Curator Ma Weidu is a rich source on antiques
There is no putting a price on Ma Weidu's expertise, acquired longbefore much of the mainland woke up to the value of old things
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, appreciation for culture was a luxury that few people could afford. It was rare for people to be in a position to devote themselves to its study. Ma Weidu became an enthusiast, and eventually one of the mainland's trailblazers in the field of antiques. Today, with the economy growing into the world's second largest, Ma has seen fellow Chinese develop the capacity to turn their attention and appreciation towards China's vibrant past. Now 58, he recounts his journey from merely an antiques aficionado to head curator of the Guanfu Museum in Beijing.
I started taking an interest at a very young age. These old objects are richer in historical content than new things, and this piqued my curiosity more and more. When your interest grows, you start to delve deeper, and the deeper you go, the more challenging it is to unravel the mystery behind each antique. Hence the cycle was started that pulled me in.
Yes and no. When we were young, society did not really advocate cultural studies - such things were criticised instead. To have any related material in your home would invite trouble. So while I was enthralled by the history, I was not given many opportunities to develop the interest. Simply put, you could not go see an exhibition or read a relevant book. By the time I wrote my first book on porcelain, it was also the first book written on the mainland that provided the public with a broad understanding of the topic in the vernacular; the only other two well-known works were The History of Chinese Ceramics and Chinese Ceramics, both of which were very academic and really quite dull.