What are the fraudulent insiders in the antique industry?

Antique scams

In today's Chinese society, antique collection has become a favorite hobby of many people. The term "antique" comes from the Qianlong era, before that it was called antique, or "bone antique", with the meaning of the essence of the Mingxiao ancients, is the earliest private property in Chinese society, but also heralded the pursuit of people for the pursuit of beauty. This first popular fashion among the court nobles, the development of today, has become a national collection movement.

Most of the rich and powerful people strive to pursue their own career development. The few will only like to put pen to paper, engage in some collection hobby. And the Chinese poor people, all day long watching TV in the colorful world of flowers, and with their own hard work but a few lifetimes can not enjoy, sigh of relief to be able to get rich overnight industry invested in a great enthusiasm. In addition, China's thousands of years of history, cultural achievements are numerous, blossoming. A suitable investment and can bring windfall profits industry came into being - antique collection.

In the words of the line, the water of antiques is very deep. There are countless things to hit the eye, so the pitfalls have become commonplace. This, many factors intermingled.

▲Treasure hunting program

The antique fever is not good from the daily TV program. "Treasure" "treasure hunt" program over and over again, a moment to tell you that this baby millions, that thing tens of millions of dollars, a moment to get a hammer to smash the fakes, the effect of this effect makes people for the collection of enthusiasm rises step by step.

It is also not good to say that from the world's auction houses. China's national treasures, whether it is a painting, porcelain, or the famous beast head, one after another Chinese antiques were auctioned at a high price, so that people all over the world know: China's valuable antiques, Chinese antiques suitable for investment. Let before just individual Chinese investors small playful nature of the collection behavior, become a kind of antique investment social phenomenon. Even the financial market has appeared in the antique fund this fresh thing, quickly learned by Chinese investors to get rich.

Or from the antique industry itself. Those who get rich overnight because of the real thing is still a minority, more people get rich by making fakes. Counterfeiting, on the contrary, has become the main support for many Chinese townships to revitalize their economies. But no matter how the above speculation, antique collection is more and more people regarded as an investment, rather than a hobby, it has a fraud and blowing more and more possibilities, not to mention that today's antique collection of the phenomenon of fraud, has reached the peak of China's history of antique counterfeiting.

Chinese antique counterfeiting also has its history, its economic development with the history of China is almost synchronized, confirming that the "Shengshi play collection" said. The first antique counterfeiting climax is in the Song Dynasty. Because the Song Dynasty emperor himself is a fetish for antiques, the whole country to search for antiques. At that time, the literati, also like antiques collection, but also out of a large number of like to study antiques connoisseur, such as Wang Pu, Mitty, Su Shi, Qin Guan, Lu You and so on.

Based on the time itself in the Chinese culture of the outbreak period, the imitation of the former antiques is mainly the Zhou and Shang period of bronze, and although more fake, but when it comes to antique trading, but less than imagined. The reason for this, it is likely that people at that time are still making fake as a craft, for their own preferences, for others to praise. One of the most famous stories, counting Su Shi with candy on the river in Suzhou and touch the stone children in exchange for 289 colorful stones, to the copper basin, every day to see the story.

The second high point of counterfeiting was in the Ming and Qing dynasties. No coincidence, this peak of counterfeiting is also still the heyday of Chinese culture, people for the pursuit of works of art to the point of culmination. Because not only limited to the previous large antique devices, more counterfeit paintings and calligraphy works were imitated. Thus also formed today's antique field, the then Ming and Qing dynasty imitation of painting and calligraphy as a re-collection of the interesting phenomenon of antiques. One is because of its age is certainly long, with the value of time. Second, also because of the imitation of the year, it is difficult to identify, and even call themselves a school, there is a "Suzhou piece", there is a "back door made".

And to the third peak of the Republic of China, and before the counterfeiting environment is very different. The country is not a country, people's livelihood has become a big problem. Have access to people, more in the dumping of the fallen Manchu aristocrats from the Forbidden City to come out of the things, no access to the people, they had to partner with the craftsman, then the wind, imitation of some of the real treasure. Taking advantage of the country's chaos, a and send a small fortune. And this time the peak of counterfeiting, but also with the establishment of the new China and gradually subsided.

