Zhang Jing, a collector in 1983, led the members of the Yinshan Mining Company to step into the Urad Houqi in Bayannur, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. In Urad Houqi, an administrative region equivalent to the county level, their investigation work was not easy.
Due to the region's volatile environment in northern China, they encountered a strong Category 12 tornado at a place called Onyx Lake, which was instantly covered in billowing yellow sand, and only a few people were spared.
When the wind stopped, they were amazed to find that the ground was full of agate and jasper. Despite the difficulties, Zhang Jing and her team members did not give up, and they persevered in completing the expedition, which also added a lot of precious collections to their collecting career.
Zhang Jing is a stone collector whose eyes are drawn to a small agate stone among the colorful stones under the blue sky. The stone was crystal clear, like the skin of an egg with a broken shell, and in its crystal part, it looked like the head of a chick poking out.
Zhang Jing was ecstatic, put the stone in his pocket, and continued to search for his next treasure. Surprisingly, none of the stones he later discovered were as magical as the agate called "Chick Out of the Shell".
After the news spread, celebrities from the collecting world came to Onyx Lake, some rented trucks to ship the whole car, some carefully selected, and some hired professionals to choose together.
Since then, the jade of Agate Lake has gone to markets all over the country, as if it has become a holy place.
There is no stone that can compare to Zhang Jing's "chick out of the shell", and its charm is difficult to describe in words. To understand this, we need to go back to the cultural roots and understand the history.
In the middle school textbook, we studied Ouyang Xiu's "The Story of the Drunkard Pavilion". Ouyang Xiu was a literary leader during the Renzong period of the Northern Song Dynasty, and his status was equivalent to that of Mo Yan in modern China.
He calls himself a 61 layman, and the "61" here does not mean that he was born on June 1, but has an allusion. His "June 1st" includes: a collection of 10,000 volumes, a collection of 1,000 volumes of strange stones from three generations, a game of chess, a pot of wine, a piano play, and an old man.
Among them, the strange stone for three generations is Zhang Jing's "chick out of the shell".
China has always had the tradition of collecting stones, especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties, stone collection has become a trend, which contains a kind of "idiot" and "fetish" spirit, only really affectionate people, worthy of our deep friendship.
During this period, the shape of the stone also became the focus of literati and artists, who placed strangely shaped stones on their desks, which was not only an act of rebellion against rituals, but also promoted the development of literature and art.
However, this phenomenon also led to the collection and promotion of many stones by merchants, making it an act of vassal elegance.
It is inevitable that social phenomena will be reflected in literary works, such as "Journey to the West" and "Dream of Red Mansions", which we are most familiar with. The first episode of "Journey to the West" describes the birth of the stone monkey Sun Wukong, who is not under the jurisdiction of human emperors, showing the uninhibited nature of stone in the world of gods and demons.
This ethos was still prevalent in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, and in Dream of Red Mansions, a stone abandoned by Nuwa's refining stone is also mentioned, and this stone entered the gentle and wealthy township of Hongchen because of its innate aura.
Both of these books were selected into the four great masterpieces, but the two stones went to completely different ends, one became a fighting Buddha, while the other felt sorry for himself, accusing himself of ignorance and stupidity and being afraid to read the article.
We often think that the value of stones lies only in the uniqueness of their shape or color, and we ignore the cultural heritage and historical heritage behind them. Just like the stone found by Zhang Jing, it not only has a peculiar appearance, but also hides a mysterious story, like lightning in the dark, which attracts people's yearning.
The unfolding of the story is like a chicken breaking out of its shell, showing the pride of the descendants of China. In China, the shape of the rooster is used as a map and is a one-of-a-kind existence.
And all this is accompanied by the appearance of a mysterious stone that takes us back to China in 1983. It was a period of difficult exploration for China to emerge from a decade of turmoil and begin reform and opening up.
Looking back, we can't help but be in awe of that era.
The appearance of the chick shell seems to be a prophecy, indicating that this ancient nation, which was once unique in history and lasted for thousands of years, will once again stand in the forest of the world's nations in the near future with a magnificent posture.
Therefore, the meaning carried by this stone has become richer and richer with the changes of the times. In 2001, Mr. Zhang Jing, who entered the age of not being confused, decided to donate the stone he had treasured all his life to the country, and the notary office of Chaoyang District, Beijing, notarized it, and officially accepted this world-renowned "chick out of the shell".
This strange stone has found its final destination, and future generations can return to that era again and again while appreciating it, and at the same time remind themselves not to forget the deep suffering that the Chinese nation has experienced.
At the end, the stone was valued at 1300 million yuan, it is one of the most expensive stones in the world. However, ** itself is not important, what is important is the patriotism of 1.4 billion people, especially after the epidemic of the century, this "chicken out of the shell" stone can convey a truth to all our people: the once glorious China has become stronger, and our system has been better than the Western system.
Those who once blindly worshipped the Western system may re-examine their own arrogance after seeing this chick's gaze. With humility, they should pay tribute to our nation and learn from its wisdom.