Pick up treasure

"Yeah, that's why I told you to come to the Shwedagon Pagoda. Now you don't think it's better to rest in a hotel than to come here."

"Yes," Wang Ding nodded repeatedly.

As the saying goes: hearing is believing, seeing is believing. When Wang Ding saw the description of the Shwedagon Pagoda in the Burmese topography, he was still a little dismissive. If it is a man-made building, the Forbidden City in China represents the ancient times. The highest level of construction, but after seeing the Shwedagon Pagoda, Wang Ding was shocked and realized that he was a little arrogant before. This Shwedagon Pagoda is indeed worthy of the pride and pride of the Burmese.

Let me tell you that the Shwedagon Pagoda is built on the mountain. Wang Ding bought a coloring page introducing the Shwedagon Pagoda at the entrance for three dollars. There are Chinese, English and Burmese languages ​​on it, which introduces the Shwedagon Pagoda in detail. history, and many fairy tales.

The legend begins with a pair of businessman brothers who met the Buddha - they received eight hairs from the Buddha to be sent to Burma for worship.The brothers went to Burma, and with the help of the local king, they found the holy mountain where many Buddha treasures were enshrined.

When the eight hairs of the Buddha were taken out from the golden box of the two of them and enshrined, something incredible happened: the light emitted from the hair penetrated heaven and hell, enabling the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. To be clear, it's amazing.

In addition, thunderstorms fell from the sky, the earth trembled, and even Mount Sumeru was affected. Precious stones fell from the sky like rain, reaching knee-deep depths. The trees on the Himalayas, even if they were not in the flowering season, blossomed and bore fruit one after another.

Of course, these are all legends, but in the Shwedagon Pagoda, there are indeed four relics of Buddha enshrined, including the crutches of Detaining Sun Buddha, the water purifier of Zhengwaiting Jinji Buddha, the robe of Kassapa Buddha, and the other is The eight hairs of Buddha Sakyamuni, these relics, are worshiped and incensed by countless devout Buddhists every day.

Walking into the mountain gate, you can see the huge base of the tower. The circumference of the base of the tower is 433 meters. There are 4 small towers and [-] middle towers with different styles built of wood and stone around it. The tower has four entrances guarded by stone lions. , and after the entrance, there is a series of steps leading directly to the platform on the mountain.

There are more than 1.5 gold and silver bells hanging around the tower, and the wind blows the bells, which are crisp and melodious, and the sound spreads everywhere.

There are gates in the southeast and northwest of the Shwedagon Pagoda. There are a pair of tall stone lions in front of the gate, just like the gatekeeper lions often seen in front of Chinese temples.

There are promenade-style stone steps inside the door to climb to the top of the tower. There are stalls on both sides of the steps. There are Buddha statues and portraits carved with wood, bamboo, bone and ivory. There are incense, candles and flowers for Buddha. A variety of Burmese snacks.

Wang Ding and Bi Yue are currently standing at the entrance of the south gate of the Golden Pagoda. On both sides of the gate, there are a pair of lion-faced figures guarding it. Wang Ding does not know that this building is said to be 500 years ago. Is there any mysterious connection with the pyramids of Egypt?

Prompted by the staff, Wang Ding and Bi Yue took off their shoes and entered the Shwedagon Pagoda. On a series of steps, there is a statue of Buddha, and the bottom of the pagoda is made of bricks and covered with gold nuggets. The real gold bricks made of pure gold were donated by Buddhists from all walks of life in Myanmar. In the niches on the foreshadowing in the pagoda, jade Buddha statues of different shapes are enshrined.

Walking in the golden pagoda, from time to time there are monks walking by barefoot. Although the golden pagoda is extremely luxurious, standing inside, Wang Ding only feels a peaceful and peaceful state of mind that has never been felt before. , seem to be gone.

After walking around the Shwedagon Pagoda, Wang Ding and Bi Yue visited several relics of the Lord Buddha. The sun was already shining brightly, but after getting used to it, it didn't feel so hot.

