Chapter 20 Liulichang
Early in the morning, just as the sky in Yanjing lit up, a yellow Tianjin Dafa slowly drove out of the guest house.
Wu Yongnian looked at Lin Yi in disbelief and shouted in surprise,"Little Yi, you really know how to drive."
"Are you kidding? Didn't I demonstrate it to you yesterday? Brother Zhao already agreed that my driving skills are not bad.”
As he spoke, Lin Yi turned the steering wheel to the left and skillfully lowered the gear to second gear. He stepped on the accelerator and instantly overtook a small three-wheeled agricultural vehicle next to him.
What a joke. He was an experienced driver for more than twenty years. How could he not know how to drive?
Yesterday afternoon, on the small road outside the guest house, Lin Yi had already performed a few times. Although it was just the usual parking, it was enough to shock Wu Yongnian. In his opinion, it was already an amazing skill to be able to start the car.
Although Brother Zhao was curious as to why Lin Yi was so skilled, he was still very sure of Lin Yi's driving skills.
Lin Yi drove the Dafa freely on the streets of Yanjing like a fish in water. Who knew if it would leave another legend on the streets of Yanjing.
Lin Yi felt that this Dafa was quite good. Other than the rearview mirror adjustment, the car's face when the weather was cold, the pit was basically bumpy, the engine was a little shaky, the start was a little fleshy, and it was a little hot when parking, there were basically no major problems.
For a manual transmission, 0.85 displacement three-cylinder engine, Dafa had already handed over a very satisfactory answer.
As for why there wasn't even air conditioning, which 0.85 displacement car could not be equipped with air conditioning after pulling six people and a bicycle?
After installing the air-conditioner, he stopped walking and went on strike…
After arriving at Liulichang, Lin Yi looked around. There were old shops that had been around for hundreds of years, such as Huaiyin Mountain House, Ruguzhai, Guyi Zhai, Ruicheng Zhai, Cuiwen Pavilion, Yide Pavilion, Li Fushou Pen Shop, etc., lined up one by one on the 800-meter-long path.
The three famous antique markets of Yanjing, Panjiayuan, Liulichang, and Baoguo Temple.
The Baoguo Temple was the oldest, built in the Liao Dynasty. There was a book market at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, but because it was the oldest, it was also the most dilapidated.
The most famous Panjiayuan had yet to open for business, but there were already scattered people setting up stalls there to sell old things. It would only gradually take shape two years later and eventually become known by others.
Therefore, Lin Yi could only come to Liulichang.
Liulichang originated from the Qing Dynasty. At that time, most of the candidates who came to Beijing to take the imperial examination were concentrated in this area. Therefore, there were many shops selling books, brush, ink, paper, and inkstone here, forming a strong cultural atmosphere.
Originally, it was still divided into the East and West Liulichang, but after years of war, the West Liulichang no longer existed. The original three major bookstores of the West Liulichang, the Commercial Press, the Zhonghua Bookstore, and the World Bookstore, also moved one after another.
West Liulichang was famous for its calligraphy, while East Liulichang was famous for its painting.
Among them, the most famous was Rong Bao Zhai. During the Republic of China, the older generation of painters such as Yu Youren, Zhang Daqian, Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi, etc. were also frequent visitors here.
Rong Bao Zhai was most famous for copying paintings and calligraphy, which had reached the peak of perfection. It looked exactly like the original, and it was enough to pass off the fake as the genuine.
The masterpieces copied by Rong Bao Zhai, such as the Painting of Wenyuan and the Painting of Along the River During the Qingming Festival, were exhibited in many countries, causing countless famous artists to marvel and enjoy a high reputation internationally. Even when Qi Baishi was alive, it was almost impossible to tell which was his original work and which was a copy.
Other than the paintings of Rong Bao Zhai, Dai Yuexuan's brush, the paper of the Pavilion of Pure Secrets, the ink of the Pavilion of One Success, the restoration of the Pavilion of Ancient Collection, and the imitation antiques were all the treasures of Liulichang. Each of them had a history of more than a hundred years.
Other than the shops on both sides, Lin Yi could already see some people setting up stalls. The things they were selling, whether they were real or fake, were extremely dazzling.
Old books and magazines, agate jade, porcelain, Chinese and foreign coins, bamboo bone carvings, shadow masks, Buddhist keepsakes, ethnic costumes, stamps, etc.
These were all part of Wen Wan's Chinese, and there were naturally many people who played it.
What was playing?
Walnuts, birdcage, fan, gourd.
During the Qing Dynasty, this was known as the Four Elegances.
Other than that, fighting crickets, fighting cocks, walking dogs, cooking eagles, raising birds, raising fish, and so on were all considered fun.
Among the people, there were literati playing with walnuts, martial artists spinning iron balls, rich people carrying gourds, and idlers walking their dogs. The literati playing with walnuts ranked first.
Wenwan walnuts were also known as palm beads. In ancient times, they were called kneading walnuts. They originated from the Han and Sui Dynasties, were popular in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and were popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the long river of more than 2,000 years of history, it was widely spread and formed the unique Chinese walnut culture in the world. From ancient times to the present, from emperors and generals, to talented scholars and beautiful women, to officials and ordinary people, there was no one who was not proud of having a pair of exquisite and bright walnuts.
Especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, playing with walnuts reached its peak. The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youxiao, not only played with walnuts but also carved them himself. Therefore, there was an unofficial history of "playing with walnuts and forgetting state affairs, Zhu Youxiao's imperial case and knife" spread among the people.
Qianlong himself liked elegant and ancient tastes. The natural wild air bred by the texture of walnuts and the sound of gold and stone after playing with them for a long time were very suitable for his temper, so he especially liked to rub walnuts. It was said that he once wrote a poem," The sun and moon spin in his palm, and time wants to go back. When would his hair turn white?”
Pu Yi also mentioned the Wenwan walnuts in his book," The First Half of My Life." He said," In the storeroom behind Yangxin Hall, I also found many interesting treasure chests. It is said that these were the toys of Qianlong. The treasure chests are made of red sandalwood. One of the boxes contains several pairs of brownish-red walnuts and a walnut carved with ancient characters.”
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the trend of playing with walnuts was even better than before."Walnuts in hand can live up to 89 years old, surpassing Master Qianlong.”
During the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, including after the establishment of New China, there were years of war and turmoil.
As the saying went, antiques in the heyday were gold in the chaos. In the chaos, the business of antiques and antiques naturally plummeted, and Walnut was no exception.
After the 1970s, with the stability of the country and the prosperity of the common people, antiques and antiques blossomed with new vitality.
In the 1970s, a pair of low-quality lion heads that had yet to be used were worth a few yuan. In the 1980s, they were worth dozens of yuan. In the 1990s, they were worth a few hundred yuan.
After 2010, it had already reached hundreds of thousands of yuan, increasing at a rate of ten times every decade.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。