Yuan Yuxiao introduces an item exhibited in his museum. (WANG ZHUANGFEI/CHINA DAILY)
Yuan recalled that his grandfather and father often mentioned the phrase jiandao, which means "collect and store up" in the Yichang dialect. "They were considered odd because they treasured objects normally discarded by other people. Sometimes the 'gem' was nothing more than a shabby enameled basin."
Yuan said he once threw a comic strip away when he was in primary school, and he was forced to kneel down while holding a wooden bench over his head as punishment.
"My father told me that the stuff he held on to would be useful in the future," he said. "I understand them now. This so-called rubbish serves as a witness to ages passing by. The past shouldn't be forgotten, nor should objects from those eras."
His wife was once strongly against him hoarding all the items. "She would often toss collections into hallways in the 1990s, but I understood her. These mountains of objects did influence our lives as we had limited living space available."
To help create more elbow room, Yuan rented additional apartments in Yichang to store his growing collection of items. He still rents five rooms to house excess "treasures" as he calls them.
One of his favorite items is a stone tablet made in 1926 that is engraved with the history of his family.
