Jianbao life

Chapter 495 Relic
Because of its special geographical and political location, Xiangjiang not only makes it a world-renowned international metropolis, but also has a place in the antique market in the world. Now it has become a concentration of antiques in Southeast Asia and even connects Europe and the United States.

Because of this, a large number of legal or illegal cultural relics and antiques in China have stayed or are now lying in the antique market here for customers to choose from.

The antique market in Xiangjiang is relatively concentrated, mainly located in several small blocks composed of Legu Road, Hollywood Road and Moro Street on the west side of Central.

Among them, the antique market located on Moro Street and Hollywood Road in Sheung Wan, Xiangjiang is the largest antique market in the local area.There are thousands of shops gathered here, and each shop is not big, but there are quite a lot of items.In addition to many Ming and Qing porcelains that we are familiar with, a wide variety of artworks from Southeast Asian countries is also one of its characteristics, and the price is also higher than that in China.

Hollywood Road is characterized by the combination of Chinese and Western cultures, and is a famous viewing spot in Xiangjiang.

When a group of people come here, they can see elegant and simple antique shops. The windows are full of ancient ceramics, jade, Ming and Qing furniture, antique calligraphy and paintings, coins and stamps, etc., but the prices are quite expensive.But even if you can't afford it, strolling in this nostalgic atmosphere and slowly admiring these antiques is actually a kind of enjoyment.

Therefore, Xiangjiang people call it "window shopping" without spending money!
In the field of antiques, picking up leaks is always a topic that cannot be avoided, and it is the same here. As long as you have enough appreciation and care, you may be able to buy real ones for a small amount of money in some humble shops. antique.

Of course, similar to the mixed situation in the domestic antique market, the antiques here in Xiangjiang are also genuine and fake, but the proportion may be slightly better than that in China.

But there is one thing to pay special attention to. Although the proportion of fakes here in Xiangjiang is less than that in China, there are many more high-quality imitations, such as fake Ming and Qing calligraphy and paintings, almost authentic Han and Tang ceramics, and dyed Warring States antiques. Jade pendants, fake bronze wares, etc., unless you are an insider, it is difficult to distinguish the authenticity from the fake.

Different from other tourists, Chu Chen and the others still have plenty of time in Xiangjiang, and they don’t need to be in a hurry like others, so everyone leisurely admired the various antiques in the shops and listened to the explanations from Chu Chen and Liu Sizhe from time to time. Very relaxed and comfortable.

However, after visiting several shops, the group of people were still empty-handed. Either they fell in love with it and found it was a fake, or even though it was genuine, the price was too expensive, and the owner refused to lower the price, so in the end they could only let it go .

After visiting two more shops, everyone came to an antique shop specializing in Buddhist supplies. There were all kinds of Buddha statues, ritual instruments, and Thangkas. Of course, whether it was really handed down from ancient times is open to question.

After appreciating it, Chu Chen nodded secretly. Although most of the Buddha statues here are relatively ordinary in workmanship, they are indeed from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and Qiao Qian asked about the two Buddha statues over there. The price is not expensive. If there are people who believe in Buddhism in his family, he can invite one.

Of course, for Chu Chen, the price of the Buddha statue is not bad, but for Qiao Qian, it is a bit too expensive, and the boss, like the previous few, refused to bargain, so she could only shake it with regret in the end. shook his head.

Chu Chen walked to a glass cabinet in the middle of the store, and there were five Buddha statues inside. These Buddha statues were exquisitely crafted, and looked like a strong Qing Dynasty court atmosphere. Presumably they were made by the court at that time. Fake, you have to see it to know.

"Boss, can I have some of these Buddha statues?" Chu Chen asked the boss sitting at the door.

"can!"

The boss stood up, walked to Chu Chen, opened the glass door, and was about to take out his gloves and hand them to Chu Chen, but found that Chu Chen had already put on his imposing gloves, so he said with a smile:

"Sir, it seems that you are also in the industry!"

Chu Chen nodded with a smile, and said, "I'm interested in this aspect!"

"It's good to have a hobby. Nowadays, young people only know about money when they play this game, and they smell like copper. It's a blasphemy against the Buddha!" ​​The boss sighed with emotion.

Chu Chen smiled and said: "Everyone has different ideas, and think about it from another perspective, even if it's for money, he still needs to know some information. Doesn't this also spread the culture?"

"That's right!" The boss thought for a while, then he said with a smile: "It seems that you see it clearly, I'm a bit of a dead end! Well, I won't bother you anymore, you can enjoy it slowly."

Chu Chen nodded, then picked up one of the gilt-bronze Manjusri Bodhisattvas and looked at it.

There are five Buddha statues in the glass cabinet, two of them are Sakyamuni Buddha, one is Manjushri Bodhisattva, and two are Medicine Buddha. All of them are made of copper and gold, and the production level is different, but Chu Chen still likes it the most. One of them is the Medicine Buddha placed in a niche.

