"There are no accurate statistics about how many cultural relics have been lost in Yuanmingyuan," said Wang Daocheng, a doctoral supervisor of China Renmin University and an expert in Yuanmingyuan. He said that according to the archives, Qingyi Garden (formerly known as the Summer Palace) kept a detailed "display list", which recorded in detail the various furnishings of different buildings such as Qin Zhengtang (now Renshoutang) and Foxiang Pavilion, accurate to every floor and even every table, but the display list of Yuanmingyuan was not preserved, which may have been destroyed in the war, thus losing the basis for accurately investigating the cultural relics lost in Yuanmingyuan. Today, our inventory of cultural relics in Yuanmingyuan mainly comes from the research of many cultural relics experts.

Mr. Shi Shuqing, a famous expert on cultural relics, once mentioned in the book Yuanmingyuan-History, Present Situation and Debate:1In May, 973, Shi Shuqing went to France with the delegation of cultural relics unearthed in China. Visit a palace in Fontainebleau, 70km southeast of Paris. The French call it Fontainebleau Castle. 1863, Charles Louis Napolé on Bonaparte built another China Pavilion here, which contained a large number of precious cultural relics plundered from Yuanmingyuan by the French invaders.

There are two stone lions in front of China Museum. There are more than 1000 cultural relics in the museum, and 320 pieces are on display, all of which were stolen from Yuanmingyuan in 1860. There are Shang and Zhou bronzes, Ming and Qing official kiln porcelains in China Pavilion (important porcelains include Xuande blue and white lotus bowl, Kangxi Yongzheng Ganlong multicolored pastel bottles and pots, etc.). ), cloisonne fuming furnace (palace smoked), statues, pendants, all kinds of jade carvings, all kinds of wishful, armor, Ming Dynasty silk embroidery.

In addition, there are jade, agate, coral, crystal, asparagus, boxwood, ivory products, carved lacquer and other handicrafts. The palace shoulder strap (chariot) was lifted. It is said that Queen Charles Louis Napolé on Bonaparte once took it away after it was taken to France.

1890 (16th year of Guangxu), Xue Fucheng went to France, and saw two imperial seals of Yuanmingyuan in the China room of Paris Oriental Museum, which read "Baohe Taihe" (sapphire seal); One said "Yuanmingyuan Seal" (White Jade Seal). 1904 (30th year of Guangxu reign), Kang Youwei visited Paris, and saw China's Forbidden City treasures and imperial seals in the Qigui Pavilion, which he considered to be the cultural relics of Yuanmingyuan.

Some Yuanmingyuan repurchased cultural relics.

Yuanmingyuan silver cast animal face knocker;

Qin Gong, a well-known expert in cultural relics appraisal in China, brokered the match and was purchased by the China History Museum and became the collection.

A pair of dry silver heads (silver cast animal face knockers);

In 2003, Beijing Hanhai Autumn Auction was bought by domestic buyers. Originally belonged to Tao Jia Bookstore, Yulinglongge, Changchun Garden, Yuanmingyuan.

Dry dragon pastel hexagonal bottle set:

Beijing Cultural Relics Company bought it back from the auction in Hong Kong, donated it to the Capital Museum, and now it is in storage.

Four animal heads:

Four bronze animal heads, including bull's head, tiger's head, monkey's head and pig's head, were repurchased by Poly Art Museum.

ⅵ blue painted pastel vase with melon edge;

He once appeared in Beijing Hanhaichun film. This lot is the display of Yuanmingyuan, and its size is very large, which is really rare among its kind in Qianlong period.

Some Yuanmingyuan lost national treasures.

A picture of women's history

This painting was painted by Gu Kaizhi in the Eastern Jin Dynasty according to Zhang Hua's "Proverbs of Women's History" in the Western Jin Dynasty to publicize the moral norms that court women should abide by. The whole volume is *** 12, and there are 9 existing paragraphs, with "true" added after each paragraph. The Picture of Women's History is regarded as a treasure in China's painting history. After entering the Qing dynasty, it became a secret collection in the palace. After Yuanmingyuan became another political center after the Forbidden City, there is a picture of women's history here. When the British and French allied forces looted the Yuanmingyuan, the "Women's Historical Prose Map" was first stolen by the British army, and then changed hands many times. Now it is kept in the British Museum.

