编者按：近日，中华抢救流失海外文物专项基金收藏顾问、文物收藏家蔡铭超以3149万欧元的价格拍下1860年圆明园遭洗劫时被窃掠的两尊清朝兽首铜像。这两尊铜像之前由已故的时尚设计师伊夫•圣洛朗收藏。后来，蔡铭超表示不会，也不能付款，从而挫败了本月在法国的这次拍卖。蔡铭超本人立即得到全球媒体的关注，他谢绝了许多媒体的采访，但在3月9日接受了美国彭博社的采访。以下是本次采访的节选：

'This has damaged me: I have lost the business I love,' said Cai, in his office in the southeastern city of Xiamen. Cai said he had bid with the intention of paying, then had second thoughts and decided it's wrong to do so. He again denied acting in concert with China's government.

“这毁了我：我失去了我热爱的事业，”蔡铭超在中国东南部城市厦门的办公室说。他表示，他竞标时有打算付钱，但思量再三，觉得这样做不对。他再次否认与中国政府有接触。

On Feb. 23 in Paris, a court ruled that the sale could go ahead. Hours later, Cai called Christie from his favorite leather couch on his dark-wood, second-floor office and registered to bid. 'I thought to myself, "It's impossible to find these items again,"' Cai said.

2月23日，巴黎一家法院做出裁定，拍卖可以进行。几个小时之后，蔡铭超坐在其二层黑木办公室里他最喜欢的皮沙发上打电话给佳士得公司，登记参与拍卖。“我认为，以后不可能再找到它们了，”蔡铭超说。

At about 2 a.m. Beijing time on Feb. 26, the last day of the S sale was under way in Paris. Cai watched the auction live from a Phoenix Television broadcast. First came the rat head. Cai looked on as the bidding on Lot 677 climbed from 9 million euros to 10 million euros to 11 million euros. 'Just as they were about to close the deal, I went in,' said Cai. 'I felt if I didn't bid, I will lose it forever.'

北京时间2月26日凌晨2点，巴黎的圣洛朗拍卖进入最后一天。蔡铭超收看凤凰卫视的直播，关注拍卖会的动态。首先是鼠首，他看这件677号物件的拍卖价从900万欧元升至1000万欧元，又攀升至1100万欧元。“在他们刚要完成交易的时候，我介入了。”“我觉得，如果我不竞拍，我就会永远失去它。”

He offered 12 million euros. A rival countered with 13 million euros, so Cai went up to 14 million euros - the final bid. Next up was the rabbit head. Cai's 14 million-euro bid beat a rival's 13.5 million euros and he secured the second bronze.

他出价1200万欧元。一个对手给出1300万欧元，蔡铭超随之出价1400万欧元，也即最高价。接下来是兔首。蔡铭超1400万欧元的标价击败了对手的1350万欧元，他拍得了第二个兽首铜像。

'At that time, maybe I didn't consider if I could pay for them,' said Cai. 'At the most, I would sell some of my ceramics to pay for them.'

“当时，可能我没有想我付不付得起钱，”蔡铭超说。“至多，我会卖掉我的一些陶瓷去付钱。”

Hours after the auction ended, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage responded to the sale with a circular requiring Christie's to detail the ownership and provenance of artifacts it brings into or out of China. When Cai heard of this, he started to question his purchase. 'I felt an internal struggle,' he said. 'I felt, "If I paid this money and I can't get the goods, what do I do? "'

拍卖结束之后数小时，中国国家文物局发出通知，要求佳士得提供其进出中国的艺术品所有权与出处的详尽信息。得知此事之后，蔡铭超开始质疑自己的购买。“我内心在挣扎，”他说。“如果我付了钱，却得不到东西，我将怎么办？”

Hong Kong antiques dealer Yumi Kunizuka said this case is not so much a lesson in law and art-auction protocol than manners. 'The whole matter could have been handled with more grace and wisdom by Christie's, Berge and Cai,' said Kunizuka. Berge could have done more for Saint Laurent's memory by not flaunting the bronzes, Christie's shouldn't have agreed to auction the items and Cai was unprofessional in what he did, Kunizuka said.

香港古董商Yumi Kunizuka表示，此事与其说是对法律与艺术品拍卖条约的教训，不如说相关方做法欠佳。“如果佳士得、贝尔热和蔡铭超能多一些友善，多动动脑子，整个事情可以处理得更好。”Kunizuka，贝尔热本可以不炫耀兽首，以此纪念圣洛朗，佳士得不应该同意拍卖兽首，蔡铭超这样做也是违反职业道德的。

If he could do it again, Cai isn't sure he would bid for the bronzes. He said he's now trying to pick up the pieces of his life. If he ends his art-auction activity, Cai said he may focus on his real-estate and securities trading businesses.

蔡铭超表示，如果能再来一次，他不清楚自己是否会竞拍。他说自己现在要重新振作起来。如果他不再从事艺术品拍卖了，可能会把重点放在房地产和证券交易上。

'When I turn on my cell phone and walk out of this place, I really don't know what kind of life I will have,' he said.

“我打开手机，从这里走出去，真不知道以后会有怎样的生活，”他说。

蔡铭超简介：

Cai Mingchao, a native of Jinjiang, wouldn't say how much he's worth. The third of a merchant's four children, he said he inherited some money and made the rest in stocks and real estate. He left Xiamen's art school at 18 and started in business by renting a store trading cloth. In 2005, he opened Xiamen Xinhe Art International Auction Co. after leaving the state-backed Xiamen Auction Co..

蔡铭超是晋江人，他不愿透露自己有多少家产。他出身商人家庭，在兄妹四人中排行老三。他表示，自己继承了一笔钱，然后通过炒股与房地产又挣了一些。他18岁离开厦门艺术学校，租了个店面，开始做服装生意。2005年，他离开国有企业厦门国际商品拍卖公司，创立厦门心和艺术拍卖有限公司。

'He has a very good reputation with art dealers,' said Roger Keverne, 62, head of his namesake gallery and chairman of Asian Art in London, an annual exhibition by the city's galleries. Keverne said he'd met Cai in Beijing and Hong Kong in the past few years. 'I found him charming, his manners immaculate. I have only heard good things about him.'

“他在艺术品商人那里的名声很好，”62岁的伦敦亚洲艺术品展（伦敦市艺术馆每年都举办的一项展览）董事罗格•科伟尼说。科伟尼表示，几年来他在北京和香港都见过蔡铭超，“我觉得他很有魅力，他的举止完美无瑕。我听过关于他的消息都是正面的。”