According to the Times, Chinese bidders ... bid up some work of art tens and even hundreds of times Christie’s estimates. For example, a dubious vase from the Qianglong reign, estimated at US$2000 – US$3000, sold for $550,000; other pieces went for similarly inflated values. In any case: woe be unto the poor young man who suddenly finds himself the high bidder against one of these plants! His colleagues, all as drunk as he, start to pound his back and encourage him to out-bid the interloper. By this point, the MC is asking a different question: “Who really loves Chinese art?” Go figure: it’s always the young man with the company party who best appreciates Chinese culture, and ends up paying RMB 1000 ($146) for a painting worth a tenth of that. But, at least for a drunken moment, he has the admiration (read:face) of his colleagues. Personally, I always wonder about how much the spouses of these young men will appreciate the new acquisitions. - AlexBowman