Teacher Ma, a well-known collector in Beijing’s collection circles, once said this.
If everyone could live again, they would all be winners in life.
For example, if anyone could live his life over again, he could make a fortune by working hard to buy a house, stocks, and antiques in the early years.
But it is a pity that there are no ifs in life, and there is no regret medicine in the world.
This is indeed true, but it is not entirely true.
Because there is such a saying.
"Small wealth depends on luck, medium wealth depends on wisdom, and big wealth depends on virtue."
In his life, Hong Lucheng also used the training of the Hong family to educate Hong Yanwu, saying, "To build a foundation, you need courage, to keep it, you need your brain, and to pass it on, you need your heart."
In fact, these two sentences have similar meanings. They both emphasize that opportunities only have a temporary effect on people and only account for a small part. The key to success depends on personal qualities.
Otherwise, even if you are lucky and make a fortune, you will not be able to keep it.
If you face the same opportunity, your gains will be much lower than those of people with higher qualities than you.
For example, for those who accidentally win a super jackpot, why are so many people's lives completely ruined because of this luck?
Wives and children are separated, relatives turn against each other, people fall into self-indulgence, and families are destroyed.
What is exposed is the problem of mismatch between personal quality and the large amount of wealth obtained.
In fact, we might as well give a more technical and concrete example.
As far as where to collect jewelry and jade.
Today's people, all of us know that this is a sure way to make money without losing anything, and it is the only way for those who are born again.
Many people have also heard of Hetian Jade King and Jade King, rough stones accumulated since the 1980s and 1990s.
Then when a large number of old pits no longer produced rough stones, the price of high-quality rough stones soared, and the story of sudden wealth came.
But if someone really travels back in time and just imitates cats and tigers, it would definitely be unwise.
Why do you say that?
Because he didn't use his brain, he first made a mistake in a common sense logical relationship.
Apart from a good market environment, the factors that can most enhance the economic value of cultural objects are not actually the scarcity and quality of raw materials that play a leading role.
The main part is determined by the feelings of historical inheritance, the taste of humanistic knowledge, and exquisite production skills.
Otherwise, how could things like grasshopper gourds, bird cages, and purple clay pots made by famous artists be more valuable than jewelry and jade?
Of course, celebrity calligraphy and painting can better reflect this.
Therefore, things like jade and jade, which have the greatest potential for appreciation and the highest profits, are those that have been carved into shape by masters of craftsmanship.
Because if these finished products are not valuable, then the rough stones are worthless.
When the price of raw materials increases due to scarcity, the price of finished products will naturally far exceed that of raw stones.
Besides, even in terms of raw stones, most of the truly top-quality Hetian jade and jadeite were mined in the Qing Dynasty.
It is recorded in books such as "Miscellaneous Notes of the Government and the Wilderness Since Daoxian".
"On the occasion of the same day, merchants from Guangdong came to Beijing to purchase jadeite. There were two famous jadeites. One person had thirty-three thousand jadeite, in terms of price, one person had a pot, and in terms of form, they were all pure green and flawless products. All of them were pure green and flawless.
Most of the ornaments required in the palace were made from thirty-three thousand pieces, so its reputation was famous at that time. In fact, the materials produced by a pot are particularly excellent, such as the jadeite flat square given to Wanyan family by the emperor, the finger ring from Jixiang and the pincui from Wensuo family.
bracelet."
Note that the important information reflected in this paragraph is as follows.
First, it explains the origin of many jade treasures in the palace during the period when Cixi came to power in the late Qing Dynasty.
Second, it records the quality that jadeite rough stones could achieve at that time.
Not only is it clearly written in the book, both "Thirty Thousand Three" and "One Pot" are pure green and flawless products.
Moreover, judging from historical relics, such as the "twisted silk jade bracelet" that Du Yuesheng and his wife bought from Chongguzhai in Beijing and transferred it to Song Meiling, it also verified that this legendary high-quality bracelet could indeed be seen on the market at that time.
treasure.
Since modern times, this kind of thing has disappeared in Myanmar.
If you compare the so-called "A" grade jadeite on the market today with something like this, I'm afraid it can only be smashed.
Third, the article also points out the origin of Wang Yunlin’s family heirloom jade flat square.
Not only is it a gift from the emperor, but it also comes from "one pot".
At the same time, the person Wen Suo recorded in the article also has quite an origin. He was Zeng Chong’s father.
Many people should know that Zeng Chong from Qinlao Hutong and Na Tong from Jinyu Hutong were equally famous ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the late Qing Dynasty. They were also affiliated with Xianghuang Banner like the Wanyan family.
It can also be seen from this that under the Eight Banners system that "only focuses on the banner people, not the Manchus and Han", the status of the "Shanghai Three Banners" is still transcendent within the small circle of powerful people, and the holy family members are not comparable to the general banner clan.
Of course, these last few sentences are purely off-topic.
However, the above should be enough to prove that since modern times, the output and quality of raw jadeite have been declining.
So if you are a sensible person, you should no longer choose to invest in rough diamonds.
As the saying goes, high-risk speculation like getting rich suddenly is only a choice for the poor.
As for the last one, there is one most critical disadvantage that needs to be mentioned about rough stones, and that is the transportation problem that must not be ignored.
Why were all the rich people in the past businessmen? They were all engaged in trade?
In addition to information asymmetry, the main reason is that transportation costs were not only high in the past, but also it was possible to encounter bandits and lose one's life when traveling far away.
It is extremely uneconomical for individuals to run around for their own affairs.
Everyone needs different things, so many people pay their travel expenses through trade, making long-distance trafficking profitable.
In fact, until the beginning of reform and opening up, our business still had this characteristic.
Don't forget, at that time, all people who made a fortune had a title - treacherous man.
This directly illustrates how they make money.
Those who make money by traveling back and forth are all the hard-earned money earned by transporting people on the road.
Don't take Hong Yanwu as an example. Apart from them, there is no other private person who can bring in such a large amount of goods and move it by truck.
Most of the time, they ate dry bread and squeezed into the train without even having a seat.
Of course, you also have to bear the risk of personal safety and property damage.
Such as local evil forces, various gods who eat train freight, as well as various scams, extortion, blackmail in shopping malls, there are simply countless.
Therefore, traveling around doing business in the 1980s was very risky.
Thinking about it this way, Hotan is far away in Xinjiang, and jade is far away in Myanmar.
If anyone really wants to do this, let alone how much the shipping cost will be and how they will get the items back.
To be honest, it is no different than seeking death.
So no matter how you look at it, it is putting the cart before the horse instead of buying the jadeite that is already finished in the stores in the capital, and instead going to the place of origin to track down the rough stone.