Pick up bargains in Chinatown and make 10,000 times the profit at the beginning

Chapter 118 Zigang Card

"The mutton-fat jade is actually nothing. This jade token is the Zigang token, which is hard to come by." Lin Yuan said.

That's why he let his uncle keep it for himself instead of selling it.

"Zigang brand?"

My uncle frowned. He seemed to have heard it before, but the impression was not deep and he could not remember it clearly.

"Have you heard of Lu Zigang, the jade carving master of the Ming Dynasty?" Lin Yuan asked his uncle.

After hearing this, my uncle immediately remembered it.

"I've heard of a man who is very good at jade carving. Is this his work?"

The Ming Dynasty reached an unprecedented heyday in terms of politics, economy and culture in the history of feudal society in my country, and the jade carving industry also prospered unprecedentedly during this period. A group of jade carving masters, represented by Lu Zigang, emerged.

Lu Zigang was from Taicang, Jiangsu Province. He learned his craft in Suzhou since he was young and eventually became a master of jade carving. He was particularly good at the technique of reducing the ground on a flat surface, which is a jargon, commonly known as shallow relief.

Most of his jade works imitated the shapes of Han Dynasty and were inspired by Song Dynasty, with a strong ancient style, forming the artistic characteristics of emptiness, floating and delicacy.

The so-called emptiness means the contrast between the virtual and the real, and the proper density, which makes people feel not cumbersome but have a sense of spiritual emptiness; the so-called floating means the artificiality is vivid, and the lines are smooth, which makes people feel not dull but have a sense of elegance; the so-called fine means the meticulous craftsmanship and exquisite design, which makes people feel not rough but have a sense of ingenuity.

Most Zigang plaques are rectangular, and their length and width are very particular. They should be made according to the golden ratio, with moderate size, moderate squareness and roundness, exquisite knife work, upright fonts, and a flat and smooth base. In this small space, not only the beauty of jade is displayed, but also the exquisite jade craftsmanship.

It is said that Lu Zigang's unique skills should be attributed to his unique carving knife "Kunwu", but this "Kunwu knife" is never shown to others, and the skill of wielding the knife is also kept secret.

"Look here, this should be the money left by Lu Zigang. I'm most likely right." Lin Yuan said, pointing to an inconspicuous place.

My uncle took out a magnifying glass and took a closer look, and sure enough, he found the words "Zigang" on it.

As he traveled with his nephew, the uncle also equipped himself with professional equipment such as a magnifying glass, so that others would not think he was an amateur. Of course, he was indeed an amateur.

The jade carving community is well aware of Lu Zigang's leaving his name.

Rumor has it that Lu Zigang also died from this.

The emperor loved his works but would not allow him to sign them. Once he carved the words "Zigang" in the hidden part of the animal's ear, but the emperor still found it, which angered him and he had his head chopped off.

Zigang jade carving changed the stale and vulgar style of Ming Dynasty jade wares. With exquisite jade materials and superb jade carving techniques, it integrated seal, calligraphy and painting art into jade carving art, raising Chinese jade carving technology to a new artistic realm.

The real works of Lu Zigang are mainly collected in the Palace Museum and museums around the country, and are rarely seen among the people. Most of the Zigang cards that can be seen are not real Zigang cards, but imitations made by later generations of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

"It may not be the real Zigang brand. I heard that many Zigang brands were imitated in later generations." The uncle reminded Lin Yuan.

What he said is true.

By the Qianlong period, "Zigang" was no longer a person's name, but had evolved into a brand.

The endless emergence of Zigang-style works in later generations has a lot to do with the fact that it became a store brand and was passed down from generation to generation. It can be seen that Zigang-style jades can be divided into works from different eras, such as the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, modern times, and the contemporary era.

"That's right. I'll ask Uncle De and the others later." Lin Yuan didn't argue with his uncle.

Although he knew that this was a genuine Zigang amulet, the treasure hunting instrument would not go wrong. The Zigang amulet of the Ming Dynasty was slightly thicker, mostly rectangular, and smaller in size.

Commonly seen engravings are of short, thick and powerful negative lines, with only a few strokes needed to depict the picture clearly, with a narrow border around it, or it may be decorated only with negative lines, or have cloud and thunder patterns around it.

Most of them are literati landscapes or poets' lyrics, and the style imitates the landscape paintings of Shen Zhou, Wen Huiming and others of the Wumen School which was popular at that time. The other side is engraved with poetry seals, which is elegant and refined.

The top of the jade plaque is often hollowed out, with patterns such as double dragons playing with a pearl, a ruyi with its head removed, flowers, bats, auspicious beasts, and chimes, which are even more auspicious.

In addition, a new carving technique was used on some Ming Dynasty jade plaques, which was to grind the ground other than the poems and patterns engraved on the jade plaque into a sandy state, as rough as frosted glass, which was called "grinded ground" or "rough bottom".

This kind of innovation should also be attributed to Lu Zigang. It is another expression method used by jade carvers in the Ming Dynasty, highlighting the fineness of the surface theme through the coarseness of the base.

By the Qing Dynasty, the number of Zigang pendants increased, the shapes became more diverse, the materials used were more exquisite, mainly Hetian white jade and blue-white jade, the patterns were also more delicate and regular, and the pursuit of perfection was continuous. The wings of flies and insects were all carved clearly and lifelike.

The most wonderful jade plaques of the Qing Dynasty are those produced in the middle period of the Qing Dynasty. They are of excellent workmanship and materials. Later generations called them "Qianlong workmanship" and they were the darlings of the palace and collectors of all dynasties.

As soon as Lin Yuan finished speaking, his uncle took action and took a group of close-up photos of the Zigang brand and sent them to Uncle De and Boss Lei respectively.

Uncle De was sitting in the store, but he felt numb.

Are you guys never going to stop picking up bargains?
He looked at it very carefully. He couldn't say whether it was the real Zigang pendant, but he was sure that it was an object from the Ming Dynasty and was very valuable!

He has an important client who has been looking for the real Zigang brand.

"Uncle De said that this is definitely from the Ming Dynasty, but he is not sure it is Lu Zigang's work. Now he comes to join us. I guess this plaque must be valuable." The old uncle said happily.

At the same time, he was also a little surprised. In his uncle's eyes, Uncle De was an old homebody who seldom went out.

The fact that he was allowed to go out shows how much he values ​​this Zigang brand.

Lin Yuan rolled his eyes: "In ancient times, Zigang brand was very valuable."

Is not this nonsensical?

The Taicang Prefecture Chronicles of the late Ming Dynasty recorded: "All jade articles are sand mills. Fifty years ago, there was a man named Lu Zigang in the prefecture who carved them with a knife, and he was the best at it. The jade hairpins he left behind were exquisite and delicate, with flower stems as thin as hair. One of them was worth fifty or sixty gold coins."

In other words, in the Ming Dynasty, as long as it was carved by Lu Zigang, a jade hairpin would be worth fifty or sixty gold, not to mention Lu Zigang's classic representative work - the Zigang pendant.

The plaque in front of you has a Ganoderma lucidum pattern carved on the top, a hollow on the front edge, a shallowly carved border, and a rectangular opening surrounded by a sunken relief of a noble man boating on the river.

On the other side, a poem in relief script is engraved in the ground: "After a night of rain, spring water is born. I am happy to sit on the green river and the boat is light. Who said that five words are as beautiful as brocade? They are not as good as a fishing rod."

Below the poem, the words "Zigang" are engraved.

My uncle put it away happily.

His nephew is really good to him!

If he had known that this guy was so talented in identifying antiques, he should have brought him over earlier. He might have become a billionaire now.

(End of this chapter)