The Great Voyage (6)
The new building of the Liverpool Museum stands on the banks of the River Mersey, beside Albert Dock. Unlike the old museum, built during the Victorian era and steeped in the wear of time, the new museum has a fresh and distinctive minimalist exterior, full of modernity, becoming a striking splash of color in this historic docklands.
At that moment, preparations were underway in the museum’s central lecture hall for a spring auction held by the Edmund Auction House, and Tan Guhong and Luo Jingming had arrived at just the right time.
In the spacious, brightly lit hall, the bidders were already seated and ready. The media photographers at the back stood poised, cameras at the ready. On the auction platform, the host gave a brief opening speech, after which the auctioneer stepped up to greet the audience, and the auction officially began.
“Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present to you Lot No. 1 in today’s auction…”
Tan Guhong looked at the auctioneer onstage and could not help but frown slightly.
Luo Jingming, beside her, asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just… this auctioneer is a little different from what I imagined.”
She had never attended an auction before, but in her impression, an auctioneer should at least be dressed in a suit and white gloves, holding a gavel, expressionless, serious and professional as they called out bids and brought the hammer down.
But the auctioneer onstage was very short and very thin, and not particularly old. He was already slightly balding, however, and wore a brightly colored casual suit with round tortoiseshell-framed glasses. Most importantly, his tone was lively, and every now and then he would toss in a line or two of British humor during the auction, prompting knowing smiles and laughter from those present. However one looked at him, there was something… comical about him?
As if he understood what she was thinking, he explained:
“There are ranks and distinctions even among auctioneers. It takes real ability to sell an ordinary object for an extraordinarily high price. From below the stage, you need a ruthless eye and the ability to recognize the genuine at a glance; onstage, you need to control the rhythm and move people’s hearts. Every auctioneer has their own style. This man’s name is Arthur. He is one of the most famous auctioneers in the industry, known as the ‘Magic Auctioneer.’ He has a kind of magic that can bewitch people. At a Phillips auction in New York, he once sold a Rolex Daytona with a starting price of $400,000 for $16 million. It took thirty minutes, a fortyfold premium, and at one point it became the highest price in the industry.”
Sixteen million dollars? Tan Guhong silently converted the figure in her head. That was more than a hundred million yuan. Of course, the result was undoubtedly helped by the manipulation of capital, but it was still enough to show that this “Magic Auctioneer” truly was extraordinary.
Under Arthur’s command of the rhythm, the auction proceeded smoothly and briskly. Countless exquisite artifacts from all over the world were carried onto the auction platform by the staff, then successively bought by buyers from around the globe. Of course, among them were many Chinese treasures as well. Although those blue-and-white and famille-rose pieces had still been lying on the list yesterday, drawing Tan Guhong’s disdain, seeing them sold one after another with her own eyes today still left her with complicated feelings.
Because she knew very well that most of the Chinese cultural relics that could appear here did not have particularly glorious origins. Some had been looted by Western invaders amid the burning, killing, and plundering of the late Qing and early Republican periods; others had been smuggled out of the country during years of war by people desperate to make a living. Every piece, every incident, was a sorrow of China’s modern history.
She could not help turning her eyes toward Luo Jingming, who was likewise expressionless. His feelings were probably much the same as hers, she thought.
And yet he had still chosen to sit here in person, to see it all with his own eyes and hear it with his own ears, almost as if he were torturing himself. He had said it before: he was not the kind of person who liked to sit around and wait for death.
During this time, Luo Jingming also raised his bidding paddle several times, seemingly just for fun, and won a Qing-dynasty painting and calligraphy work, Fish Playing in the Water, as well as a pair of twentieth-century French diamond cufflinks. His bidding number was “88.” He smiled and told Tan Guhong that Edmund had always been very considerate of Chinese customs.
The Longmen Buddha statue they had taken a liking to yesterday was about to come up for auction. But before that, there was another important lot, one of the biggest selling points of today’s auction as advertised.
A diamond and emerald necklace commissioned from Van Cleef & Arpels at the beginning of the last century. The diamonds were of excellent quality, while the design itself was nothing particularly remarkable. But the important thing was that it had been commissioned by the Duke of Windsor as a piece of jewelry to be given to Wallis Simpson.
Windsor jewelry. It was almost like a spell, concealing behind it that love story known to the whole world.
In the 1940s, King Edward VIII of Britain fell hopelessly in love with Wallis Simpson, an American woman who had been divorced and who had a husband. Faced with the collective opposition of the entire royal family, the cabinet, and the British public, the king resolutely abdicated for the woman he loved, becoming thereafter merely the Duke of Windsor.
Some said that the Duke of Windsor had never truly cared about the throne in the first place, and had merely used Wallis Simpson as an excuse to escape his responsibilities. There were also rumors that even as the smoke of World War II filled the air, the two continued to spend money extravagantly, remained indifferent to the suffering of the people, and even maintained frequent contact with Hitler. Whatever the truth, this story, whether destined to stink for ten thousand years or be remembered for generations, was one of the most striking love stories of the last century. The people involved had long since passed away, and all their secrets had been engraved into those magnificent jewels, inviting endless speculation.
