What is the development history of Beijing antique industry?

In the history of China, the most developed antique industry is Beijing, because it is a famous historical and cultural city.

The antique industry in Beijing includes antique shops, jade shops, second-hand shops and hanging shops between antique shops. Their main business activities are buying and selling cultural relics.

The prosperity of the antique industry in old Beijing is actually at the expense of the loss of national treasures. Many foreigners who came to Beijing bought many antiques and cultural relics in China for the purpose of plunder and profit.

At that time, the cultural relics and antiques sold in Beijing antique shops included bronzes, ironware, jade articles and porcelain products unearthed or left over from past dynasties, as well as stoves, pots, pans, pots, bowls, bottles, cans, cups, horns, as well as Buddha statues, sculptures, carvings, jewels, lacquerware, jade articles, strange stones and rubbings.

There are a wide range of antique shops in Beijing, either from outlets or antiques that have to be sold after the decline of some noble families in Beijing.

In addition, some illegal antique dealers also buy goods from grave robbers and antique thieves. There are also small markets (ghost markets) and flea markets in Beijing, but these goods generally need pruning.

Different from the purchase channels in other regions, a large number of cultural relics and antiques lost from the Qing Palace have also become the antique sources of Beijing antique shops. At that time, countless treasures were lost from the palace. It is said that the Jianfuguan fire in the Forbidden City on 1923 was deliberately set on fire by some eunuchs to cover up the crime of stealing palace treasures.

A number of experts have emerged in the antique industry in old Beijing. They live in the ancient capital of culture and have frequent contacts with literati and celebrities, so they have rich appreciation knowledge of antique treasures. They also set up permanent offices in historical cities in Shaanxi, Henan, Shanxi, Shandong and other provinces to conduct procurement activities.

There are many experts in Beijing antique dealers, and their authority in cultural relics appraisal is also very high. Many foreign businessmen often bring their cultural relics to Beijing for identification.

Beijing's antique industry, mostly gathered in the same street, such as Liulichang, mainly sells stone ceramics, Four Treasures of the Study and ancient calligraphy and painting; The two corridors mainly sell jewelry, jade articles and jadeite corals; Xihu camp, which mainly sells modern embroidery, was once called "Antique Street", "Jade Street" and "Embroidery Street". The formation of these specialized markets has promoted the prosperity of the antique market.

Antique dealers are generally proficient in geography, history and cultural relics, and many people are also familiar with epigraphy and archaeology. There are even some antique calligraphers who write books and set up schools, which shows the depth of their business.

Antique dealers in old Beijing not only sell cultural relics, but also buy cultural relics, and adopt the business model of "hospitality" to the outside world, while the transactions in the industry are carried out in the "jumping yard" set up by industry associations to ensure the profits of the industry.

Trade associations also have customers who specialize in receiving foreign counterparts. For the sake of confidentiality, most transactions between peers adopt the traditional form of "holding hands in sleeves". Moreover, it is stipulated that "the sale is fair and both sides are beneficial", and it is absolutely forbidden to deceive peers. As for lying to laymen, it is not a case.

Most people who run the antique industry are very familiar with the market and national conditions, but the transaction is inherently risky. The antique industry is profitable, and naturally there are risks. A slight mistake in receiving goods will not only cause economic losses, but even be laughed at by peers.

The interests of antique dealers are the first, and making money naturally becomes their main purpose. As for the awareness of protecting cultural relics, most of them are not. Therefore, the antique industry is the chief culprit of the loss of cultural relics and treasures in China.

According to statistics, at the beginning of the 20th century, there were 1, 7 1 antique trade associations and 93 jade trade associations in Beijing, but none of them joined the trade associations. It can be seen that there were a huge number of antique shops and jade shops in Beijing at that time.