Zheng Banqiao’s real name is Zheng Xie, his courtesy name is Kerou and his nickname is Banqiao.
Many people think that Zheng Banqiao is his name, but this is not the case. His name comes from "Xie You Ke Rou" in "Shang Shu·Hong Fan".
His poetry, calligraphy and painting are all exquisite, and he is also known as the "Three Wonders".
Painting orchids, grass, bamboo and stone can be called a great master.
The three styles of calligraphy, namely official script, regular script and regular script, complement each other and form a unique style. It is also known as "Banqiao style".
Zheng Banqiao's life was full of ups and downs. The Zheng family was originally from a scholarly family, but when Zheng Banqiao was born, the family was already in decline.
His biological mother died when he was three years old, and he was raised by his adoptive mother, Fei Shi, who was the maid of Zheng Banqiao's grandmother and treated Zheng Banqiao better than her biological son. Even if she only had a penny, she would buy Zheng Banqiao a cake to eat.
Later, her adoptive mother's son became an official and wanted to take her to live with her to enjoy the blessings. Fei insisted not to go and still chose to take care of Zheng Banqiao and his grandmother. Zheng Banqiao wrote a poem and lamented, "Ten thousand dollars of food and salary are not as good as having cakes in hand."
Later, his father remarried, and his stepmother Hao also treated him as her own. However, when Zheng Banqiao was fourteen, his stepmother also passed away.
Zheng Banqiao later wrote a poem sadly: "I shed tears for no reason, thinking about my stepmother and my heart is sad. Ten years of hard work in running the house has saved me from the worry of hunger and cold."
Zheng Banqiao passed the examination as a scholar when he was twenty years old, but he was unlucky later on and made a living by selling paintings. It was not until he was almost forty years old in the tenth year of Yongzheng that he passed the imperial examination. At this time, he finally gained the fame that a scholar should have.
and status.
Later, in the first year of Qianlong's reign, he passed the Jinshi examination and began his two-term career as a county magistrate. He resigned in his sixtieth year and continued to make a living selling paintings until his death at the age of seventy-three.
There are many anecdotes and allusions about Zheng Banqiao. It is estimated that there are nearly a hundred kinds of stories about Zheng Banqiao's trial alone. In addition to his talent and coolness, many of them are related to his "weird" temper and great wisdom.
The poem on the back of Mr. Qian's Qingtian Light Frozen Seal is related to his "weird" temper, and it is also a recorded true story, which is "Banqiao Runge" where Zheng Banqiao sold paintings with clearly marked prices in his later years.
Zheng Banqiao was not the first person to sell paintings in ancient times, but he was the first recorded celebrity to insist on clearly marking the price of his paintings.
Many famous ancient calligraphers and painters were professional painters who made a living by selling paintings. For example, Xu Daoning in the Song Dynasty, Dai Jin, the originator of "Zhejiang School Painting" in the Ming Dynasty, Tang Yin, one of the four great talents in Jiangnan, and Yun Shouping, a famous painter in the early Qing Dynasty, all sold paintings.
.
Among the Eight Eccentrics, Jin Nong, Huang Shen, Li Wei, Luo Pin, etc. also had the experience of selling paintings for a living.
In ancient times, it was normal for famous calligraphers and painters to charge some polishing fees for selling their paintings. After all, painting is very energy-consuming and time-consuming.
It's just that when it comes to how to collect money, it's very talkative. Most of them are left to the buyers themselves, and basically they don't want what they want, so as not to be too tainted with the smell of money and be ridiculed by other literati.
Selling paintings was also very cumbersome for ancient literati.
Except for those who are so destitute that they have to set up a stall on the street, all painters who are somewhat famous have their own rules. Generally speaking, the painter must first write a letter of greeting and come to see him, and then the two of them drink tea and talk, and through the back-and-forth conversation, they can determine whether the business is a good one.
Deal.
People who buy paintings often need to say some compliments, such as sir, your talent is far superior, your painting skills are comparable to Dong Ju of Jingguan, you directly follow Gu Lu, you are vaguely on par with the painting sage, etc.
If you encounter a painter with a bad temper, you often have to be introduced by an intermediary before you can come to the door. If you go directly by yourself, you are likely to be rejected.
The painter seems to be in a favorable position, but at first glance it looks more like a seller's market, but it is not.
Because a painter wants money just to gain a bad reputation. Asking for money directly seems to be an insult to the gentleman and loses the dignity of a scholar.
Many times, I am so flattered that I can’t get off the stage, and I just paint a picture for the other person in vain.
Or if the other party comes to your door with a few boxes of cakes and souvenirs, and compliments him, he can often come back with a good painting, which is a huge disadvantage.
Zheng Banqiao was different. In order not to talk nonsense with those who would get paintings for free without giving any money, or who came to ask for paintings and give some worthless gifts, he directly hung up a price list of Zheng's calligraphy and painting.
This price list is called "Banqiao Runge": "The large one is six taels, the medium one is four taels, the small one is two taels, the banner couplet is one tael, and the fan is five qian."
The reason why this is done is explained in detail below, "Giving gifts of food and food is not as good as silver. What is given to the public may not be what the younger brother likes.
"Sending cash brings joy in the heart, and both calligraphy and painting are good.
"Gifts are entanglements, and credit is especially bad. I am old and tired, and I cannot accompany you to make useless remarks."
To put it bluntly, it’s really boring for those of you who ask for paintings and give gifts and food. If you give me your money, what can’t I buy?
I am truly happy when you give me money. I feel good when I am happy. Whether it is calligraphy, painting or calligraphy, the quality of the work is absolutely guaranteed.
If you give me a gift, I will have to fight with you in the future, and I will have to give it back if you don't know.
If I don't send it back, you may have to say that I don't know how to reciprocate and it's rude.
