Interviewer: Zhang Yu (Z), journalist from Jade Age Magazine Interviewee: Liu Shengchun (L), representative of the Olympic medal and jade donation undertaking enterprise Interview time: May 8, 2012 Interview location: Beijing Tianya Antique City "Jade Out of Kunlun" Z: May I ask when did you first come up with the idea of "donating jade"? L: If you really want to ask when it happened, it should have been vaguely present when I started working in the Kunlun jade industry. Our Kunlun jade began mining in 1993, and until then, it had been silently unknown. Later, it has been under the shadow of Hotan Jade in Xinjiang. Although our mining history is not as good as that of Hotan Jade, late discovery does not mean that the quality is worse than theirs. Early discovery and late discovery cannot determine which is better or worse. I have always advocated that a scientific method should be used to identify the jade quality of these two jade mines. Moreover, these two types of mines are still located in the same mountain range, and we still don't know which one is the main vein and which one is the secondary vein. Our mineral reserves are much higher than theirs. But reputation still depends on us to build it ourselves. As long as we can increase our reputation, a certain amount of effort is necessary. For example, sponsoring some events or conducting large-scale events by name, as long as we can promote our Kunlun Jade brand, we have naturally considered donating jade, but at the beginning, we didn't know how to donate. Z: How did you gradually clarify your idea of "donating jade" later? L: When I first studied for an MBA at Tsinghua University, I discussed these things with some classmates. But I was wondering if there could be some way to contact CCTV and sponsor their program hosts with jade bracelets, decorations, and other things. CCTV is a media with a very high viewership in our country. If their hosts can bring our jade products, bring such a concept to the general audience, guide consumption, it will definitely establish our brand and promote our Kunlun jade brand. Later, a classmate from CCTV said no, saying that the host has strict requirements for clothing and decoration, making it very difficult to start from this aspect. Z: This can also be considered as the prototype of your idea of "donating jade". So how did it develop step by step later? L: Later, around 2006, when our country was preparing for the Olympic mascot, Qinghai Province held two sessions. I was a member of the Provincial Committee of the CPPCC. At that time, there was an event where 300 CPPCC representatives from the whole province signed a red cloth and jointly proposed to use Tibetan antelope to bid for the Olympic mascot mascot. At that time, I was thinking that the Tibetan antelope would definitely succeed in bidding because it conforms to the spirit of our Olympic Games. It runs fast and symbolizes good luck. At this moment, I was thinking about how to integrate our Kunlun jade artifacts. Why not make a Tibetan antelope jade artifact. The Tibetan antelope conforms to the color of the jade material inside the Kunlun jade. Its horns and feet are blue, its body is white, and its belly is sugar colored. Moreover, both Kunlun jade and Tibetan antelope are located at an altitude of 4000 meters, making the products very memorable. At that time, I wanted to make four decisions. When hosting the Olympics, I would award one to the first gold medal winner from Hong Kong and Taiwan, one to the first gold medal winner from abroad, and one to the first gold medal winner from China. Finally, I would like to permanently reserve one for our Olympic venues. With this inspiration, I immediately drafted a report, held a board meeting, and applied to the Golmud Municipal Government to become a Tibetan antelope Kunlun jade mascot. The Golmud Municipal Government then reported to the provincial government level by level. After reporting to the provincial government, Governor Ma Peihua (now the Vice Chairman of the All China Federation of Trade Unions) met a deputy director of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games and the National General Administration of Sport. Through this person, he communicated this idea to the organizing committee. But later feedback came back and it was said that this was not a simple matter, it had to be reported level by level, and in the end, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games obtained the approval of the International Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games. There's no way, we've been waiting for news. But the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympics has verbally agreed, because it is a good thing. But later on, as soon as the mascots came out and there were five, there was no other way to do it. We couldn't just be Tibetan antelopes, but there was no reason to do anything else, and this matter ran aground. Z: Yes, there are not only Tibetan antelopes in the Olympic Fuwa, but also pandas, Beijing swallows, and so on. If you have a good understanding of Tibetan antelopes, it is not suitable to do other things. How did you come up with a medal after that? L: I haven't thought about making a mascot anymore. But the idea of using jade as something related to the Olympics has been preserved. If we can promote Kunlun jade through the Olympics, it will be a huge success. Why does our country hold the Olympic Games? What is the purpose of the Olympic Games that was born internationally, and what is the Olympic spirit? When we combine ancient Chinese culture with Olympic culture, I believe we can definitely gain worldwide attention. At this point, I started thinking about Olympic medals. Z: How many sets of Kunlun jade and medal combinations did you propose at that time? L: Three sets. When I was still studying in Beijing, I started discussing other ways to participate in the Olympics with my classmates. Firstly, I thought that I couldn't use pure jade to make medals, and I used micro carvings to complete the patterns on the medals. The gold medal was made of white jade, the silver medal was made of sapphire, and the bronze medal was made of sapphire. When I checked, the gold content of an Olympic medal is 6 grams. If our jade medal is completed, it will also be more valuable than this metal one. The old rule is to hold a board meeting first, and after all the directors agreed, we quickly established a jade donation group. As the group leader, I am always the deputy group leader, and there are also some other people. Then, we began to report to the Olympic Organizing Committee level by level. But later there was no more follow-up, which made me very anxious. Afterwards, they reported to the provincial Xinhua News Agency, and finally published an article online titled 'Should the Kunlun Jade be Used for the Olympics?' The province attaches great importance to this matter, and Secretary Qiang Wei instructed that it is a win-win situation for both enterprises and the government. Then the government began to approach Beijing regarding the use of Kunlun jade for medals. Afterwards, we proposed a second plan, which consisted of half using metal and half using Kunlun jade, with a screw or other method connecting them in the middle. Then we proposed a third plan, which used Kunlun to engrave Olympic medals in oracle bone inscriptions. This combination of ancient Chinese culture and the Olympics is also very in line with our concept of hosting the Olympics. We have reported all of this to the Olympic Organizing Committee. The organizing committee greatly appreciated our concept of combining gold and jade until Wang Yipeng from Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts was commissioned by the organizing committee to design the final Olympic medal style with a combination of gold and jade. I began to strive for the Kunlun Jade to apply for the Olympics. (organized based on recordings)