Since the Korean War, the Americans have always heard that New China has repeatedly emphasized "China's core interests," and they have been very tough in counterattacking those that infringe on their core interests, and they have used various means. China drew the line with the First Opium War in 1840, and the recourse to cultural relics looted after 1840 has been demarcated as the scope of safeguarding China's core interests, which is a very serious issue. In the face of Li Dawei's tougher attitude than himself, Makibul also felt helpless, and held Li Dawei with silence.

Swanrogood, chairman of the American Cultural Council, who participated in the negotiations on the return of Chinese cultural relics, looked at Deputy Secretary of State Makipur and then said to Li Dawei: "Mr. Deputy Foreign Secretary, isn't it a good thing to keep these Chinese cultural relics with extraordinary charm in the United States and display them in front of the American people to stimulate the American public's understanding of Chinese culture and promote cultural exchanges between the American and Chinese peoples?" ”

"It's a good thing to let the American people know a little bit about Chinese history and culture through these artifacts, but that must be done if the Chinese government takes back ownership of these artifacts." Li Dawei continued: "These cultural relics are relics left by the Chinese people in the long process of historical development. All kinds of cultural relics reflect China's various historical periods, dynasties, China's social activities, social relations, ideology, and the use and transformation of nature by the Chinese people from different aspects, and are the precious historical and cultural heritage of the Chinese people. The protection and research of these cultural relics by the Chinese political axe people is of great significance for the Chinese people of China to understand their own history and creative power, to reveal the objective laws of China's social development, and to understand and promote the development of Chinese society now and in the future. So we have to recover ownership of these looted artefacts. ”

In fact, negotiation is a process of mutual testing, mutual exploration, and mutual bargaining.

Swanrogood continued to test China's bottom line: "Mr. Deputy Foreign Minister, leaving these Chinese cultural relics in the United States will not affect the information carried by these cultural relics, nor will it affect the research of Chinese scholars on these cultural relics, and our various museums in the United States will comprehensively develop Chinese scholars who come to the United States for academic research, and the American political axe is willing to bear the cost of 20 Chinese scholars coming to the United States for academic research on these cultural relics every year."

"Mr. Svanrogood, your opinion is very strong, but I have to regret to tell you, no!" Li Dawei still insisted on taking back the sovereignty of these cultural relics, and there is another reason that you can't understand. In the eyes of you Westerners, these Chinese cultural relics, which were illegally plundered by the Western powers, are just ancient works of art in the East, or the trophies of your ancestors. But in the eyes of the Chinese, these cultural relics have a deeper meaning, that is, they also record the shame of China for more than 100 years. So I stress once again that the ownership of these cultural relics that have been looted by Western countries must be recovered. Only if the ownership belongs to us, we will talk about other forms and contents of cooperation and exchange. ”

"Listening to China's vice foreign minister, China wants to erase the shame they have suffered for more than 100 years through the recovery of these cultural relics." US Deputy Secretary of State Mackibull sat on the sidelines and secretly thought to himself: Although China is not going to start a war over these cultural relics, if China wants to adopt an all-out non-cooperative attitude on all aspects of US interests, this will also be an extremely troublesome matter, and it will also make the United States feel like it is sitting on a pinpin. Some sober American politicians have realized that China now puts the "core interests" of the country and the nation in the first place, and no matter who touches their "core interests," the Chinese people will work together and fight hard with the same hatred of the enemy. For the sake of their own core interests, they were able to put aside everything and even fight with the Soviet Union regardless of the same surname in the ideological field, and the fundamental reason for this is that in the past 100 years or so, a big country that originally thought it was the center of the world has been bullied too harshly by small barbarians in the West, and this ancient country in the East has suffered too much humiliation. The burning of the Old Summer Palace and the burning and looting of the Eight-Power Alliance's entry into Yanjing are regarded as a national disaster of great suffering in the eyes of the Chinese, and this kind of harm done by the Western powers to the Chinese nation will continue throughout the 20 th century and into the 21st century and beyond, and will greatly increase the Chinese's wariness and hatred of Westerners and Western self-righteous culture. In turn, it has become a powerful driving force for the Chinese nation to work hard to make the country strong.

As a politician, he knows very well that if any Western country can successfully resolve this wariness and hatred of Westerners and Western culture in the hearts of Chinese. Which country will be able to gain China's understanding and support. It will give priority to enjoying the benefits of the third technological revolution, at least for now, and will not let China, a rising power, regard itself as an enemy. The return of cultural relics looted from China is undoubtedly a good way to dispel the hatred of Westerners in the hearts of Chinese and the best means to promote friendly relations with China. On the other hand, it can also establish a "good international image" in the world.

