In a blink of an eye, our research topic is coming to an end. Looking back at the beginning, I was so excited that I chose a topic I liked, found a tutor, made a proposal report, and started my own research-based learning activities. Like a bird that has just retreated from its immature wings, it is eager to fly under the blue sky. Everything passed so quickly, and there was no time to reflect on it.
After 1 year of research, we found such amazing data!
1. Where is the hometown at dusk? The Yanbo River makes people sad - the journey of the Old Summer Palace cultural relics scattered to the end of the world
According to the statistics of the Chinese Cultural Relics Society, since the Opium War in 1840, due to the war, As a result of looted cultural relics and due to illegal excavation, illegal trade, and other reasons, more than 10 million Chinese cultural relics have been lost to countries and regions such as Europe, America, and Southeast Asia, of which more than 1 million are national first- and second-level cultural relics. Statistics from UNESCO are another figure: there are 1.64 million Chinese cultural relics in more than 200 museums in 47 countries, while the number of Chinese cultural relics in private collections is 10 times the number of collections, about 17 million. These "overseas Tibetan cultural relics" cover almost all types of cultural relics, including calligraphy, paintings, porcelain, pottery, sculptures, bronze statues and other treasures. These precious cultural relics that once represented the glory of the Chinese nation have always been the focus of people's attention.
Since 1860, in addition to being burned in the "Burning of the Old Summer Palace", cultural relics from the Old Summer Palace have also been continuously lost through various channels. According to rough statistics, there are about 1.5 million pieces, and most of the best parts have been lost overseas. , especially in European countries such as the United Kingdom and France, which have the most collections in various museums and other collection institutions. China's cultural relics lost overseas can be roughly divided into three categories: first, those plundered when foreign countries invaded China, which accounts for the vast majority; second, since the mid-to-late 19th century, some Western countries have plundered from China in the name of inspection Yes, this is also illegal; there are also some who leave the country illegally due to smuggling and other reasons.
Since the inventory of items in the Old Summer Palace was destroyed in the fire, it is impossible to verify how many cultural relics there are in the Old Summer Palace. So far, how many relics of the Old Summer Palace are still in existence and where are they collected now? There is no general catalog in the world!
2. In the old days, the swallows in front of Wang Xietang flew into the homes of ordinary people - where are the cultural relics of the Old Summer Palace now?
Is there not even a single cultural relic in the country?
No, Peking University picked up three treasures from the Old Summer Palace, including the Anyou Palace Flower Watch and the Anyou Palace Stone Unicorn, a harmonious and interesting flip-tailed stone fish. In the Summer Palace, a Changchun round copper unicorn, Shuimu Mingse poem carvings and other Wufenghu stones were discovered, as well as the Old Summer Palace screen wall. The eight pillars of the Orchid Pavilion, the Orchid Pavilion stele and the "Qingyun Piece" stone were also found in Zhongshan Park.
Of course, there are also some left for display or use. For example, the "Qianhu" monument outside the Dayuan Hotel, the "Suzhou Garden" built with cultural relics from the Old Summer Palace in Xijiaomin Alley, and some that left Beijing, such as the stone column foundations of the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou, the stone fence in front of Tan Tingkai's tomb in Nanjing, and Rockery rocks in Baoding Zoo.
How many returned cultural relics have been properly placed and protected here?
Leave aside the animal heads that were auctioned off for the moment, because they are widely known to be stored in the Poly Art Museum, and what about those who are still making tomb fences and rockery stones? They are indeed safe, but not "good". They have fallen from a treasure to such a situation. This is related to the protection and management of the Old Summer Palace. I won't go into details here. I just hope that they will not be forgotten by us. You can return to the Old Summer Palace.
3. The road is long and long, and the souls of scattered treasures are coming back - the return method of lost cultural relics:
Cultural relics that were originally "born" in China are gradually Returning to the motherland is already an eye-catching phenomenon. However, compared to the huge number of cultural relics lost overseas, this is just the tip of the iceberg. ?To allow more precious cultural relics scattered like pearls in foreign countries to return to the embrace of the motherland and provide testimony for the continuation of our culture and history is a complex that the Chinese people have long been unable to let go and is the expectation of every Chinese. In reality, retrieving lost cultural relics is a “long and arduous road”, and there are many problems. This is also a worldwide problem. There are currently three ways to "return home" cultural relics lost overseas through abnormal means: repurchase, return and donation.
1. Restitution is the only cost-free, most legitimate and popular way to recover cultural relics. However, it is the most difficult way to repatriate cultural relics. It is undoubtedly reasonable and legal to pursue cultural relics lost overseas. We know that representative cultural relics in history can only exert their greatest historical and cultural value in the country or location where they are located. The overall value of cultural relics is far greater than the scattered value. Only by respecting the universality of human cultural values ??can cultural relics be valued Protection and collection are not contrary to human moral values. On top of cultural relics, there is also the intangible cultural and moral value of cultural relics. This value requires the return of objects to their original places and the ultimate ownership of a culture that respects cultural relics. From the perspective of the international community, calls for the return of looted precious cultural relics are also growing. But in this environment, France, which was mainly engaged in looting at the time, rejected China's proposal to ban the auction of cultural relics from the Old Summer Palace.
But as long as we persist and don’t give in, nothing is impossible. Egypt has persisted for 10 years and recovered 130 million cultural relics. If we persist for 10 years, how many cultural relics will be recovered?
