US returns relics, fossils to China

A century after being stolen from the Tianlongshan Grottoes in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province, and lost overseas, the torso of a Bodhisattva statue is being prepared for its journey home.

China received 64 cultural relics, artworks and paleontological fossils from United States authorities at handover ceremonies in Washington, DC, and New York on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

The items were returned by US Homeland Security Investigations and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, according to China's National Cultural Heritage Administration.

"Cultural heritage preserves the memory of a civilization and carries forward the history, traditions and identity of its people. Every cultural treasure lost overseas represents a piece of shared heritage that lies close to the hearts of the ordinary people," Chen Li, Chinese consul general in New York, said on Thursday at the New York ceremony.

Chen described the event as "another example of the cooperation between China and the US in the protection of cultural heritage".

"This cooperation once again demonstrates that, when China and the US engage with each other on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit, we are capable of delivering real and meaningful results not only for our two countries, but for the international community," said Chen. "It is not only a vivid demonstration of what China and the US can accomplish together in the protection of cultural heritage, but also gives tangible expression to the new vision for China-US relations in cultural and people-to-people fields."

At the ceremony in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, the US authorities returned 58 cultural relics and fossils to China.

"Their return demonstrates our two countries' shared responsibility to history, our respect for civilization and our commitment to justice, and has set a shining example for global cooperation in the restitution and return of illegally trafficked cultural property," said Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng at the ceremony.

According to China's National Cultural Heritage Administration, US representatives said that the cooperation reflected the friendship and mutual respect between the two countries, and would help protect and preserve China's historical and cultural heritage.

The returned items include the Bodhisattva torso, as well as other statues, pottery figurines and fossils of dinosaur skeletons, fish and dinosaur eggs.

All the items were seized by US law enforcement authorities, the administration said.

Rao Quan, China's vice-minister of culture and tourism and head of the administration, signed handover certificates with US representatives and received the returned items on behalf of China.

The administration worked with the Chinese embassy in Washington, the Chinese Consulate General in New York and US authorities to secure the return of the items. The cooperation involved nine US Homeland Security Investigations offices, while the New York handover marked the fifth time that the Manhattan DA's Office had returned cultural property to China.

The Bodhisattva statue is in the traditional style of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The statue's current head is a later addition and the original one is still missing.

"The Tianlongshan Grottoes embody the robust and imposing features of the Northern Dynasty (386-581) Buddhist statues, while gradually adopting the plump, rounded and natural aesthetic style of the Sui (581-618) and Tang dynasties," said Jia Chen, vice-president of the Taiyuan Cultural Relics Protection Research Institute.

"The facial features, costumes, poses and aesthetics of these sculptures became increasingly aligned with traditional Chinese tastes. This reflects how Buddhist art assimilated traditional Chinese culture," Jia said.

In the 1920s, foreign scholars conducted research at the Tianlongshan Grottoes and published reports and photographs of the site. Large-scale looting soon followed. Buddha heads and statues were chiseled onto cliff faces and trafficked into antiquities markets abroad.

Jia said he believes that the return of the Bodhisattva statue bears great academic value for researching Buddhist culture, and raises public awareness about lost cultural relics overseas.

He said it is essential to strengthen foundational research and the development of archival resources, which help verify the identity of such relics.

China and the US first signed an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding on Jan 14, 2009. The agreement has since been extended three times.

Under the MoU, government agencies from the two countries have cooperated to curb illicit trafficking in cultural property and facilitate the return of Chinese cultural relics from the US. Multiple batches have been repatriated under the arrangement.

The steady repatriation of cultural relics from the US to China in recent years rests largely on the agreement, said Huo Zhengxin, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law.

"Practice shows that negotiating targeted and highly implementable bilateral agreements is an effective way to secure the repatriation of cultural relics," Huo said. He added that the stable cooperation between the two countries in repatriating cultural relics shows they can work together to accomplish meaningful and mutually beneficial outcomes.

"Successful repatriation rests on a solid legal basis and thorough provenance research of the lost cultural relics. Whether the other side voluntarily returns relics or we actively claim them, the key is to present the evidence chain from theft and illicit export to the item's current whereabouts," Huo said.

Zhu Xingxin in Taiyuan contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at minluzhang@chinadailyusa.com