Shanghai-based art collector Liu Yiqian recently spent $36.3 million on a tiny porcelain cup with a humble chicken painted on its surface. But for many in China, the most shocking thing wasn't the amount he paid, or the fact that he paid with an American Express card.

No, it was the fact that Mr. Liu decided to celebrate his Ming-dynasty purchase by sipping some tea from it.

The cup in question is one of China's so-called "chicken cups," which were forged in imperial kins and possess a particularly silky texture. Though fakes abound, only 19 genuine articles are known to exist. To art experts, they're known as the "holy grail" of Chinese porcelains.

Mr. Liu celebrates his purchase. Courtesy of Sothebys

Mr. Liu bought his in a heated Hong Kong Sotheby's auction, in a bidding war that lasted seven minutes. Late last week, when he paid up—by swiping his American Express card an individual 24 times, according to Sotheby's—he also decided to take a celebratory swig from the cup.

Images of Mr. Liu sipping from the cup circulated over the Internet this weekend, sparking fast condemnation from Chinese observers online. "You think you can drink it and become immortal? Or that it will extend your life? In fact, isn't it just a way to satisfy your vanity?" wrote one Weibo user.

"Sigh, Chinese people are just like this," opined another: "No people who are civilized would treat a cultural treasure like this. No wonder Chinese people are looked down on by other countries' citizens."

On Monday, Mr. Liu told China Real Time that he wasn't trying to show off his wealth. "It happened when I was paying," said Mr. Liu, who made his fortune in finance. "A Sotheby's staffer poured me some tea. I saw the [chicken cup] and excitedly poured some of that tea into the cup and drank a little," he said. "Such a simple thing—what's so crazy about that?"

From over-the-top weddings to bouquets made out of dollar bills, the antics of China's wealthy have stirred up considerable social resentment amid the country's entrenched inequality in recent years. Thanks to its rapid industrialization, China is home to 152 billionaires, and many more have been catapulted into considerable wealth—one that's helped power the rise of a buoyant art market that has seen record-breaking purchases like Mr. Liu's.

However, it also remains a country where more than 175 million people live on less than $1.25 a day, according to the World Bank.

"Emperor Qianlong has used it, now I've used it," said Mr. Liu of his chicken cup, referring to one of the Qing Dynasty's most celebrated emperors. "I just wanted to see how it felt." The cup, he added, "isn't a commercial product appropriate for the masses."

Online, some said Mr. Liu should be left alone. "The money that people have strived to earn all their lives, they're just spending in search for some happiness. What's it got to do with you?"

--Te-Ping Chen and Olivia Geng. Follow Te-Ping on Twitter at @tepingchen.

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