In the southeast corner of the Shwedagon Pagoda, there is an ancient Bodhi tree, which is said to have been transplanted from the sacred tree garden on the throne of Sakyamuni King Kong in India. A Chinese temple named "Fuhui Palace" built with donations from overseas Chinese.

It will be much more lively here. Many vendors are selling souvenirs and some antique coins on the ground. The high halls and temples with Chinese characteristics, coupled with the cries of small vendors mixed with Chinese, give Wang Ding the feeling that he is coming. To the domestic antique market in general.

"Wang Ding, this should be the antique market here, let's take a look."

"Okay." Every time Wang Ding goes to a place, he is very interested in the antiques here. Wang Ding has never seen Burmese antiques, so he naturally wants to know.

However, the stalls here are not the same as those in China. Most of the stalls are carved figures or Buddha statues, and the materials are nothing more than ivory and wood.

"Come and have a look at my place. They are all authentic ivory, bamboo, and old wood root carvings, as if they were fake..."

When Wang Ding walked to a stall, the stall owner spoke enthusiastically.

He spoke pure Mandarin, which surprised Wang Ding, "Brother, you speak Chinese well."

Wang Ding knew that many Burmese could speak Chinese, but he could clearly hear the jerkyness in the language, and this middle-aged man in his 30s was proficient in Mandarin, which showed his identity, and he was definitely Chinese.

The variety of items on his booth is relatively rich. In addition to the Buddha statues carved from wood, ivory and bones, there are also bamboo vases and other items. Of course, they are just decorations, which cannot hold water. In addition, there are rattan products and brightly colored sand cages covered with sequins, which are very Burmese.

"It's okay, I'm Chinese."

"Are you Chinese?"

The stall owner replied: "Yes, it has been more than half a century since my grandfather's generation came to Myanmar, but I returned to the motherland to recognize my relatives the year before last..."

Wang Ding couldn't help being awed when he heard the words, and asked, "Your grandfather stayed in Myanmar when he was in the Chinese Expeditionary Force?"

There are quite a few Chinese people living in Myanmar, and they are all soldiers.

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, China sent two expeditionary forces with a total strength of 26 troops to fight in Burma. Due to the mismanagement of the Allied forces and poor coordination, the first expedition ended in failure. They were captured and killed in the defeat. As many as 7 people were killed, starved to death, and killed by infectious diseases or disappeared.

There are many surviving Chinese soldiers who stayed in Myanmar to live. It was not until the 90s of the last century that the dusty history was revealed again. At that time, there was a wave of activities to welcome the remains of the fallen heroes. Many veterans , also returned to the mainland to seek roots and ancestors.

The second type of people who stayed in Burma was during the War of Liberation, when the revolutionary troops headed by Li Mi, who were defeated from Yunnan and other places, entered Burma and entrenched in the Golden Triangle area...

The Chinese who stayed in Myanmar were nothing more than these two groups. That's why Wang Ding asked this question. No matter what the reason was, those who stayed were all descendants of Yan and Huang.

After hearing Wang Ding's words, the stall owner was a little embarrassed, and said: "My grandfather stayed in Burma during the expeditionary army period. At that time, they fought against the Japanese in the jungle, but later they followed the defeated troops of the Japanese army. The Burmese Communist Party is at war..."

The people left by the expeditionary force in Burma are almost all veterans of many battles. After fighting the Japanese, they had already settled down in peace and stability. Thinking about it, many veterans have taken up arms again. Of course, these people are now over sixty years old, and large-scale wars no longer exist.

"What's the name of this big brother? How is your business here? What's the price of this ivory figure sculpture?"

Wang Ding squatted down, just because the other party was Chinese, so he needed to help, and it didn't cost much to buy some small things. .

The stall owner glanced at the ivory sculpture in Wang Ding's hand, and replied casually: "My surname is Tan, and my name is Tan Guanghui. The one is five dollars, and the kyat is five thousand. Buy it in dollars, and it's a little cheaper..."

