日批在线视频_内射毛片内射国产夫妻_亚洲三级小视频_在线观看亚洲大片短视频_女性向h片资源在线观看_亚洲最大网

USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
World
Home / World / Reporter's Journal

Chinese cultural relics still have a long way home

By Chang Jun in San Francisco | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-07-25 11:19

Chinese cultural relics scattered overseas, in so many nefarious ways, are a constant reminder of the Chinese people's century-long, collective sense of shame and humiliation. How and where the vast array of purloined or sold national treasures should be preserved remains a big question mark.

The exquisite artifacts with historical significance - sculptures, paintings and calligraphies, glassware, ceramics and porcelains - especially those that were taken away by means of robbery, theft, looting and smuggling during Westerners' invasion of China in the 19th century, are not just priceless. They also stand witness to the dark chapter of history when China was so weak, vulnerable and corrupt that it fell prey to superpowers of the West.

Chinese cultural relics still have a long way home

The burning down of Yuanmingyuan, the old Summer Palace, in 1860 and then its sacking by the Eight-Nation Alliance invasion in 1900 not only led to the capture and deaths of Chinese civilians, but also the looting and robbery of countless invaluable Chinese artifacts.

In his Expédition de Chine, celebrated French writer Victor Hugo described the killing and pillaging at Yuanmingyuan: "Two robbers breaking into a museum. One has looted, the other has burnt… One of the two conquerors filled its pockets, seeing that, the other filled its safes; and they came back to Europe laughing hand-in-hand. …Before history, one of the bandits will be called France and the other England."

Hugo hoped that one day France would feel guilty and return what it had plundered from China. China is still waiting.

More than 150 years later, Yuanmingyuan remains a sensitive topic and a trigger for nationalistic sentiment against atrocities and war crimes committed by foreign invaders. "The most breathtaking exhibition of Chinese treasures I've visited was in Britain, at the British Museum," said Amy Xu, a San Francisco resident. "It's not possible that any Chinese patrons to this museum wouldn't resent the cultural thefts 150 years ago."

According to UNESCO, there are approximately 1.64 million Chinese antiques on exhibit in 200 museums in 47 foreign countries, the majority of which were looted from China by English-speaking nations.

In 2009, China announced plans to send delegations to museums around the world, including the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK and Palace of Fontainebleau in France, in a bid to document the lost Chinese artifacts. Meanwhile, civic organizations and individuals outside of China are stepping up their efforts to rescue overseas Chinese cultural relics through monetary methods such as purchase and donation or persistent demands.

Zhu Zuoquan, an overseas Chinese in San Francisco, is one of those individuals intent on returning precious Chinese relics to their home. He started his mission, focusing mainly on ancient ceramics and porcelains, around 20 years ago when he was still an archaeology illiterate.

A new immigrant from the Chinese mainland at the time, Zhu had little knowledge of Chinese antiques and relics, let alone the ability to differentiate, through subtle features, between porcelains produced by government or folk kilns.

"In 1997, my aunt from Taiwan gave me a catalogue of national treasures", Zhu recalled, "documenting artifacts on display at the National Palace Museum in Taipei. I was literally blown away."

From that enlightenment, Zhu let his enthusiasm guide him, gradually accumulating expertise, as well as a knack for treasure hunting.

"My wife and I have spent almost all our spare time shuffling back and forth among auction houses in the UK, the US and France over the past 20 years," Zhu said, adding he had paid a hefty price learning how to spot the authentic from the counterfeit and the worthy from the mediocre.

"I once bought a vase the vendor told me a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) product for $10,000," he said. "That turned out to be a consummate sham."

Zhu's collection now contains around 300 pieces of ceramic and porcelain wares that range from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) to late Qing.

"My most prized possession is a Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) cup with peony, pheasant and dragon patterns," Zhu said, adding there were probably only three pieces of its kind in the world. "I refused lucrative offers from several auction houses. What I really want to do is to send them back to China." "Yet the formal demand for return of Chinese relics from foreign countries is far more difficult and has yet to yield any satisfactory results," said Zhao Sihong, who heads a group of volunteers in the US that searches for Chinese relics of historical value.

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com.

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲 美腿 欧美 偷拍 | 午夜精品福利在线 | 国产女人18毛片水18精品 | 男人在线观看视频 | 欲望岛av| 天堂久久av| av网站在线免费 | 日韩男人的天堂 | 天天操 夜夜操 | 天天摸夜夜添 | 伊人久久综合 | 超碰人人人人人人 | 亚洲欧美另类色图 | 91视频在线观看免费 | 人人97 | 91小视频在线观看 | 大香蕉毛片 | 成人免费视频大全 | 亚洲男人的天堂网 | 成人久久免费视频 | 日本在线一区二区三区 | 国产精品久久免费观看 | 伊人春色在线观看 | 国产免费高清 | 波多野在线播放 | 精品日韩在线观看 | 国产在线观看免费网站 | 久久国产剧情 | 国产日韩欧美在线观看视频 | 中文字幕av片 | 亚洲第七页| 永久免费看mv网站入口 | 免费成人激情视频 | 色综合天天综合 | 国产影视一区二区 | 丁香婷婷六月 | 日韩天堂 | 日本综合色 | 7799视频 | 黄色的视频网站 | 国产精品亚洲欧美 |