As soon as the diamond necklace appeared, it caused quite a stir in the room. The bidders began whispering among themselves, while the cameras of the media in the back clicked incessantly.
Arthur spoke at just the right moment. “I believe there is no need for me to say much about the story behind this piece of jewelry. Everyone here already knows the whole tale. Whatever your opinion of this love affair, you should understand one thing: what is placed before you is not merely jewelry, but also a part of British history, bearing the mark of a man’s resolve to give up everything for the love of a woman. Very well, the starting price for this lot is two hundred thousand pounds. Please place your bids.”
As soon as his voice fell, bidding paddles shot up one after another. Arthur called out the bids in his distinctive, almost operatic tone, full of humor. Later, when the competition became particularly fierce, that operatic delivery gradually turned into rapid-fire patter, making him sound even more comical.
“Though he was notorious, the world still seems to have envied this love affair that cost him a kingdom more than anything else.” Luo Jingming gave a soft laugh and looked at Tan Guhong. “A kingdom and a beauty. It has always been an impossible choice. If it were you, which would you choose?”
It was an interesting question. He did not ask whether, if she were the beauty, she would want a king to give up his kingdom for her. Instead, he asked whether, if she were the king, she would choose the kingdom or the beauty. He probably knew that asking the former would only earn him an eye-roll from her.
She pondered for a moment before slowly saying, “You have to understand, it also depends on what kind of kingdom it is. In a time of peace, giving up power for love is one thing. But when war is raging and the people are suffering, choosing a beauty over a kingdom isn’t greatness. It’s cowardice. Besides, I’m not interested in his Great Britain. If it were China instead…”
“What if it were China?”
She spread her hands. “If it had been seventy years ago, during the War of Resistance Against Japan, I’d already have picked up a rifle and gone to the battlefield.”
As if she would wait for some beauty to come along and upset the whole situation?
Luo Jingming was stunned, and nearly laughed aloud. With a soft sigh, he looked at her with an expression of utter helplessness, yet also filled with layers of meaning.
“Don’t. Don’t make that look like you’re plotting something again.”
Tan Guhong immediately wiped the smile from her face, sat up straight, and no longer looked at him.
She knew. He wanted to kiss her again.
This piece of Windsor jewelry was ultimately sold for the high price of £3.4 million to a young woman from the United States, bringing the first small climax of the auction to an end.
At last, the Luohan statue from the Longmen Grottoes’ Kanjing Temple, dating to the Wei and Jin period, arrived fashionably late.
“Lot No. 98. Starting price, £500,000.”
This lot also sparked a brief burst of fierce competition in the room. But after several rounds of bids rising and falling, only two people remained in the bidding, including Luo Jingming, as well as a Japanese collector seated ahead and to their left.
Neither would yield to the other. They took turns raising their paddles, and before long, the price of the Buddha statue had been driven from £2 million all the way up to £4 million. In the end, the Japanese collector reluctantly withdrew.
The Buddha statue was successfully won, but Tan Guhong frowned slightly. Four million pounds was more than three times its estimated value.
Several more lots passed quickly, and the pair of bronze bells from Luoyang’s White Horse Temple, dating to the Eastern Han dynasty, soon appeared as well. The actual pieces were even more stunning than the photographs. The two enormous bronze bells stood about 1.5 meters tall, decorated with coiling dragon patterns, each engraved with large characters: “Favorable weather and timely rains; prosperity for the nation and peace for its people.”
They carried the vast weight of a thousand years of history and a nation’s hopes, the wind rushing toward them full of dust and the wear of time.
Looking north toward Mangshan Mountain, how many heroes had passed into history, while their bones lay scattered beneath the western wind.
Luo Jingming raised his paddle again without hesitation, and the Japanese collector quickly followed. Once everyone else had dropped out, only the two of them remained, stubbornly bidding against each other.
Arthur joked, “It seems history is repeating itself once again. I wonder who will win this time.”
The final bid soared to £8.8 million. It was the other party’s bid. Luo Jingming tightened his grip on his bidding paddle, took several deep breaths, and ultimately made no move.
“£8.8 million once, £8.8 million twice, £8.8 million three times. Sold!”
Arthur led the applause, beaming as he said, “Congratulations to Mr. No. 43 from Japan on winning this pair of Chinese bronze bells bearing the words ‘Favorable weather and timely rains; prosperity for the nation and peace for its people.’”
For a British man speaking in the thickest London accent, this Englishman’s pronunciation of those eight Chinese characters was damn accurate!
Mr. No. 43 rose with a broad smile and acknowledged the room, then turned around and shot a provocative glance toward Luo Jingming and Tan Guhong.
Luo Jingming’s expression darkened for several seconds before he suddenly smiled. Yet that smile was colder than his earlier lack of expression. He slowly pushed up his glasses, folded his arms across his chest, leaned back against the chair, narrowed his eyes, and stared fixedly at the auction platform ahead without saying a word.
Seeing this, Tan Guhong said nothing either. She silently watched the auction continue onstage.