This Buddha statue of Medicine Master is 19 centimeters high, sitting in full lotus, with a plump and upright face, protruding pekoe, curved eyebrows and long eyes, slightly drooping eyelids, inclusive and warm.Wearing a cassock with the right side exposed, only the edge of the garment is engraved with the lotus pattern, so that the graceful curve of the figure's body can be displayed under the thin garment.

The left hand of the Buddha statue is placed in front of the navel to perform meditation and alms, and the right hand is used as Shi Shengyin to hold the myrobalan.The upper and lower edges of the pedestal are decorated with two beads, and the lotus petals are slender and full of tension, which is one of the main features of the court statues of the Qianlong Dynasty.

Combining the above artistic characteristics and other comprehensive judgments, this portrait is very likely to be a court work during the Qianlong period, which is quite rare.

What's even more rare is that this pharmacist Buddha statue still has its original shrine.

Buddhist niches are small pavilions used to enshrine Buddha statues and gods.Niches originally refer to the places where Buddha statues are placed when the cliffs are dug out of the rock, and they are quite large in size.

I don’t know when it started to make stone, wood or other materials into cupboard-shaped small pavilions to worship Buddha statues. began to prevail.

Especially in the Qing Dynasty, Tibetan Buddhism was highly valued. Emperor Qianlong believed that he was the reincarnation of Manjushri Bodhisattva, and he had a lot of faith in Tibetan Buddhism. Of course, it is necessary to use a Buddhist shrine to enshrine Buddha statues.At that time, a well-made altar usually required the collaboration of multiple departments of the Manufacturing Office.

In terms of craftsmanship, this Buddhist altar is a typical court style of the Qianlong period.

The whole body of the Buddhist altar is made of red sandalwood, with animal faces and longevity patterns, 39 cm high, shaped like a hexagonal pavilion, and has a Xumi seat.The hexagonal column is surrounded by a sealing plate. This form of sealing plate is called "Pilu hat".Inside the Pilu hat is a dome-shaped top cover, hexagonal, with a circle in the square, and embossed with curling cloud patterns.The upper part is made of square Hetian sheep fat jade.

In addition, there are six-style slab walls inside the colonnade, and a group of oblique "*" brocade patterns are carved on the front panels on both sides, and an open door is in the middle.In addition, there are inscriptions carved in Han, Manchu, Mongolian and Tibetan characters behind the niche.

No matter in terms of its shape, decoration style, and clear layers of wood carving, this niche is very similar to the jade carving craft at that time, which embodies the typical characteristics of the Qianlong Dynasty. Hope and longing for longevity.

Buddhist niches like this are undoubtedly very rare, coupled with the exquisitely crafted original gold-plated copper pharmacist Buddha, it is even more valuable and has a very high collection value, and it is a rare treasure for Buddhist believers.

After carefully observing the characteristics of the Buddha statue and the Buddhist altar, Chu Chen can already be sure that this is indeed a genuine product from the Qianlong period.Of course, after reading it, whether it is to verify your own judgment or to accumulate the progress of the ability upgrade, it is still indispensable to use the ability once.

It’s just that after Chu Chen used the power, there was an accident. There were originally two things, the Buddha statue and the Buddhist altar. After he used the power, there were three spiritual powers, and one of the powers was not as strong as He was really shocked by how weak the treasure worth tens of millions or even hundreds of millions was.

When this happened, no matter how stupid Chu Chen was, he knew that there should be a treasure hidden inside, so he immediately used the Lingbao Eye. Immediately, he found a section in the hollow on the top of the altar that seemed to be made of The hollow thing made of white jade looks like a finger bone.

Seeing this, Chu Chen frowned, because the appearance of this thing is really strange, not to mention the high value, but it is solemnly placed in the altar, what is this thing?

However, he quickly realized that apart from Buddha statues and gods, there was something else that could be enshrined in the Buddhist altar. It was obviously the relics that ordinary people could hardly see!

This discovery made Chu Chen very shocked and excited. You must know that this is a relic, a very sacred thing in the Buddhist belief, and it is a treasure that Buddhists dream of.

To put it simply, relics are the crystals produced by eminent monks after they were cremated.In terms of composition, this kind of crystal is of course nothing in the eyes of modern people, but why it is formed, there is no conclusion in the current experimental research.

Most speculations suggest that the formation of relics is related to the chemical reactions that occurred when bones and other objects were cremated together.Another folklore holds that if a person leaves the body for a long time and is full of essence, he will have a solid relic.

According to the Buddhist scriptures, the relics are naturally felt by the monks because of the virtues of precepts, concentration and wisdom. It is precisely because of this that Buddhists respect the relics of the Buddha and the relics of the Buddha's disciples, mainly because of the merit, compassion and wisdom of the eminent monks during their lifetime.

Generally speaking, there are three types of relics, bone relics are white, hair relics are black, and meat relics are red. Needless to say, the relics in the altar are bone relics, and they are also finger bone relics, which are very rare and precious.

(End of this chapter)