Recommended words: Zhang Zongxian is a very important person in the collection world. His collections, whether they are calligraphy and painting, porcelain, copper body enamelware, etc., are all exquisite and very large. He was the first Hong Kong Chinese to appear at an international auction, and he played a role in promoting the cultural relics and art auction market in mainland China. He is also enthusiastic about public welfare and charity, and has donated hundreds of cultural relics and artworks to Suzhou and other museums.
The Guardian film was first filmed in 1994, with Zhang Zongxian and Ma Wei both in the same frame.
Zhang Zongxian, known to his acquaintances as Robert Zhang, is a highly renowned person in the cultural relic collection and auction circles. He is currently a member of the Standing Committee of the Suzhou Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference and serves as a consultant for many famous cultural relics and art auction companies such as China Guardian, Beijing Hanhai, Beijing Rongbao, and Shanghai Duoyun.
Cultural relics family
Zhang Zongxian was born in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The Zhang family belongs to a prominent family in Suzhou. Zhang Zongxian was born in this artistic family in 1928. His grandfather, Zhang Yiru, whose name was Xiqiao, was born in Wujin, Jiangsu Province. He was a giant of bamboo carving in modern times. He was good at Jiangnan and Shanghai famous inscriptions, calligraphy and painting. He was especially good at micro carvings on fan bones and abbreviations in inscriptions. He could carve hundreds of characters in Yang script at a time. , the characters are as small as flax, and their uncanny craftsmanship has been praised by the times. According to "The Bamboo Man Continued" written by Chu Deyi , in the twelfth year of Guangxu's reign, Taohuawu ordered the paintings and calligraphy of celebrities from the Song and Yuan Dynasties to be engraved on the wall of the house. A box containing several scrolls of calligraphy and painting on Yi artifacts collected by Da Shi was not engraved by Xiqiao.
Zhang Zongxian is in the Taoist family of Prince Edward in Hong Kong
His father Zhang Zhongying is engaged in the antique business in Shanghai. He is a leader in the antique industry in Shanghai. He opened the "Juzhenzhai" antiques and jewelry store on Wuma Road. It is a very famous large shop and operates projects. It mainly sells official kilns of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but also deals in antiques, epigraphy, calligraphy and painting. Zhang Zhongying became a shopkeeper at the age of 18. He had an excellent eye for identifying cultural relics and was well-known far and wide. Even the great antique dealer Qiu Yanzhi called himself a junior and often went to "Juzhenzhai" to buy goods. At that time, the famous antique dealer Dai Runzhai went to the United States to do business. He also received the support of Zhang Zhongying and provided a batch of bronze supplies, which laid the foundation for it to develop.
Zhang Zongxian is talented and intelligent, coupled with his family background, he started to purchase Beiping antiques market when he was a teenager. Every time I go to Peiping, I eat and stay at "Dunhua Zhai" in Dongsi Archway. At that time, "Dun Hua Zhai" was a nationally famous antique shop, and its owner was Sun Yingzhou, a master of porcelain appraisal. Zhang Zongxian and Geng Baochang, a student who studied here, became sworn friends. Therefore, Zhang Zongxian made achievements in ceramic jewelry throughout his life, and gradually changed to The art of calligraphy and painting.
Zhang Zongxian officially opened his own antique store in 1951, named "Yongyuanxing". It was first opened on Caine Road, then moved to Wyndham Street, and then to Hankou Road (Kamstone Street) in Kowloon. Later, many antique shops and jewelry shops were opened in the old Ocean Terminal and other places.
In 1965, Zhang Zongxian was in the cargo hold on Shiban Street, Hong Kong
In the late 1940s, old princes and grandsons from Beijing and former collectors from Shanghai fled to Hong Kong. Hong Kong suddenly became an important town for the circulation of Chinese cultural relics. Zhang Zongxian, who was in his early 20s, was lucky enough to catch up. This wavy head. At the beginning, Zhang Zongxian borrowed ten taels of gold from Liang Xuezhuang, equivalent to about 2,700 Hong Kong dollars, and purchased a batch of old crafts from the Shanghai Foreign Trade Crafts Company. He quickly sold 80% of the money and got back 10,000 Hong Kong dollars. Not only did he pay off the loan, but it also became his first pot of gold in Hong Kong.
After Zhang Zongxian started operating antiques in Hong Kong, due to his wide range of varieties and exquisite quality, he was often visited by celebrities, such as Qiu Yanzhi, Hu Huichun, the owner of the famous antique shop "Jiudelou", Ge Shiqiao, the owner of "Tianminlou", Jin Caiji, etc. .
In 1967, Zhang Zongxian came to Taiwan. At that time, Taiwan's understanding of antiques and cultural relics was not yet on track, but he met a group of elites in the business community, which paved the way for future development. In 1968, he participated in the London auction for the first time. At that time, he was the first Hong Kong Chinese to appear at an international auction. From then on, Zhang Zongxian began his busy life of flying between London, New York, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, rushing to Sotheby's and Christie's auctions. Since he spent a lot of time in the sea of clouds, he called himself the "Master of the Sea of Clouds Pavilion".