So Makibul made a very wise and far-sighted concession, but at the same time presented China with a big problem: "Mr. Deputy Foreign Minister, if the Chinese side can prove that the origin of these cultural relics is indeed the property belonging to the Chinese government or Chinese citizens obtained by improper means, we will definitely return the full amount." ”

It is certainly a good way for both sides to draw up a treaty to resolve the issue through legal procedures. But Li Dawei knows that in the past 100 years, what cultural relics have been plundered overseas in China, and how many are there? How these cultural relics were looted is probably a question that no one can answer accurately, and it is even more difficult to prove them one by one. Through this method, we can solve the problem of the return of cultural relics lost overseas in China. It will make the road to the return of China's cultural relics lost overseas more difficult, tortuous and longer. However, it is no longer possible to imagine the rampant smuggling of cultural relics in China in later generations, the blatant auction of Chinese cultural relics, and the use of Chinese cultural relics as an ATM. The Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, which was also established by the United Nations for the future, prohibits and prevents the import of cultural property that has been looted and illicitly exported from other countries, prevents the illicit transfer of ownership thereof, and takes appropriate measures for the recovery and restitution of such cultural property. guarantee China's right to demand the restitution of looted and illegally exported cultural objects; And China's political axe is not limited by the limitation period, and has the right to recover lost cultural relics at any time, laying the foundation.

The Chinese side also has a backup plan for Makipur's proposal. Li Dawei thought for a moment and said, "Okay." Then we will work together to develop a practical agreement. Let's solve this problem. ”

In the following days, after a war of words, the two sides finally reached the "Treaty between China and the United States on Jointly Prohibiting and Preventing the Illegal Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property and the Illegal Transfer of Ownership". Germany and other countries have provided a "model" for solving China's looted cultural relics.

The Treaty between China and the United States on the Mutual Prohibition and Prevention of the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property stipulates that the owner of the looted cultural property shall return the political axe of the country to which it belongs.

(1) For the purposes of this Treaty, cultural relics that are part of a specific memorial site or archaeological site that have not been illegally brought out of the country after 1840 without the permission of the Chinese political axe, or cultural relics in the public or private collections of the country to which they belong, shall be regarded as looted cultural relics.

(2) Any request for the return of looted cultural objects shall be made within a period of three years from the time when the State of origin and the individual become aware of the location of the cultural relics and the identity of the owners of the cultural relics; and in any case within 150 years from the time of theft. The owner of the looted object is entitled to just and reasonable compensation for the return of the object if he does not know, and ought reasonably to have known, that the object was stolen and that he can prove that he or she exercised care in acquiring the object.

(c) In determining whether the owner is prudent, attention shall be paid to all the circumstances under which the object was acquired, including the surnames of the parties, the price paid, whether the owner consulted the registration authority of the looted cultural object to which he would ordinarily access, other relevant information and documents that he ordinarily obtained, whether the owner consulted the authority to which it had access, or took other measures that a reasonable person would have taken in the circumstances.

(d) The payment of compensation by the State of origin and the individual to the owner of compensation shall not prejudice the right of the State of origin and the individual to reclaim such compensation from any other person when the owner claims compensation

In accordance with the Treaty between China and the United States on the Joint Prohibition and Prevention of the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, the Chinese Cultural Heritage Protection Commission quickly launched a long-lasting recovery of looted cultural relics in the United States. Eventually, it led to a large number of ancient Chinese paintings, including the masterpiece "Emperors of the Past Dynasties" by Yan Liben, a national treasure, the well-preserved copy of Tang Zhangxuan's "Pounding Practice", and the "Five-colored Parrot" by Huizong of the Song Dynasty. Warner used tree glue to glue away 36 square Tang Dynasty murals. A beautiful statue of the Bodhisattva in the Tang Dynasty and after decades of carving to complete, the base is carved with rosewood, the ivory fossil carvings and other carvings of the Qianlong era, paintings, bronzes, ceramics and other categories of more than 10,000 pieces of rare treasures were plundered and returned to the homeland.

Among them, the most gratifying and congratulatory are the six famous war horses of Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty in Zhaoling, and the two horses of "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao" in the six horses of Zhaoling, who returned to China after a lot of hardships, so that the lost six horses can be reunited in the Forest of Steles Museum in China.

In order to let everyone know the situation of the return of the two horses, we pointed the camera at the summer of 1962, in the Pennsylvania State Court in the United States, the owner of the two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao" The owner of the two horses, the University of Pennsylvania Museum in the United States, hired a lawyer who confidently said that the reliefs of the two war horses of Sa Luzi and Fist Mao Da are China's cultural heritage, and now they live in isolation in our Penn Museum, we are very sympathetic to the current situation of the separation of the six horses, but at the same time, Sa Lu Zi and Fist Mao are also the property of the Penn Museum. Penn was not involved in any activities related to the theft of the two horses. We bought it commercially from a Chinese antique dealer named Lu Qinzhai. The lawyer at the Penn Museum in the United States calmly took out a document from his purse and said: "This is the invoice for the 1920 transaction between the Penn Museum and Lu Qinzhai, and I will ask the court and the jury to look at it and record it." ”