Forty landscape maps

"Forty Scenes of Yuanmingyuan" include aboveboard, diligent and virtuous, Fanghu Scenic Area, Pengdao Yaotai and so on. Forty Scenes were painted by the most famous court painters at that time, such as Tang Dai and Shen Yuan, after eleven years. The poem was inscribed by Qianlong Imperial Pen, written by Wang Youdun, a senior minister of the Ministry of Industry, and stamped with 99 seals such as "Yuanmingyuan Treasure". Exquisite paintings and elegant calligraphy. "This set of forty scenes adopts western brushwork, which completely and truly reflects the forty scenes of Yuanmingyuan." Wang Daocheng commented. 1860, this set of paintings was stolen and shipped back to France, and is now in the National Library of France.

Historical Decryption Yuanmingyuan was destroyed by "Four Thieves"

1860 After the British and French allied forces looted and burned Yuanmingyuan, there were still more than 13 of the 40 scenes in Yuanmingyuan, and the mountain-shaped water system was not damaged. 100 years later, how did the disaster-stricken Yuanmingyuan go through the "four robberies" of fire, wood, stone and earth and completely turn into ruins? Wang Daocheng, a famous expert in Yuanmingyuan and an expert in the study of Qing history at Renmin University of China, revealed the historical truth to this newspaper.

1860: "fire robbery"

1860, Yuanmingyuan was burned, most of the buildings were burned, and the flowers and trees were seriously damaged. In the twelfth year of Tongzhi, after investigation by the Qing court, it was found that there were 13 landscapes in Yuanmingyuan. "For example, Fanghu Scenic Spot and Pengdao Yaotai are all built in the water. The British don't have a boat and they can't burn it. " Wang Daocheng said. After 1860, the Chinese Garden in Yuanmingyuan was not in ruins, and some buildings were quite well preserved. But this looting and burning is the beginning of the disaster in this famous garden.

Eight-Nation Alliance's Entry into Beijing: "Wooden Robbery"

Wang Daocheng believes that at present, there is no historical data to prove that Eight-Nation Alliance once entered Yuanmingyuan for looting. The real looting of Yuanmingyuan was the defeated soldiers and hooligans stationed in the western suburbs of the Qing Dynasty. This time, a large number of ancient trees were cut down and even burned into charcoal for sale. At the same time, the remaining furniture was looted and the surviving buildings were demolished. There are no figures to prove these robberies and damages. Since then, the ancient trees in Yuanmingyuan have been completely destroyed. But at this time, the landscape system of Yuanmingyuan has not been destroyed.

During the Northern Warlords Period: "Stone Robbery"

After the demise of the Qing Dynasty, warlords, bureaucrats and politicians seized the opportunity to seize the stone of Yuanmingyuan, and some people arbitrarily used the stone of Yuanmingyuan. For example, warlord Wang Huaiqing took some stones from Yuanmingyuan to build his own garden. Zhang Ling in Fushun also used many things from Yuanmingyuan. Pastor Zhai of yenching university privately took a pair of China watches from Yuanmingyuan, which still stands in the west gate of Peking University.

19 17 to "cultural revolution": "soil robbery"

After 19 17, some farmers began to enter Yuanmingyuan, and the landscape system began to be destroyed. After the founding of New China, more and more farmers entered Yuanmingyuan, and the damage became more and more serious. According to the statistics of 1980, there are 7 production teams in Yuanmingyuan, with an agricultural population of more than 2,000 people and more than 270 households. After farmers entered Yuanmingyuan, they had to dig mountains and fill lakes to grow rice, because the water was too deep to grow rice. In order to build a house, it is necessary to dig mountains and borrow soil; In order to raise pigs and sheep in the pen, it is necessary to dig up the mountain washer

"The mountain water system of Yuanmingyuan has actually been destroyed in recent decades." Wang Daocheng sighed.

Scholars recall 1975' s first impression of Yuanmingyuan.

1975, Wang Daocheng wrote a book for the Summer Palace at the invitation of the Summer Palace. Considering the integrity of the three mountains and five gardens, Wang Daocheng proposed to visit Yuanmingyuan.

A jeep carried Wang Daocheng and three experts to the old gate of Yuanmingyuan at that time. The car had no choice but to get off and walk. Let's discuss it. Let's go and see Fuhai first, because it is the center of Yuanmingyuan.

"It was a summer, and when we walked in, it was like the countryside." Wang Daocheng recalled that the garden was full of farmers' low houses, melon sheds and bean racks, and there was a scene of chickens barking and dogs barking. "We went straight to Fuhai and saw a paddy field with several big willows beside it. The frogs in the field and cicadas on the willows were ringing in our ears." Looking back on the description of Yaotai Wonderland in Pengdao in Historical Records, Wang Daocheng can't imagine the original appearance of this place.

