Chapter 862 Yamanaka Shokai

How could such a good thing be lost to Japan? You know, in the country now, even the top rich, it is not so easy to get together these three-piece sets of red sandalwood furniture, as well as the special historical bonus. Lewen Fiction|

If nothing else, even if you want to see such an original three-piece furniture set in the Palace Museum, you can’t find it.

So thinking about it makes me feel sad.

After reading the introduction of the three-piece set, Jin Muchen was even more angry. It turned out that the three-piece set of furniture happened to be Prince Gong’s uneasy descendant, Pu Wei, the cousin of the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty. sold to the Japanese.

And the guy who bought the three-piece furniture is the founder of the infamous Yamanaka Chamber of Commerce, Yamanaka Singjiro!

This Yamanaka Sejiro is a legendary figure in the Japanese antique world. His life experience is definitely not as good as the three giants in the Japanese collection world mentioned earlier, Takashima Kijiro, Yokogawa Minsuke, and Hiro Tian Matsushige is worse.

The Yamanaka Chamber of Commerce, which he founded in Osaka, Japan, was active on the stage of Chinese cultural relics and art trades in China, Japan, Europe and the United States at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, and was once the most eye-catching and most successful antique chamber of commerce.

This Yamanaka Sejiro was born in 1866 in a family of antique dealers in Osaka. His original name was Adachi Sejiro. He followed his father in and out of antique shops since he was a child, and he became interested in the buying and selling of antiques.

13 years old. As an apprentice, Adachi Sejiro entered the Yamanaka Yoshibei antique shop, which was the most famous in Osaka at that time, and started his antique career.

During his apprenticeship, Adachi Sejiro showed considerable talent in antique identification. He was also diligent and eager to learn, and soon became the backbone of the Yamanaka Yoshibei antique shop.

In the process of doing business in this antique shop, he also kept in touch with scholars and collectors from Europe and the United States. These people opened a door to the world for the young Adachi Singjiro, and made him realize that oriental art is in the world. There will be a huge market in the future exchanges between the East and the West, and huge benefits will be obtained.

This Adachi Seijiro found a golden road to make a fortune. So he started to study English at night school. Prepare for the future in the antique business exclusively with Westerners.

But the first turning point in Adachi Sejiro’s life was when he was 23 years old. The owner of the antique shop, Yoshibei Yamanaka, saw that his apprentice was getting better and better, so he betrothed his eldest daughter to Adachi Sejiro, and he also After entering the Yamanaka family with pride, he changed his name to Yamanaka Singjiro, and then he began to win Bai Fumei himself and embarked on the road to the peak of his life.

Yamanaka Yoshibei not only married his daughter to this Adachi Singjiro, but also handed over the financial power of their family to this son-in-law who he was optimistic about.

And Yamanaka Singjiro, who held the financial power of the Yamanaka family, soon started his own expansion plan. In 1894, he opened an antique shop in New York, and later opened branches in Boston and Chicago. In 1900, he opened a branch in London. In 1905, he opened an agency in Paris, and put the original Yamanaka Yoshibei antique shop. Changed to Yamanaka Chamber of Commerce.

Moreover, in just a few short years, he seized the rapid economic development in Europe and the United States in the early 20th century, and the rich people’s curiosity and desire for oriental artworks, quickly established a sales network overseas, and cultivated the sales of oriental artworks in Europe and the United States. market.

And let him create the Yamanaka Trading Company, in the hearts of European and American people, it has become an internationally renowned and famous antique shop brand specializing in oriental antiques in one fell swoop.

If it weren’t for the world war that followed. Maybe now his Yamanaka Trading Company will become a world-renowned luxury brand like Cartier, Tiffany and Enzo in Europe.

It is said that after Yamanaka Singjiro established the Yamanaka Chamber of Commerce, it was not only as simple as opening branches in the United States, Britain and France, but he also immediately began his journey to China to search for antiques.

And the time that made him famous was the trip to Taobao when he successfully plundered Prince Gong’s old house.

After the Yamanaka Chamber of Commerce opened its antiques branch in London in 1900, a serious problem faced by the Yamanaka Chamber of Commerce was the shortage of goods.

At that time, European and American countries were just in the late stage of the Industrial Revolution. The citizens of all countries enjoyed the benefits brought by the Industrial Revolution, and their basic lives were relatively prosperous, so everyone was more curious and fresh about oriental antiques.

In order to show that he is high enough, or to highlight his literary and youthful temperament, anyway, at that time, if the wealthy class in Europe and the United States did not collect some exotic gadgets in their homes, then you simply did not I would like to invite someone over to my house as a guest.

At that time, especially in East Asia, to put it bluntly, especially the cultural relics that came to China, were especially welcomed by the wealthy classes in Europe and the United States.

