Ma Weidou: This thing can be exchanged for two houses in Beijing a hundred years ago, but now it doesn't even want to pick up junk. What is this?

Glass, as a kind of thing that every household has, is unremarkable in our daily life, but we don't know it is such an unremarkable thing. Mr. Ma Weidou said: Its value 100 years ago can be exchanged for two houses in Beijing. But now, if there is an inconspicuous piece of glass in the street, even the garbage collector is unwilling to pick it up.

Mr Ma Weidou is a famous collector in China. As we all know, Mr. Ma has so many collections that he has opened a Guan Fu Museum. Because of his rich historical and cultural knowledge and unique vision, he discovered many cultural relics and treasures, which had great influence on our country. In a TV program, Mr. Ma Weidou once mentioned that he had done special academic research on glass. As early as 100 years ago, during the Qianlong period of Kangxi and Yongzheng, western countries introduced glass from their own countries to China. Due to the complicated manufacturing process and difficult transportation, the cost of glass was very high at that time.

According to relevant historical records, a piece of glass with a length of three feet can be exchanged for two houses at that time. At that time, every window was covered with paper, because the light transmission of paper was low and the light in the room was very bad. However, the requirements for light in the palace are very high, and the glass can transmit light and keep warm, so it is naturally welcomed by the royal family. However, due to the high price and small quantity of glass, the Forbidden City with many houses is in short supply. So some palaces have only a small part of windows inlaid with glass, which is called "glass eye". If a piece of glass is accidentally broken, it will not be discarded, but it will be carefully stored in the warehouse and taken out to continue the mosaic. Up to now, broken glass has long been lying in the arms of the trash can.

Such a precious and popular item must be seen by the emperor himself. In the fifth year of Yongzheng, a eunuch presented a pair of rosewood cabinets with glass, which were later taken down by Yong Zhengdi himself. The preciousness of glass at that time can be seen. /kloc-It was regarded as a treasure 0/00 years ago, and its value is comparable to the glass of two houses in Beijing. Now it is not only available in every household, but also the price has dropped a lot. Ironically, China's glass manufacturing industry is now at the forefront of the world. This reflects the transformation of China from an agricultural country to an industrial country and the continuous development of science and technology.