Juyuan Pavilion's Trading Fair (Part One)

Uncle Wu put the jade belt plaques back in the box and asked with a smile, "Old Yuan, do you know what jade belt plaques were used for during the Ming Dynasty?"

"They were generally worn only by the upper classes, right?" Yuan Hongjian replied.

Uncle Wu said, "All right. Since they were worn by the upper classes, how could the jade quality be this poor? And the carving is so ordinary—not to mention that it was all machine-made."

"Uh..." Yuan Hongjian was at a loss for words. After a long while, he said with a bitter smile, "So you're saying I was fooled again?"

Uncle Wu and Chu Chen both chuckled, and the meaning was obvious.

Yuan Hongjian said gloomily, "But why would anyone use old jade to make a fake?"

Chu Chen said, "Generally speaking, if an antique is to sell for a good price, the most important thing is that it has to be old enough. Jade artifacts are no exception. There are two ways to make jade look old. One is 'new material, new workmanship.' Elder Yuan, you should know at least a little about this method. It means carving new jade and then using chemicals or other methods to make it look old and pass it off as genuine."

"The other method is 'old jade, new workmanship.' That means taking poor-quality old jade, carving it, and then treating it. Because the jade is old, it's somewhat more deceptive than new material with new workmanship."

After hearing Chu Chen's explanation, Yuan Hongjian frowned and said, "But these jade belt plaques of mine all look like they've been buried in the ground. If the jade quality is so poor, how could anyone have used it as burial goods?"

Chu Chen explained with a smile, "The reasoning is