China: Relics of the Old Summer Palace · Global Voices
Michael Kan

Back in the news again is Beijing’s Old Summer Palace, whose destruction still remains a sensitive topic in China.
Built during the Qing Dynasty, it was later sacked by British and French troops in 1860 during the Second Opium War. Countless works of art were also looted from the palace and then taken abroad.  Now many of these items remain in the hands of foreign museums or private collections.
Earlier this year, a few of those artifacts went up for auction in Paris, drawing the attention of the Chinese media. The Chinese government condemned the sale and demanded the artifacts’ return.
Now with the recent passing of the 149th anniversary of the palace’s destruction, China has announced it will send a team of experts to identify and document what items were taken from the historic palace. To do so, the team will visit museums, libraries and private collections in countries like the United States, Britain, France, Japan and more.
But the team’s goal will only involve cataloging what relics were looted in order to understand what the palace was like before it was destroyed. Still, Chen Mingjie, director of the Old Summer Palace’s management office said that they hope some artifacts will be returned to China during this retracing effort.
Like many repatriation issues, the topic has generated different views on what should be done. The hope for many Chinese netizens is that China can correct a bleak part of its country’s history.
One blogger, 村民老尚 described the history of the Old Summer Palace as a disgraceful and heavy burden.
长期以来，“圆明园”在中国人的字典上，基本上是具有莫种沉重与羞耻意义的三个字。她就像一个背负欺辱的受害者，始终在一种不堪回首的状态中存在着。
但是近些年，这种沉重似乎是越来越加重，加重的原因也似乎和圆明园的历史没多大关系了（那些历史已经定格），却和现代咱们中国人对圆明园历史的认识有关，和今天的圆明园要传达什么样的历史和现代文明、现代文化有关。
Another blogger, 高遠 discussed the difficulties China might encounter when trying to search for the relics in museums abroad.
我看这两天西方媒体报道， 他们说欧洲多国博物馆对中国追讨文物的举措感到紧张和担忧。紧张是心虚，担忧是怕自己的强权地位衰落而影响国际形象。但对我们中国来说，追讨遗失文物是早 晚要走的必由之路。
就像季羡林先生生前所讲的：“这些海外遗失文物首先是中国的，然后才是世界的”。问题是，我们才刚刚准备派出几个小分队，西方就开始感 到紧张、担忧了，大规模海外寻宝之旅不久的将来终会启程。那时候，才是真正对西方自我标榜的所谓人权、平等理念的最大考验。
Not all bloggers saw a need to search for the artifacts. 司馬平邦 commented that the palace’s significance has been overstated.
同时它是统治者用民脂民膏搭建的一个奢侈工程，毁了也就毁了，罪有应 得，洋人替老百姓拆了它，另一方面也大快人心。
Other comments have been made, reflecting the feeling that China is now a major power in the world, and should be treated as so.
Replying to an article about how all Chinese artifacts should be returned to the country, one user made a recent comment in the People’s Daily about how China shouldn’t even have to consider buying back any lost artifacts.
中国不能再搞什么回购文物的玩意了，应该名正言顺的要回本就属于我们的宝贝，这才能真正显示中国的力量和尊严！回购不仅仅会使非法文物合法化，甚至还会使那段野蛮的侵略合法化！
A quick poll was done at iDiaoYan.com that asked netizens what they thought about China’s search to archive the taken relics. Users seemed to be pessimistic about the project’s success, with 57.1 percent saying that it would be difficult to find and document all the looted artifacts.
Another question asked what if users though the project would help in returning artifacts to China. 58 percent said it would help a little, while 14 percent said it wouldn’t do any real benefit.
Still, 60 percent of the users in the poll, said they supported the project.
In comments made to the China Daily’s english article on the search for the relics, some netizens pointed out the benefits of having the cultural artifacts stored abroad.
Joanna 2009-10-19 17:18
i am amazed that so many relics were kept in the museums of other country, just as one of my friends said as long as the relics are well stored and some of them can be viewed for free in europe or America, it is a chance for forenginers to know more about China, especially chinese culture.
Give Credit 2009-10-19 13:27
A lot of these cultural relics were bought or stolen. However 100 years ago or even 70 years ago these treasures were lying in the original countries(when poor) as a worthless relics or art. If these cultural heritage are not “rescued” they would have been lost for ever.
Today these heritage are kept in good condition and displayed for free viewing. A good example is London Museum.