Chinese Game Show Promoting Minerals

May 21, 2017

By Dr. Robert Lavinsky and Tom Moore

We recently received a link to an hour-long episode of a Chinese game show (in Chinese, of course) in which a panel of minor celebrities and some experts competes to see who has the most knowledge regarding various objects important in Chinese culture. Objects may include antiquities, carvings, ceramics, bronzes, paintings, calligraphy and, especially, jade — and also what their retail value might be. Sounds like fun, especially in this case, as they were faced with having to price some very fine Chinese mineral specimens!

The popular show is produced by CCTV (the government-run television station seen by all Chinese households. The featured item in question is a large specimen of inesite from Fengjiashan mine in Hubei Province. The host proceeds to engage the guests in a discussion about “rocks,” showing them a range of photos of beautiful specimens. At the end he has them gasping in surprise at the high values associated. This seems to be part of a gradual educational effort by the Government, in concert with the museum building initiative reported in the
January-February 2013 China Supplement, available for reading online (free!) here.

Watch the clip online!