久久亚洲国产成人影院-久久亚洲国产的中文-久久亚洲国产高清-久久亚洲国产精品-亚洲图片偷拍自拍-亚洲图色视频

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
World
Home / World / Europe

Return of looted Summer Palace relic to China called for

By Bo Leung in London | China Daily UK | Updated: 2018-04-09 16:51
Share
Share - WeChat
A bronze water vessel, known as Tiger Ying, is up for auction in Kent. The Canterbury Auction Galleries / For China Daily

Calls are mounting for the return of a 3,000-year-old bronze water vessel that was likely looted from Beijing’s Yuanmingyuan, or Old Summer Palace, in 1860.

The Western Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-771 BC) relic is set to be auctioned at Canterbury Auction Galleries on Wednesday, with an estimated selling price of between 120,000 pounds and 200,000 pounds ($168,000-$280,000).

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 so-called 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 Renmin University of China, said the issue is of importance to Chinese people because the “burning of 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 plunder is an eternal pain in the hearts of the Chinese people. Asking for a return can partially relieve the suffering and humiliation of the Chinese people,” Cheng said.

He said the Chinese government has a right to claim illegally stolen relics.

“It is said that he (Evans) had clearly stated in the letter that the artifact was looted. The evidence that the Evans family illegally possessed the relics is a strong support for China to claim them 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 to the vessel in international courts because it was taken more than a century ago.

Ian Fox-Williams, deputy head of law at Birmingham City University, said China has been trying to secure the return of looted items of national importance ever since the first international treaty dedicated to fighting illegal trafficking in cultural property was introduced in 1989.

“However, whilst it did sign the 1970 UNESCO convention concerning the protection of world cultural and natural heritage, China as a country can only seek the return of artifacts illegally exported after it joined the convention,” Fox-Williams said. “Under English law, the innocent purchaser of the Tiger Ying vessel, which was originally looted from the Summer Palace in China over 100 years ago, will be given priority over rights to the vessel.”

Fox-Williams suggested that another possible solution in such situations could have been found under the 1995 International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) Convention, which requires prospective buyers of artifacts to perform due diligence before buying items.

But, as China did not sign up to that convention until 1997, Fox-Williams noted that the vessel set to be auctioned will not be covered by UNIDROIT “since the looting of the vessel predated this by a significant period”.

“The quickest and easiest way of returning the Tiger Ying home to China will depend upon the wishes of the highest bidder,” he added.

In a statement last week, China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage said: “We hope the related institutions will abide by the spirit of international agreements, respect the feelings of the people in the country where the relic is originally from and not trade looted relics.”

The bronze vessel is not the first relic to be auctioned in Britain that likely came from the looted Old Summer Palace.

In 2011, a Chinese imperial gilt metal box turned up at an auction in Salisbury with an inscription inside the lid that said “Loot from the Summer Palace, Pekin, Oct. 1860. Capt. James Gunter, King’s Dragoon Guards”. The box sold for 400,000 pounds.

In the same year, an auction house based in Dorchester sold pieces from the Old Summer Palace, including a yellow jade pendant carved in the shape of a dragon that was made in the 1700s. It sold for 478,000 pounds.

1 2 3 Next   >>|
Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
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: 日韩在线看片中文字幕不卡 | 国产欧美一区二区三区免费看 | 中文字幕亚洲精品日韩精品 | 国产成人盗拍精品免费视频 | 国产a级精品特黄毛片 | 男人免费看片 | 午夜刺激爽爽视频免费观看 | 午夜国产片 | 亚洲欧美在线观看播放 | 欧美一级在线毛片免费观看 | 欧美一级特黄aaaaaa在线看首页 | 久草在线视频在线观看 | 玖草在线资源 | 色九| 香港三级88久久经典 | 国产三级网站在线观看 | 欧美成在人线a免费 | 午夜精品久久久久久99热7777 | 综合 欧美 国产 视频二区 | 亚洲国产成人久久 | 欧美成人鲁丝片在线观看 | 午夜看毛片 | 成人国产精品毛片 | 91久久香蕉国产线看观看软件 | 亚洲看片 | 性色tv视频观看 | 精品在线视频免费观看 | 国产一区二区免费在线 | 免费一级视频在线播放 | 日本高清色视频www 日本高清在线精品一区二区三区 | 欧美专区视频 | 国产精品反差婊在线观看 | 日韩性色 | 国产精品久久毛片蜜月 | 色老久久| 国产精品亚洲欧美日韩久久 | 九九精品视频在线 | 中文字幕免费视频 | 国产一级片毛片 | 亚洲第一成年网站大全亚洲 | 免费一区二区三区四区 |