張銀燕?劉琨
提起溫州人陳堅,別人對他的印象是:20世紀90年代,前往葡萄牙建立兩座“中國城”;2009年回國后,在嘉興平湖打造亞洲最大的進口商品城。
最近,“貪玩”的陳堅又換了新標簽:收藏幾十萬件來自世界各地的古董,走出一條前所未有的文化產(chǎn)業(yè)之路。
2020年8月13日,我趕到嘉興平湖,在陳堅的帶領(lǐng)下,穿梭在風格新奇的古董博物館內(nèi),與“百歲以上高齡”的八音盒、鋼琴、放映機等進行深度“對話”。
一
陳堅的平湖國際進口商品城,集進口商品超市、歐洲小鎮(zhèn)、展銷中心、智能住宅、葡萄酒博物館等于一體,被很多人昵稱為國際游購小鎮(zhèn)。
來到這個別具異域風情的小鎮(zhèn),已是下午2點。徜徉在小鎮(zhèn)內(nèi),偶有馬車載著游客經(jīng)過,噠噠的馬蹄聲,恍若進入上世紀的歐洲。
我到的第一站,是陳堅創(chuàng)辦的“沉浸式”展館19世紀德國家居博物館。
走過花園,走進客廳,坐在有100多年歷史的沙發(fā)上,聽著機械琴的演奏,仿佛置身于19世紀歐洲的一個大房子里。餐廳、臥室、廚房、書房,無不透露著當時德國的文化和藝術(shù)氣息?!斑@里有4000多件藏品,幾乎都來自德國?!标悎孕χ榻B。
在19世紀德國家庭風格的書房內(nèi),他講述了自己的人生故事。
陳堅出生于1963年,祖籍瑞安麗岙。出國時,陳堅已經(jīng)29歲了,此前他在銀行工作。身處僑鄉(xiāng),耳聞目睹的多是外面的世界。那一年他辭職赴海外創(chuàng)業(yè),先是到澳大利亞,后又輾轉(zhuǎn)匈牙利、荷蘭,最后落腳葡萄牙。在葡萄牙,他將服裝、鐘表、電器、工藝品等中國產(chǎn)品銷往南歐,生意越做越大。
2009年,陳堅看到國內(nèi)的發(fā)展,決定回國。會折騰的人,內(nèi)心必然有一股力爭上游的信念。陳堅原本計劃打造一個國際葡萄酒博覽交易城,結(jié)果考察了幾年,他發(fā)現(xiàn)國內(nèi)已經(jīng)有不少人在做了這個業(yè)務(wù)了。
于是陳堅推倒重來,決心打造一個國際進口商品城。進口商品城2013年動工,如今已經(jīng)初具規(guī)模?!暗聡℃?zhèn)”造好了,進口商品城、服裝城開始營業(yè),古董博物館開館,吸引大批上海、杭州和嘉興的市民前來打卡。
二
什么時候開始走上收藏之路的?
陳堅說,在1998年葡萄牙里斯本世博會上,他購買了當時中國館的大部分物件,然后就喜歡上了收藏。20年來,為了收藏各個時期的寶貝,他的足跡遍布世界各地。對他而言,這件事情不僅有趣,更有意義。
“走,帶大家看看我最得意的寶貝。”他說。
在小鎮(zhèn)里邊走邊看,很快就來到陳堅的辦公室,里面堆滿了各種各樣來自不同國家和地區(qū)的商品,像是到了“萬國博覽會”的現(xiàn)場。
辦公室隔壁有個不大的展示廳,擺件不多,憑我的辨識能力,猜出其中有巨大的八音盒,古老的自動鋼琴。讓我納悶的是一個大柜子,雖然古橡木彰顯出它的年代感,可乍一看就是一件老家具。
陳堅來到柜子前,鄭重地介紹:“這件寶貝是能演奏交響樂的機械?!比缓?,他打開柜門,哇,里面竟然藏著多種樂器。
當陳堅撥動開關(guān),恢宏的音樂響起,我不禁為之震撼。“它來自德國,有一百多年歷史了?!标悎越忉屨f,在1880年至1900年間,德國有著高深音樂素養(yǎng)的能工巧匠們制作了一批批組合式交響樂器,后來,因為黑膠唱片機的誕生,這些機器被淘汰。
一次偶然的機會,陳堅尋覓到幾百件產(chǎn)自那20年間的機械樂器,就全部買了過來?!坝胁簧偈鞘篱g難得的藏品,目前正在整理中,我們會布置一個音樂博物館?!?/p>
參觀完展示廳,又來到鋼琴博物館、近代工業(yè)文明博物館,1826年的三角鋼琴、第一代蘋果電腦、第一代放映機……它們琳瑯滿目,靜靜地躺在那里,述說著歲月流轉(zhuǎn)的故事。
三
收藏的路上陳堅時常在思考:自己的初衷是什么。
“除了能讓老百姓足不出戶看遍世界各地的文化,還能看到100年前的我們與世界的差距?!标悎哉f,改革開放已經(jīng)拉近了中國與世界的距離,希望不久的將來,通過所有中國人的努力,讓大家看到中國為世界發(fā)展和人類進步所作出的新的貢獻。
目前,陳堅收藏的古董能系統(tǒng)地做近20個博物館,要是缺哪個時代、不同歷史的東西,他會繼續(xù)搜集、補齊以形成系列。采訪中,我時刻感受到他是如何小心翼翼地呵護每一件古董,如數(shù)家珍地講述其背后的故事。在他看來,收藏是一門很深的學問,他需要不斷地去學習、探索,以拓寬知識面。而收藏最重要的,是要有堅韌不屈的耐性和吃苦耐勞的精神。
歐洲各國的古董市場,也是陳堅經(jīng)常流連的地方,好東西要淘,眼尖、腳勤還要下手快,而他往往是第一批到達市場的人。2019年1月,為了在比利時座鐘市場淘寶,凌晨3點,他和團隊頂著零下20攝氏度的氣溫,把30多斤的座鐘一件一件往車上搬。
出國多年,陳堅時刻眷戀著家鄉(xiāng),也希望能為家鄉(xiāng)貢獻力量。
收藏的幾十萬件寶貝中,他早已將最珍貴的藏品——1998年里斯本世界博覽會中國館鎮(zhèn)館之寶鄭和下西洋骨雕珍品,捐贈給了世界溫州人博物館。這件珍品,也成為世界溫州人博物館的鎮(zhèn)館之寶。
不僅如此,他還有更宏偉的規(guī)劃。
他希望世界各地的溫籍僑胞可以聯(lián)動,將各自收購的古董,集中到溫州,共同打造一個世界級古董博物館。
“這是一件很有意義的事情,只有溫州人能做到。”陳堅信心滿滿地描繪道,“我們有68.8萬溫州人生活在世界各地,如果每個人都加入其中,必定會把溫州打造成‘淘寶之城,全中國甚至全世界的古董愛好者都將慕名前來?!?/p>
Wenzhounese Chen Jian is known by many people as the founder of the two “China town” built in the 1990s in Portugal and the Imported Commodity Town in Pinghu, Jiaxing, crafted by the man after he returned to China in 2009.
Chens focus in recent years is on antiques. His collection of hundreds of thousands of curios and antiques from all over the world, displayed at the themed museums in the Import Commodity Town in Pinghu, highlights his dream of cultural innovation come true.
The visit to the Import Commodity Town, a must-see for tourists in Jiaxing, in the summer of 2020, was a time-traveling experience for me. The multi-functional town encompasses different zones including a wine museum. The first leg of my tour was the 19th Century German Home Museum, where visitors can enjoy an immersive tour of the cultural profundity of Germany. The house contains about 4,000 exhibits, mostly from Germany, presenting the fascinating arts and culture of the European nation.
