Latest news with #ZidankuSilkManuscripts
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
National treasure returned home after 79 years of drifting -- under China-U.S. joint escort
BEIJING, May 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by on the homecoming of Chinese cultural relics: Ten days ago, a commercial flight from Washington D.C. touched down at the Beijing Capital International Airport in the quiet hours before dawn. The flight carried China's long-lost national treasure — two volumes of the ancient Zidanku Silk Manuscripts. That moment, after 79 years adrift overseas, the precious artifacts finally returned home. In Chinese, silk or satin-based textiles are generically termed "bo." Before the invention of paper, ancient Chinese wrote classical texts on silk, known as "bo shu," or silk manuscripts. The Zidanku Silk Manuscripts are to date the oldest examples of such ancient texts unearthed in China, dating back over 2,300 years. Richly illustrated and paired with explanatory texts, the manuscripts explore the origins of the four seasons and twelve months, the taboos and auspicious practices at different times, as well as military strategies for offense and defense in war. The invaluable texts were illicitly excavated from a Chu-state tomb in 1942, at the Zidanku site in Changsha, Hunan Province. They eventually fell into the hands of Cai Jixiang, a Chinese antiques collector. But several years later, John Hadley Cox, an American, coaxed Cai into giving the silk manuscripts to him under the guise of photographing the manuscripts using infrared devices to decipher the faded text. Exploiting Cai's trust, Cox never returned the silk manuscripts, and instead smuggled them to the U.S. Since then, the national treasure has been separated from its homeland. The long journey home has crystallized efforts of many. The Zidanku Silk Manuscripts consist of three volumes. After being illicitly brought to the U.S., "Sishi Ling," the first volume, was purchased by Dr. Sackler in 1966. A doctor and art collector with a deep affection for China, Dr. Sackler fully recognized the significance of the silk manuscripts, and believed artifacts of such gravity should not be kept outside of their country of origin. In 1986, ground was bro ken for the Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology at Peking University, a project that Dr. Sackler funded. He planned to return the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts to China upon the museum's completion. Unfortunately, Dr. Sackler passed away the following year, before his wish could be fulfilled. As for the second and third volumes, "Wuxing Ling" and "Gongshou Zhan," their whereabouts were unknown at the time. Li Ling, a chair professor at Peking University, began researching the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts in 1980. For 45 years, he has dedicated himself to tracing every stage of the artifacts' journey since excavation. With the help of scholars including Professor Donald Harper from the University of Chicago, Li traced exhaustively the "footprints" of the silk manuscripts in the U.S. It turned out that the two missing volumes were stored in a shoebox by John Hadley Cox, and were kept in Washington D.C. until 1992, when Cox donated them anonymously to the National Museum of Asian Art. Professor Donald Harper, based in the U.S. at the time, connected with members of John Hadley Cox's family. In 2024, Harper handed over a crucial piece of evidence to China — the lid of the shoebox that once held the silk manuscripts, donated by Cox's granddaughter. The lid clearly logged the manuscripts' several transfers after arriving in the U.S. While scholars like Li Ling and Donald Harper worked tirelessly on the silk manuscripts, the Smithsonian Institution in the U.S. issued a policy on the ethical return of all cultural artifacts acquired through improper means. Buttressed by the solid and complete chain of evidence, China officially launched its recovery of the second and third volumes of the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts. Following over a year of extensive consultation and negotiation, the scene we showed at the beginning finally materialized. The success also gives us confidence that the return of "Sishi Ling," the first volume, is not far behind. Since China and the U.S. signed their first MoU in 2009 to prevent illegal importation of Chinese cultural artifacts into the United States, it is believed, almost 600 items or sets of lost cultural relics have been repatriated to China. Li Ling, who has devoted decades of his life to researching silk manuscripts, said that the retrieval of the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts would have been impossible through his efforts alone. It is the joint efforts of both Chinese and American scholars, and the cooperation between the two countries to help lost cultural artifacts return to their countries of origin, that allowed these national treasures to come home. Through the plexiglass encasing the artifacts, one can still see the faintly discernible writing on the remains of the now-brown Zidanku Silk Manuscript fragments, offering a peek into ancient reflections on the universe and life from two millennia ago. Their 79-year journey home also reflects the spirit of equal dialogue and cooperation between China and the United States; it is a microcosm of people's wisdom and experience in guarding the fruits of human civilization beyond national borders. China Mosaic View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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Business Standard
19-05-2025
- General
- Business Standard
2,300-yr-old silk manuscripts finally return to China after 79 years in US
Two volumes of the 2,300-year-old Zidanku Silk Manuscripts arrived in Beijing from the United States in the early hours of Sunday, marking the end of a 79-year journey abroad, reported The South China Morning Post. Volumes II and III of the ancient silk texts, which date back to around 300 BC during China's Warring States Period, were returned by the National Museum of Asian Art, part of the Smithsonian Institution. They are considered the oldest known silk books discovered in China and are over a century older than the Dead Sea Scrolls. The manuscripts were unearthed in 1942 from a tomb in Zidanku, Changsha, in central China. They were first acquired by a Chinese collector and later smuggled out of the country in 1946 by American collector John Hadley Cox. The fragments were gifted to the Smithsonian in 1992. Volume I of the three-volume set remains with the privately held Arthur M Sackler Foundation. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that efforts are ongoing to facilitate its return. China's ambassador to the US, Xie Feng, said the manuscripts' return represents a significant moment in China-US cultural cooperation. 'The return of the Zidanku manuscripts reflects a national revival, as lost treasures of Chinese civilisation make their way home,' he said. Cultural relics reflect the splendor of civilization, preserve the legacy of history, and uphold the spirit of the nation. Each artifact carries the spirit and lineage of a nation, touching the hearts of all Chinese people. I'm so delighted to witness the return of the Zidanku… — Xie Feng 谢锋 (@AmbXieFeng) May 17, 2025 According to Xie, around 600 artefacts have been returned to China from the US, including more than 40 this year. Experts believe the silk manuscripts contain ritual or divinatory texts, possibly linked to mythical figures such as Fuxi and Nuwa. They are seen as key sources for the study of early Chinese religion, cosmology, and intellectual history. Li Ling, professor in the Chinese department at Peking University, told CCTV that the Zidanku manuscripts are culturally comparable to the Dead Sea Scrolls. 'They speak to our ancient knowledge systems, our understanding of the cosmos, and the details of everyday life,' he said. The two returned volumes will go on public display in July at the National Museum of China in Beijing.