Zhang Zongxian has won the trust and respect of collectors around the world with his vision and business acumen.He is often entrusted by others to help some collectors purchase cultural relics. For example, in November 1989 at Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong, he helped the founder of Taipei Hongxi Art Museum, Zhang Tiangen, to purchase the Qing Yongzheng enamel hibiscus reed for 16.5 million Hong Kong dollars. The Yanbei set a record for porcelain in the Qing Dynasty at that time. In addition, many important collections have been purchased for famous collectors Cai Chennan and Chen Qibin. After the 1990s, Zhang Zongxian seldom bid for others, but traveled to auctions as a collector.
Zhang Zongxian plays an important role in the collection and auction world.
Zhang Zongxian has been collecting porcelain for decades and has handled more than thousands of ancient ceramic treasures. Today, there are still hundreds of exquisite pieces stored in "Yunhai Pavilion".
The auction style of "Mr. No. 1"
In 1992, he selected 118 pieces from his collection and held the "Zhang Zongxian Chinese Ceramics Collection Exhibition" in London, England. Among the exhibits are the essences of the Song Dynasty such as the lotus plate carved from Ding Kiln of the Song Dynasty, the three-legged stove with Longquan string pattern of the Song Dynasty, the rose purple glaze drum nail wash of the Jun Kiln of the Song Dynasty, as well as the large blue and white grape pattern plate of the Yongle Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty, and the blue and white plate of the Ming Xuande Dynasty with dark flowers and twin phoenixes and lotus branches. Plate, Ming Dynasty official kiln porcelain such as Ming Chenghua blue and white lotus, moon and plum pattern Zhuge bowl, Ming Zhengde blue and white lotus dragon pattern plate, Ming Zhengde coral red glaze slag bucket and other Ming Dynasty official kiln porcelain, as well as Qing Kangxi colorful flowers and birds, alum red, hundred bats and dark dragon plates, The rouge red bowl of the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, the imitation red carved lacquer figure landscape picture box of the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the colorful gold baby playing picture bowl on the coral ground of the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, the mandarin duck pier type bowl of the Daoguang Dou color lotus pond of the Qing Dynasty, etc., are all exquisite. In particular, the Qing Dynasty Qianlong Gu Yuexuan enamel bowl with peach and willow competing for spring and two swallows is very rare to find in the world. Now there are only one in the National Palace Museum, the David De Foundation in London, and the Hongxi Art Museum in Taipei. After the exhibition, he edited and published the book "Exquisite Chinese Ceramics from the Yunhai Pavilion", which had a great influence.
Qing Qianlong Enamel Bowl with Peach and Willow Struggle for Spring and Two Swallows
Qing Yongzheng Blue and White Vase with Five Bats and Nine Peach Patterns
Since the 1980s, Zhang Zongxian's interest has gradually become more and more interested in Chinese calligraphy and painting. He made many friends in the field of calligraphy and painting, was eager to learn and asked many questions, and finally gained something in more than ten years, which he stored in the "Yunhai Pavilion".
In June 2002, he held the "Zhang Zongxian Modern Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Collection Exhibition" in Shanghai. There were 208 exhibits, including 108 works by Qi Baishi, and works by 17 famous artists including Zhang Daqian, Lin Fengmian, Xu Beihong, Fu Baoshi 100 pictures in total.
Qi Baishi is a versatile painter. His exhibits include landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, workers and insects, calligraphy, etc. The forms of exhibits include vertical scrolls, banners, mirrors, fans, and four screens. Among them, "Picture of Writing a Drama" and "Picture of Liu Niu" are both the covers of the auction catalog of Beijing Hanhai Auction Company. "Flies" in the center of the mirror, with a canvas size of only 2 inches square, is Qi Baishi's smallest painting. The banner "Tiger", with an area of 8 square feet, is the largest tiger painted by Qi Baishi. The vertical scroll "Dragon" is the only dragon theme painted by Qi Baishi for Cao Kun . "Tang of Seal Script" is 18 square feet and is Qi Baishi's largest calligraphy work. "Peony" in the center of the mirror is inscribed by Qi Baishi when he was ninety-eight years old. It was the final work of the old man Baishi. It can be said that each piece is wonderful and magical.
Xugu, Zhao Zhiqian, Ren Yi, Wu Changshuo, Huang Binhong, Xu Beihong, Zhang Daqian, Fu Baoshi, Pan Tianshou, Lu Yanshao, Li Keran, Lin Fengmian and other 17 painters are all A master of modern Chinese painting. The collection exhibition features 100 of their paintings, outlining the achievements of modern Chinese art history. For example, Huang Binhong's "Reminiscences of Journey to Shu" was written by Huang Binhong when he was 85 years old, and is a masterpiece of Huang Binhong's mature period. Fu Baoshi is a giant in the Chinese painting world. The paintings in the exhibition, such as "Returning to the Boat after Storm", "Goose Falling on the Flat Sand", and "Lady on a Moonlit Night", are all Fu Baoshi's masterpieces. The exhibition features 25 paintings by Zhang Daqian, such as "Baby Playing", "Landscape with Splashed Colors", "Secret Willow Creek", etc., all of which are Zhang Daqian's masterpieces.
