Indulge in Life in America

Chapter 374: 12 zodiac animal heads

(Thank you for the reward of "Zhou Ne FLY", everyone who has the votes to vote, I was arrested by the company. I have been busy with a project these days, and I don’t have time to add changes. I will add it on Wednesday! Thank you for your support~\ \(≧▽≦)/~)

"Oh, I almost forgot to say that these two antiques are traditional bronze statues of animal heads of the Zodiac. I have read relevant introductions when I was studying antiques."

When Eiffel said this, a touch of abuse appeared on his face, as if he had calculated something.

Indeed, when his voice just fell, Yang Cheng felt that his jaw was about to fall off, and wondered if he had heard hallucinations, "Beast head? The head of the twelve zodiac animals in the Old Summer Palace? Did you hear it right? Although these copper heads were originally used. It was designed to be used as a faucet, but it is a symbol of civilization in the prosperity of the heavens, and it is of great historical significance."

The bronze statue of the animal heads of the twelve zodiac animals in the Old Summer Palace was originally part of the fountain outside the Haiyan Hall of the Old Summer Palace. It was cast during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. It was designed by the court Western painter Italian Castiglione, supervised by the French Jiang Youren, and made by the court craftsman.

However, when the British and French allied forces invaded Country Z in 1860, the Old Summer Palace burned, and the bronze statue of the beast head has since been lost overseas.

Many people don't understand, just a few taps, why is the bronze statue of the beast head of Yuanmingyuan so precious?

During the heyday of Qianlong, the Qing dynasty was strong in national power, and the level of craftsmanship was at the peak of the world. This is particularly manifested in the bronze statue of the head of the twelve zodiac animal in Yuanmingyuan.

First of all, the copper it uses is an alloy copper specially refined for the court. It contains many precious metals. It is the same as the copper used in the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. It has a deep color and a fine light inside. It will not rust after wind and rain. , Can be called a must.

Secondly, it was carefully crafted by the craftsmen of the court building office dedicated to the emperor. The cast was finished and the surface was carved with fine chiseling. The fine details such as the fluff and nose hair of animals were all chiseled and chiseled. Forged, clear and lifelike, the nose, eyes, ears and other key parts and the folds on the nose and neck are all very delicate, without a trace of carelessness, showing a very high level of craftsmanship that can be called the highest.

Interestingly, the bronze statue of the animal head of the Chinese zodiac was made by the Qing Dynasty court craftsman, but the designer was from Italy, such as Castiglione and other European artists. Therefore, the bronze statue not only has a strong traditional aesthetic taste of the country Z, but also integrates the West. Characteristics of plastic arts.

More importantly, the head of the twelve zodiac animals is the cultural heritage of the Chinese nation for thousands of years, and it also symbolizes the prosperity of the Chinese mainland.

Over the years, with the rise of the motherland, more and more precious national treasures have been lost overseas. With the efforts of people of insight, they have returned to the mother's embrace one by one, including the heads of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, like the head of a rat. He Tushou appeared at Christie's auction house in France in 2013. Its website announced the estimated prices of the rat and rabbit statues, which were lost cultural relics in the Old Summer Palace of Z, at 8-10 million euros respectively.

However, thanks to the unremitting efforts of the experts and leaders of the Z National Museum, they had an in-depth meeting with Mr. Pinault, the "owner" of the two bronze heads. After a series of exchanges of conditions, Pinault said on behalf of the Pinault family that he would ZF donated bronze rat heads and rabbit heads from the Twelve Great Water Laws of Yuanmingyuan lost overseas;

As early as the arrival of the new millennium, Niu Shou and Tiger Shou were recovered from the auction by Baoli Group at a transaction price of 7 million and 14 million G coins, and are now stored in the Baoli Art Museum for public viewing;

Horse head and pig head were auctioned by Macau Gambling King at sky-high prices around 2007 and donated to the motherland;

Although the whereabouts of the dragon head is unknown, according to some TV media reports, Z National Treasure Island collector Wang Du said that Taiwan’s dragon head was in good condition in the 1980s and was worth 4 to 5 million Taiwan dollars at the time. The author planned to let the dragon head appear for auction, but in view of the disturbances encountered by the rat and rabbit heads, collectors estimate that the dragon head and other unknown Yuanmingyuan animal heads will not appear in the short term, but they are definitely on the treasure island.

And the dog head was a short-lived in the United States. Also in 2009, Andy Zheng, a Chinese living in a mountain town in Virginia, USA, said that he bought a bronze dog head statue from a thrift store for $1,000 a month ago. The appearance, material and size Judging, he thinks it is most likely the dog head statue among the 12 bronze statues of animal heads. However, the owner of the thrift store claimed that the statue was sold on consignment by someone else. The source is unknown. The seller offered a price of 1,000 US dollars. After careful calculation, I decided to buy.

Zheng Andi once said that it would be a good thing if the national treasures lost overseas can return to the motherland, but he has neither the financial resources nor the opportunity to verify the identity of the dog head bronze statue. He hopes to attract the attention of cultural relic connoisseurs and collectors, which is worth mentioning. However, as early as 2003, a "dog head" appeared in the auctions of an auction house in Xiangjiang, but unfortunately, his identity was not recognized by many experts, and it had to be withdrawn.

