How much is all that unwasted carving time worth?

Your time is very valuable.

This is an advertisement for a game from a few years ago.

It has the same meaning as the old saying "Time is money, and money can't buy time." But few people can understand that only time that is not wasted is valuable. If time is wasted, it is worthless.

So let’s take a look at how much time that is not wasted is worth.

Four Jade Treasures

Duration: 8 years

Valuation: Priceless

The "Four Treasures of Jade" refers to four world-class jade art treasures that were approved by the State Council and undertaken by the Beijing Jade Factory. They were made from national jade collections (320,000 types) by dozens of skilled craftsmen over a period of eight years from November 1982 to June 1990. Originally scheduled to be completed in 1986, they were named "Project 86".

"Four Seas of Joy"

Jade screen, height 74 cm, width 146.5 cm, thickness 1.8 cm

It is the largest jade screen in the world today . The whole picture is based on the theme of dragon, with a vast sea of ​​clouds, nine dragons soaring, a raging storm, and surging clouds and water. It is magnificent and exquisite.

Wonders of Mount Tai

Jadeite mountain, height 80cm, width 85cm, thickness 52cm

With Mount Tai, the first of the Five Great Mountains, as the theme, the mountain range is undulating and well-organized. The Eighteen Bends of Mount Tai, Jade Emperor Peak, Yunbu Bridge, Bamboo Forest Pavilion... seem to be right in front of you.

"Fragrance and Auspiciousness"

Jade flower incense burner, height 78cm, width 65cm, thickness 39.5cm

It is mainly green jadeite, using the difficult nesting technology in the history of Chinese jade , decorated with round-carved dragons, and decorated with traditional "four spiritual beasts" patterns using the techniques of deep and shallow relief and the art of opening. It is emerald green and crystal, and dazzling.

"A Panorama of Flowers"

Jade flower basket, height 64cm, width 41cm

The exquisite carvings skillfully combine peony, magnolia and chrysanthemum together, making them look natural, magnificent and romantic. The handle and movable chain make this work more interesting.

Along the River During the Qingming Festival

Duration: 4 years

Honor: China Jade "Hundred Flowers Award"

Estimated value: Hundreds of millions

Master Li Zhenqing's representative work "Jade Along the River During the Qingming Festival" is based on a famous painting from the Song Dynasty and uses tri-color jade as the material. It took four years to create.

The entire work is nearly 10 meters long, with more than 600 figures, more than 60 livestock, ships, pavilions, carriages and horses, etc. The exquisite details and vivid charm are breathtaking.

The original stone of the work weighs 2.5 tons. The jade carver cuts the original stone into pieces of uniform width by cutting, carving and then splicing them together. He then designs the layout and draws the picture based on the content of the original painting, and then carefully carves it step by step.

During the polishing process, because there were so many details, ordinary polishing methods could not be used and it had to be polished bit by bit by hand. This shows how huge the project was and how much effort it took, and it took four years to complete .

Finally, golden nanmu was used as the frame of the entire work for exhibition. In 2012, it won the "Special Gold Award" of the China Jade (Stone) Hundred Flowers Award and is now collected by the Beijing National Art Museum.

According to relevant experts, this stunning masterpiece is worth up to 1 billion.

Ask You

Duration: 3 years and 11 months

Honor: Gold Award of Shengong Award

Estimated value: tens of millions

This is a creation that transforms decay into magic, from a piece of material weighing more than 100 kilograms, with fractures and very poor water quality, to a work of art full of Zen. The whole process took 3 years and 11 months.

It has to be said that jade carving requires a certain amount of talent. The fact that a jade carver could design a Buddha holding an orchid from such material shows how extraordinary he is.

But no matter how extraordinary the inspiration is, it still needs to be implemented. From the rough outline to the fine carving of details, it requires repeated examination and thinking. Sometimes I sit there for a whole day, and time just passes by.

You can't rush it, it has to be carved bit by bit, and the hollowing alone took more than a year.

Sometimes one can’t help but wonder, is it worth spending several years to carve such a work? Wouldn't it be a waste of time?

The rough raw stone transformed into Buddha, the emerald orchid bloomed with white flowers, the flowers and Buddha echoed each other from a distance, in the silence, I ask you and your heart.

When this work appeared at the exhibition, no one could have imagined what it originally looked like, and relevant experts estimated that its value was over tens of millions.

"A person's life should be spent in this way: when he looks back on the past, he will not regret wasting his time, nor will he be ashamed of doing nothing." - Pavel Korchagin, "How the Steel Was Tempered"

The same three, four, and eight years have passed by, some people earning a few thousand yuan a month, playing games, watching TV series, and making jokes, leaving behind bald hair, cloudy eyes, and a greasy beer belly.

But some people focus all their time on one thing without being distracted, and ultimately leave treasures for the world and achievements and honors for themselves.

Time is valuable only when it is spent on meaningful things.

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