"But I reminded the court that Lu Qinzhai is a major criminal suspect suspected of smuggling cultural relics wanted by the Ministry of Public Security of China, and that the Lu Wu Company he founded is a major criminal group suspected of smuggling cultural relics, and that the criminal suspect and his Lu Wu Company have been smuggling Chinese cultural relics to the United States for more than 30 years since 1915. The suspect smuggled countless Chinese national cultural relics to the United States and other countries. Among them, the six horses of Zhaoling are the most famous, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao" are the most famous, here I need to briefly introduce the relief of the two war horses of Sa Lu Zi and Fist Mao, Tang Zhenguan ten years, that is, in 636 A.D., the emperor of China at that time, Tang Taizong Li Shimin built Zhaoling on the Jiuzhi Mountain, 22.5 kilometers northeast of Liquan County, Shaanxi Province. When the mausoleum was built, Li Shimin ordered: 'The horse I ride, help those in distress, the title of the publication is engraved in the true form, and it is left and right. ’

Therefore, in the North Sima Gate of the altar on the north side of Zhaoling, the stone carvings of the six war horses that Li Shimin loved during his lifetime were erected. Known as the Six Horses of Zhaoling, the carvings were based on the paintings of the great Tang Dynasty painter Yan Liben, each 204 centimeters wide, 172 centimeters high, 40 centimeters thick, and weighing 3.7 tons. In the history of China, most of the stone beasts in front of the tombs of the Han people are sheep, tigers, Tianlu, and evil spirits, but on the Zhaoling Tomb in Chang'an, there are horses with arrow wounds, and their methods are simply unprecedented. These six Tang Taizong Li Shimin's war horse reliefs, for thousands of years quietly standing in Zhaoling, and when the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, they were ruthlessly pulled up, of which the two horses are now stored in the University of Pennsylvania Museum in the United States, known as Sa Lu Zi and Fist Mao, were smuggled to the United States by Lu Qinzhai from 1916 to 1917 and bought to the University of Pennsylvania Museum for $125,000. Although the suspect died in Switzerland in 1957, his company still exists, and the court is requested to summon the parties to confirm the circumstances. ”

In court, Lu Wu's lawyer produced a letter from Lu Qinzhai to Harrison in 1927, in which he wrote: "In 1915, former President Yuan Shikai ordered them to be formally transferred to Yanjing. A few months later, the two horses were sold to us through someone else. "This transaction is absolutely legal, and these stone horses were sold to us by China's top leaders."

This lawyer reminded the court of the suspect's testimony, since President Yuan Shikai ordered the two war horse reliefs of Sa Luzi and Quan Maoda to be officially transferred to Yanjing. So how did the two horses sell them through others? The lawyer of the China Cultural Relics Protection Commission [***] immediately pointed out in righteous words: "The suspect said that the transaction was absolutely legal, and the Erjun was sold to them by China's top leader, so please ask the suspect to present relevant evidence to the court." ”

In the court, the lawyer of Lu Wu's company was immediately dumbfounded, just kidding! The evidence of the smuggling was really Yuan Shikai's agreement to sell, and this kind of dirty transaction, which was scolded by tens of thousands of people, would not leave any evidence.

In the face of the silent lawyer of Lu Wu's company, the lawyer of the Chinese Cultural Relics Protection Commission went on to say: According to Article 1 of the "Sino-US Treaty on Jointly Prohibiting and Preventing the Illegal Import, Export and Illegal Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property", all cultural relics that have not been illegally brought out of the country after 1840 without the permission of the Chinese political axe should be regarded as plundered cultural relics, so these two war horse reliefs are indeed plundered cultural relics.

The lawyer then said to the judge: "Mr. Judge, I have a question for the University of Pennsylvania Museum, which is the current owner of Erjun."

"Permission."

"May I ask the Penn Museum, are you cautious when buying these two war horse reliefs? Have you noticed all the circumstances in which the artifacts have been acquired? Have you consulted with other relevant information and documents that are usually available? If so, please present the relevant legal documents. ”

The judge said to the Penn Museum lawyer with a blank face: "Please show the relevant evidence to this court." ”

"No, there were no such regulations in the transaction at that time, so no one and we didn't take them into account."

"The plaintiff answered, the defendant asked the question"

"It is not a question of whether there are these provisions in the transaction at that time, but the necessary measures that a normal person should take in such circumstances to determine the legal surname of the source of the subject matter of the transaction." After answering the question, he said, "Therefore, the Penn Museum cannot prove that Bai was prudent in acquiring the artifact, and according to the provisions of Articles II and Day III of the Sino-US Treaty on the Joint Prohibition and Prevention of the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, the Penn Museum cannot receive any compensation from the Chinese government when returning the artifact." For the losses suffered by the Penn Museum, we can only ask for it from Lu Wu. ”

In the jury, a juror from the Pennsylvania Congressman of the United States expressed his opinion on the case: "Like most members of the jury, it is a shame for me to think that a respectable institution of higher learning, especially in the United States, which intends to serve as a moral model for other countries, should use improper means to purchase the smuggled cultural relics of this world's rare art treasure of superb artistic value from a smuggler who is wanted by the Chinese government!" Penn obtained these two Tang horses by such improper means, and should immediately return them to their original and honorable owners, the People's Republic of China. Let Erjun go home and reunite with the other Sijun."

(To be continued)