In the course of historical development, our country has experienced oppression and aggression from many countries, which can only be blamed on the fact that the rulers at that time were too weak and could not effectively protect us.
However, we must believe that only when we are strong can we truly protect our country and people. So, let's work together and contribute to the prosperity and development of the country!
Our motherland has a long history, a vast land and abundant resources, and a dazzling array of rare treasures. The power and wealth of the royal family have accumulated countless treasures over the course of history. However, the outbreak of the Eight-Nation Alliance's war of aggression against China made these looters take advantage of the fire, especially the Old Summer Palace, which was looted and looted.
Now, there are 2The difference between 30,000 Chinese artifacts and less than 10% of the number of cultural relics in Britain also clearly reveals how many precious artifacts they have looted from us.
However, due to historical legacies, we are unable to recover these treasures. So, how does the British Museum defend itself?
China has a long history and a profound cultural heritage, and many legends are stories about treasures. After the Qin Dynasty unified the Six Kingdoms, the royal family held great power, and they not only held the power of life and death, but also searched for treasures everywhere.
As early as ancient times, China has established ties with overseas, and the opening of the Silk Road has promoted China's economic development. With the continuous improvement of the maritime transportation system, China's silk and porcelain and other goods gradually went to the world.
During the Tang Dynasty, many foreign envoys came to China to worship, and China's economy and culture reached its peak at that time.
With the progress of the times, our country has fallen into a state of isolation, and when other countries are promoting cultural integration and active construction, our country has stagnated.
One of the weakest periods in the history of our country was the end of the Qing Dynasty, when the Qing Dynasty was corrupt and incompetent, and the aggression of the great powers could only be blindly compromised. Moreover, at that time, the economic and military strength of our country was not enough to compete with the great powers, so it became an absolute weakling.
When the great powers opened the door to our country, they discovered the wealth and resources of our country, and the local people were relatively simple-minded, so their behavior can be imagined.
During the Eight-Nation Alliance's war of aggression against China, they burned, killed and looted, bringing profound disasters to our country, among which the fire in the Old Summer Palace was even more heart-wrenching. This royal garden was built at great expense and contains countless treasures, but unfortunately it was looted before it could be fully displayed.
It is said that the great powers brought back the treasures plundered from China by ship, among which the British Museum has a collection of more than 20,000 Chinese collections, so it is known as the world's largest "museum of swag".
The British Museum was once supposed to display its own artefacts, but now it is mostly filled with precious objects looted from around the world. This is a reflection of a period of British history.
As an old capitalist country, Britain once had a glorious history and was another powerful country after Spain and Portugal. Britain began to establish colonies around the globe by defeating other overlords, a series of historical events that allowed the British Museum to house valuable artefacts from all over the world.
Studying the development process of Western countries, you will find that Britain believes that ** is a prerequisite for maintaining prosperity, and colonial development is a means to enhance national strength. Britain adhered to this idea, and carried out large-scale international expansion at that time, quickly incorporated many neighboring countries into its colonial territory, and brutally suppressed the indigenous people.
At that time, Britain was majestic and intimidating to other countries. After establishing colonies in various places, Britain would plunder like and snatch up all the resources that would be useful to them.
In the eyes of the British, historical artifacts are worth far more than money, even living people. They treat the local people as slaves, and this is the essence of capitalism.
The British believe that mastering cultural relics is equivalent to mastering the interpretation of the country's history, because cultural relics are the vehicle of historical development. This idea led the British, after occupying a country, to collect representative artifacts of that country, showing their ugly nature.
In fact, Britain's strength came from encroaching on the lands of other countries and forcing the local people to submit.
Britain's history is not very long, and if we want to talk about it, we can only focus on its history of aggression. In order to enrich its own cultural identity, Britain had to use its brains on artifacts from other countries.
The British Museum was born in the mid-19th century and occupies an area of 560,000 square meters, with more than 80,000 pieces in the museum. In the eyes of the British, this is the mark of their civilization.
However, 23,000 of the more than 80,000 pieces in the collection are from China, with most of the others also from other countries, and the UK is proud of it.
The British Museum has a collection of more than 20,000 Chinese artefacts, of which only 2,000 are permanently displayed in Hall 33, and the rest of the collection is never on display. These cultural relics embody the yearning for a better life in our country's culture, and show the unique charm of calligraphy and painting art.
Ancient masters created amazing works that can only be seen inside the museum.
In the National History Museum of the United Kingdom, there is a famous "Female Historian Map". This painting has been mentioned many times in educational textbooks and was once a favorite of Emperor Qianlong.
The author of "The Female History of Zhentu" is Gu Kaizhi, an artist in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, who used silk cloth instead of rice paper as a canvas, which makes it the earliest silk painting in China.