South China Morning Post
18-05-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
2,300-year-old Chinese silk books return to Beijing after decades in US museum
Two volumes of 2,300-year-old silk books – the earliest known in China – arrived in Beijing from the United States in the early hours of Sunday, marking the end of their 79-year journey abroad. Advertisement The Zidanku Silk Manuscripts – dating back to around 300BC, during the Warring States Period – are considered the oldest ancient classics ever found in China. They are more than a century older than the Dead Sea Scrolls. Volumes II and III of the three-volume manuscripts were transferred from the National Museum of Asian Art, part of the Smithsonian Institution in the United States. Volume I, a larger and more complete work, remains privately owned by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said efforts were under way to enable the return of Volume I to China. The manuscripts were illegally excavated in 1942 from a tomb in Zidanku in the city of Changsha in central China. They were first acquired by a Chinese collector, then illegally removed from the country in 1946 by John Hadley Cox, an American collector. The Zidanku Silk Manuscript fragments were gifted to the museum in 1992. Fragments of the ancient Zidanku Silk Manuscripts are displayed during a handover ceremony at the Chinese embassy in Washington on Friday. Photo: Xinhua The repatriation of the volumes followed diplomatic efforts by the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China, which began formal negotiations after the Smithsonian published a new ethical returns policy in 2022 on returning objects that it 'would not have acquired under present-day standards'.
The Star
16-05-2025
- General
- The Star
2nd LD Writethru: U.S. museum returns to China ancient silk manuscripts from Warring States period
WASHINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art on Friday officially returned the Zidanku Silk Manuscript volumes II and III: Wuxing Ling and Gongshou Zhan from the Warring States period to China's National Cultural Heritage Administration. The handover ceremony took place at the Chinese Embassy in the United States in Washington, D.C. The silk manuscripts were unearthed in 1942 from the Zidanku site in Changsha, Hunan Province, and were illegally taken to the United States in 1946. The silk manuscripts are currently the only known silk manuscripts from the Warring States period (475-221 BC). The Zidanku Silk Manuscripts are divided into three volumes. The returning texts, Wuxing Ling and Gongshou Zhan, are the second and third volumes, respectively. As the only known silk manuscripts from the Warring States period unearthed in China, the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts -- over 2,000 years old -- are the earliest silk text discovered to date, representing the earliest known example of a classical Chinese book in the true sense. It is of foundational significance for the study of ancient Chinese script and literature, as well as for the history of Chinese scholarship and thought. The repatriation of Wuxing Ling and Gongshou Zhan "ensures that these invaluable artifacts can now be fully and rightfully protected and studied in the soil from which they came," Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism Rao Quan, who is also the head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, said in a video address. This will allow for a more accurate and comprehensive understanding and interpretation of their heritage value, transforming them into shared academic and civilizational assets for China and the world, said Rao. At the handover ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng said that the return is a "cultural milestone" and a "testament" to China-U.S. cooperation in heritage preservation, bringing new vitality to people-to-people exchanges and friendship. China and the United States have made "notable progress" in heritage cooperation, with around 600 artifacts sent back to China -- including more than 40 pieces since the start of this year, according to the Chinese ambassador. At the ceremony, Chase F. Robinson, director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, said that the return of the manuscripts "reflects a carefully considered decision," calling it an example of "mutually beneficial and collegial international collaboration." The return of Wuxing Ling and Gongshou Zhan marks a successful case of proactive recovery of significant lost cultural artifacts. It also serves as a model for the application of the core spirit of dialogue and cooperation outlined in the Qingdao Recommendations, showcasing how research into provenance and transfer history can support the successful repatriation of Chinese cultural artifacts lost overseas. These manuscripts will be publicly displayed for the first time in July 2025 at the National Museum of China as part of an exhibition on the repatriation of cultural relics. The National Cultural Heritage Administration said it will continue to work toward the early return of Sishi Ling, another volume of the Zidanku silk manuscripts.
