The CCTV program "Treasure Hunt" is known to virtually everyone. Each episode brings ancient masterpieces vividly to life on the screen, and the sky-high prices they fetch are enough to make anyone’s eyes water! As a result, tens of millions of ordinary people have flocked to antique markets, all dreaming of buying a treasure worth 50 million yuan for just 500 yuan! But in the end, ninety percent of them have been duped—cheated out of their money by fake items! Some have even spent hundreds of millions, hoping to turn that into billions—but in the end, they’ve ended up in utter despair. “Huh? The item I bought is exactly the same as the one introduced by the CCTV experts—how could it possibly be fake?” Sadly, he simply doesn’t understand the true caliber of the CCTV experts. Don’t be fooled by those few experts who spend their days on TV shaking their heads and gesticulating wildly, talking eloquently about the treasures right in front of them—they themselves can’t even tell the real from the fake!

　　A director at the television station openly stated: “Our station isn’t an appraisal agency—what matters is that the experts can speak authoritatively!” Wrong ideas are guiding wrong actions, endangering tens of millions of viewers! With poor judgment, these so-called experts are labeling the genuine as fake and the fake as genuine, misleading countless ordinary people and undermining the healthy development of the collecting market. Little do they realize that by elevating the status and visibility of these experts, you’re actually encouraging them to mislead the public into buying counterfeit items—even going so far as to sell their own fakes to collectors themselves! Isn’t this a vicious cycle? Remember, you’re CCTV—a nationally broadcast channel. The embarrassment you’re causing isn’t just domestic—it’s being felt internationally too! Some overseas collectors, connoisseurs, and experts have even said: “Every single show on your national TV station seems to feature fakes—some blatant, obvious fakes—and yet those same experts stand there confidently, even arguing passionately about how to spot the ‘genuine’ ones! What a disgrace!” In this vast China, can’t we find even a handful of experts who are not only of high moral character and impeccable taste but also eloquent speakers and present themselves with dignity? If “Treasure Hunt” continues down this path, China’s cultural symbols will be tragically damaged! Ninety million people are involved in collecting, yet eighty million of them are buying fakes! Items like the giant jade figures from Sanxingdui, the colossal Buddha statues from the Western Zhou Dynasty, the massive jade stools from the Han Dynasty, the blue-and-white porcelain hot water bottles from the Yuan Dynasty, and even the twelve zodiac animals dressed in Zhongshan suits—all have appeared in museums, complete with certificates issued by museum experts themselves! Some say that the chaos in China’s art market stems directly from the chaos among experts—and that’s absolutely true!

　　 To sum up, China’s collecting market has “three major ills”:

　　1. Retired experts are causing harm—there are roughly twenty or so retired experts in Beijing’s cultural and museum sector who have absolutely no appraisal experience and possess shockingly poor judgment. Day in and day out, they hawk their “museum” credentials around the world, raking in money by issuing certificates left and right. As a result, many ordinary citizens have ended up buying counterfeit goods, and numerous private museums have been completely wiped out! Prominent figures among them include Sun Xuehai, Zhou Nanquan, Li Zhiyan, Li Huibing, Zhao Qingyun, Lei Congyun, Hua Yiwu, and others...

　　2. The “National Treasure Gang”—a group of domestic collectors who exclusively deal in fakes—has caused considerable harm. Whenever anyone dares to question their practices, they immediately launch into a torrent of abusive language and mobilize their followers to launch counterattacks! They accuse others of defamation, slander, and malicious gossip—all without the slightest hesitation. Moreover, they frequently organize various events aimed at seizing the public discourse. Take, for instance, the alleged donation of 500 million yuan during the Wenchuan earthquake—supposedly fake artifacts; the Han Dynasty chair; the massive jade figure from Sanxingdui; the gold-plated jade artifacts from the Song and Yuan dynasties; the “Jibaozhai” fake artifact scandal; the false accusation that Wang Chuncheng and his associates colluded to acquire 50 billion yuan’s worth of counterfeit items for the Capital Museum; or the claim that all the antiques smashed by Beijing TV host Wang Gang were genuine—and that he sold these fakes to Koreans, Japanese, and Europeans—all of these fabrications are the work of this gang. Some of them have even crossed the line into criminal activity! The leader of the “National Treasure Gang” is Xu Ming, editor-in-chief of the Shanghai Social Sciences Daily, who also serves as the vice-chairman of the Ceramics Committee of the China Collectors Association. Another key member is Yao Zheng, chairman of the Jade Committee of the China Collectors Association! This individual spends every single day hurling insults at others. He claims to have collections worth tens of billions of yuan at home—collections that consist entirely of “national treasures” so rare, bizarre, and unheard-of that no one has ever seen them before! Just imagine: with such a group of unregulated retired experts running rampant within the cultural and museum system, and with these individuals dominating the collectors’ associations, it’s no wonder the market is in utter chaos!

