In fact, the other seven animal heads that have returned to China are as bumpy as the return of the horse's head. On the way home, an "interesting thing" happened.
The ancients in China, in their previous lives, took the twelve heads of the Yuanmingyuan and liked gardening very much. In the traditional cultural cognition, the ancients thought that "the benevolent enjoys Leshan and the wise enjoys water", and it was under the virtue of "the gentleman" that the construction of landscape gardens was not uncommon. And there are many rules when building, such as mountains, water and pavilions.
In the Qing Dynasty, although the Qing Dynasty was founded by Manchu, it was also influenced by traditional culture after entering the Central Plains, as evidenced by the construction of Yuanmingyuan.
In the forty-eighth year of Kangxi (1709), Emperor Kangxi gave a garden in the north of Changchun Garden in the western suburbs of Beijing to later Yong Zhengdi. Since then, after Yong Zhengdi ascended the throne, Yuanmingyuan has been expanded. During the Qianlong period, thanks to the prosperity of Kanggan, Emperor Qianlong carried out large-scale construction, and the pattern of three gardens in Yuanmingyuan was formed.
In the Yuanmingyuan, not only the grand scenery of Jiangnan gardens is gathered, but also the styles of western garden buildings are rich; From Pinghu autumn moon, Leifeng sunset to Penglai Yaotai, they all live in a garden. Moreover, as a royal garden, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, like Yongzheng and Qianlong Imperial Capital, collected countless antique calligraphy and paintings and gold and silver jewelry representing China culture.
It can be said without modesty that it is a masterpiece of China gardens and the largest museum in the world at that time.
Twelve animal heads in Yuanmingyuan are a glimpse outside Haiyan Hall. However, Haiyan Hall, which means "the rivers and clear waters are quiet and the people of the country are safe", failed to escape the robbery like Yuanmingyuan.
The twelve animal heads were designed by Italian Lang Shining and French priest Michel Benoit. As a European-style design, the zodiac not only represents twelve o'clock, but also incorporates elements of the zodiac in traditional culture.
However, when 1840 the first Opium War opened the door to the Qing Dynasty, the British grabbed a series of interests and their appetite grew.
Finally, it also led to the outbreak of the Second Opium War. The decline of the national power, the corruption of the bureaucracy and the backwardness of the military in the Qing Dynasty also made the British and French colonists journey to the south capture Beijing in 1860.
After the British and French colonists occupied Yuanmingyuan, they saw this magnificent royal garden, "two robbers, one robbed and the other set fire" (Hugo language).
After looting and rough statistics, at least 6.5438+0.5 million cultural relics were looted, and then the British and French Coalition forces set fire to the garden.
Related to this, the twelve animal heads of Haiyan Garden were also looted. The wise saying that "you will be beaten if you fall behind" has also been vividly reflected at this moment. Since then, these twelve animal heads have been scattered all over the world.
However, thanks to the growth of China's comprehensive national strength after the founding of New China, especially after the reform and opening up, China entrepreneurs and collectors have been committed to bringing these cultural relics with national symbolic significance back to China.
However, these patriotism has also become a tool for some people to benefit. Originally, the price of animal heads was not high, but after discovering our national pride, the price of animal heads went up all the way.
However, even so, the bull's head, the tiger's head, the monkey's head, the pig's head and the horse's head returned to China one after another. In 2008, the news about the upcoming auction of rat heads and rabbit heads also came from Christie's in France, and the other party announced that the auction would be held in February 2009.
As a signatory of the World Heritage Protection Organization, China expressed its opposition. However, in the face of rich interests, Christie's still chose to hold the auction as scheduled. How to save the head of the mouse and rabbit from falling into the hands of others?
This has become an urgent problem to be solved. At this time, collector Cai Mingchao stood up. As a successful entrepreneur and collector, Cai Mingchao enjoys a high reputation in the collection field at home and abroad. Prior to this, he spent a huge sum of money bidding for the Buddha statue to return to China.
Naturally, he also objected to Christie's auction, but seeing it did not stop him from finally choosing to participate in the auction. In the end, Cai Mingchao won the bid at a price of 3 1.49 million euros (equivalent to 270 million RMB at that time).
However, in the subsequent transaction about rat head and rabbit head, Cai Ming unexpectedly chose to publicly refuse to pay.
This is an earthquake-like event in the collection circle, which has also caused a lot of discussion. Ma Weidou, a collector, said, "He humiliated China", but Cai Mingchao said, "This is the responsibility of a China person. He's just doing his job and making a sound.
At that time, the vast majority of Chinese people also expressed their support because Cai Mingchao was patriotic. However, after this incident was sent back to France, it also caused some opposition from the French side. They even think that Cai Mingchao should be fined or even imprisoned.
However, under the constant broadcast of the media in the two countries, this matter quickly triggered a big discussion. In China, Cai Mingchao even became the composition material for the college entrance examination in 2009.
After many twists and turns, the French Pino family, as the major shareholder of Christie's auction house, finally decided to "donate" rabbit heads and rat heads to China for free. In 20 13, two animal heads returned to China.
Today, four of the twelve animal heads are still missing.
To sum up, as a collector, Cai Mingchao is actually a person who pays great attention to honesty, but the reason why he chose to refuse to pay after photographing the head of the rat and the head of the rabbit is to safeguard the rights and interests of the Chinese nation.
This is also the foundation of every Chinese son and daughter, but as a reply to his non-payment, he also made a decision to quit the auction industry.
In fact, in the loss and recovery of animal heads, we can also see that only when the motherland is strong can we win respect.