China bid to regain looted relics a tough task: experts
来源:百度文库 编辑:神马文学网 时间:2024/09/21 06:24:52
China bid to regain looted relics a tough task: experts
16.jpg (67.35 KB)2010-11-2 10:09
China's call on museums and antique collectors around the world to return relics looted from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing 150 years ago is unlikely to yield any significant results, experts say.
The Old Summer Palace, or Yuanmingyuan, was pillaged by a joint British and French military expedition during the second Opium War in October, 1860.
The event is seen as a national humiliation at the hands of Western armies, and every anniversary of the destruction of this "wonder of the world" -- as French writer Victor Hugo described it -- gives rise to a nationalistic push.
Beijing estimates that at least 1.5 million relics were pillaged by the armies, but according to historian Bernard Brizay, author of a book on the destruction of the palace, this figure is exaggerated.
He told AFP the raid was not as clear-cut as the official version indicates, saying: "There is what was stolen from the Yuanmingyuan and there is what was sold by Beijing antique dealers."
In other words, relics stolen from the resort -- bits of porcelain, enamel, sculptures, furniture, silk paintings -- were legally sold long after the raid.
The Yuanmingyuan park authority last week called for a boycott of auctions featuring looted relics, but experts say such a plea would fall on deaf ears.
"Every month in London, Hong Kong, Paris or New York, items from the Yuanmingyuan are sold. And when people know that they come from the Yuanmingyuan, prices increase," Brizay said.
The expert added that the world's top museums would never respond to Beijing's call, noting: "Items that are in museums will never be returned to China."
Museums are "reluctant" to indicate where their collections come from, even if they sometimes have "identifiable characteristics," he added.
France last week called for a "calm study" into the "tragedy" of the Old Summer Palace, highlighting that any requests for the return of works of art should go through the UN cultural body UNESCO.
From AP
China bid to regain looted relics a tough task: experts
Report: China to bid for California high-speed train
China not to let yuan gain in short term: experts
China welcomes more foreign experts to participate in country's development
RMB reform to benefit all sides: Experts
From China to Panama, a Trail of Poisoned Med...
From China to Panama, a Trail of Poisoned Med...2
From China to Panama, a Trail of Poisoned Med...3
From China to Panama, a Trail of Poisoned Med...4
From China to Panama, a Trail of Poisoned Med...5
From China to Panama, a Trail of Poisoned Med...6
From China to Panama, a Trail of Poisoned Med...7
Google官方声明:A new approach to China: an update...
FM refutes accusations of China's "tough stance"
China, Ghana pledge to lift bilateral ties to a new high
Google ready to bid on wireless spectrum - but their way
Fed's latest bid to help economy, goes too far?
Interview: Cooperation between U.S., China essential: U.S. experts
Chinese experts lash out at "China responsibility" theories
Experts say China's full-year inflation target still attainable
Sales boom in China helps GM's rebirth: Experts
Experts break down how to invest in US
WHO dispatches experts to Hungary on health risks mission
WHO dispatches experts to Hungary on health risks mission k