lifeCHINA DAILY CHINADAILY.COM.CN/LIFE WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012 | PAGE 18 Opinions fl y now the Games have begun

hile CCTV presenters seemed BY THE BOOK bemused and moved by the creativity and humor of the W Olympics Opening Ceremony, one of my colleagues was knocked out by the segment when the “Queen” was pushed out of a helicopter by James Bond and parachuted into the stadium, pink bloomers exposed to the watching world’s billions. “I can’t imagine that happening to any of our leaders,” he JULES QUARTLY commented. WEB CRAWLER Th e show was a nation defi ning itself, focusing on the average man and women’s rights, with stolen lesbian kisses, folk traditions and weighty social issues like healthcare. It appeared to cause one of two reactions in the United Kingdom: knight the director, Danny Boyle; or castigate him for producing a socialist ceremony. “Th e most left y opening ceremony I have ever seen — more than Beijing, the capital of a communist state! Welfare tribute next?” tweeted the Conservative lawmaker Aidan Burley. His party leader and Prime Minister David Cameron responded by calling the opinion “idiotic”. Which it was. Here, the micro-blogosphere was just as colorful and the reactions just as diverse. Th ere were a number of comments about the closing song by former Beatle Paul McCartney, who sang Hey Jude. And while Part of Guoyun Lou’s ancient book collection. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO DAILY the selection appeared to be just a rousing fi nale, the lyrics — “Take a sad song and make it better … na na na na na, na na na, hey Jude” — did cause a frisson in China. Th e song has A major auction of rare books is a landmark that will enhance knowledge been variously cannibalized to refer to Mao Zedong’s general Zhu De, and even Deng Xiaoping. One clueless commentator even sharing, auction regulations and the public’s cultural awareness. thought Sir Paul had stolen the song from songbird Stephanie Sun. Enough said. Mei Jia in and Wang Kaihao in Beijing report. Others compared the cost of Beijing’s 2008 Olympics and the relatively cut-price Brit- ish version. While it is estimated that China he recent auction in Beijing of Guoyun spent an estimated $100 million on its Open- Lou’s ancient book collection has caused a ing Ceremony, the UK is thought to have stumped up about half of that at $42 million. stir due to the sky-high price of 216 mil- While some Chinese went online to com- lion yuan ($33.9 million).Th is followed plain about the respective burden on taxpay- ers, a vocal majority was patriotic. “Although Peking University’s attempt to acquire the London cost less and was more environmen- collection by claiming “preemptive rights”, tally friendly, I have to say it fell far behind which caused a media frenzy. Beijing in terms of creativity and scale. Money T is power,” tweeted Johoshua, from Shanghai. Also from Shanghai, “First Fresh 15 Again Aft er the competition between that were sold, two were printed in Flavor” contrasted a performance in London libraries, administrations and cul- the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and “that showed respect and paid tribute to indi- tural enterprises came to a conclu- three in the Yuan Dynasty. Accord- viduals” to the “uniformity and collectiveness” sion in late June, it was generally ing to 89-year-old Shen Xieyuan, of Beijing, which he/she characterized as “tiny agreed that the record-breaking a counselor on ’s ancient human beings submerged in a sea of people”. auction was a landmark that would book protection committee, a Song Th ere were also a few unkind and politi- enhance knowl- book can be worth up to 100 mil- cally incorrect comments comparing the Lon- Inside edge sharing, auc- lion yuan. don Olympics mascot to a one-eyed monster See more, tion regulations Shen says the Song books are with a blissed-out face. page 19, 20 and the public’s prime examples because engrav- Personally, it was a blessed relief when the cultural awareness. ing technology and paper-making politics and pomp gave way to sports and the “Fortunately, we’re competing skills were at their best at the time. simple equation of winning and losing, indi- for cultural things, not for money. Also, they’re hard to fake. vidual excellence and team eff ort. Th e drama It taught us a vivid lesson about “The Guoyun Lou books are of it all. the previously underestimated unique because they were collected A quarter of Guoyun Lou’s legendary book collection goes under the hammer at the Council Some snapshots for me, so far, include the value of ancient books. I think systematically by the family for International Auction. archery heats, in which the Russian women’s it ended well and nobody really educational purposes. There are team narrowly beat Chinese in the ele- lost,” says Ye Jiancheng, director many of them and they cover the head, and he discovered gravity, the books, together with Nanjing emphasize the economic values of gant and iconic surroundings of Lord’s cricket of artifacts management at Phoe- four categories of Chinese ancient though it has always existed,” Dong Library, Jiangsu’s provincial library. these works,” says Xie Xiaodong, ground, and a large Russian woman in the nix Publishing & Media Group, books — Confucian classics, his- says. “Th e ancient art works are the Th e deal fi nally went to Jiangsu. deputy general manager of Coun- stands who held a toy bear to her ample chest days aft er learning his group had tory, philosophy and literature,” apple. Its huge value needed to be Peking University was cil. cried uncontrollably with happiness. fi nally succeeded in acquiring the says