(Question about things) Huo Zhengxin: Can the "internationalism" of cultural relics become a "shield" to prevent the return of cultural relics?

　　China News Service, Beijing, November 25th, title: Huo Zhengxin: Can the "internationalism" of cultural relics become a "shield" to prevent the return of cultural relics?

　　China News Agency reporter Ying Ni

　　The stolen Buddha in Longshan Grottoes made its first appearance at the 2021 Spring Festival Gala. A look at the beauty of a thousand years made the Chinese feel infinitely moved: this is the first Buddha sculpture to be lost in the Tianlongshan Grottoes from Japan to the motherland in the past 100 years, and it will return in 2020. The 100th lost cultural relic of the motherland.

In July 2021, in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, Tianlongshan Grottoes "The Lord Buddha Head on the North Wall of Cave 8" officially returned to their place of origin, and was displayed for a long time in the special exhibition "Fuxing Road · Return of National Treasures" at the Tianlongshan Grottoes Museum. display.

It became the first precious lost cultural relic to be returned from Japan to the Tianlongshan Grottoes in the past 100 years.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Wei Liang

　　Including the stolen Buddha head, every time the cultural relics lost overseas "return to their roots," they continue to write the Chinese context.

However, whether it is the domestic laws of the relevant countries, the existing international rules, and even the growing concept of "internationalism" in cultural relics, the road to cultural relics' return has been more tortuous and thorny.

　　Can the "internationalism" of cultural relics become a "shield" to prevent the return of cultural relics?

Huo Zhengxin, a professor at the School of International Law of China University of Political Science and Law and an observer to the UNESCO 1970 Convention, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service on "Question of East and West" to explain in detail the opportunities and challenges faced by the return of lost cultural relics.

The summary of the interview record is as follows:

China News Agency reporter: In recent years, there have been many cases of successful return of cultural relics in China. Is there any reproducible experience behind this?

What is the significance of recovering the lost cultural heritage for people to gain a deeper understanding of Chinese civilization?

Huo Zhengxin:

As a medium of national collective memory and social value, cultural relics conceal the "psychological composition" and "cultural code" of various nationalities.

In this way, people can understand the formation and changes of nations and civilizations.

The rich and splendid cultural relics of all ethnic groups complement each other and form a colorful civilization puzzle. From this perspective, people can decipher the magnificent development history of the entire mankind.

　　The large-scale loss of Chinese cultural relics overseas was caused by war looting, looting, smuggling and other reasons under the background of poverty and weakness in modern times.

In recent years, China has continuously established and improved the legal system for the recovery and return of cultural relics, and participated in the international governance system for the recovery of cultural relics. The justice cause of the return of cultural relics has received more and more international support.

The cases of successful retrieving of cultural relics have their own characteristics. The commonality lies in the comprehensive use of legal, diplomatic, law enforcement cooperation and other means to realize the return of cultural relics with the cooperation or support of the current holder or the country where the cultural relics are located.

　　It took 25 and 12 years to realize the 68 cultural relics recovered from the UK in 2019 and the 796 cultural relics recovered from Italy. This period witnessed the rapid development of China.

"The cultural fate is linked to the national fate, and the cultural line is connected to the national line." Without China's own growth, it is difficult to imagine these cultural relics going home smoothly.

In April 2019, the "Return-Italy Returning Cultural Relics from China Exhibition" jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage opened at the National Museum of China.

It is reported that the return of 796 Chinese cultural relics and artworks this time is the longest case in the recovery of lost cultural relics in China, and it is also the largest return of Chinese cultural relics in the past 20 years.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Xinglong

　　The loss of overseas cultural relics and returning to China will give contemporary Chinese people the opportunity to have a closer understanding, appreciation, and research. It plays a very important role in promoting people to have a deeper understanding of Chinese civilization and to appreciate the connotation of Chinese civilization.

Reporter from China News Service: What is the current predicament of China in retrieving lost cultural relics abroad, or what is the biggest difficulty?

Huo Zhengxin:

Compared with the number of cultural relics that China has lost overseas, the proportion of successful recovery is still very small.

The biggest difficulty in retrieving cultural relics lost overseas is that there are major obstacles in the existing international and domestic laws.