Interestingly, antique counterfeiting not only has its own history of development, but also has different sects and specialties of folk. Fans who have read "Tomb Raider's Notebook" and "Ghost Blowing Lamp" are well aware that there are four major sects of grave robbers in China, namely, the Gold Touching Schoolmasters, the Mountain Movers, the Unloading Rexes, and the Fachu Heavenly Officials, as well as the tradition of grave robbers who explore the north and look at the south.

▲"Ghost Blowing Lantern" in the school captains

But no matter how the novel depicts, these grave robbers steal out of the accompanying treasures, a large part of the real antiques in today's market from, but also for the counterfeiters to provide the opportunity for counterfeiting. Since there are sects of grave robbers, different regions steal out of the different stuff, antiques counterfeiting sects also change with it, forming a map of different regions, different counterfeiting classification.

Many local governments thought that the establishment of a "jade culture village", "bronze town" can improve the lives of local farmers, so that generations of farmers have a new development. But in the end, the ultimate economic revenue generation, but by manufacturing fake antiques to get.

Jingdezhen, for example, once the state-owned ceramic enterprises in the wave of reform was replaced by private contracting, some personal, unregistered ceramic workshop in Jingdezhen, no less than 4,000, employing as many as 100,000 people. Mixed result is that the government can not really control the final source of ceramics. Even if they are shipped away by merchants in Beijing and Shanghai to be sold as counterfeit goods, Jingdezhen leaders have no way of knowing. These problems, every day in Jingdezhen, thousands of fake antiques so that a steady stream, in batches and classified to the hands of the final collector.

▲Jingdezhen workshop

In the antiques market, another indispensable element is the "expert". This name, once revered by countless Chinese, has not had a good time lately. Not only in the antique industry, as long as the accident in China in any industry, there will be the so-called experts out of the rumor, justification, but the result is often like a street rat, everyone shouted. We are here to use the 2011 vibration of the antique world of the "witch hazel" incident as an example, to show you the "expert" position of the magic.

The main character of this story consists of a tycoon, two bankers and five antique appraisal experts. It runs through the first decade of the 21st century, from the time of the counterfeiting to the time of the arrests. The cause of this story is the main character Xie Genrong want to do everything possible to cheat the loan, and finally came up with "witch hazel" to cheat the loan of the hook. We'll tell you more about the story.

Xie Genrong, the name once appeared in the "Chinese rich list", as the president of the Waltham Group, he is often called "antique collector". Like many rich people, collect antiques, and even open a private museum, as a symbol of identity and status. However, the "treasures" in the museum can not only be used for viewing, but also become part of the company's property, and then cheated a sizable bank loan. As early as 2002, the two governors of the Construction Bank found Xie Genrong with forged financial statements to fraudulent bank loans, the result of the negotiation is to be Xie Genrong brought into the "Genrong Museum", with a visit to the mysterious "witch hazel". Governors are not antique experts, but recognize the five authoritative antique appraisal experts signed the assessment report. 2.4 billion market valuation, a seemingly valuable "witch hazel", not only to dispel the previous concerns about fraudulent loans, but also let the governors made the decision to continue to provide loans. They secretly calculate: if the enterprise can develop, before the "bad debt" are not a problem. But the two governors never expected, it is the so-called 2.4 billion worth of treasure, to bring them to jail.

The "witch hazel" is not an antique. According to the "expert" Niu Fuzhong account, he helped Xie Genrong with the purchase of a piece of jade piece of string into a jade coat. And the identity of the intermediary, contacted the appraisal expert group: Wang Wenxiang, Yang Boda, Li Jinsong, Yang Fu Xu and Shi Shuqing. These names, for people who do not play antiques as if some strange, but for players in the antique world, each of these five names represent "professional", "senior", "wealth". The five names all represent "professional", "senior", "wealth". Each of them is seventy or eighty years of age in the collection of titanic figures, a long list of various titles. There are collectors association president, former vice president of the Palace Museum, the former secretary-general of the Association of precious stones, Peking University Gemstone Appraisal Center director and so on.

