On January 6th, Luo Aiguo, known as the "Taizhou Spark King", held a half-month "Window of Square Inch, Vientiane World" spark collection exhibition in Jiangyan District Museum, and the display of 10,000 precious sparks (stickers on matchboxes) attracted many citizens.
Walking into the east hall on the second floor of the Jiangyan District Museum, there are various sparks such as famous rivers and mountains, sun, moon and stars, rare birds and animals, exotic scenery, Chinese and foreign cultures, and ancient famous buildings.
65-year-old Luo Aiguo began collecting sparks in 1979, and has collected more than 700,000 sparks of more than 280,000 kinds in 36 countries and regions. There is a story behind this spark: before liberation, a worker from Jiangyan in Shanghai wanted to return to his hometown to set up a match factory, and the only spark sample was printed, but on the way to Jiangyan, the machine encountered a war, and the factory was not completed, but the sample was left. This spark is printed with eight characters of "advocating domestic products and recovering rights", and the four corners are the patterns of plum blossoms, lotuses, chrysanthemums, and daffodils. Luo Aiguo said that this spark was published by Hong Kong's "World Spark Magazine" and publicized to spark collectors around the world. A collector in Hong Kong offered to exchange a car, but he politely declined.
A giant matchbox displayed in the middle of the exhibition hall is based on this one-of-a-kind piece. The matchbox with a length of 150 cm, a width of 73 cm and a thickness of 38 cm was printed with the words "made by Far Eastern Match Factory", which attracted many visitors to take a group photo.
Luo Aiguo also designed and produced a series of themed sparks such as local customs, the Provincial Games and the anti-epidemic, fully demonstrating the characteristics of his hometown's landscape, sports and folk culture. In 2017, Luo Aiguo Spark Studio was established. He has held more than 100 personal spark art exhibitions in other places to publicize local history, promote traditional culture and spread positive energy. Luo Aiguo is currently the vice president of the National Spark Collectors Association, a member of the Jiangsu Collectors Association, and a director of the Jiangyan Collection Association. Reporter Qian Hongbin Correspondent Ye Murong.