BEIJING, Feb. 26 -- Western media ascribe China's
outcry against the auction in Paris of two Qing Dynasty animal heads to
"nationalist sentiment", as if any other nation had a legitimate interest in
these relics.
The bronze sculpture of a rabbit's head,
which is an ancient Chinese relic, is auctioned in the Grand Palace of
Paris in Paris, France, Feb. 25, 2009. Two controversial ancient Chinese
relics including the bronze sculptures of a rat's head and a rabbit's
head, were auctioned off on Wednesday night for 14 million euros each by
anonymous telephone bidders in Christies's sale of the collection of Yves
Saint Laurant and Pierre Berge in Paris. The sculptures were looted by
invading Anglo-French expedition army in the 19th century, when the
invaders burned down the royal garden of Yuanmingyuan in
Beijing.(Chinese media/Zhang Yuwei)
Photo Gallery
Most support Mr Pierre Berge, who has asked
Christie's to auction the two bronze heads, one of a rat and the other of a
rabbit. The relics were among 12 animal fountainheads, representing the Chinese
zodiac, which once graced the front of the Xiyanglou, or European-style mansion,
at the Old Summer Palace in 19th century Beijing.
Mr Berge is apparently convinced of his legal right
to the bronzes, even though he admits they were stolen from China 150 years ago.
In asserting his right to auction off the stolen relics, he defends the
interests of museums worldwide which hold "many other looted pieces".
The bronze sculpture of a rat's head,
which is an ancient Chinese relic, is auctioned in the Grand Palace of
Paris in Paris, France, Feb. 25, 2009. Two controversial ancient Chinese
relics including the bronze sculptures of a rat's head and a rabbit's
head, were auctioned off on Wednesday night for 14 million euros each by
anonymous telephone bidders in Christies's sale of the collection of Yves
Saint Laurant and Pierre Berge in Paris. The sculptures were looted by
invading Anglo-French expedition army in the 19th century, when the
invaders burned down the royal garden of Yuanmingyuan in
Beijing.(Chinese media/Zhang Yuwei)
Photo Gallery
He even goes so far as to wrap himself in the mantle
of "human rights", telling the French media that he is "ready to give these
Chinese heads to China if they are ready to recognize human rights".
I don't see how Mr Berge qualifies as a human rights
activist when he holds onto stolen relics of what Victor Hugo called "a wonder
of the world".
For Mr Berge, "human rights" is a convenient phrase
to bolster his image. But he is still relying on imperialist logic when he
proposes to exchange the looted items.
His remarks only serve to remind us of the brutal
Opium Wars that the British and French imperialists waged against China 150
years ago. Before they ransacked the Old Summer Palace and stole its treasures,
the British and French marauders had already forced China to buy opium and
robbed it of its autonomy. Ultimately, they subjugated all of China and shot
anyone who resisted. There was no mention of "human rights" then.
Even those who witnessed the ransacking couldn't help
but note that it was "a memorable day in the history of plunder and
destruction".
James Bruce, the eighth Earl of Elgin and Kincardine,
who ordered the plunder, later recalled: "Such a scene of desolation. There was
not a room I saw in which half the things had not been taken away or broken in
pieces ..."
I don't know if Mr. Berge has read Victor Hugo's "Sur
les Expditions Franco-Britaniques en Chine", or his letter to Captain Butler on
November 25, 1861. Translated into English, the letter was re-published in the
November 1985 issue of the Unesco Courier.
A photographer takes a picture of the
Chinese bronze rat head and rabbit head sculptures displayed on the
preview of the auction of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge's art
collection at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, Feb. 21, 2009.
(Chinese media/Zhang Yuwei)
Photo Gallery
Hugo was remarkably clear-eyed
about the actions of what he calls two bandits, France and Britain. And he
lamented the fact that "What was done to the Parthenon was done to the Summer
Palace, more thoroughly and better ... All the treasures of all our cathedrals
put together could not equal this formidable and splendid museum of the Orient."