At last, after a long wait, the third lot they had come for appeared: an Eastern Han dynasty gold-and-silver-inlaid Boshan incense burner, with a starting price of £3 million.
Because there was no definitive appraisal data, many people remained on the sidelines. The Japanese collector raised his paddle first, and Luo Jingming followed close behind. The others had already sensed the hostility between the two and quietly chose to withdraw.
The numbers 43 and 88 constantly alternated in Arthur’s calls. Since one was on the left side of the hall and the other on the right, Arthur had no choice but to keep bobbing and swiveling his head, even finding a moment to complain helplessly, “Did you two know I’ve been suffering from cervical spondylosis lately?”
Amid the cheerful laughter, the competition gradually reached fever pitch. Suddenly, another bidder joined the battle by telephone. The three parties went back and forth, making for quite a spectacle.
At first, they raised the price by a hundred thousand at a time. Then it became a million, and later, astonishingly, ten million at a time. In less than half an hour, the bidding price had already soared past £100 million. The entire hall fell utterly silent. Even sweat began to bead on Arthur’s forehead, not from fear, but excitement.
An auction intended to acquire treasured works had ultimately turned into a contest of pride. Luo Jingming maintained a smile devoid of warmth throughout, raising his paddle with effortless elegance, while the Japanese collector’s eyes had already turned bloodshot and his breathing was as heavy as a bull’s. After once again outbidding Luo Jingming, only to have the telephone bidder drive the price even higher, he finally lost all patience, stood up, and shouted at the top of his voice:
“I bid £200 million!”
The moment the words fell, the room sank into complete silence, so quiet that a pin could have been heard dropping. Even the reporters in the back did not dare press the shutters of their cameras. Arthur froze for a moment, then forcibly suppressed the immense excitement surging inside him and announced in a trembling voice:
“£200 million once, £200 million twice, £200 million three times…”
“Wait!”
The gavel was raised high and was just about to fall when someone suddenly burst through the doors and shouted for the auction to stop.
Everyone turned toward the voice, only to see two Asian men enter from outside the hall, followed by a number of officials from the British customs authorities.
The middle-aged Asian man at the front strode forward and said to Arthur, “Sir, please stop this illegal auction immediately!”
Arthur had no idea what was going on, but he still maintained his professional composure. “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you mean. The three bids have already been called, and I must strike the gavel immediately to confirm the sale.”
The person in charge of the auction also appeared in time and said to those who had arrived, “Please, everyone, don’t panic. There must be some misunderstanding. Edmund’s spring auction was approved through all the proper legal procedures and is a perfectly legitimate auction. How could it be illegal?”
“Is that so?”
The Asian man’s expression was stern as he said in a low voice, “I am Wang Tao, Minister-Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom. Several hours ago, I already called your company and explained the specific circumstances surrounding this Han dynasty Boshan incense burner. I hoped that you would stop this auction, but your company kept making excuses and chose to proceed regardless. We came all the way from London without stopping precisely to put an end to this mistake. If your company continues to persist in its course, then we will have no choice but to publicly disclose the true provenance of this Boshan incense burner in front of all the media here, along with the recording of our previous telephone conversation with your company. I believe that by then, your company’s reputation will suffer irreparable damage.”
The person in charge’s face changed. The media present had already sensed that something unusual was happening from the situation and hurriedly turned their cameras toward the minister-counselor and the Boshan incense burner onstage.
The customs officials also stepped forward to negotiate with them. Under pressure from all sides, the person in charge finally relented and, extremely unwillingly, announced in front of everyone:
“Due to an unforeseen incident, the auction of the Han dynasty Boshan incense burner is temporarily suspended. This auction is hereby concluded.”
The media and bidders present, completely bewildered, were politely escorted out by security personnel. As she was leaving, Tan Guhong noticed that Mr. No. 43, who had just shouted out the staggering bid of £200 million, was completely limp, slumped in his chair, yet had a smile of relief on his face.
She could not help laughing. Acting on a moment of pride, he had thrown away a fortune. It seemed that the suspension of the auction was, at least for him, a good thing.
✦
Today’s Film Recommendation:
W.E (2012, United States)
Synopsis: The film unfolds through a dual narrative. One storyline tells the legendary romance between King Edward VIII of Britain and the American woman Wallis Simpson. The other follows Wally, a woman living in 21st-century New York, who, while facing emotional abuse from her husband, becomes fascinated by the love story of Wallis and Edward. She collects everything she can find about Wallis and visits the exhibitions of Wallis’s personal belongings at auction again and again.
Recommendation: The story unfolds by weaving together the past and present. It is a conversation across time between the female protagonist and Mrs. Simpson, two women reflecting on the fate of women and exploring the secrets behind that love affair that shook a kingdom. Let later generations judge its rights and wrongs. Regardless of whether that love from the past was ultimately right or wrong, at the very least, the film is extraordinarily beautiful and romantic. Mrs. Simpson was not breathtakingly beautiful, but she was beautiful in her own way. When the two of them dance together, I believe there will be a moment when everyone understands Edward VIII’s choice to choose the beauty he loved over his throne.
✦
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