After all, China has a history of thousands of years, and it was once brilliant. This country used to be the golden country in the hearts of European and American countries. Although it is now in decline, in their opinion, the quality of things made by the ancestors of the Chinese is still good. It’s all good.

So they like to collect all kinds of gadgets from China, and the Shanzhong Chamber of Commerce, in order to cater to the tastes of these Europeans and Americans, began to collect treasures everywhere in China.

Even in 1901, they set up an office at No. 3, Dongcheng Maxian Hutong, in the capital. Later, with the smooth development of the business, they even bought it in 1917 at the height of its glory. A 300-square-meter courtyard house is used as the branch of the Yamanaka Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, and their main business in Beijing is to acquire Chinese antiques. At that time, the manager of the Yamanaka Chamber of Commerce’s Beijing branch was named Takada Masashiro, and there were Japanese in this branch. There are 4 clerks and 15 Chinese employees, and Yamanaka Singjiro comes to the capital twice a year, staying for about 2 weeks each time.

At that time, China had just been freed from the rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and because the country was still weak, the concept of a modern state and nation was only just taking shape.

The government at that time had no concept of cultural relic protection or cultural protection at all, that is, taking this opportunity, the Shanzhong Chamber of Commerce started a crazy journey of looting cultural relics in China.

They usually do things like buying and selling by force. Later, as long as they hear that there are cultural relics that they are interested in, they will come just like flies.

When they arrive at the place, they rely on their Japanese identity to forcefully buy and sell. If the seller does not agree, they will use extraordinary means.

It’s a trivial matter. If it can’t be solved, they simply roll up their arms and start stealing and robbing. Anyway, they don’t care about the law at all, they are just a bunch of thugs hiding under the skin of antique dealers. ,robber.

The craziest one was when this old man named Dingjiro Yamanaka personally led the team and brought nearly 200 people to Western Jinxi to steal treasures. . .

Let’s not talk about that first, let’s talk about the origin of these three pieces of red sandalwood furniture.

It is said that in 1912, the **** Prince Gong, Xiao Puwei, who likes **********, raised army salaries in order to help his cousin, the last emperor Puyi in the restoration activities. Decided to sell all the collections of Prince Gong’s mansion.

Masashiro Takada, the manager of the Kyoto branch of the Yamanaka Chamber of Commerce, got the news at the first time, and quickly notified the news to Singjiro Yamanaka.

When Yamanaka Singjiro heard this, his heart was ecstatic at the time, so he called his several gold masters, Yamanaka Rokusaburo, Okada Yuji and others, and quickly came to the capital from Japan.

Then, accompanied by Masashiro Takada, I came to Prince Kung’s Mansion to see the treasures collected by Prince Kung’s Mansion. At that time, the collection of Prince Kung’s Mansion was divided into dozens of treasure houses such as Ruyi Library, Painting and Calligraphy Library, Jade Warehouse, and Bronze Warehouse.

According to Yamanaka Sejiro himself later recalled: In those treasure houses, there are countless treasures, and even many jewels are covered with dust, and in the jade warehouse, the butler of Prince Gong’s house held up a pile of jade jewelry and showed it to We, we were all stunned at the time.

And Pu Wei, who was standing aside, asked Yamanaka Singjiro directly, “How much do you plan to pay for these things?”

Yamanaka Sejiro himself recalled: At that time, my heart almost jumped to my throat, but on the surface, I didn’t dare to show any joy, thinking that this transaction would be bigger, and at the same time I was thinking about the Qing Dynasty, So rich, how could he be so ruined? This question~www.readmtl.com~ I didn’t understand before, but when I saw this Prince Gong, Pu Wei, and the jewels in his treasury, I suddenly figured it out. . .

These memories of Yamanaka Singjiro and the introduction of the Yamanaka Chamber of Commerce were all written clearly next to the three-piece suit. When Jin Muchen saw these introductions, he felt uncomfortable.

Yes, the Japanese can suddenly figure it out, let alone themselves!

Although he had heard countless times in history textbooks about the arrogance, cowardice and incompetence of the Manchu Qing government, but when he read this introduction, he could really feel the pain.

In Prince Gong’s house, what is hidden is gold and silver mountains, all kinds of gold, silver and jewelry are worms and moldy, but when the country is in danger, they don’t think about it at all. The money is taken out to revitalize the country, but instead it is thinking of raising taxes, squeezing the people, and making the people pay for their incompetence. Such a court, if the country is not destroyed, is a ghost.

Thinking about Japan at that time, it is said that during the Meiji Restoration, in order to allow the country to have the financial resources to buy European and American machinery, warships, and even the emperor donated gold and silver jewelry at home, and even he was hungry and only ate every day. Two meals. (To be continued.)