BEIJING, Feb. 26 -- Western media ascribe China's outcry against the auction in Paris of two Qing Dynasty animal heads to "nationalist sentiment", as if any other nation had a legitimate interest in these relics.

The bronze sculpture of a rabbit's head, which is an ancient Chinese relic, is auctioned in the Grand Palace of Paris in Paris, France, Feb. 25, 2009. Two controversial ancient Chinese relics including the bronze sculptures of a rat's head and a rabbit's head, were auctioned off on Wednesday night for 14 million euros each by anonymous telephone bidders in Christies's sale of the collection of Yves Saint Laurant and Pierre Berge in Paris. The sculptures were looted by invading Anglo-French expedition army in the 19th century, when the invaders burned down the royal garden of Yuanmingyuan in Beijing.(Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) Photo Gallery>>>

    Most support Mr Pierre Berge, who has asked Christie's to auction the two bronze heads, one of a rat and the other of a rabbit. The relics were among 12 animal fountainheads, representing the Chinese zodiac, which once graced the front of the Xiyanglou, or European-style mansion, at the Old Summer Palace in 19th century Beijing.

    Mr Berge is apparently convinced of his legal right to the bronzes, even though he admits they were stolen from China 150 years ago. In asserting his right to auction off the stolen relics, he defends the interests of museums worldwide which hold "many other looted pieces".

The bronze sculpture of a rat's head, which is an ancient Chinese relic, is auctioned in the Grand Palace of Paris in Paris, France, Feb. 25, 2009. Two controversial ancient Chinese relics including the bronze sculptures of a rat's head and a rabbit's head, were auctioned off on Wednesday night for 14 million euros each by anonymous telephone bidders in Christies's sale of the collection of Yves Saint Laurant and Pierre Berge in Paris. The sculptures were looted by invading Anglo-French expedition army in the 19th century, when the invaders burned down the royal garden of Yuanmingyuan in Beijing.(Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) Photo Gallery>>>

    He even goes so far as to wrap himself in the mantle of "human rights", telling the French media that he is "ready to give these Chinese heads to China if they are ready to recognize human rights".

    I don't see how Mr Berge qualifies as a human rights activist when he holds onto stolen relics of what Victor Hugo called "a wonder of the world".

    For Mr Berge, "human rights" is a convenient phrase to bolster his image. But he is still relying on imperialist logic when he proposes to exchange the looted items.

    His remarks only serve to remind us of the brutal Opium Wars that the British and French imperialists waged against China 150 years ago. Before they ransacked the Old Summer Palace and stole its treasures, the British and French marauders had already forced China to buy opium and robbed it of its autonomy. Ultimately, they subjugated all of China and shot anyone who resisted. There was no mention of "human rights" then.

    Even those who witnessed the ransacking couldn't help but note that it was "a memorable day in the history of plunder and destruction".

    James Bruce, the eighth Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, who ordered the plunder, later recalled: "Such a scene of desolation. There was not a room I saw in which half the things had not been taken away or broken in pieces ..."

    I don't know if Mr. Berge has read Victor Hugo's "Sur les Expditions Franco-Britaniques en Chine", or his letter to Captain Butler on November 25, 1861. Translated into English, the letter was re-published in the November 1985 issue of the Unesco Courier.

A photographer takes a picture of the Chinese bronze rat head and rabbit head sculptures displayed on the preview of the auction of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge's art collection at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, Feb. 21, 2009. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) Photo Gallery>>>

    
    Hugo was remarkably clear-eyed about the actions of what he calls two bandits, France and Britain. And he lamented the fact that "What was done to the Parthenon was done to the Summer Palace, more thoroughly and better ... All the treasures of all our cathedrals put together could not equal this formidable and splendid museum of the Orient."

    The bronze heads being auctioned at Christie's are only two of some 17 million Chinese relics that are scattered overseas. Many were taken illegally, and I believe we Chinese have the right to fight for their return. If Mr Berge wants to talk about "human rights," let's talk about our right to our cultural heritage.

    Meanwhile, I'm encouraged by the support of people like Mr Bernard Gomez, president of the Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe, who is working to realize Victor Hugo's wish: "I hope that a day will come when France, delivered and cleansed, will return this booty to despoiled China."

    (Source: China Daily)

Looted Chinese relics sold for 14 million euros each

    PARIS, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Two controversial ancient Chinese relics were auctioned off on Wednesday night for 14 million euros (17.92 million U.S. dollars) each by anonymous telephone bidders in Christie's sale of the collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge in the Grand Palace of Paris.

    According to Christie's, they have received 8 phone calls for "enquiries" before the sale. After the auction was launched, the competition was only conducted between telephone bidders, with no one in the scene raised for a bid. Full story

How absurd to "kidnap" cultural relics with human rights

    BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Two pieces of China's valuable cultural past, the bronze heads of a rabbit and a rat, stolen from the Old Summer Palace by British and French forces during the second Opium War in 1860, are scheduled for auction in Paris Wednesday night.

    Long before the auction, the Chinese government, cultural heritage organizations and lawyers have been actively pursuing the return of the Chinese treasures. However, at this specific moment, the owner of the bronzes, French businessman Pierre Berge, offered to swap the two sculptures for the application of human rights in China and the freedom of Tibet. From the Chinese point of view, it's an absurd requirement by abducting China's cultural relics with human rights issues. Full story

American Chinese collectors urge boycott of Christie's

    LOS ANGELES, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- American Chinese collectors on Tuesday urged the Chinese government to take action against Christine's, and called for a boycott of the auctioneer if it insists on auctioning two historic bronze sculptures looted from a Chinese imperial garden.

    The American Chinese Collector's Association and the Eastern Cultural Foundation jointly issued an open letter at a press conference here, in an appeal to all Chinese collectors and antique dealers around the world to stop doing business with Christine's. Full story

Chinese gov't writes to Christie's seeking to stop auction

    BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's heritage authorities said Tuesday they had written to auction house Christie's in a bid to stop the sale of two looted bronze sculptures.

    The State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) sent the letter to the auction house on Feb. 17, but only announced it in a statement Tuesday.  Full story

Chinese lawyers vow to carry on despite French court rule on looted bronzes

Ren Xiaohong (R), a lawyer for the Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe (APACE), the plaintiff, speaks to the media with her colleague Ayagh at the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris, capital of France, Feb. 23, 2009. The Paris court on Monday ruled against stopping the sale of two looted Chinese bronze sculptures which come up for auction at Christie's on Wednesday.(Xinhua/Zheng Suchun) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Despite losing a bid in a Parisian court to stop two looted bronze sculptures from being auctioned at Christie's, Chinese lawyers pledged to continue their efforts to halt the sale.

    "We are disappointed about the French court rule on Monday but we have to accept it," Li Xingfeng, one of the 81 Chinese lawyers that participated in the project, told Xinhua here Tuesday.   Full story

Paris court refuses to stop sale of looted Chinese bronzes

    PARIS, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A Paris court on Monday ruled against stopping the sale of two looted Chinese bronze sculptures which come up for auction at Christie's on Wednesday.

    Under the ruling of the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris, the plaintiff, the Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe (APACE), was ordered to pay compensation to the defendant.  Full story