　　3. The “Treasure Hunt” Harm: While the two previous harms were merely localized, “Treasure Hunt” is a nationwide phenomenon. It appears on national television, naturally earning people’s trust—and naturally, they also place their trust in the experts featured on it! The general public doesn’t know any better; every time they organize an event, they invariably invite experts who’ve appeared on CCTV—simply because these experts enjoy high visibility! What they don’t realize is that CCTV itself is not immune to fake experts. It’s understandable that the producers and directors might not have initially been aware of the varying quality of expert opinions—but after years of airing this show, failing to recognize this now constitutes a serious lapse in responsibility. Many industry insiders have already openly criticized certain experts for frequently promoting counterfeit goods, misleading viewers, and advising them to buy fakes. If this continues to be ignored, it becomes a matter of principle! As a result, countless ordinary people have been duped, driven into bankruptcy, and their families left destitute. This has disrupted social harmony and run counter to the fundamental interests of the broad masses! The most widely recognized figure among the fake experts on “Treasure Hunt” is Qiu Xiaojun—just check out the photos if you don’t believe me! Dan Guoqiang is another such case—he’s issued numerous bogus certificates! However, in recent years, he’s somewhat toned down his activities.

　　 The above are the three major ills plaguing China’s collecting market! Unless these issues are addressed, China’s collecting market will never find peace and health. Solution:

　　1. The relevant state authorities have stepped in and asked these retired experts to stop going out to provide appraisals—each time they go out, they only end up harming others! If they refuse to comply, we’ll locate their physical certificates and expel them! After all, the money they’ve earned over the years by hurting ordinary people is more than enough to support their retirement—they certainly won’t starve!

　　2. Xu Ming, Yao Zheng, and others should be expelled from the China Collectors Association; otherwise, the Association’s reputation will suffer tremendous damage. The China Collectors Association might as well rename itself the “China Fake Collectors Association.” In fact, many upright members of the Collectors Association have long since come to deeply despise these individuals. Even the leaders are well aware of this, yet they’ve still failed to take any action—reportedly, it’s because these people paid them off! No wonder money is such a bad thing! On the “Ji Bao Zhai” issue, they even dared to challenge the Administration of Cultural Heritage itself—and yet, the Administration has remained completely silent! After all, the Collectors Association is officially affiliated with the Administration of Cultural Heritage.

　　3. CCTV’s “Treasure Hunt” has been discontinued. This program lacks cultural and intellectual substance; it doesn’t teach people how to distinguish between genuine and fake items—it’s nothing but a blatant scam, tricking ordinary people into spending their hard-earned money on antiques only to end up buying piles of scrap metal! That’s because the experts featured on the show are peddling counterfeit goods while insisting they’re authentic! If the public doesn’t trust the experts, who else can they rely on? After all, it’s CCTV! If they want to keep the show going, the only way is to change their approach—replace the current experts with those who are truly reputable, have impeccable character, excellent discernment, a good public image, and outstanding communication skills. Otherwise, each broadcast will only harm more people!

　　To purify our country’s art market and promote its healthy development—giving it a clear, blue sky—we must absolutely do these three things! Otherwise, in the not-too-distant future, mass incidents are bound to erupt! Before I’ve even put down this pen, an expert from “Yi Chui Ding Yin” has gotten into trouble! Some experts not only sell their own works (whose poor quality is worth next to nothing) but also come out defending themselves. Don’t you guys realize, after visiting them so many times, that their company is actively promoting value appreciation and buybacks? The Ministry of Public Security has long since issued a strict directive banning such practices—buybacks are illegal fundraising and outright fraud; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call you co-conspirators. Without the hefty earnings made by these big CCTV experts like you, ordinary people probably wouldn’t buy a single piece of art! CCTV, “Yi Chui Ding Yin,” and all those experts really need to take a hard look at themselves and reflect deeply!

(Source: Baidu Tieba; copyright belongs to the original author!)