First batch of 6 superb folk national treasures unveiled

The first batch of six superb folk treasures, which have been sorted out from among 13,329 pieces of stored gems around China in the past two years, unveiled at the Diao Yu Tai State Guesthouse in western Beijing on Wednesday, or June 20, have been conferred with the title of "Chinese national folk national gems".

They are respectively the Pot of Duke Qin in late Western Zhou dynasty (1100 BC-771BC); the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) scroll, "One Hundred Birds Serenade the Phoenix"; the Qing dynasty Chinese chess manual scripts collection, "the Deep Pool, Infinite Sea"; the modern-age Xiuyan Jade Dragon Bed; the present-day large-scale sandal wood carving, "Celebrations at Jasper Lake", a legendary wonderland where the fairy queen lives; and the Qing Dynasty Cinnabar Gold & Lacquer Wood Carving Screen Wall in the style of wood structure.

The Pot of Duke Qin was purchased by the noted Taiwan collector Hsu Yu-hai with a huge sum of money and returned to China lately. The seven-meter painting scroll, "One Hundred Birds Serenade the Phoenix", a master-piece of Qing dynasty ace painter Shen Quan, who distinguished himself for his flower-and-bird painting works, is depicted with some 300 vivid, graceful and life-like birds in all postures. The chess manual scripts collection, "the Deep Pool and Infinite Sea," has been cited as the "rarest and most valuable works" highly revered and esteemed among top Chinese chess game players for almost two centuries. With regard to the 1.5 ton-Xiuyan Jade Dragon Bed, it is made of one dark-green Xiuyan jade with the use of more than four tons of Xiuyan jade material. As for the resplendent Cinnabar Gold & Lacquer Wood Carving Screen Wall in the shape of wooden structure, three meters tall, four meters wide and 1.5 meters thick, is marvelous and really grandeur, imposing and majestic.

In order to guarantee their safety, an insurance policy has been bought for these six folk gems from the Beijing Sub-branch of the Sunshine Property Insurance Joint-Stock Co., LTD. at a total cost of 310 million yuan (or some 40 million US dollars).

These folk national gems have kept intact through centuries in spite of vicissitudes they have gone through from generation to generation. So people have taken interest in anecdotes about them and in particular titbits or sidelights of interest.

At the prize-giving ceremony at the guesthouse held on Wednesay, the seven-meter-long painting scroll, or the "One Hundred Birds Serenade the Phoenix", had drawn and amazed many onlookers. It is the most prestigious scroll of Qing Dynasty Master Painter Shen Quan, a piece of meticulous painting creation with fine, delicate strokes in dark ink and rich colors. In this outstanding painting, there are approximately 300 lively birds, such as phoenixes, peacocks and golden pheasant, all with gorgeous, ravishing feathers against a backdrop of fairy landscape with distinct Chinese parasol trees, willows and peach trees.

The painting master Shen Quan, styled himself Nan Ping, a native of east China's Zhejiang province, born in the 21st year under the rein of Emperor Kangxi of the imperial Qing dynasty, was well versed in painting beautiful flowers, birds and animals, with superb brush works.. In the ninth year under the ensuing rein of Emperor Yongzhen, he was invited to Japan to impart on his superb painting skills and his school of painting wrought a great impact to his Japanese peers in that era.

Immediately upon his return, Shen Quan did the master piece "One Hundred Birds Serenade the Phoenix" with the pigment presented him by the Japanese emperor, and it was the sole scroll he left to the later generations.

The Qing Dynasty (Chinese) chess manual scripts represent a huge collection of the cream or quintessence of ancient chess games and well-known, knotty chess games collected and sorted out by author Chen Wenqian for 17 consecutive years, and he finally completed the copying in 1808. The entire works is divided into 16 volumes with a total of 371 famous chess games. But to date, there is one works only extant, as Chen was too poor and much in need to have it printed at that time.

The collection of chess games emerged abruptly in 1933 after having had sunken into oblivion for over a century. Then, an ace (Chinese) chess game player in north China's Hebei province, Qian Mengwu, chanced on it but he failed to get it as its owner offered too higher a price that he could pay. Through the maneuvering of his friend, however, he succeeded to borrow it and got his chess pals to hurry through its copying overnight.

About 30 years later, another chess start Liu Guobin on July 30, 1964 found the chess manual scripts collection with the introduction of an acquaintance at the China Bookstore. Then, he pawned a Swiss-made watch and bought the chess manual scripts with 150 yuan (some 20 dollars) he got from the mortgage. And, grand chess master Qian Mengwu confirmed it afterwards as the very works he had borrowed and had it copied with the help of his chess pals three decades earlier.

On January 16, antiques collector Yang Zhibin from the city of Banjin in northeastern Liaoning province showed to his visitors the modern-age Xiuyan jade bed -- "No. 1 jade bed under heaven". The jade bed, in dark green, is 305 millimeters long, 165 millimeters wide and 280 millimeters in height, typical of those in the late Qing dynasty furniture style. It is carved with varied flower designs as well as the designs of dragon scales resembling those on the imperial throne of the Qing court. Moreover, it is carved with patterns of dragons and phoenixes, and the happiness-longevity symbols, with suspension bedside "palace" jade lamps, which are of superb artifice craftsmanship.

The 1.5-ton Xiuyan jade bed, which had used over four tons of rare rock jade material, would take at least three full years to complete, provided it had involved a total of 10 workers, with each working 10 hours a day, archaeologists and relevant experts estimated..

There is popular saying spread among antiques collectors in Panjin that the locality has a priceless "jade bed" which remained doubtful and sceptical to master collector Yang Zhibin until one day he personally saw a photo of the real material object. So, he made up his mind to buy the invaluable asset at all costs. And he finally got it and hired eight craftsmen to assemble it with 15 cases of material he bought, and it took them six full days to get the job done.

By People's Daily Online