简体中文
Knowing that a bronze water vessel known as the Tiger Ying is up for auction in Kent, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage issued a statement claiming that: “It is the broad consensus of the international community and the consistent position of the Chinese government to respect the cultural heritage of this and other countries. And calls on international friendly personage with humanitarian spirit to oppose and condemn the sale of illegally lost cultural relics.”
Calls are mounting for the return of the 3,000-year-old bronze water vessel that was likely looted from Beijing's Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace) in 1860.
The Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century-771 BC) relic is set to be auctioned at Canterbury Auction Galleries in London on Wednesday, with an anticipated selling price of 120,000 pounds to 200,000 pounds (168,000-280,000 US dollars).
The ruins of the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan).
Documents found by the United Kingdom auction house suggest Royal Marines Captain Harry Lewis Evans (1831-83), who fought in the Second Opium War between 1856 and 1860, could have looted the Tiger Ying when the Old Summer Palace was destroyed and sacked by British and French troops in 1860.
Cheng Xiaohe, an associate professor of international relations at China's Renmin University, said the issue is of importance to the Chinese people because the "burning of the Yuanmingyuan has been a symbol of shame for Chinese people for many years".
"The Tiger Ying was taken by the British soldier, who is a real historical figure. Therefore, this act of plunder is an eternal pain in the hearts of the Chinese people," Cheng said.
The statement of
the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
"The evidence that the Evans family illegally possessed the relic provides strong support for China to claim it back," he said, noting that if it were returned to Beijing, the act would enhance Sino-British relations.
But legal experts in the UK said China has little or no legal claim in international courts because it was taken more than a century ago.
The state administration for cultural heritage will closely monitor the progress of the incident and will continue to facilitate the return of illegally taken cultural objects from the country back to China through all necessary means.
(CHINA DAILY)