The bronze heads being auctioned at Christie's are
only two of some 17 million Chinese relics that are scattered overseas. Many
were taken illegally, and I believe we Chinese have the right to fight for their
return. If Mr Berge wants to talk about "human rights," let's talk about our
right to our cultural heritage.
Meanwhile, I'm encouraged by the support of people
like Mr Bernard Gomez, president of the Association for the Protection of
Chinese Art in Europe, who is working to realize Victor Hugo's wish: "I hope
that a day will come when France, delivered and cleansed, will return this booty
to despoiled China."
(Source: China Daily)
Looted Chinese relics sold for 14
million euros each
PARIS, Feb. 25 (Chinese media) -- Two controversial ancient
Chinese relics were auctioned off on Wednesday night for 14 million euros (17.92
million U.S. dollars) each by anonymous telephone bidders in Christie's sale of
the collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge in the Grand Palace of
Paris.
According to Christie's, they have received 8 phone calls
for "enquiries" before the sale. After the auction was launched, the competition
was only conducted between telephone bidders, with no one in the scene raised
for a bid. Full story
How absurd to "kidnap" cultural relics
with human rights
BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Chinese media) -- Two pieces of China's
valuable cultural past, the bronze heads of a rabbit and a rat, stolen from the
Old Summer Palace by British and French forces during the second Opium War in
1860, are scheduled for auction in Paris Wednesday night.
Long before the auction, the Chinese government, cultural
heritage organizations and lawyers have been actively pursuing the return of the
Chinese treasures. However, at this specific moment, the owner of the bronzes,
French businessman Pierre Berge, offered to swap the two sculptures for the
application of human rights in China and the freedom of Tibet. From the Chinese
point of view, it's an absurd requirement by abducting China's cultural relics
with human rights issues. Full story
American Chinese collectors urge
boycott of Christie's
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 24 (Chinese media) -- American Chinese
collectors on Tuesday urged the Chinese government to take action against
Christine's, and called for a boycott of the auctioneer if it insists on
auctioning two historic bronze sculptures looted from a Chinese imperial garden.
The American Chinese Collector's Association and the
Eastern Cultural Foundation jointly issued an open letter at a press conference
here, in an appeal to all Chinese collectors and antique dealers around the
world to stop doing business with Christine's. Full story
Chinese gov't writes to Christie's
seeking to stop auction
BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Chinese media) -- China's heritage authorities
said Tuesday they had written to auction house Christie's in a bid to stop the
sale of two looted bronze sculptures.
The State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH)
sent the letter to the auction house on Feb. 17, but only announced it in a
statement Tuesday. Full story
Chinese lawyers vow to carry on
despite French court rule on looted bronzes
Ren Xiaohong (R), a lawyer for the
Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe (APACE), the
plaintiff, speaks to the media with her colleague Ayagh at the Tribunal de
Grande Instance in Paris, capital of France, Feb. 23, 2009. The Paris
court on Monday ruled against stopping the sale of two looted Chinese
bronze sculptures which come up for auction at Christie's on
Wednesday.(Chinese media/Zheng Suchun)
Photo
Gallery
BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Chinese media) -- Despite losing a bid in a
Parisian court to stop two looted bronze sculptures from being auctioned at
Christie's, Chinese lawyers pledged to continue their efforts to halt the sale.
"We are disappointed about the French court rule on Monday
but we have to accept it," Li Xingfeng, one of the 81 Chinese lawyers that
participated in the project, told Chinese media here Tuesday. Full story
Paris court refuses to stop sale of
looted Chinese bronzes
PARIS, Feb. 23 (Chinese media) -- A Paris court on Monday ruled
against stopping the sale of two looted Chinese bronze sculptures which come up
for auction at Christie's on Wednesday.
Under the ruling of the Tribunal de Grande Instance
in Paris, the plaintiff, the Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in
Europe (APACE), was ordered to pay compensation to the defendant. Full story
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