"The Forbidden City is a vicissitudes of the world." These are the only words in Wang Daocheng's mind.

Found a photo of the attic in Yuanmingyuan and appeared in the United States.

Discovery: Underground warehouse of Peabody Essex Museum, USA.

Discoverer: Luo, head of National Cultural Heritage Administration Ancient Architecture Expert Group.

"This is a photo of the day when the Yuanmingyuan was burned down." Luo, head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration Ancient Architecture Expert Group, dug up an old photo that had been yellowed. "This is a remake when I 1999 went to a small museum in Boston, USA. Many old photos are piled up in the basement warehouse. " Lao Luo recalled that he was invited to the Peabody Essex Museum in the United States to sort out old photos from China.

Luo Lao said that from the photos, this building has a strange shape and is a two-story attic building. The roof is glazed tile with yellow edge and hexagonal cone roof. The most peculiar thing is that the abutment is a hexagonal star plane, and the steps are placed between the star angles. "I checked the existing image data of Yuanmingyuan and didn't find out the location of this building because there was no accurate plan before burning. A hexagonal star plane like this is very rare in Yuanmingyuan. " Handwritten English on the back of the photo shows that this photo was taken in June 1860+ 10/8. And this day, it is the first day of burning Yuanmingyuan recorded in history.

"I honestly told them that this photo is very valuable and suggested that they publish it in the future. Later, they only allowed me to watch it for an hour every day, and then I caught up with Thanksgiving and the manager's holiday, and soon there was no time (let me watch it). " Lao Luo still remembers those old photos that he had never met before.

Why is it difficult for Yuanmingyuan cultural relics to return?

Niu Xianfeng, Deputy Director-General of China Special Fund for Saving Lost Overseas Cultural Relics, went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States to face the lost national treasure of China at zero distance. He wrote with emotion: "Only when we face the lost national treasure face to face, will we have a thorough awareness and vivid inspiration for the historical memory, the incomplete art and the still blooming cultural light, which is tantamount to a sad and happy soul blow." However, it is a very arduous task to return many Yuanmingyuan cultural relics scattered around the world after a lapse of 100 years.

In an interview with reporters, Luo pointed out that there are generally three forms of cultural relics outflow: first, they have been stolen by foreign invaders and should be returned unconditionally according to international law; One is sold privately and it is difficult to get it back. If it is reversed several times, it will be more difficult to get it back. When the time is ripe, it can be returned in the form of non-governmental exchanges. There are also gifts from the government, including those from the Qing government and the Beiyang government. Unless the cultural relics of the two countries are exchanged, they cannot be returned.

In 2003, China Special Fund for Rescue of Lost Overseas Cultural Relics sought an American private collector for the bronze statue of pig's head that was lost overseas when Yuanmingyuan was burned. After arduous negotiations, the Americans agreed to the transfer, and finally Stanley Ho, a Macao entrepreneur, invested nearly 7 million yuan to buy it back.

Niu Xianfeng told reporters that although there are two ways to give back and ask for it, the more common and direct way for cultural relics to return to China is to buy back. Because most of the lost cultural relics are scattered among the people, only when they enter the market, auction and other circulation channels will cultural relics show their faces and be discovered by Chinese people. At present, the special fund pays attention to the lost cultural relics in the circulation field according to two standards: first, the lost cultural relics with high artistic and cultural value; The second is the lost cultural relics with special historical background and significance, such as robbed and stolen cultural relics. "For example, the pig head repurchased in 2003 not only reflected the technology at that time, but also had a special historical background of war." According to these two standards, since 2003, the special fund has contacted one or twenty lost national treasures, and the results are mixed.

Niu Xianfeng believes that the current view of "I will return what I robbed" is too simple to solve the practical problem, "because overseas museums are only collectors in the cultural relics chain, not predators." However, he stressed that we can't give up our views and positions-we hope that overseas museums will realize that the cultural relics lost in China belong to the category of China culture and start negotiations with them, hoping to return to the original site for protection. It is based on the principle of "protecting cultural property at the place of origin" of UNESCO. Cultural relics can not be separated from the cultural atmosphere and civilization sequence of the original territory, otherwise the cultural value will be reduced, especially the destruction of the original site is irreversible. However, he also admits that as a non-governmental organization, what the special fund can do at present is limited to the level of cooperation and consultation, such as inviting cultural relics to return to China to hold exhibitions.