Lin Fengmian Harvest Picture
Zhang Daqian Baby Play Picture
Zhang Zongxian has been working hard for the development and development of China's cultural relics auction market for almost his entire life. Initially, he did useful work for Sotheby's and Christie's, two major international auction companies, to move to Hong Kong. Later, he contributed to the development of the two companies in Hong Kong.The porcelain collected by Zhang Zongxian was entrusted to Christie's Hong Kong for two special auctions in 1999 and 2000. The two special auctions achieved a turnover of hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars, which brought vitality to the weak auction market at that time. In particular, the Yongzheng blue and white vase with five bats and nine peach patterns was sold for HK$11.045 million, setting the highest price for blue and white porcelain from the Qing Dynasty at that time. In his book "Twenty Years at Sotheby's", Sotheby's Chu Tong-sang especially expressed his gratitude to Zhang Zongxian for his support. Because of his assistance, Hong Kong could develop into a Chinese cultural relics and art trading center.
Zhang Zongxian’s contribution to the development of the cultural relics and art auction market in mainland China can be said to be huge. In 1992, when Beijing held the first international auction of Chinese cultural relics, he said on CCTV without hesitation: This is a breakthrough in mainland China's cultural relics policy, and its impact will be far-reaching. Then in 1993, at the first auction of Duoyunxuan in Shanghai, he held the No. 1 bidding card and bought the first and last lot. He said that it should have a beginning and an end. In 1993, China Guardian Auction Company was established. Zhang Zongxian traveled thousands of miles to congratulate the company and taught Guardian employees how to conduct an auction. In April 1994, Sotheby's Auction Company held the "Special Auction of Mr. Zhang Xueliang's Collection of Cultural Relics" in Taipei. Zhang Zongxian won more than half of the bids, and was known as "the best in the world". In 1994, China Guardian held its first auction. The first lot was Wu Xiceng's "Fishing and Joy" with a reserve price of 7,000 yuan. Zhang Zongxian, holding the No. 1 plate, stood up and said: Today is the first auction of Jiade. I will pay 18,000 yuan and I will give it away as soon as the auction is completed! The scene suddenly became lively. Zhang Zongxian increased the price one after another until it reached 88,000 yuan. Mr. Xu Bangda, the master of appraisal, came on stage to knock the first hammer, and Zhang Zongxian won the first prize. In 1994, at the first auction in Hanhai, Beijing, Zhang Zongxian, holding No. 1 plate again, won 16 million yuan in one go, accounting for 50% of the total auction turnover, making the Chinese cultural relics auction market a sensation around the world. After the establishment of the Zhongmao Shengjia Auction Company, there was a lack of supply. Zhang Zongxian did not hesitate to give up his collection of blue clocks and blue watches worth 5 million yuan to support the Zhongmao Shengjia Company. Zhongmao Shengjia became an instant hit, and Zhang Zongxian also pioneered the return of Chinese cultural relics.
Zhang Zongxian is now successful and financially wealthy. But he also experienced hardship, hardship and poverty, which also gave him a philanthropic heart that was willing to do charity work and even help the poor.
After the reform and opening up, he returned to his hometown of Suzhou. It could be said that he returned to his hometown in fine clothes. He was warmly received and welcomed by the Suzhou Municipal Committee and the Municipal Government. However, when he saw that the road from the train station to the urban area of Suzhou was in dilapidated condition, he took the initiative to donate a musical fountain at the train station, 400 cultural relics in the urban area, and equip a museum to decorate the open tourism of Suzhou City. The gateway enriches cultural facilities. In order to promote cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and the mainland and strengthen people-to-people exchanges, he has repeatedly funded and invited Suzhou Pingtan Troupe and theater troupes to perform in Hong Kong, which has achieved good results. He is always thinking about poor students and lonely elderly people. He goes to schools and nursing homes regularly every year to distribute scholarships to poor students and pension funds to lonely elderly people. Whenever he sees the happy smile of the old man or the bright smiling face of the student, he will feel a sense of satisfaction in his heart. This righteous act has formed a system and rule for him.
Appreciation of part of the old collection
Qing Yongzheng Blue and White Ruyi Er Litchi Pattern Moon Holding Vase
Song Dynasty Longquan Guanxian Three-legged Furnace
Song Dynasty Ding Kiln Carved Lotus Plate
"Ming Yongle Blue and White Grape Pattern Large Plate"
Late Ming Dynasty Copper Gilt seated Maitreya statue
