Beijing, 1980, in a military compound. Han Qisheng’s grandfather was a founding general, his father a Tsinghua professor, and his mother came from a prominent Fujian family of collectors. Before she died, she left him a brass key and a hand-drawn map pointing to the last authentic painting by Dong Qichang, hidden by the Lin family during the Cultural Revolution. Han Qisheng resigns from his government post and sets out on a long journey to recover the cultural relics his family lost.
From a hidden wall in an abandoned temple to bidding at a Hong Kong auction house; from Western Zhou bronzes written off as scrap metal in a state-owned enterprise warehouse to famous heirloom paintings in the hands of overseas collectors, Han Qisheng uses his uncanny ability to “see through a hundred years” to outmaneuver his rivals in the antique trade. But he soon discovers that his real opponent isn’t a lack of discernment. It’s human nature. Lu Yiming, a former brother from the military compound, uses his influence to set traps for personal gain. Su Jian, the woman he loves, presses him at every turn with the logic of capital. And Zhou Mingyuan, a financial prodigy returned from overseas, teaches him to “break the rules with a forceful mindset.”
Over twenty years, he recovers 98 of the Lin family’s 126 cultural relics and builds his own business empire, but in the end he faces a choice: should these “things” become money, or should they become a matter of principle? Qilin’s Son tells a story of “defying fate and changing one’s destiny.” It is not about defying heaven, but human nature; not about changing destiny, but protecting one’s roots.
