Story setting of "Photographs of Old Objects Returning"
core themes
Taking the protagonist's life trajectory of half a century as a clue, it connects the fate of individuals with the inheritance of cultural relics, and explores the relationship between "roots" and "drifting" - starting from the hometown of Ruyao in Henan, touching the temperature of cultural relics in the street fireworks of Guilin, tempering one's vision in the antique arena in Beijing, and finally returning to the ruins of Ruyao, completing the transformation from "seeking life" to "preserving cultural heritage", and interpreting the deep meaning of "artifacts carry history and people carry memories".
Background of the times
- Starting point (1987): In the early days of reform and opening up, the individual economy was budding, the antique market was not yet standardized, and private collections mostly relied on "walking through the streets" to collect artifacts. The historical value behind cultural relics was often ignored, and they were circulated more as "tools of livelihood".
- Development period (1990s to 2010s): Antique markets such as Panjiayuan emerged, cultural relics collection gradually became popular, academic research began to collide with the private market, imitations and fakes became rampant, and "authenticity" became a survival skill for practitioners. At the same time, archeology was gradually standardized, and the excavation of kiln sites such as Ru Kiln entered a critical period.
- Return period (2020s): The awareness of cultural heritage protection is awakening. Archaeological science popularization, cultural relic restoration, and intangible cultural inheritance have become social hot spots. The Ru Kiln site has been built into a museum. Cultural relics have moved from "niche collection" to "public sharing". The protagonist's personal experience has become a microcosm of the changes of the times.
Protagonist setting
- Name: Zheng Shouye (nicknamed "Little Zheng", called "Old Zheng" in his later years)
- Identity: Came from the countryside of Ruzhou, Henan