In Myanmar, the U.S. dollar is the hard currency, and one U.S. dollar can be exchanged for [-] Myanmar kyats.

Wang Ding did some calculations in his mind, but it was more than 40 rm**, which is still very cost-effective. More importantly, this ivory carving is still old ivory. Slightly yellowed, like something that has been around for a while.

Ivory is described as white gold, but its color is mostly yellow. Ivory is divided into African ivory and Asian ivory. Both male and female elephants in Africa have tusks. Most of the tusks are light yellow, fine in texture and shiny. Well, the hardness is high, and the color of Asian ivory is relatively white, and it will turn yellow after a long time, so the age of ivory carvings is generally distinguished by its color.

There are also some collectors who like its white color, so they will soak it in bean dregs and then rub it to make it white naturally.It also has an oily and white luster after bleaching, and it feels moist and delicate, which is also top-grade. However, most fake bone products are bleached. After bleaching, they appear dry and rough to the touch. The white of plastic products is dull and unnatural dull.

Since the 80s, for the sake of protecting elephant populations, the international trade in ivory, including China, has been banned for a time.This has brought a great impact on the domestic ivory carving market, which is completely dependent on imported ivory raw materials. After my country stopped directly importing ivory from Africa on June 1990, 6, and completely banned international trade in ivory and its products in 1, any Imported ivory with commercial surnames will not be approved.The prohibition of ivory raw materials has led to an upsurge in ivory collections, and ivory carvings have continued to appreciate in value amidst the prohibition.

With the ban on ivory trade and the shortage of raw materials for ivory products, the number of ivory handicrafts sold is also rare. With the consumption of the market, surviving fine ivory carvings will become more and more rare.Therefore, for a period of time, the price of ivory handicrafts has skyrocketed by 100%, and ivory sculptures are enthusiastically sought after by collectors.

Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and other places are considered the hometown of Asian elephants, so ivory products are still very common here.

"I see that your business is doing well, right?"

"Business is okay, earn money for food, I heard that the country is developing well now, I still want to go back if I have the opportunity..."

Tan Guanghui is very talkative. Although there are many Chinese tourists in Myanmar, he does not often use Chinese, so he chatted with Wang Ding immediately.

"Well, this... and these few more, I want them all, brother Tan, how much are they worth?"

Wang Ding picked out several ivory carvings from the stall. These objects are now very popular among domestic collectors, and their value is more than [-] yuan. If they are ivory miniature carvings and royal utensils from the Song and Ming Dynasties, they are even worth more than [-] yuan. In tens of millions of yuan, it can be called a priceless treasure, which is extremely rare.

But Wang Ding didn't want to make some money, he mainly wanted to enrich his basement, saying that there was nothing there except a few pieces of porcelain and ancient paintings, it was a bit shabby.

"Little brother, the total is 130 dollars, you just need to give 130, and I will wrap it up for you..."

Wang Ding bought a lot of things. There are more than ten of them in total, and the prices are not the same. Tan Guanghui took out more than ten small boxes from the big box behind him, and each of them was worth a lot. There are corresponding tooth carvings, which were put in one by one.

"Brother Tan, why don't you sell jadeite here? Isn't Myanmar producing jadeite? I see that other stalls sell it..."

"Hehe, is this your first time in Myanmar?" Tan Guanghui asked with a smile.

"Yeah, what's the matter? Is Myanmar not allowing the sale of jadeite?"

Now even Wang Ding is a bit strange. It is fine to ban the export of raw materials. If the Burmese government also restricts the finished jadeite, it will be too much, and doing so will prevent their domestic jewelry companies from developing.

"It's not that buying and selling is not allowed, but when you buy jewelry and jade, especially jadeite, you must go to a regular store, and don't buy rough jade, that is, raw stones that have not been processed or polished. These are all within the scope of export control by the state. .

After purchasing, you must ask for a shopping voucher for inspection when you leave the customs. Those people sell mostly fake emeralds. Even if there are real ones, there is no invoice. If you buy it, you will leave the customs. I don’t want to deceive customers, so I just bought it. no more..."