Let’s take a look at a few successful cases, maybe there will be a light on the way home for your treasures! Country: Ethiopia, Kenya, South Korea, Peru, recovery methods. National leaders suddenly "went crazy"
(lashed out at other governments) to bring cultural relics "home" through "loan" and "donation" and "retrieval" Reclaiming national treasures. Foreign heads of state came to visit and took the opportunity to "recover debts". Recovering cultural relics, including obelisks, was only a short break. The feasibility of 45 precious cultural relics in the "Records of the Joseon Dynasty" Wutaishan History Library is a bit sudden and may trigger conflicts
Feasibility 60% Although it failed, at least the common people can see that cultural relics that are already world heritage can be sent back. What else is impossible? For birthdays in the Old Summer Palace, Britain and France send gifts. It is reasonable and 80% feasible. A strong diplomatic method. On the anniversary of the Old Summer Palace, invite leaders from various countries to participate and tell them that it is time to return cultural relics! , 80% feasibility. All the above methods can be classified as recovery.
2. Donation: Collectors promote the return of lost cultural relics through foundations and individual donations. A year or two ago, a lady named Niu donated two vases and a mirror handed down from her ancestors to the Old Summer Palace. Nowadays, the protection and recycling of the cultural relics of the Old Summer Palace has become a topic of public concern. Although there are many precedents for cultural relics to be repatriated in the form of donations, donation first requires the holder of cultural relics to reach a state of mind that is difficult for ordinary people to achieve. After all, any cultural relic is expensive. The return of cultural relics involves very complex historical issues that are difficult to resolve in the short term.
3. Buyback: According to relevant international conventions, it is objectively difficult for some of the cultural relics lost overseas to return to the motherland. When it is impossible to retrieve the lost cultural relics through diplomatic and legal means, it is important to achieve the purpose of return. The way is to buy back. For example, the monkey head, cow head, tiger head, pig head and horse head were purchased by Stanley Ho and the Poly Group respectively (except the pig head), and they are all now stored in the Poly Art Museum. However, the dragon head is currently in Taiwan and is well preserved, but in the short term Won't show up. Buybacks are mostly obtained through auctions at auction houses. According to the provisions of my country's current cultural relics protection law, it is illegal to auction cultural relics looted and exported by the "Eight-Nation Allied Forces", but we do not have the authority to stop it through legal channels.
Of course, the robbers who stole the treasures hope to obtain a ransom. Isn't a pre-announced "auction show" a good proof? Mr. Xie Chensheng, the honorary president of the China Cultural Relics Association, has another worry: "The high-priced buybacks of tens of millions of yuan are prompting the formation of a vicious circle: the prices of cultural relics and antiques are getting higher and higher, and the more they are speculated, the more popular they are. More and more people are flocking to legal or illegal activities in the cultural relics market. This further stimulates the greedy tomb robbery gangs, and the activities of cultural relic dealers become more frequent, rampant and intensified. "Indeed, those cultural relics that are openly robbed can only be found in the international market. Under the framework of the convention, recourse must be pursued through the law and through normal channels. You must not buy it. If you want to buy it, it will become illegal and legal. It is not necessary to get all the lost cultural relics back. For example, there is no need to waste time and money to recover some cultural relics with average artistic value. The focus of the cultural relics to be pursued is those precious cultural relics or looted cultural relics. Because it is impossible for foreign museums to return all looted cultural relics to China. These cultural relics can be loaned to foreign museums, but the pursuit of the return of ownership cannot be given up at any time. The cultural relics that have been stolen, smuggled and dispersed in recent years are equally shocking. While they are constantly being recovered, they are also secretly smuggled. This requires the strengthening of legal punishment and public supervision.
So, what do the people think? We conducted a survey on this, and the data is as follows:
If the Chinese continue to "reward" thieves in disguised ways, will these few animal heads be the only national treasures that are plundered and smuggled to the West?
4. The road to Shu is difficult, dare to ask where the way is - the dilemma of the return of cultural relics from the Old Summer Palace:
According to international conventions, looted cultural relics should be returned to distant countries. However, In actual implementation, the situation is far from simple, and there are many legal and formal difficulties:
1. In 1945, the "Hague Convention" was first introduced, and the "Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict" and its protocol. Regarding the return of looted cultural property, the Protocol stipulates that each State Party shall return to the competent authorities of the previously occupied territory cultural property located in its territory upon the termination of hostilities. Due to the vagueness of the specific provisions, such as the absence of any provisions on the way to request return, its legal practicality is not strong. Since most of the cultural relics in the Old Summer Palace were lost when the British and French forces took them away in 1860, and the incident occurred before 1954, claims for reimbursement cannot be made based on the Hague Convention.
2. The "Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects" establishes three principles for the return of stolen cultural relics: cultural relics excavated illegally are also considered stolen; the holders of stolen cultural relics should return them Stolen cultural relics; bona fide acquirers of stolen cultural relics are entitled to fair and reasonable compensation when returning the cultural relics. The convention has strong operability in terms of implementation details.
According to the Convention, only cultural relics lost after 1996 can be requested for return. Obviously, it is not possible to file a lawsuit for the return of cultural relics lost in the Old Summer Palace based on the Convention. For this reason, when China signed the convention that year, it could only declare that it retained the right of recourse for cultural relics that had been illegally plundered in history.
3. The above conventions are concluded on a voluntary basis and are generally binding only between contracting states. Some major countries that collect lost cultural relics, such as France, refuse to join the convention on the grounds that it conflicts with their own national laws. Therefore, the country of origin of dispersed cultural relics cannot, in accordance with international conventions, request the return of cultural relics to the "country of destination of cultural relics" that has not signed the contract.
This also calls for: Let us pay attention to our national treasures, protect the national treasures, and do our part for the return of the national treasures!