Sitting in the German-style study of the house, Chen Jian shared his life story with me. Born in Liao in Ruian, Wenzhou, in 1963, Chen moved to Australia at the age of 29, and then spent years in Hungary and Holland before settling down in Portugal, where he built his own trade business by selling made-in-China commodities such as clothes, clocks and watches, electric appliance, and artware in Southern Europe.
With a success story in foreign lands, Chen returned to China in 2009, determined to build a wine trade town. After several years of field studies, he decided to sow the seeds of an import commodity platform in Pinghu. The construction started in 2013. The first stage of the project has turned out quite successful, drawing visitors from other parts of Jiaxing as well as people from Shanghai and Hangzhou.
Chens passion in curios and antiques began in 1998, when he was in Portugal for the Lisbon World Expo. He brought home almost everything from the China Pavilion at the expo. For the past two decades, he traveled the whole world to build up his collection, and turned a hobby into his new career.
In Chens office in the town, antiques are piled up to the ceiling. The adjoining exhibition space is a musical world. A huge cabinet-looking thing caught my eye.
“This is an orchestral device,” Chen Jian introduced proudly and opened the “music box” to show me how it works. He turned it on, and a symphony-like music piece flowed out to fill up the room.
“It was made by musical artisans in Germany, and has a history of more than 100 years. This orchestral device was later replaced by vinyl record players, and became history.”
Chens music-themed collection now contains hundreds of musical instruments made in the period between 1880 and 1900.
“Many of them fall into the rarity category, and will be part of a music museum I am working on,” said Chen Jian.
Chen showed me around. His collection also includes a grand piano made in 1826, displayed in his Piano Museum. I saw a first-generation Macintosh Computer and a first-generation projector in his Modern Industrial Civilization Museum.
Behind the antiques he collected are many stories Chen would never get tired of sharing. To bring a tumbling-box music instrument home, for example, Chen had to go out of his way to make its owner believe that her family treasure would be in good hands. The persuasion took a lot of time and energy.
Chen diligently visits antique markets across Europe. He has to be sharper, faster, and more diligent than his rival antique collectors. In January of 2019, his team worked in freezing cold at a clock market at 3 in the morning in Belgium.
Over the years, Chen Jian has never stopped thinking. “I keep asking myself about what I really want. What I am striving to do is to make something for more people to see the cultural diversity of the world without having to leaving home. I also want to show the gap between China and the outside world a century ago, and how much the Chinese people have achieved over the past century to not only fill the gap but also contribute to the overall progress of the human world,” Chen explained, adding that he always wants to do something for his hometown.
Chen has donated a bone carving piece he bought from the 1998 Lisbon World Expo to World Wenzhounese Museum. “I hope to see the Wenzhounese communities outside China contribute more to a world-class antique museum in Wenzhou. It is something only Wenzhounese can achieve, and it means a lot to me,” says the ambitious collector. Chens goal is to build up his collection to fill up 20 museums.