelain directly from Haidilao is relatively high, which is also the most important point for collectors who are keen to collect Hailao porcelain.

However, Qin Fan knows that with the prosperity of the Hailao porcelain market, all kinds of counterfeiting methods emerge in an endless stream, even if you see the porcelain fished out from the sea with your own eyes, it may be counterfeit, which makes people unable to prevent it.

In the past few days waiting for the pass to go to Xiangjiang, Qin Fan locked himself in his room and consulted a lot of information about Hailao porcelain and the shipwreck, but he never found any clues about the shipwreck.

However, Qin Fan was sure that the shipwreck he saw in that real dream must have come from China in terms of style. And this wreck is very well preserved, if you can find the location of its sinking and salvage the wreck, it is definitely a great fortune.

"It seems that I can only try my luck in Xiangjiang and try to find clues about the wreck."

The earliest Chinese shipwrecks salvaged today were from the Tang Dynasty, and since then, due to the opening of the Maritime Silk Road, shipwrecks carrying Chinese goods have been found during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

It's just that Qin Fan knows little about ocean salvage, only theoretical knowledge, no practical experience, and he has to find professionals for this matter.

Just when he was at a loss, there was good news from Yu Keqing's side, the jade jewelry he entrusted Master Wu to process had been ready.