The most famous Shi Shuqing old man, more experts in the expert, the famous historian and cultural relics appraiser, served as a researcher at the Chinese Museum of History, deputy director of the National Commission for the identification of cultural relics, professor of the Department of History of Nankai University, Peking University Department of Archaeology postgraduate tutor, president of the Association of Chinese collectors to archaeological appraisal of the reputation of China and abroad. In these experts to see, counting, assessment, after a "witch hazel" this has a legitimate identity.

After the case, a reporter had contacted these experts, in addition to the late Shi Shucheng in 2007, several other experts said that the assessment was mainly to see the main around the jade coat around a few rounds, thought it was not much more formal and serious assessment, just to help a friend a favor. Coupled with Shi Shuqing's prestige in the industry, the other experts did not express their views on the jade coat. The final valuation of 2.4 billion, but also not their own intention, just follow the Shi old man's opinion. In the end, because of the 2.4 billion but got tangled up in lawsuits, but also very helpless. But on the other hand, behind the high valuation, the experts can also get the corresponding high evaluation fee, also let a person can not help but think, this is not one after another fabulous high price endless reasons?

And it is these experts inadvertently, the financial fraud and antique collection closely linked. A thing that is not a curio, after the experts' assessment, the value doubled and became a gold-sucking weapon. Whether the baby is real or not, fake or not, as long as there is a certificate of evaluation of the experts, like a gold medal, on this will be able to become a lot of money in the market tool. So the expert will also be said to antique economic fraud in a ring, not too much.

▲Mancheng Han Tomb unearthed Zhongshan Jing Wang Liu Sheng gold wisp jade coat

And this antique fraud, in addition to experts, the role of the media is also essential. Different from the historical trend of antique forgery, the tendency of forgery in today's society, was unconsciously driven by the media. This is a collection of programs in the era of red-hot, the national central and local stations at the same time have more than two dozen collection of treasure identification programs to Wang Gang's "world collection" (protect the treasure hammer smashed fakes) and CCTV Jia Ming hosted the "Treasure Hunting" is the most red-hot. Like Ma Weidu collection of celebrities, immediately replaced Cui Yongyuan, Bai Yansong and a number of other CCTV celebrities, become a TV how to change the channel can see the familiar faces.

In these two dozen treasure appreciation program, some programs are good intention, hope that through the TV platform, for the audience to show the antique real and fake identification method, provide the story of the culture behind the antique, expose the process of antique counterfeiting, etc., and strive to let the people to establish a correct concept of antique collection.

But on the other hand, it's also because of the proliferation of TV programs and online media that the media has been able to throw light on what kind of antiques can fetch a good price. Today this program broadcast the Song dynasty official kiln porcelain sold a high price, the program said that indeed the official kiln porcelain belongs to the treasures. The next day all over the country counterfeiters will begin to specialize in Song Dynasty official kiln porcelain high imitation boutique. Followed by experts will come out to identify a variety of official kiln porcelain. Without many days, the market will have countless similar TV broadcast before the Song Dynasty official kiln high imitation porcelain. It can be seen that the media in the process of antique counterfeiting, not only lead the view, but also lead the direction of counterfeiting.

Since the antique fraud, there are so many influencing factors, feel so unreliable, why are still so many people are still keen on this? Return on investment is one aspect, this is no excuse, everyone knows. But has a higher return on investment projects are not a few, why do people favor this? I think this is related to the most basic psychological needs of the Chinese people.

Curio can not be used to eat, can not be used to wear, even if not to earn money, at best, is placed in the home, many of them have no practical value. But investors can get the psychological satisfaction of culture through antique collection. To give a simple example: the Wenchuan earthquake, a group of collectors do not donate money or goods, but instead donated a number of antiques suspected to be forgeries, as a disaster relief. Whether the final auction into money for the construction of relief Wenchuan let's not ask, such behavior is declared to the world, for the collection of antiques, the economic benefits of fraud on the contrary in the second, psychological needs as well as recognized fraud is what leads to today's social counterfeiting continues, but players still know the fake to buy a fake, would rather be cheated, so as to continue to "support"! "The reason for the development of fraud?

Such psychological fraud, cloaked in culture and the pursuit of artistic beauty of the coat, the occurrence of its more hidden, but ultimately lead to the results, but also will not necessarily be equivalent to a simple economic blow in general, its destruction will be a group of people for how to meet the enjoyment of consumption of fundamental concepts, the consequences are unimaginable.