At that time, only princes and nobles could own silk cloth, which shows its preciousness. The depiction of the characters in "The Female Historian" is vivid, the lines are soft and smooth, and the subtle expressions and movements of the characters reveal the author's excellent painting skills.
The Female Historian contains a profound historical background behind it, and conveys a warning that has been passed down from generation to generation through a vivid female image. It is prized not only for its precious materials and superb painting skills, but also for its profound teaching significance.
In addition, the Qianlong Emperor added 37 seals to the painting and personally painted an orchid with a splash of ink. The book consists of 12 short stories, 9 of which are in the collection of the British Museum.
After many twists and turns, the "Female History Atlas" has survived and become a royal treasure. The Empress Dowager Cixi set up an exhibition hall in the Old Summer Palace for people to enjoy. However, in 1860, when the British and French invaded Beijing, the British stole the painting from the Old Summer Palace and stored it in the British Museum.
Due to its unique materials and long history, this famous painting requires special care for its conservation.
The British Museum has adopted the traditional method of preservation, mounting the "Portrait of the Female Historian" on wooden panels, but due to improper preservation for a long time and cracking of the wooden panels, the color of the painting has been severely damaged and it has been unable to restore its original appearance.
As a result, the "Portrait of a Female Historian" is no longer suitable for exhibition, and has even been cut into three sections due to improper operation, which has been completely destroyed. In order to preserve this precious painting, it had to be copied to record its style.
China's bronze civilization has a long history, and bronze wine statues have been widely used as early as the Three Kingdoms period. With the passage of time, China's bronze manufacturing technology has become more and more exquisite, among them, the bronze double sheep statue can be called the representative work of the Shang Dynasty, showing the heyday of China's bronze civilization.
The manufacturing process and carving skills of the bronze double sheep statue have reached a very high level, even surpassing modern technology.
It is impossible to imagine how the ancients carved the sheep's head so lifelike without advanced equipment, and even carved various patterns and words on the bronze statue.
The bronze double sheep statue is undoubtedly a priceless treasure in China. With the development of the times, the bronze statues of that period have been very rare, and there are only two double sheep statues, one in the British Museum and the other in Japan.
Dunhuang's cultural heritage is profound and mysterious. Since ancient times, the Dunhuang region is most famous for its various murals, which the ancients used to record historical events.
The frescoes, which were expected to be permanently preserved on the walls, did not escape the plunder of the British invaders. Now, in the British Museum, we can see a 4-meter-high colorful mural that still retains traces of the carvings of the British during their portage.
The mural was divided into many parts and put together after being brought back to China. Although poorly preserved, the murals have been mottled and the colors have fallen off, but the figure of the Bodhisattva can still be seen.
These artifacts are not only a symbol of Chinese culture, but also a testimony to the British aggression. It is astonishing that the United Kingdom is so proud that these artifacts are openly displayed in museums for people to see.
5. Britain is trying to downplay its mistakes, and if the British Museum takes these historical artifacts seriously and preserves them properly, we will not have too many complaints. After all, due to the development of the times, time cannot be turned back.
But they can't even do the most basic safekeeping, and it's heart-wrenching. In 2004, there was a serious theft at the British Museum, with more than a dozen Chinese collections stolen.
Interestingly, it took them many days before they realized the problem. However, even now, the stolen items have not been recovered. To make matters worse, they were unable to devote enough effort to manage the sheer volume of artifacts shipped from China.
Some priceless treasures were haphazardly piled up in warehouses or even on the ground. Without adequate security measures, let alone effective management, the British Museum's attitude towards these artifacts is disappointing.
Although Western countries, such as the United Kingdom, once claimed that scholarship and culture should be intertwined without borders, it now seems that most of their so-called "treasures of the town" were plundered from other countries and exhibited there.
This is clearly an act of ostentation, reflecting their superiority over past aggression.
They believe that the purpose of opening the British Museum is to share the world's cultural relics and showcase the cultural essence of the human world through free visits. Britain could not clear the history of past aggression and could only comfort itself to calm its inner turmoil.
These artifacts bring honour to the UK, but they are a shame that we can never erase. Although there are many patriots who buy some cultural relics back and donate them to the state through ** auctions, this is still a big gap compared to the number we lost.
Conclusion: The lessons of history warn us that if we are backward, we will be beaten, which is a shame that cannot be ignored. One might ask, why can't we get back the looted artifacts?
Due to the influence of the international situation, these cultural relics have become the private property of the United Kingdom. Seeing these relics in the British Museum has further inspired the self-improvement of our future generations, and only by making the motherland stronger can we prevent history from repeating itself.
Although culture knows no borders, cultural relics have a historical background and the imprint of the motherland. No matter how much the British Museum tries to whitewash it, that history is still alive and there is no room for any questioning.
We look forward to the early return of these artifacts to their homeland.