Li Yan detected his regret and smiled, "You don’t feel it’s unfortunate that Yun Country’s cultural relics and antiques are scattered abroad, and that buying them back is an act of patriotism, do you?"

Zhang Tianyi was stunned, "The antiques that ended up abroad were mostly looted by foreign armies during their invasion of Yun Country. It’s a national humiliation. Patriotic individuals with the means would want to buy them back. Is that wrong?"

"It’s hard to say if it’s right or wrong; being pedantic and foolish is inevitable."

Seeing Li Yan’s attitude, Zhang Tianyi was a bit displeased. "Oh? Tell me, what do you young people think?"

"You probably think that we young people are not patriotic anymore? Let me tell you, places like the Lan Country Museum and Lanfu Palace house tens of thousands of Yun Country’s antiques. But have these national treasures ever appeared on the market? Those that do hit the market are antiques indeed, but what is their true artistic or historical value?"

Zhang Tianyi frowned.

"Alright, even if they’re not national treasure level, they are Yun Country antiques. Many people think that Yun Country antiques fetching astronomical prices at auction symbolize Yun Country’s rise and are a source of pride. Do those being auctioned really deserve such high prices? Many items originally only circulated at hundreds of thousands are being bid up to tens of millions of International Coins. Is this rational behavior?"

Zhang Tianyi found it hard to respond.

"Even though recovering lost national treasures is everyone’s responsibility, it’s primarily the responsibility of the state. The most crucial means are through diplomacy and legal channels; second is through diplomatic pressure and government funding; third is private purchase. Now many wealthy individuals are purchasing antiques at extravagantly high prices. Not considering their real value, nor whether they will be donated to the nation, at least they are blocking the first two routes! If anything can sell for a sky-high price, why would they return it to Yun Country? Why not wait for someone to come pay for it?"

Zhang Tianyi sighed, "You do have a point."

"In reality, while there are patriotic motives like yours among them, a large part of it is showing off wealth because the high-priced Yun Country antiques that emerge at every auction are bid on by Yun Country buyers. Is it internal conflict? Perhaps it’s showing off wealth, buying them in the name of national treasures to display in the company, impressing clients, and serving as an impressive business card, a symbol of strength that can also have a patriotic label! Of course, it’s not excluding those transferring funds abroad, money laundering. In conclusion, the enthusiasm of the wealthy has nothing to do with art, and nothing to do with patriotism!" Li Yan was so busy talking that he didn’t have time to smoke.

After listening, Zhang Tianyi’s eyes changed slightly, and he praised, "Li Yan! Your words have made me see you in a new light! Haha, it’s somewhat like hearing a once-in-a-lifetime insight. Live and learn indeed; my views are outdated."

"It’s not that your views are outdated, it’s that society today is becoming more restless." Li Yan smiled slightly.

"Aren’t there young people like you who aren’t restless?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Haha..."

Zhang Tianyi glanced at his collection of antiques and felt a little wistful, "To be honest, these things... I bought them at a high price partly out of a love for art, but there’s also a part of vanity, maybe a bit of patriotism too. After hearing what you said, I now feel it might not have been worth it."

"It wasn’t worth it in the first place... Take porcelain for example, Wanghai Town can produce many high-quality replicas of antique porcelain every year. Aside from archaeological value, these can be completely appreciated and collected from an artistic standpoint. And these high-quality replicas, at least thirty percent are sold abroad yearly, and quite a few, after being kept low-key overseas for several years, are sold or auctioned at high prices to wealthy people of Yun Country under the guise of newly discovered Yun Country antiques."

"No way?" Zhang Tianyi was a bit shocked because he himself wasn’t an art expert or collector, having relied on others’ valuations of those antiques. If those appraisers were originally shaped by auction houses or antique dealers, then having bought the newly made ’antiques’ from Wanghai Town at a high price isn’t out of the question!

"According to statistics, apart from the unsold Yun Country antiques in the museums and collections of Celestial Continent Countries, those in Yun Country and Lan Island museums and private collections, the number of Yun Country antiques appearing on the market over the years has already exceeded historical records. In other words, some of the so-called Yun Country antiques currently circulating are complete forgeries."

Zhang Tianyi gave a wry smile, "Little Li, after hearing your words, I will never again consider buying Yun Country antiques that have fallen into foreign lands at a high price."

Li Yan smiled, "Dad, I don’t understand art much, but let me use a metaphor I don’t know if it’s appropriate: Artists have a country, but art has no borders! Yun Country’s artistic treasures don’t necessarily have to be in Yun Country to be recognized. If someone bought a Da Vinci piece and put it in Yundu Museum, visitors wouldn’t say it’s from Yun Country, would they? Similarly, Yun Country’s artworks are recognized for their artists’ wisdom, wherever they are displayed, be it in Lan Country Museum or Lanfu Palace."

"Makes sense... Artworks aren’t women; as a pride of Yun Country, they don’t necessarily have to be possessed by Yun Country." Zhang Tianyi nodded.

Artworks aren’t women; women must be possessed oneself... Li Yan was a bit sweaty; his father-in-law’s metaphors were always so sharp.

"To speak bluntly, Yun Country is still in a nouveau riche stage, and most citizens are still quite poor, not yet reaching the golden age of the Tang and Song Dynasties, with the overall appreciation of art still in its developmental phase. Some good things, placed in a country with a richer artistic atmosphere, might be preserved better." Li Yan chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Zhang Tianyi was silent for a while. "Let’s not talk politics! Let’s go out!" (To be continued, for more updates, please visit www.qidian.com, support the author, and support legitimate reading!)