Xu Xiaoyue, director of Nan- determined by someone clever.” approached for comment but didn’t “But Guoyun Lou attracted Or the men’s gymnastic team fi nal, which collection. jing Library, which has 1.6 million To professionals like Shen, reply. unprecedented attention and pres- China almost inevitably won. Th e battle for Sitting in his offi ce in Nanjing, volumes. Dong’s smart tactics created a suc- Th e deal ended with Phoenix’s ents a good opportunity for the second place went down to the wire and Jiangsu province, where Phoenix As early as 1992, the library cessful auction. Th e Council held Chairman Chen Haiyan issuing a public to pay attention to the cul- the Brits thought they had it, but a last-gasp is based, Ye says he was thrilled acquired the other three quarters nationwide previews and a high- statement with eight “thank yous” tural values of the arts. appeal from Japan snatched the silver. A few to learn that a quarter of Guoyun of Guoyun Lou’s books from the Gu level symposium on the auctioned to all the sides involved, and three “Auctioning ancient art works boos from the naturally partisan crowd, of Lou’s legendary book collection family, for just 400,000 yuan. books. It also published a collection more to Peking University for ele- are not just for investment. We course, but general celebration all round. was to be sold at the Council Inter- Xu, a former philosophy pro- of theses aft er the symposium. vating the deal into a public topic. have to explore their inner mean- I hope the British Olympics will be just as national Auction. The treasure fessor at , says On June 4, Phoenix became the “It was a duet without rehearsal ings rather than simply sell them.” successful in their own way as the Beijing trove includes 179 sets of ancient books are mediums for the passing successful bidder. However, Peking that we conducted with Peking Tian Tao, a veteran legal expert Games were four years ago. “Building a books in 1,292 volumes. on of thousands of years of Chinese University then made a claim and University,” Chen says. “Th e public on auctions and an ancient book peaceful and better world though sport and Guoyun Lou, which literally culture. confused the situation. was the enlightened audience.” collector, sees State-owned enter- the Olympic ideal” is such a good idea. means “the tower of fl eeting clouds” “Ancient books are live relics According to the Law on the Phoenix’s Ye says they’re still prises working with State libraries Meanwhile, I was in the elevator the other (from the saying “fame and fortune showing what passed among Chi- Protection of Cultural Relics and waiting for the books’ return from to collect valuable works as a trend. day (we Brits call it a lift ) and I must have are like fl eeting clouds”), is a build- nese people, their ways of thinking, Interim Provisions on Auction- Beijing to Jiangsu, when the whole Phoenix is just the first example, been wistfully looking at a bank advert pro- ing in downtown Suzhou where the aesthetics, faith and mentalities,” ing Cultural Relics, State-owned Guoyun Lou book collection will he says. moting its credit card, using the Olympics: Gu family had stored its collection Xu says. “Th ey’re the source of our relic collectors, under appointment, be reunited in its home province. Phoenix’s Ye agrees and adds that “Fleeting happiness, just for you.” for a century. cultural confi dence.” have the preemptive right to bid Phoenix has promised to keep he knows a lot of families in Jiang- Th e picture was of a European-looking Th e Gu family is known for its Council Auction Chairman during a certain timeframe. The the collection forever and will max- su and Zhejiang provinces have gymnast, jumping in the air, reaching for the good taste and conservation eff orts, Dong Guoqiang well understands practice is in tune with auctions in imize its value due to its publishing household collections of ancient sky, eyes on the prize … and so on … when collecting ink wash paintings, cal- this and says he would have pre- other countries, especially Europe, businesses at home and abroad. books. my reverie was broken by someone else get- ligraphy and paintings, including ferred the auction to fail than split with the intention of preventing Encouraged by the buy, Phoenix “At least they’ll start to look aft er ting in, who gave me the once over and asked one from the Yuan Dynasty (1271- up the collection. national treasures from leaving the is to start a company in the United them with more attention,” he says. where I was from. 1368) that was auctioned off for 400 Dong doesn’t think the deal price country. Kingdom to repurchase Chinese “London,” I said. million yuan in 2011. is surprising: “It’s a unique collec- Both the State and the Beijing relics scattered abroad, says Ye. Contact the writers at “Shouldn’t you be there, rather than here,” Gu’s book collection, however, tion. Th e chance of another simi- Municipal Administration of Cul- Meanwhile, Nanjing Library will [email protected] and he asked. remained a mystery and the auc- lar collection, which has such high tural Heritage were involved in also edit, publicize and digitize the [email protected]. I wish I was. It looks like a great party. tion enabled the public to learn historic significance and cultural the auction until Jiangsu provin- Guoyun Lou books it already has. about it for the fi rst time. value, is remote.” cial government prepared a state- “In the past 20 years, people in Zhou Xueting contributed to the Contact the writer at Of the books from the collection “An apple fell on Isaac Newton’s ment saying Phoenix was buying the auction market have tended to story. [email protected].