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Ma Weidu's Collection: Furniture

Ma Weidu, a famous Chinese antique collector, hosts a popular TV programme on CCTV, sharing his experiences in antique collection with his audience. The programme is such a wild success that the text of his ten lectures was put together to make a book, mainly talking about classic Chinese furniture.

Ma, 53, began his collection in the 1980s. At that time, people in China were busy buying TVs and refrigerators, or replacing old fashioned wood furniture with modern ones. Ma, however, quietly spent his money collecting old items. “In the past, these antiques did not have such high economic value,” said Ma, “But it's different now.

His first collectible was a porcelain hanging panel, which cost him 1,600 yuan (more than US$200). He had saved the money for a new TV. Today, all his collections are worth a lot of money. “To be honest, we can't deny the delight that money brings.”

In the book, Ma discusses some distinguished features of traditional Chinese furniture. For example, good Chinese furniture is always made of very hard and heavy wood imported from Southeast Asia. Since ancient Chinese had seen only timber but not the trees, they named each type of wood by its colour, such as purple wood, yellow wood, and red wood. "Collecting antiques requires professional knowledge,” Ma wrote. “Even if you have rich life experience and know many theories of collecting, you may still fail.”

As an experienced and wealthy collector, Ma has established the first private museum of classic and antique art in China, showcasing old furniture and antiques he has collected.

Ma Weidu's Collection: Furniture（《马未都说收藏：家具篇》）

By Ma Weidu（马未都）

Zhonghua Book Company (中华书局)  March 2008, 29 yuan