Tan Guanghui was very disdainful of the behavior of the nearby stalls, with a disapproving expression on his face.

It was the first time for Wang Ding and others to hear this statement. No wonder Myanmar is rich in jadeite, but there is no famous jade company. It is really restricted by the government, but it is normal to think about it. Like oil in Arabia, as the main source of foreign exchange, it is natural to be controlled by the government.

"Thank you, you are welcome to come back to China to see more in the future..."

Wang Ding took the ivory products in the packaging bag, stood up, and was about to bid farewell to the fellow from a foreign country, when his eyes were suddenly attracted by an item in the box behind him , The foot that stepped forward was retracted again.

"Brother Tan, are the things in your box for sale?"

Since he was squatting just now, when he stood up, Wang Ding saw clearly that in the box next to the stall owner, there was a ivory Buddha statue about [-] centimeters high and as thick as a child's arm. All of them are hollowed out, with elegant shapes and extremely delicate carvings.

What surprised Wang Ding was not these, but the shape of the Buddha statue. It is so large that it is rare, and on its forehead, there is actually a ruby ​​inlaid, like a diamond eye, which makes the whole tooth carving more powerful.

When Wang Ding saw this object at first sight, he liked it from the bottom of his heart. It is so majestic when it is placed in the living room of the courtyard house. By the way, such a large tooth carving is the only one in the country except for the exquisite one in the Chairman's Memorial Hall. Apart from ivory carvings of boys playing with Buddha ornaments and sailing ivory carvings, there are really not many folk collections.

"What are you talking about..."

A look of hesitation appeared on Tan Guanghui's face. This object was seized by his grandfather from the Japanese, and he kept it as his own trophy. It's just that the old man passed away a few years ago, so this object was left to him.

Although it was going to be sold, when Wang Ding asked to buy it, he was really reluctant.

"Brother Tan, can you show me this tooth carving first?"

Wang Ding didn't know what Tan Guanghui was thinking, and he didn't know that Tan Guanghui was afraid that the dead old man would scold him for selling his father's land. Wang Ding just simply liked this large ivory Buddha statue and wanted to take Just play around with it.

"Okay, of course, you'd better come and have a look, the weight of this thing is not light..."

This object is not small, and the ivory carving works are relatively fragile and fragile. Tan Guanghui invited Wang Ding to come to his booth to have a look. He was still wondering whether this thing should be sold, and if so, how much it should be sold for. suitable?

After Wang Ding heard the words, he was not polite, he stepped over the booth, walked to the side of the box, took out the ivory sculpture that was almost as high as the box, and placed it on the ground.

In this way, the entire ivory sculpture is completely presented in front of Wang Ding's eyes. The King Kong figure on this glaring vajra ivory sculpture has one foot on the ground and one foot slightly raised. The shape of the face is extremely exaggerated, and the mouth is wide open. , with nostrils facing the sky, eyes glaring ahead, holding a vajra in his right hand, revealing strong muscles on his chest, and fluttering sash in front of his body, which is very beautiful.

Wang Ding once read some books about ancient Buddhist sculpture illustrations. This ivory sculpture should be a typical Buddhist statue in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, which inherits the exaggerated and freehand style of traditional Chinese sculpture.It is also in line with modern people's aesthetics on human body health and beauty.

It’s just that I don’t know how this statue should belong to my own country, but how it ended up in Myanmar. In the past, only China bullied Myanmar, but Myanmar didn’t have the strength to go to China to burn, kill and loot.

Carefully observing the details, Wang Ding can see that the sculptor of this work has extremely profound skills, the knife and knife are in place without sloppy, the lines are simple and smooth, and the details are clear and natural. The most special thing is that the whole body of the work is full of knife marks The traces of carvings are carefully polished to fully reflect the characteristics of ivory.

This kind of treatment with a plain face and true colors not only increases the strength and appeal of the work, but also shows the author's full confidence in his carving skills. (To be continued.)