Those who default on credit are even more shameless. If you owe someone, you will disappear. How can I, old and frail, have the time to talk nonsense with you?
So you want to paint? Give me money!
Finally, he wrote the poem on the seal: "It costs more to paint bamboo than to buy it. The paper is six feet high and costs three thousand. Let Qu talk about old opinions and exchange them, just as the autumn wind blows by my ears."
"Banqiao Runge" Shen Yu was really impressed when he saw this place when he was young. It is indeed the first of the eight weirdos, simple, direct and grand!
Shen Yu felt that it was better to say that Zheng Banqiao had a weird temper than to say that he was open-minded, a manifestation of his informality and his great wisdom and foolishness.
It's hard to be smart, and it's even harder to be confused. It's even harder to turn from smart to confused. Take a step back, feel at ease now, and don't expect to be blessed later. It's not an exaggeration to describe it as talented.
Zheng Banqiao lost his mother in his childhood, his wife in middle age, and his two sons also died in infancy.
A scholar in the Kangxi Dynasty, a scholar in the Yongzheng Dynasty, a Jinshi in the Qianlong Dynasty, three outstanding poems, calligraphy and paintings, and an official return. They have experienced countless things in their lives. It can be said that they have understood it long ago.
In the Qing Dynasty, a seal made of Qingtian frozen stone was already worth hundreds of taels of silver.
If this seal was used by Zheng Banqiao, the price is really hard to estimate, at least starting from one million.
Shen Yu knew that Zheng Banqiao was proficient in metal and stone seal carving. It is estimated that Zheng Banqiao's name stamps, calligraphy stamps, leisure stamps, Zhaiguan stamps, nickname stamps, book collection stamps, collection stamps, etc. add up to more than a hundred pieces, some of which are Most of what he carved himself was carved for him by others.
But it’s hard to say whether this seal belongs to Zheng Banqiao, after all, the seal text is completely unclear.
But it doesn’t matter whether it is Zheng Banqiao’s seal. The value and carving of the seal itself are enough.
Of course, to be able to have poems about Zheng Banqiao engraved on such a top-quality stone must have something to do with Zheng Banqiao. At worst, he must be a fan of Zheng Banqiao.
"Mr. Qian, congratulations to you for getting such a top-quality Qingtian frozen stone seal." Shen Yu organized the items on the glass cabinet one by one, put the seals into the seal box, and then said to Mr. Qian calmly.
Qian Lao smiled and said: "From the moment you dropped the flashlight, I knew the seal was special. What? The price is very expensive? Is it more expensive than my small blue and white bowl?"
Shen Yu nodded seriously: "Yes, your small blue and white bowl is much less valuable than this seal.
"This kind of Qingtian lamp jelly from the Qing Dynasty is far more rare than official kiln porcelain, and the price starts at least one million.
"And judging from the poem engraved on this seal and the superb overall seal cutting skills, it may have something to do with Zheng Banqiao. If it can be confirmed that it is Zheng Banqiao's seal, the value will increase a lot.
"It's just that I don't know much about the art of seal carving. The origin of this seal needs to be carefully identified by everyone who knows about metal and stone seal carving. But one thing I can be sure of is that this is 100% an old seal from the Qing Dynasty."
"So I really picked up a big leak?" Mr. Qian said happily, but the rag in his hand did not leave the blue and white plum vase.
"You don't have to look for anyone to look at it anymore. You can take it to the store and sell it. When the money is sold, each of us will get half of it."
Shen Yu quickly waved his hand: "This can't be done."
Qian Laoyi glared, "Why can't it happen? I said it will happen."
Shen Yu thought for a while: "Well, I do have a few customers who like seals, but I don't know if they are willing to buy such expensive seals. If the other party is willing to buy it, then follow the rules of stretching into three and breaking into two. What do you think?"
"We'll talk about it after selling."
The drawing that Shen Yu mentioned refers to the rules of selling antiques in antique shops in the old days.
If the object is sold through a middleman, both the buyer and the seller must pay the middleman a certain amount of compensation.
Specifically, it is 5% of the selling price of the antique, which is borne by both parties, with the buyer paying 30% and the seller paying 20%.
To put it bluntly, it is an agency fee.
Of course, this rule is also changing now. Some rare antiques, such as famous calligraphy and paintings, official kiln porcelain of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, old mahogany furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, old jade jewelry, old jades, old purple clay pots, old snuff bottles, etc., are all purchased by the buyer. The seller doesn’t pay a cent of the money.
Shen Yu is really happy for Mr. Qian now. To be honest, Shen Yu is not jealous at all about Mr. Qian missing millions or even millions of items. He is just talking about the cost of fiber-stretching. He definitely won't Wanted.
No one dislikes having a lot of money, and Shen Yu is now in debt worth millions. Since Mr. Qian doesn't know much about seal stones, if Shen Yu is more evil-hearted, he can take the seal away at a low price of 20,000 yuan or even 10,000 yuan.
But Shen Yu asked himself if he did this, he would be a complete bastard.
Shen Yu wanted to pick up Lao Liu's painting because Lao Liu put the painting on the stall. Even if he didn't buy it, others would buy it.
Moreover, Lao Liu is in his prime, and Shen Yu would not do it under any circumstances if he were asked to pick up money-laden items. Sticking to the bottom line is his principle in life.
However, this time I was able to confirm that the color of Baoguang differs from different dynasties, and I also discovered that the size of Baoguang will increase according to the value of the antique. This is also a great gain.
He repeatedly told Mr. Qian not to let outsiders know, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble. Shen Yu watched Mr. Qian lock the seal into the safe before going out and walking towards his "Lanting Ju".
He was thinking about who to sell this seal to in order to maximize Mr. Qian's interests.
