A gentle gust of wind awakens the body that has been sleeping for a thousand years; a gentle gust of wind blows away the mysterious veil of history. Standing on the shoulders of time, I talk to history.
The experience of modern history is full of unspeakable vicissitudes and ups and downs.
Speaking of China's modern history, it can be said that we have heard a lot of historical periods from childhood to adulthood, whether we are in any history textbook or rely on other ways to collect information, there will be no lack of this history.
This is also the history that every Chinese must remember, and as descendants of Yanhuang, we should remember history and not forget the national shame. The strength and prosperity of today's China is inseparable from the hard work and sweat of the ancestors, and my generation should remember it, inherit the spirit of the predecessors, inherit the positive energy and correct values.
In China's modern history, the Eight-Power Alliance's invasion of China is one of the most well-known historical events, also known as the Gengzi National Disaster. As for the course of events and the final outcome, we still remember it vividly, and China has thus completely degenerated into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, and the broad masses of the people are in dire straits. In particular, the signing of the "Xinugu Treaty" that humiliated the country put China in an unprecedented crisis.
In August 1900, the Eight-Power Alliance invaded Beijing, and the strong guns of the great powers still opened the gates of China. In the city of Beijing, they did nothing evil and looted everywhere, and many rare treasures and historical relics were looted by them, and those who could be moved were taken away, and they were destroyed on the spot without moving. Such atrocities lasted for three full days, and the loss of cultural relics was simply incalculable, bringing indelible pain and lingering memories to countless Chinese.
The passage of time finally ushered in the moment of return.
According to UNESCO statistics, the number of cultural relics lost overseas in China is as high as more than 1.6 million, and this is only the statistical data, and there are many undocumented. After these cultural relics were lost overseas, they were privately stored by more than 40 foreign museums and libraries.
Over the years, countless sons and daughters of China have done their utmost to welcome these national treasures back to the motherland, and the efforts and hardships they have made are unimaginable to ordinary people. The most contributing, well-known and highly acclaimed of these is the famous Patriotic Entrepreneur in Hong Kong, Mr. Stanley Ho, who has devoted his energy to the rescue of overseas cultural relics with patriotic heart for many years, and part of the Beast Head of the Zodiac in the Yuanmingyuan was able to return to China with his efforts. It can be said that Mr. Ho's patriotism and contribution to this end will naturally be remembered by history.
In addition to the efforts of the patriots, two countries have offered to return and apologize to us, whose names seem to us to be extremely familiar. These two countries are France and Italy in Europe.
As members of the Eight-Power Alliance's invasion of China, France and Italy naturally stole countless cultural relics. France, in particular, looted all the cultural relics in the Yuanmingyuan as early as the Second Opium War in 1860, and the royal garden of the Yuanmingyuan was also destroyed by them. Among the cultural relics they looted, the Zodiac Head of the Yuanmingyuan is one of them, and later we all know that the rabbit head and the rat head were donated to China by the French Pino family in 2013, and soon returned to the embrace of the motherland. It is naturally gratifying that cultural relics that have been lost overseas for many years have been returned to the motherland, but the stories behind them are often very attractive, and there are many small episodes.
Infinite obstacles and bumps, it is difficult to resist the way home.
It turned out that at a Christie's auction in the same year, the Pino family originally used these two cultural relics as auction items, and finally the famous collector Cai Mingchao sold for a sky-high price of 270 million yuan. Unexpectedly, when preparing to pay the money, Cai Mingchao himself was not willing to pay this money at all, in his opinion, this is a Chinese cultural relic, that is, something that belongs to China, and now Chinese why do you have to pay so much money to get it back?
Although Cai Mingchao's own ideas are certainly very good, but this kind of stream shooting with a personal nature, if there is any trivial mistake, it will cause a lawsuit. Fortunately, Cai Mingchao himself was not held accountable, because later he and the Pino family successfully resolved the dilemmas and problems they faced under the joint consultation of the Chinese Cultural Relics Bureau, and it was precisely because the Pino family did not pursue Cai Mingchao's responsibility in the end, and promised to donate the two cultural relics to China free of charge.
Today, the status and strength of our country are no longer what they used to be. During this period, China has signed memorandums of understanding with more than 20 countries in the world to prevent the theft and illegal entry and exit of cultural relics, the purpose of which is to better help the early return of Chinese cultural relics lost overseas.
With the gradual enhancement of China's strength, the exchanges between China and other countries in the world are getting closer and closer, and friendly exchanges are more frequent, of course, these countries with friendly exchanges with China and close cooperation relations will also do their best to help the lost cultural relics return to China at an early date. Among them, italy's friendship with our country is a typical example.
Italy, as a friendly partner with China for many years, has brought rich fruits to the friendly cooperation between the two countries, among which Italy's accession to China's Belt and Road Initiative is a major achievement, which will help the spread of the Belt and Road Construction in Europe and better benefit Italy and neighboring countries and regions. It was also in the same year that Italy returned 796 lost Chinese cultural relics to China, which not only showed our efforts to save the lost cultural relics, but also reflected the growing strength and international status of our country.
The long way home, the responsibility and obligation of the long and long way.
Of course, not all countries can do such good deeds as France and Italy, and world-famous museums such as the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States have unanimously refused to return cultural relics that originally belonged to China. The head of the British Museum even responded by saying that every piece of the British Museum's collection was not colonized by them, nor was it all stolen. Faced with such a situation, the only thing we have is to speak with practical actions and strength.
For each of our Chinese, the responsibility of rescuing lost cultural relics is a long way to go, and it is destined to be a long and arduous road. This is not something that can be achieved overnight, but requires more Chinese joint efforts to achieve it. We may not be able to see the day when they return to the motherland today, but our descendants and future generations will surely fulfill this ideal and goal, and what belongs to China will one day return to its former homeland.
Today, China is walking on the road of national rejuvenation and national prosperity and strength, realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is a great grand plan that every Chinese person is proud of, and the history of the past is a mirror, warning us today not to forget yesterday's shame, and also let us know where the way forward is.
However, no matter what difficulties and obstacles lie ahead, we must face the objective reality, that is, China's rejuvenation and rise. This is the inevitability of history, but also the unstoppable wheel of historical progress, and there will be no force or external factors in this world that shake the determination and perseverance of Chinese to realize their dreams. One day, when the dream comes true, we will not forget the efforts and sweat we have made, as well as the ups and downs and setbacks that have passed.