CulturalRelicsonTheirWayHomeCulturalrelicsasremnantsofhistory,areregardedasrecordsoftheriseandfallofanation.ManyChineseculturalrelics,whichhavebeenscatteredaroundtheworldoverthelastcentury,havestartedtoreturnhometothecollectionsofChineseculturalinstitutions,enterprisesandresidentsoverthepastdecade.Readingpractice1:,ThiswaveofreturningartifactshasarousedissuesconcerningtheprotectionofChina'sculturalheritageandthedevelopmentoftheantiquemarketinthecountry."Thehotartmarkethascontributedtothecurrent'tidalwave',amongotherfactors,"saidKouQin,assistantgeneralmanageroftheBeijing-basedChinaGuardianAuctionCo.,Morethan30percentoftheartworksappearingatthecompany'sautumnauctionwerecollectedfromoverseas.ThecomingGuardianauctioncouldn'tbetakingplaceatabettertime.TheChineseartmarketshowedsignsofheatingupagainafortnightago,whenanalbumofflower-and-birdpaintingsbyChineseartistQiBaishi(1863-1957)hitacontroversiallyhighpriceof16.61millionyuan(US$2million).,Thepricewas10timestherecordpriceQi'sworkfetchedinglobalartcirclesin1998."Theriseinthepriceofartworkinitshomecountry,andtheforthcomingreturnofthecountry'srelicsfromoverseashavebeenanaturalresultoftheeconomicboom,"saidZhangYongnian,directorofthenon-governmentalChinaCulturalRelicsRecoveryFund.,"ItoccurredinJapanandtheRepublicofKorea(ROK)whenJapaneseandKoreanartpiecesbegantoreturnfromoverseasinthe1980sand1990s."Likeotherancientcivilizations,Chinahasseenmanyculturalrelicstakenoverseaswhenthecountrywassubjectedtowarsandinternationalbullying,saidZhang.,In1860,invadingBritishandFrencharmieslootedandburneddowntheOldSummerPalace,whichwasknownthenasthe"gardenofgardens."In1900,theinvadingBritish,American,German,French,Russian,Japanese,ItalianandAustriantroopssparkedlootingthroughoutBeijing,includingtheForbiddenCity,theSummerPalace,templesandmausoleums,governmentofficesandresidentialhouses.,"ItemshousedinBeijingfromtheYuanDynasty(1271-1368)todate,fromhistoricalfilestonationaltreasures,havebeensweptaway,"accordingtoofficialdocumentsfromtheQingDynasty(1644-1911).Ofthenumerousculturalrelicsthatweretakenoutofthecountryinthe100yearsaftertheFirstOpiumWar(1840-42),alargenumberarenowstoredatmajorpublicmuseumsinEuropeandtheUnitedStates,saidLinShuzhong,aprofessorwiththeNanjingAcademyofArts.Forinstance,relicsfromtheOldSummerPalacehavebeenshowcasedintheBritishMuseumandtheFontainebleauArtMuseuminFrance.,Therelicsthathavereturnedmostlycomefromindividualcollectorsandprivatemuseums,saidZhang.Zhangsaidtherearethreemajorwaysforacountrytorecoverculturalrelicsfromoverseascollections:toapplyinternationalconventions,topurchasethemandtogetthembackasdonations.,DifficulthomecomingSomeChineseexpertsarguethatthecountryshouldstopbuyingpilferedculturalrelicsandsimplyaskforthemtobereturnedbyapplyinginternationalconventions.ChinasignedtheUnitedNationsEducational,ScientificandCulturalOrganization(UNESCO)ConventionontheMeansofProhibitingandPreventingtheIllicitImport,ExportandTransferofOwnershipofCulturalPropertyin1970andtheInternationalInstitutefortheUnificationofPrivateLawConventiononStolenorIllegallyExportedCulturalObjectsin1995.Readingpractice2:,Manysignatorycountries,suchasChina,EgyptandGreece,hopetorecoverculturalobjectsstolenfromtheircountriesunderthoseconventions.Butunfortunatelythecountrieswiththemostvaluableculturalrelicsfromothercountries,especiallydevelopingones,includingtheUnitedStatesandBritain,havenotsignedthetwoconventions.InternationalinstitutionshavemadeseveralmajordonationsandreturnedChineseculturalrelicstotheirhomesince1949.,In1951and1954theLeningradUniversity,theLeninLibraryandtheSovietUnionAcademyofSciencesopenedtheircollectionsandreturned64volumesofthe600-year-oldYongleEncyclopediatotheChineseGovernment.Chinahasalsoboughtculturalrelicsback,saidZhang.StatisticsprovidedbytheChineseSocietyofCulturalRelicsshowthatmorethan3,000culturalrelicscamefromoverseasin2002andweresoldinChina,butnostatisticsweregivenonwhethertheystayedinthecountry.,AmongthemalargepartwerebroughttotheChinesemarketbyauctioneers,accordingtosociety."Theshortageinrelicsuppliesspurredusontosearchoverseas,"saidKouQin.Kousaidthatin1993and1994,thefirsttwoorthreeauctionhousesfoundedinBeijingsoldartworkswhichweremainlyconfiscatedfromhouseholdsduringthe"culturalrevolution"(1966-76).Theownersoftherelicscouldn'tbefoundaftertheturbulent10-yearperiod.,Someseniorcollectorsalsohadpiecesintheircollectionauctionedoffsothattheywouldbeabletomoveoutoftheirshabbyquartersintolargerandbetterhousesorapartments.In1996,thenumberofauctionhousesinBeijingwasmorethan20.However,artcollectorshavedeclinedtosellmorepiecesaftertheyhadmovedintolargerhouses.Theadditionalcashtheyearnedfromauctionshadfoundnoidealchannelforinvestments.,Meanwhile,State-ownedantiqueshops,amajorsupplierforauctioneers,couldprovidelessandlessrealrelics.Asthesupplyproblemsbecameapparent,theauctioneershaveturnedtopartsofthecountrytheyhadneglected,suchasEastChina'sJiangsuandZhejiangprovincesandNorthwestChina'sShaanxiProvince,andalsotooverseas.,ReclaimingculturalrelicsfromoverseasCulturalrelicexpertsandNGOshavesetthewheelsinmotiontobeginreclaimingChina'snationaltreasuresfromabroad,saidanarticleinBeijingReview.Thefollowingareexcerptsfromthearticle:OnApril11,theChinaCulturalRelicsRecoveryProgramme,fundedbytheChinaFoundationfortheDevelopmentofFolkloreCultureannouncedalarge-scaleprogrammetoreclaimChineseculturalrelicsscatteredaroundtheworld.XieChensheng,aseniorculturalheritagepreservationexpert,said,"Culturalwealthcanbesharedbythewholeworld,butnottheownership,justlikethepropertyrightsonsoftware.practice3:,OwnershipoflostChineseculturaltreasuresshouldliewiththeChinesepeople."AlthoughsomenationaltreasureshavebeenrecoveredsincethefoundingofthePeople'sRepublicofChinain1949,thelarge-scaleprogrammerecentlyannouncedbytheChinaCulturalRelicsRecoveryProgrammeisthefirstofitskindinChina.,AccordingtoZhangYongnian,headoftheprogramme,heandhiscolleagueswillfocusonitemsthatwerestolen,excavatedorlootedandtraffickedabroadbetween1840and1949.StatisticsfromtheUnitedNationsEducational,ScientificandCulturalOrganizationsuggestsabout1.67millionChineseculturalrelicsareheldbymorethan200foreignmuseumsin47countries.SomeestimatesputthenumberofChineseculturalrelicsofthatkindcollectedbyindividualsat10timesthatfigure.,"It'stimetoreclaimourculturalrelicsfromabroad,"saidWangWeiming,director-generaloftheprogramme."Ifwedonotputforwardourreclaimingrequest,I'mafraidtherewillbenohopeformanyculturalrelicstoreturntoChina."Butheiskeentostressthiswillnotbeanindiscriminatewitch-hunt.Hesaid:"Wedon'tmeantoretrievealltheChineserelicscollectedinforeignmuseums.Ournextstepistocompilealistofrelicsthatneedtobereturnedandthereismuchresearchworktodo."