　　After the end of World War II, the international community has successively formulated a number of international conventions to protect cultural relics and promote the return of lost cultural relics, mainly including: "Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict" (referred to as the "1954 Hague Convention") and its protocols, " The Convention on Methods of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illegal Import and Export of Cultural Property and the Illegal Transfer of Their Ownership (referred to as the "1970 Convention") and the International Association for the Unification of Private Law Convention on the Stolen or Illegal Export of Cultural Property (referred to as the "1995 Convention") )Wait.

　　The use of existing international conventions to recover cultural relics mainly faces problems such as non-retroactivity of treaties and limited binding force.

Take the case of Zhang Gongzuo sitting on the Buddha as an example. Existing evidence shows that the Buddha statue involved in the case entered the Netherlands from Hong Kong, China in 1995, and the Netherlands did not ratify the 1970 Convention until 2009. According to international law, The principle of "non-retroactivity" and the "Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties" stipulate that "treaties are not retroactive", therefore, the Convention cannot be retroactively applied to cultural relics that entered the Netherlands around 1995.

　　In fact, it is precisely because of the determination that there are no directly applicable international conventions that the attitude of Dutch collectors has become increasingly tough, constantly asking prices, and even after being sued in court, they are still stubborn.

The difficulty of retrieving transnational cultural relics can be seen from this.

The sitting Buddha statue of "Zhang Gongzuo" has been enshrined for thousands of years in the "Puzhaotang" shared by Yangchun and Dongpu villages in Wushan Township, Datian County, Fujian Province. It was found stolen on December 15, 1995.

In March 2015, the Buddha statue set off public opinion when it was exhibited in Hungary.

After repeated negotiations without results, Fujian villagers took the Dutch collector Van Ovelim to court and filed parallel lawsuits in China and the Netherlands, but there are still difficulties in recourse.

The picture shows the "Puzhao Hall" where "Zhang Gong Patriarch" was enshrined in the body of the Buddha.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Bin

Reporter from China News Service: You once said that retrieving overseas cultural relics must no longer be painful to "relatives." Chinese institutions and individuals should refuse to participate in commercial auctions for cultural relics that are illegally lost abroad.

Can you elaborate on why you should refuse to participate in commercial auctions?

Huo Zhengxin:

China’s current position is to encourage donations, but it does not support the repurchase of lost cultural relics by participating in commercial auctions. It specifically opposes and prohibits state-owned institutions from participating in commercial auctions.

The reason is that the active participation of Chinese institutions and individuals in recent years has caused the price of Chinese cultural relics to skyrocket in the international cultural relics auction market.

　　For example, in the Yuanmingyuan beast head auction event, a few cultural relic speculators and international auction institutions made huge profits in the process of rapidly pushing up the auction price, and the Chinese themselves ultimately suffered.

In November 2019, the donation ceremony of the horse head bronze statue in the Old Summer Palace was held at the National Museum of China.

In November 2019, Mr. Stanley Ho decided to officially donate the bronze statue of the horse head to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China to present the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 20th anniversary of the return of Macao.

Ma Shou will return to his place of origin in the future and will be collected by the Beijing Yuanmingyuan Administration Office.

After the donation ceremony, the bronze statue of horse head (third from right) and six other bronze statues of animal heads gathered in the capital to jointly exhibit to the audience at the National Expo "Road to Return-Return of Cultural Relics Lost in the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of New China Exhibition".

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Xinglong

　　Chinese institutions or individuals participating in the auction of lost cultural relics will also have other negative consequences.

The soaring auction price will encourage the excavation and smuggling of cultural relics, and further increase the loss of cultural relics. The participation of state-owned institutions in the auction will give rise to the impression that the Chinese government has recognized the legality of the illegally lost cultural relics, which is very unfavorable for future legal pursuits. Cable.

China News Agency reporter: Many cultural relics lost overseas are distributed in major museums around the world.

The "internationalism" of cultural relics is a common concept shared by Western cultural relics countries that refuse to return lost cultural relics.

What do you think of the dispute between "internationalism" and "nationalism" of cultural relics?

Huo Zhengxin:

Since the 1970s, more and more cultural logistics have gone abroad to actively seek lost cultural relics from Western cultural relics markets, especially national treasures.

Cultural relics market countries, especially major cultural relics market countries in Europe and the United States, use the so-called "internationalism" of cultural relics as a reason to resist the request of cultural logistics to go abroad.

　　The "Universal Museum Value Declaration" jointly issued by many famous western museums is a typical example.

