796件套！流失文物的漫漫回家路

长期在海外漂泊的796件套中国文物即将踏上“回家”路。

这是近20年来最大规模的中国文物艺术品返还，其时间跨度长达5000年，上至马家窑文化时期，下至明清民国时期。

Purple sand pots from the Qing Dynasty, statues of warriors, black-glazed ancient pottery – 796 sets of Chinese cultural relics reaching a 5,000-year time span are returning home from Italy, according to a report by Xinhua.

1

A Long Way Home

这批文物的“回家”路并不顺利——追索的过程持续了漫长的十余年。

2007年，意大利文物宪兵在本国文物市场查获一批疑似非法流失的中国文物艺术品，随即启动国内司法审判程序。

中国国家文物局得知相关信息后，立即对接意大利文化遗产主管部门，开展流失文物的追索返还工作。

2019年年初，意大利法院最终作出向中方返还796件套文物艺术品的判决。

According to reports, in 2007, Italian gendarmerie seized a batch of Chinese cultural relics and artworks which are suspected of being illegally lost in the national cultural relics market, and immediately started the domestic judicial procedures.

The state of Administration of Cultural Heritage of China then contacted the Italian authorities to carry out the recovery and return of lost cultural relics. Eventually, in early 2019, an Italian court made the verdict to return 796 sets of cultural relics and artworks to China.

消息一出，网友欢庆，#意大利返还796件套文物#迅速冲上热搜。

微博网友列队欢迎国宝回家。

还有网友表示，以后就pick意大利了。

2

Those Returned Home

近年来，我国在流失文物追索返还领域取得诸多突破性进展，促成了多批非法流失海外中国文物回归祖国。

我国曾通过执法合作，分别促成美国、瑞士、澳大利亚、加拿大等国政府向我返还26件非法流失文物；也曾通过谈判协商，促成法国国立博物馆与收藏者向我返还甘肃大堡子山被盗金饰片。

In recent years, many cultural relics returned to China through diplomatic negotiations, bilateral law enforcement, cooperation and donation, etc. 

2013年，流失海外的圆明园青铜鼠首和兔首从法国入藏国家博物馆，轰动一时。此前在2009年，这两件文物曾在法国佳士得拍卖行拍出过两亿元，引起国际社会的关注和谴责，中方也明确表示了反对意见。

2018年，圆明园的青铜“虎鎣”重回祖国怀抱。这场返还历经8个月，中国文物局在得知英国拍卖的消息后，立即协同相关拍卖机构、国内外媒体和民众，推动“虎鎣”返还。

 本月初，美国政府向中国返还361件（套）流失文物。这是美方第三次、也是规模最大一次中国流失文物返还。这批文物涉及门类多、时间跨度长，既有新石器时代的玉璧，春秋战国的青铜剑，还有明代陶俑等，主要均来自古代墓葬随葬器。

For example, two looted bronze animal heads, a rat and a rabbit, were retrieved by the Chinese government in 2013 and handed over from the French art-collecting Pinault family to China’s National Museum. In December 2018, over 100 artifacts looted from China arrived home, among which is a bronze relic Tiger Ying. Recently, 361 pieces of Chinese antiques and artifacts were returned by the U.S. to China.

3

The Bumpy Roads Home

根据中国文物学会的统计，自1840年鸦片战争以来，有超过1000万件中国文物流失到欧美等地，返还的只是冰山一角。

文物“回家”为什么这么难？

在法律层面，虽有国际公约要求被掠夺的文物归还原属国，但“法不溯及既往”——这些公约只对缔结以后发生的非法文物掠夺生效。所以，对于大量历史上流出的文物，公约并不具溯及力。

同时，公约只在缔约国之间才有约束力。包括英国在内的一些主要文物流入国并未加入公约，也便不能依法向其追索。

另外，法律上所需的关于文物流出的确切证据，也多由于年代久远而难以搜集。

What are the obstacles to the return of lost cultural relics?

According to a King & Wood Mallesons report, China at present adopts many approaches to retrieve looted, stolen or otherwise illicitly exported cultural artifacts from abroad, such as:

-Repurchasing;

-Seeking the return of the items as gifts;

-Seeking the return of the items through diplomatic maneuvers or the efforts of non-governmental organizations;

-Litigation.

2009年3月16日，纽约，即将拍卖的八大山人的花鸟立轴四屏进行预展

Though there are certain international conventions in place to protect cultural property, the lack of retroactive effect, the limited binding force of such conventions, and difficulties in the proof of evidence place significant obstacles to the repatriation of such items through legal channels.

同时，还有很多反对文物返还的声音。早在2002年12月，纽约大都会博物馆、巴黎卢浮宫、大英博物馆等19家欧美博物馆就共同发表声明，拒绝将收藏的艺术品归还原属国。

声明如此陈述：“长期以来，这些获得的物品，不管是通过购买还是礼品交换等方式，已经成为保管这些文物的博物馆的一部分，并且延伸为收藏这些物品的国家的一部分……我们应该承认，博物馆不仅是为一个国家的人民服务的，而是为各国人民服务的。”

纽约大都会博物馆展出的元朝中国壁画

虽然中国、印度、伊拉克、叙利亚这些文物的原属国众声谴责，终也是不了了之。

但也有国家采取了强硬的行动。比如埃及就在2009年10月宣布中止与法国卢浮宫博物馆的一切合作关系，直到卢浮宫归还5件流失的古埃及文物。

两天后，法国政府宣布将归还这几件文物。

在现有的依法追索、国家或民间回购、捐赠交换等文物回流的渠道中，通过外交渠道交涉追索难度大，成功率低。但即便如此，这样的交涉与要求传递着国家的声音：即使再难，我们也不会放弃对本国文物的追索。

也因此，这一次796件套文物返还的意义便更为重大。

There are also voices against the return of the relics to where they originally came from.

In 2002, 19 museums and research institutes from Europe and the U.S. including the prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York and the Louvre in Paris issued the "Declaration on the Importance and Value of Universal Museums," justifying their decision not to return the objects to where they originally belong.

"Over time, objects so acquired—whether by purchase, gift, or partage—have become part of the museums that have cared for them, and by extension part of the heritage of the nations which house them," the declaration states, "we should acknowledge that museums serve not just the citizens of one nation but the people of every nation."

The declaration was severely criticized by the countries whose lost relics were housed in those museums, among which one took action.

In 2009, Egypt announced that it would cease all cooperation with the Louvre until the museum sent five ancient Egyptian fresco fragments back.

Two days later, France's government said the artifacts would be returned within weeks.

流落海外的文物：

存世最早的中国绢画、东晋名家顾恺之的

《女史箴图》的唐代摹本，现藏于伦敦大英博物馆；

敦煌遗书中的唐代佛经印本《金刚经》，

现藏于伦敦大英博物馆；

被盗凿的龙门造像《北魏孝文帝礼佛图》，

现藏于美国大都会艺术博物馆；

商代晚期的青铜象尊，

现藏于法国吉美博物馆；

……

《女史箴图》的唐代摹本，现藏于伦敦大英博物馆

Tens of thousands of pieces of ancient Chinese treasures are scattered overseas.

"The Admonitions Scroll" painted by Gu Kaizhi is one of the most important paintings in the world. Despite the original being lost, its close copy from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) was plundered by a British military official in 1900 and sold to the British Museum, which kept the painting until now.

Similarly, we can find countless Chinese cultural relics currently in museums all over the world. Asking them to return the antiques is a tough but a must-do work, no matter how long it will take.

Source: Xinhua News Agency, BBC