A treasure-appraisal maniac

Looking at the cricket jar in his hand, Lu Fei was very excited. This was a really good thing.

This jar is ten centimeters high, about thirteen centimeters in diameter, and eleven centimeters in base diameter.

The jar is cylindrical, with the mouth edge and bottom slightly convergent. When the lid and the jar are closed, the lid sinks into the jar wall, which is the so-called sitting-lid type. The intersection of the lid and the jar is used as a double mouth.

There is a small hole in the center of the cover, which is used to install the cover button.

The inner wall of the jar is fully glazed, and a very thin layer of glaze is applied to the bottom.

It has a narrow circle foot, and the bottom of the cover and the center of the circle foot have a single line of six characters "Made in the Xuande Year of the Ming Dynasty".

The outer wall of the jar is painted with two echoing orioles chirping under the willow branches, and a row of egrets flying high into the sky next to the grass in Tingzhu.

It depicts the artistic conception of Du Fu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, "two orioles singing in the green willows, and a row of egrets ascending to the blue sky".

This is the famous Xuande blue and white porcelain, which is undoubtedly authentic. ??

Xuande blue and white is famous all over the world. As long as you find an authentic product, no matter the shape, as long as it is complete, the value starts at 5 million, and a good one can exceed 10 million.

If the inheritance is orderly and has a clear origin, and there are some historical allusions, it will be even more awesome.

The cricket can in Lu Fei’s hand is not only awesome, it’s no exaggeration to say it’s the best fighter among the best.

Because this is the only complete Xuande cricket jar known to the world so far, and it is the only one with no semicolon, it can be regarded as a national treasure.

Some people may question, isn't it just a cricket jar?

As for no?

Let me tell you, not only is it extreme, but it is too extreme.

If Guan Haishan and others saw this cricket jar, they would go crazy.

Because the Xuande cricket jar is not only a legend, but also a mystery that has puzzled the Chinese archaeological community for many years.

Judging from documentary records, although Emperor Xuande only reigned for nine years and seven months, he created the most glorious chapter of the Ming Dynasty.

He can be said to be both civilized and military, with outstanding talents in military and political affairs, and after many efforts, he created the "Benevolence and Xuanzhi"

In the prosperous period of "governing", he can be regarded as a wise king in terms of political achievements.

In addition, he also has many other hobbies, such as "paying attention to Ci Han" and "being good at painting things".

But when it comes to personal pastimes, he seems too playful.

It is very dangerous for the emperor to have hobbies, because every move of the emperor will have an impact on others. This is the meaning of the saying "What is good above will be bad for the people below".

But the young Emperor Xuande didn't seem to understand this truth. Not only was he obsessed with playing crickets, he also made great fanfare of asking officials from various places to purchase the best crickets for his own entertainment.

This hobby of Emperor Xuande can be said to have disturbed people at the time.

During the Xuande period, catching crickets was a top priority for officials from the imperial court to ordinary people. No one dared to take it lightly, otherwise they would lose their heads.

Officials issued orders step by step, asking the common people to search for high-quality crickets that could conquer and fight for Emperor Xuande. During this period, there were countless tragedies and comedies. Some people lost their families because of crickets, while others were promoted and made rich because of crickets.

According to records, in the army at that time, catching crickets was equal to taking the enemy's head. A military officer in Suzhou made a great contribution by catching a good cricket and was awarded a hereditary official position.

Of course, there are countless tragedies in this.

Lu Ao, a native of the Ming Dynasty, recorded such a tragic story in "A Brief History of the Ming Dynasty".

One year, Emperor Xuande of the Ming Dynasty sent people to the south of the Yangtze River to ask for crickets, so that the price of crickets on the market continued to rise.

A local grain manager who was responsible for harvesting grain was entrusted by his boss to buy crickets in the market. He traveled many places and finally found a particularly good one, so he exchanged it for the horse he was riding.

His wife saw that her husband had exchanged a tall horse for a little one.

Cricket felt very strange and wanted to see what kind of cricket was so valuable.

So she secretly opened the cricket jar while her husband was not at home. Unexpectedly, the cricket jumped out. At this time, a big rooster came over and ate the cricket in one bite.

The grain chief's wife knew that she had caused a big trouble and was very frightened, so she immediately hanged herself.

When the grain manager came home and saw that the crickets were gone and his wife was dead, he felt that life was meaningless and he followed his wife to hang herself.

This tragic story is widely circulated. There is a story in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" written by Pu Songling, a famous writer in the Qing Dynasty, called "Promoting Weaving", which is adapted from this story.

Among them, promoting weaving refers to catching crickets.

Emperor Xuande was so obsessed with crickets that the whole people went out to catch them.

But the amazing thing is that among the thousands of pieces of Xuande porcelain that have been handed down for more than five hundred years, there is no trace of the Xuande cricket jar among them.

This once caused the archaeological community to doubt history.

It was not until 1996 that a batch of blue and white cricket jar fragments were unearthed from the Jingdezhen Royal Kiln Factory site in the Ming Dynasty, and these legends were confirmed.

Unfortunately, no complete Xuande cricket jar was found among them.

It is against this legendary background that the Xuande blue and white cricket jar in Lu Fei's hand becomes even more precious.

After playing with it for a while, Lu Fei was about to pack it up, but found that there was no spare brocade box in the bag.

But in the antique city, buying brocade boxes is not a problem.

Holding the cricket can in one hand, Lu Fei and Wang Xinyi came to the store area, took a look at the cover, and walked into the old Fengji store, the first on the street.

This store is quite large, covering an area of ​​300 square meters, and the furnishings inside are similar to those of all antique stores.

At this time, there was not a single customer in the store. The middle-aged shopkeeper, who was in his fifties, was sitting behind the counter drinking tea.

, seeing Lu Fei and the others coming in, he quickly stood up and greeted them with smiles.

"You two can take a look and choose whatever you want. Our time-honored brand has a complete range of goods, and we guarantee your satisfaction."

After glancing at the dazzling array of junk goods, Lu Fei couldn't arouse any interest and simply went straight to the topic.

"Boss, do you have the brocade box?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Solid wood, synthetic, we have it all."

"How big do you want it to be?" the shopkeeper asked.

Lu Fei raised the cricket jar and shook it.

"It's made of solid wood, as long as it can fit this."

Hiss——

The shopkeeper glanced at the cricket jar and suddenly took a breath of air. Under the thick glasses, a pair of moves emitted two greedy green lights.

The shopkeeper didn't get the brocade box for Lu Fei right away. He cupped his fists and said to Lu Fei.

"Sir, can I get my hands on this cricket jar?"

"I'm sorry, there is no guarantee that the porcelain will not be dealt with. This is the rule." Lu Fei said calmly.

"Well"

The shopkeeper smiled awkwardly and said.

"I didn't expect that at such a young age, my husband is still an expert!"

"hehe!"

"I don't dare to be an expert, but I know a thing or two." Lu Fei said.

"I don't think you are a local, sir."

"Does being a local have anything to do with buying the brocade box?" Lu Fei said slightly displeased.

The shopkeeper said with a slight smile.

"Sir, please don't get me wrong."

"Our old Fengji store is one of the four major families in China. The Feng family's time-honored brand in Yangcheng will never bully students."

"What I want to say is that if you plan to sell this cricket jar, our store will definitely give you a satisfactory price."