"Look, here is the antique AB certificate issued by the Hong Kong Appraisal Association!" Zhai Jianmin took out two notebooks and let Wu Tianyuan read them.

"The so-called B certificate is a 100-year certificate, which means that your thing is more than 100 years old and is an old object!"

"The A certificate is a certificate to determine the specific age, which is recognized by the whole bank, which is our practice in Hong Kong."

The three of them chatted for more than two hours, and Wu Tianyuantong Guò Zhai Jianmin had a deeper understanding of Hong Kong, which was also one of the important purposes of completing the trip.

"I'm going to meet a few friends tomorrow, Lao Zhai, you take your brother around, I won't participate."

After dinner, Wang Dagang explained before returning to the room and let the two of them move on their own. Zhai Jianmin looked at Wu Tianyuan with an expectant look on his face, and said with a smile: "Just tomorrow, I'll take you to meet a few old-timers, Boss Ye of Minqiu Jingshe, you kid has been looking forward to it for a long time, right?" ”

"That is, the main purpose of coming to Hong Kong is to see the real experts!"

Wu Tianyuan said excitedly: "The king of Huanghuali, Ye Chengyao, Tianmin Lou Ge Hong, and the old man Zhang Zongxian who came back the day after tomorrow, the famous Minqiu Jingshe big man. ”

Founded in 1960, Min Qiu Lodge is a group of collectors from Hong Kong who are fascinated by the collection of Chinese artefacts, with unique collections in Chinese paintings, calligraphy and a variety of other cultural relics. Seminars, seminars and exhibitions are often organised in collaboration with different organisations to share members' findings and appreciations.

Founded in 1960, initiated by Hu Renmu, Chen Guangfu and others, the current site is located in Hong Kong Baoyun Building. They began their work with the Analects. The classic exposition of "I am not born to know, but the one who is good at ancient Min and seek" named the collection society "Minqiu Jingshe", and took "studying art and appreciating cultural relics" as the purpose of Minqiu.

Minqiu's members have gathered a group of well-known people who are not only the pillars of society, but also the best collectors. Their collection is not only of high grade but also influential, and can be said to be world-renowned in a certain way.

Such as the calligraphy and painting of Le Zaixuan, Beishan Hall, and Xuanhui Hall; Temporary Building, Tianmin Building, Guan Shanming's ceramics; There is also Xu Zhantang, the collection of Mai Yali; as well as ancient Chinese furniture from the Jade Mountain House and so on.

Friends get together twice a month, Minqiu is well organized, and the conditions for joining the club are very high. When developing new members, a full ticket is required, and not a single "black ball" is allowed. The style of the meeting is very democratic, the affairs of the conference are democratically managed, the chairman serves a two-year term, and at the same time, some mainland cultural and museum experts and famous overseas collectors are hired as honorary members. Although the number of Min Qiu is less than 37 so far, it definitely represents the highest level of collection in Hong Kong.

"Minqiu Jingshe has a very distinctive personal collection, such as the first chairman Hu Renmu's Qing Dynasty official kiln monochrome glaze collection, Dr. Ye Yi's bamboo carving rhino horn carving collection, Luo Guixiang's Yixing ceramic tea set collection, Ye Chengyao's Ming and Qing Dynasty furniture collection, Jiurutang Li Daming's ancient porcelain collection, Tianminlou Ge Shiqiao's father and son's Ming and Qing Dynasty official kiln porcelain collection, Xu Zhantang's porcelain collection, etc."

Zhai Jianmin exclaimed: "Everyone's collection is a grand spectacle, hundreds or even hundreds of fine pieces, any person can set up a museum!" ”

"For example, Xu Zhantang, who started from scratch in 1991, founded the first local private museum in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Tsui Art Museum, and donated to build a number of Chinese art galleries named after Xu Zhantang around the world, and is known as one of the world's top ten collectors, and the only Chinese among them."

Xu Zhantang has a collection of more than 5,000 pieces, including ceramics, bronzes, jade, furniture, tooth and horn ware. As far as the porcelain in its collection is concerned, the system is complete and compact from the Majiayao culture horse factory type and the Banshan type of painted pottery jars in the Neolithic period to the hexagonal vase of the Huangdi blue and white cloud dragon holding longevity in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty.

The relationship between Xu Zhantang and the museum is not shallow, including the Xu Art Museum, Xu Zhantang donated the collection and related funds to support the construction of seven exhibition halls.

In foreign countries, there are the "Xu Zhantang Chinese Art Gallery" at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the United Kingdom, the "Xu Zhantang Chinese Art Gallery" at the National Art Gallery of Australia, and the "Xu Zhantang Chinese Art Gallery" at the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada.

In the mainland, he donated 1 million US dollars to help the Shanghai Museum build a ceramics museum, and donated his collection to set up the Xu Zhantang Ceramics Museum; Soon after, when he learned that the Nanjing Museum had difficulties in building a new art museum, he promised to donate 800,000 US dollars for the construction of the bronze hall and the ceramics museum.

"Before Hong Kong's return to the motherland, there were many people who immigrated and planned to emigrate. At that time, some collectors in the Hong Kong collecting community had already packed their collections in boxes and were ready to ship them abroad. When the Director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage led a delegation to visit Wèn Hong Kong in 1988, Xu Zhantang invited his colleagues to invite Zhang Deqin and his colleagues to visit the Minqiu Lodge. ”

Zhai Jianmin recalled: "Xu Zhantang directly asked Zhang Deqin whether the Cultural Relics Protection Law implemented in the mainland will be extended to Hong Kong after Hong Kong's return to the motherland. Can Hong Kong's cultural relics still be freely exported? After receiving a clear reply from the leadership, the majority of collectors can develop with peace of mind and prevent the bad consequences of a cultural relics outflow. ”

Zhai Jianmin said with a smile: "I also worked hard until last year to become an honorary member of Minqiu Jingshe, and it is not official!" is already a relatively young person, I am optimistic about you, brother! Maybe in a few years, you will be the youngest full member! ”

Wu Tianyuan nodded, this is also the direction of his efforts, so to make more money, the older generation of collectors is gradually aging, and the descendants do not like to collect much, and the collection in his hand is facing an important moment.

In the early 80s of the 20th century, the collection of the great collector Qiu Yanzhi was auctioned by Sotheby's Hong Kong twice, which triggered bidding**. Qiu Yanzhi's special auction of Ming Xuande blue and white group phoenix pattern rib wash, Ming Xuande blue and white folded branch flower and fruit pattern bowl, Ming Chenghua blue and white Sanskrit wine glass, Ming Xuande white glazed bowl, etc., large and small many pieces of Ming Dynasty boutique official kilns, were purchased by many senior members of Minqiu Jingshe.

In November 1984, shortly after his death, Sotheby's held a special auction of his collection in Hong Kong, including early Ming dynasty porcelain, bronzes, bamboo carvings, rhino horns, Song Dynasty picture albums, and more, such as a Ming Chenghua bowl with a twig lotus pattern that sold for HK$1.485 million. Many of the lots were purchased by Minqiu members, such as Ge Shiqiao, the owner of Tianmin Building, who bought a Ming Yongle blue and white flower and fruit pattern plate.

In June 1985, Hu Renmu also handed over the collection to Sotheby's New York for a special auction, which sold a total of 79 pieces of Ming and Qing porcelain, of which one Ming Jiajing multicolored fish algae jar was hammered for $1.1 million, setting a record for the highest price of Chinese porcelain at that time.

After a lapse of seven years, Hu Renmu handed over the remaining piece to Sotheby's for auction, and the result was 2.6 million US dollars, setting a new high price for Chinese porcelain. In Hong Kong, many of the sky-high prices of Chinese artworks sold in the art market are low-key purchases by agents entrusted by members of Minqiu Jingshe.

Wu Tianyuan's plan is really to wait for the older generation to pass away, and he will go to the top! Grab all the important collections, put them in the Tianyuan Museum, and leave them in your homeland forever.

"You rest early, Mr. Zhang will only come back the day after tomorrow, you are also acquaintances, and you will have the opportunity to meet in the future." First of all, I will take you to meet Boss Ye, his Ming-style furniture is a must, no worse than Wang Shixiang's old man. There is also Ge Lao of Tianmin Building, with hundreds of blue and white pieces, absolutely shocking. ”

Zhai Jianmin left, and made an appointment to take Wu Tianyuan to see it tomorrow, Wu Tianyuan was very excited, and it was a good opportunity to absorb the energy of the Ming Dynasty. In particular, Tianmin Tower, with dozens of Ming blue and white flowers, is more than museums, which is one of the reasons why he came to Hong Kong.