The "Declaration" states that cultural relics therefore constitute the common wealth of mankind and cannot be exclusively enjoyed by a certain country or nation; the continued holding, exhibition, and collection of these cultural properties by the Global Museum is in the interests of the people of all countries.

International law circles and major international organizations have criticized the "Declaration", and the majority of literature and logistics including China have expressed their opposition to going abroad.

　　First of all, the so-called "Global Museum" is not truly international or global, because it is not operated and managed in a global manner and is globally responsible.

Some scholars have pointed out that the “universalism” of museums is hypocritical and is tantamount to wearing a fig leaf of internationalism.

　　Second, although the early looted cultural relics were acquired by European and American museums under historical conditions different from those of the contemporary era, they cannot prove their legitimacy.

Disregarding or even legalizing the looting and destruction of cultural relics in history will inevitably contribute to the transnational illegal trade of cultural property.

　　Third, with the continuous improvement of the social, economic, cultural and technological level of most cultural logistics abroad, if these cultural relics can be returned to their country of origin, not only will they not be damaged, but will also enhance the civilization carried by the public. Understanding of history and appreciation of itself.

In September 2019, the "Road to Return—Exhibition of Return of Cultural Relics Lost in the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of New China" hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Cultural Heritage Administration opened at the National Museum of China.

The State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China has systematically sorted out the situation of more than 300 batches and more than 150,000 returned cultural relics in the 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, carefully selected 25 representative cases of cultural relics returned, and coordinated and mobilized 18 cultural and cultural institutions in 12 provinces and cities across the country. More than 600 cultural relics from the exhibition, this is China's first panoramic display of the return of lost cultural relics.

The picture shows the audience visiting the relief stone carvings of the tomb of Wang Chuzhi recovered from the United States.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Du Yang

　　In short, the so-called “internationalism” of cultural relics cannot conceal the inherent nationality of cultural property, nor can it provide a legitimate basis for some major museums in the world to refuse to return looted cultural property.

China News Agency reporter: In the future, how can China continue to contribute Chinese wisdom in retrieving cultural relics lost overseas?

Huo Zhengxin:

China is an ancient civilization, and it is also one of the countries with the most serious loss of cultural relics in the world. Retrieving the lost cultural relics has a bearing on China's national interests and national sentiments.

With the prosperity of China's cultural relics and art market, in recent years, China has been both a major country in the cultural relics market and a major country in cultural relics resources. In the future, it should play a more active role as a responsible power and participate in the revision and improvement of international law rules in the field of cultural relics. Support UNESCO to play a greater coordination role, and promote the development of international law and order in this field in a direction that is more conducive to the return of cultural relics.

In November 2017, China's stolen (lost) cultural relics information release platform was officially released in Xi'an. The platform will provide information support for combating cultural relics crimes and standardizing cultural relics market management, as well as strengthening international joint law enforcement and recovering Chinese cultural relics lost overseas The work provides a legal basis and provides multiple channels for the public to participate in the protection of cultural relics.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Alina

　　In view of the fact that most of the countries along the “Belt and Road” are countries with a long history and rich cultural relics, and China is facing the heavy task of recovering lost cultural relics, China can unite with countries along the route with cultural relics needs to try to cooperate in the establishment of a government in the field of cultural relics return. International forums, conferences or international organizations have led to formulate more fair and just international rules, change the situation where cultural relics go abroad to recover cultural relics, and change the situation in which international rules in this field are controlled by Western cultural relics market countries for a long time.

(over)

About the interviewee:

　　Huo Zhengxin, Chair Professor Qian Duansheng of China University of Political Science and Law, doctoral tutor, and Changjiang Scholar of Ministry of Education; concurrently serves as observer of the 1970 Convention of UNESCO, co-member of the International Society of Comparative Law, and vice chairman of the Legal Professional Committee of the Chinese Museum Association.

　　Professor Huo Zhengxin has in-depth research on transnational cultural relics retrieval. He has published many academic monographs in this field, published dozens of Chinese and English papers, and presided over the National Social Science Fund, the Humanities and Social Science Fund of the Ministry of Education, and the National Cultural Heritage Administration. Ten items.

In 2014, he undertook the drafting of the "Dunhuang Declaration on the Protection and Return of Stolen and Excavated Cultural Property Illegal Exit", which has had a wide range of international influences.

Professor Huo Zhengxin also participated in the reform negotiations of the 1970 Convention and the recovery of many important lost cultural relics, and has rich practical experience in this field.