Officials Admit Ming Tomb Artifact Stolen ... One Year Later

Artifacts from the city's famous Ming tombs have been missing for up to a year's time without being acknowledged by local authorities, causing concern that there may be no future for the city's history.

The disappearance of a pair of ceremonial stone candle holders at the tomb of Emperor Chongzhen, the last reigning emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was finally confirmed by Changping District officials on their official Weibo micro-blogging page on Wednesday after officials dragged their feet for weeks.

The statement said officials swiftly responded to the incident by convening a special task force to investigate the disappearance of the candle holders in addition to punishing those responsible for safeguarding them. Four party officials in charge of the Ming tombs have been sacked for their negligence, and may even face criminal charges.

The exact time the candle holders disappeared is unknown, but some sources say it could be up to a year.

The statement comes two weeks after Changping officials said they first learned of the situation on March 20, and yet, public attempts to raise the issue have been continually ignored by authorities.

According to the Xinmin Evening News, Ming tombs officials admitted they knew about the disappearance as early as last year, but did not publicly disclose the news because they "did not want to interfere with the police investigation." When Beijing cultural preservationists raised the issue online weeks ago, Ming tomb officials simply said the candle holders were "out for repairs."

The disappearance and subsequent cover-up of the Ming tomb relics upset Chinese netizens.

One online comment reads, "World cultural heritage has been stolen, something for which we countrymen have lost face!" Another comment accuses Ming tombs officials of gross incompetence by saying: "How do two, big, heavy relics suddenly go missing? Just how do they make a living there at the mausoleum?" The top comment on one Weibo post simply reads, "Strongly suspect an inside embezzlement job."

Suspected to have been stolen by thieves, the disappearance of the four-hundred-year-old relics pose a significant loss to Beijing culture. The candle holders featured impressive relief detailing still present as of a couple of years ago (shown above). But even though Changping officials said they will be delegating more resources to protect the city's cultural relics, they simply don't have the manpower or money to do so.

That's according to Weibo user Yihewulao, a Beijing native with a love of history who has been documenting the decline of cultural relics around Beijing. With his vast knowledge of Beijing history, Yihewulao was one of the first people to refute the claim that the candle holders were "out for repairs," insisting that the relics have suffered the same sad fate as much of Beijing's lost history.

As we can see from photos seen on Yihewulao's blog from January 2015, relics around the Beijing area have been neglected by the government and left to be destroyed or stolen. In each of the following examples, the top or left shows the artifact's original condition, followed by a later photo.

Lidu stone lion statue, stolen (shown below, circled in yellow on the left):

A destroyed Beifahai Temple stone tablet after a failed burglary attempt:

A pair of stone lion statues stolen at Beifahai temple:

Stolen grave marker for Inspector Sun from the reign of K'ang Hsi, the second Qing Emperor:

Grave belonging to K'ang Hsi scholar Yisang'a, ransacked:

Parts of archway built for distinguished gentleman Shou Cangyu, destroyed and stolen:

Some Chinese cultural relics have been well preserved, such as the Badaling portion of the Great Wall of China, located less than 50 miles north of Beijing. However, relics in remote places that haven't been monetized for the tourists haven't been as lucky. Last fall, a 1.2-mile portion of the Great Wall of China was paved over with lime mortar and cement as part of a "restoration" effort.

Going out to explore Beijing's history with a day trip to the Ming tombs remains a popular activity for city residents. But with this neglect shown to the city's historical relics, it's unsure if this history has yet to last.

Images: Weibo, bjnews.com.cn

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