Excavator driver can get historic artifacts

One of my Penang sifu always told me, try to be a friend to a excavator driver because excavator driver can get historic artifacts easily. Depends on where they were digging, they can find bowls, wine pots, jars, ceramic items, ancient coins, wine bottles, inking pots, opium pipes and etc. When I am in Penang, I always get old Penang coins (Straits Settlements, Malaya & British Borneo, some token) from excavator driver. A news by Guang Ming Daily last week bring back the old memories. I can easily get old coins in Penang because they're many ways to get them (beside buying).

Guang Ming Daily share a story of 58 year-old Dong Yong who loves collecting artifacts. He has been uncovering a great number of ancient artifacts with rich historical value. Working as an excavator driver over the years has not only provided Dong Yong with the source of livelihood but the job has also landed him a lot of ancient artifacts, he told Guang Ming Daily.

“I managed to dig up some bowls and plates with floral and rooster designs, and these richly coloured items are in prefect conditions,” he said.

“The bowls and ceramic items which remain commonly used among members of the Chinese community were recovered at rural areas off the Mersing Road. Therefore, it is evident that the Chinese had started to arrive in and live here since a long time ago,” he said.

Dong also found some ancient coins when carrying out his duty as an excavator driver. They are Qing dynasty coins as well as those manufactured in 1862 in India and carry the words “One Cent India Straits”.

“The coins were dug up at a place nearby the Kuala Sedili beach. Apart from that, I also found a wine bottle made of glass measuring one-inch thick. It is likely that the bottle had been left behind by the Dutch in those days,” he said.

Currently residing at Taman Kota Jaya, Kota Tinggi, Dong is preserving all the excavated items and artifacts in a proper way.

He said, he is also keeping a five yuan currency note which was issued by the Bank of China and carries the portrait of Sun Yat-sen. At the same time, his collection includes a 10 dollar note issued during the British colonial era in 1941.

Inking pot commending Japanese achievement in war

“Of my vast collection of artifacts, an extremely unique inking pot made of a seaside stone and weighing some 2kg is particularly eye-catching. Featuring artistically carved clouds as well as two carvings of bats, the artifact is rich in Chinese cultural value,” he said.

A row of Chinese characters neatly engraved at the back of the stone include this sentence – “battle must be won and success must be achieved”. By taking into account the strong will of the Japanese to achieve their goals, the stone probably belonged to the Japanese.

Dong said, the inking pot has been preserved for more than four decades. He found it at a wood factory located in a remote area in Kota Tinggi. Nowadays, it is hard to locate such inking pot and hence, Dong sees it as his prized possession.

“A coat of powder must be applied to the back of the inking pot before we can clearly see the engraved words. Judging by the words, the inking pot was probably manufactured in the second half of year 1942.

Source: mysinchew.com