Therefore, including the dog's head, the whereabouts of the four heads of beasts, including the heads of snakes, sheep and chickens, are still missing. Now, Yang Chengzha heard Eiffel claim that he had two heads of beasts. To be sure, these two beast heads must be two of the four beast heads whose whereabouts are unknown. No matter which two beast heads, their value cannot be estimated with money.

And Yang Cheng has reason to believe that these two beast heads are genuine, because the Earl of Edmond’s family has been passed down for centuries, and his ancestors have soldiers or generals who participated in the British and French coalition burning the Old Summer Palace. It is not surprising that the Edmond family has not been short of money. , There is no need to auction off the National Treasure Z, which is prone to controversy.

Thinking of this, Yang Cheng couldn’t help but swiftly breathe. If these two beast heads are in hand, there will be too much space for him to use. Donating to the country is a must, even for the sake of future domestic business, these two beasts First, he can't monopolize it, especially since its own value is far less important than its meaning. Instead of hiding it privately and attracting hostility from some people in the country, it is better to use it in exchange for favorable policies, what? Donate for free? Haha, I think too much! Of course it must be free on the surface!

This is a long story. The most urgent thing is to get things in hand. Yang Cheng was impatient and grabbed Eiffel by the collar. Unknown Hansen, instinctively put his gun on Eiffel’s temple, just listening to Yang Cheng ruthlessly. He asked fiercely, "Where is the thing? Listen, Eiffel, I don’t care what you want, as long as it’s within a reasonable range, I can consider giving it to you, but if the thing is lost, you can jump into the Hudson River by yourself. Feed the fish."

Eiffel patted Yang Cheng's hand holding her collar tightly, but there was no effect at all, so she gave up struggling, "Mr. Yang, you killed me, those two antiques will never have a chance to see the sun again."

Yang Cheng ignored this at all, "Don’t talk nonsense, tell me where you hide the antiques. Afterwards, we will discuss your remuneration slowly. I will do what I say. Don’t let me lose patience. You should understand that Hansen has countless others. A means to make you speak."

Eiffel unconsciously met Hansen's cold eyes, shivered, and swallowed, "I don't trust you, Mr. Yang, unless you agree to my terms first."

Yang Cheng stared at Eiffel, pushing hard for a long while to release the person, "Then stop talking nonsense, hurry up and make terms."

Eiffel smiled bitterly and adjusted his collar. “It’s good luck to escape from the earl’s castle this time, but with two big beast heads, I didn’t dare to run around, so I hid them. Only I know the location of a big tree in the forest on the outskirts of Leeds. They are temporarily safe."

Yang Cheng was really impatient, and interrupted irritably, "You'd better not challenge my patience, and quickly state your conditions. I'm not interested in listening to the others."

"OK, OK, I want 30 million U.S. dollars, and also handle immigration for my daughter and me. We are going to settle in the United States." Eiffel reluctantly stated his conditions and waited very nervously for Yang Cheng's reply.

"30 million? Why don't you rob the bank? I can get it without spending a penny. Why should I spend 30 million? If you are not sincere, just say it straight, I won't bother with you, Hansen will definitely Treat you well." Yang Cheng said with a sneer holding his shoulders.

Eiffel has no fear, "Before I came to the United States, I specially left a timed message for Philip and the others. If I did not release it after 24 hours, the message would be sent to Philip and the others on time. The coordinates of the location where the animal head is hidden are marked on it, so , If Mr. Yang doesn’t want to make Philip the idiot for nothing, I think it’s better for us to cooperate sincerely."

Yang Orange narrowed his eyes, not moved by Eiffel's threat, but sneered and asked Hansen, "Hansen, how much time do you need to pry open this guy's mouth?"

Hansen took a mouthful of his big white teeth, licked his lips and smiled bloodyly, "An ace special soldier who has undergone the most rigorous training and has a high degree of faith ~ www.wuxiaspot.com~ stays under me for up to 6 hours, because this guy is weak. I think one hour is enough."

Yang Cheng was very satisfied with the answer and said to Eiffel triumphantly, "I heard it? Otherwise, you can try it yourself. If you don't say it, you broke the record of that special soldier brother?"

After a pause, the big stick and sweet jujube must be used at the same time for the best effect. "However, I am very kind, and I don’t see others bleeding the most. I will give you a better choice, 3 million US dollars, and arrange your daughter to come. In the U.S., you can get an internship from our company after graduation. Of course, she will depend on her to become a regular student. What do you think of this condition?"

When Eiffel was thinking about it, Yang Cheng’s words kept humming like mosquitoes in his ears, “US$3 million is a lot, and many middle-class families can’t save US$3 million for a lifetime. Let me go. Give you a house worth 500,000 dollars and a BMW for free. Of course, Mercedes-Benz can also be used. Anyway, you can choose the brand yourself. This condition is really good enough. The opportunity is not to be missed.

"Think about it, even if I let you go back now and let you handle the two bronze heads by yourself, do you think you can handle it? Not to mention, just those cultural relic thieves and black market robbers~ gangsters can make you Being troubled with your daughter, as a father, how can you bear to let your daughter live in dire straits?"

"Let me say that people must have self-knowledge and ambitions must be equipped with the ability. Even if 30 million dollars are given to you, can you keep it?"

Finally Eiffel couldn't hold back, and cried out, "Fuck, don't say it, you are a bastard, a complete bastard, I promise, can't I promise?"

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