There is an old Chinese saying called: Sai Weng lost his horse, is it a blessing to know? The story of Saion's lost horse tells people not to look at everything in the world with a pessimistic attitude, but to be glad that a beloved thing is lost and recovered. However, the historical relics lost in China's modern and modern history are too numerous to mention, including the 12 animal heads in the Yuanmingyuan, which are now recognized as cultural treasures in the gardens of the Chinese nobility.
In 1860, when the Anglo-French coalition invaded China, there was an extremely painful and insulting incident for China, that is, the burning of the Yuanmingyuan in history. After this historical event, the bronze statue of the 12 animal heads placed in the Yuanmingyuan also embarked on the road of overseas loss. From 1860 to November 2019, China successively welcomed its animal heads back to the embrace of the motherland in different ways from home and abroad.
However, only seven bronze statues have returned to the embrace of the motherland, and the other animal head relics have still not moved. In 2003, Mr. Ho Hung-sun, a Gambling King in Hong Kong, paid for the bronze statue of the pig's head at some auction houses abroad and sent it to the state for safekeeping. In 2019, Mr. Ho Hung-sun again purchased the bronze statue of the horse's head in the 12 animal heads in the foreign auction market, and at the same time returned it to the state.
At this point, it has to be admitted that Mr. He Hongshen's feelings for the motherland are beyond doubt, but the unconditional donation to the country also shows the 12 beast heads from the side, which does not belong to the personal private property of any one person in the world, it is a state-owned treasure belonging to China. In addition to the unconditional purchase of Chinese citizens, there are also many international friends who understand this fact, know that the bronze statues of the head of the zodiac do not belong to a certain person, and also believe that they are one of the contents that belong to the treasures of Chinese culture.
In April 2013, the famous French Pinault family publicly announced in Beijing that they would unconditionally donate the bronze statue of the rat head and the bronze statue of the rabbit head owned by the family to China. But in 2013, before the Pino family unconditionally returned the two bronze statues to the permanent collection of the Yuanmingyuan in China, there were actually some farces. In 2009, bronze statues of rats and rabbits from the 12 animal heads in the Yuanmingyuan appeared at foreign auctions.
But at the auction at the time, a gentleman named Cai Mingchao sold the two treasures for 31.49 million euros. The conversion rate of 31.49 million euros at that time was equivalent to 270 million yuan. At international auctions, there is an unwritten rule that the bidder must pay the auction money to the account that should be paid within 7 days after the auction is over to get the lot.
However, Cai Mingchao refused to pay and claimed that the two identical directions should be unconditionally taken back to China. Cai Mingchao's original words are: no payment will be made, and the two beast heads themselves are Chinese cultural relics. This may be the great power spirit of the Chinese - even if it does not exist in its own life, as long as it is the property of the motherland, it will stand up to defend the spiritual property of the country, but this kind of behavior is not worth advocating, after all, it will bring more controversy and right and wrong.
In fact, the price of the twelve bronze statues lost in the Yuanmingyuan may not be so expensive, but after the historical rendering and international propaganda role, the value of these 12 animal heads cannot naturally be measured in money. The most important valuable thing they have left to future generations in China is that people must not forget history, and they must remember not to let insults be repeated, and they must keep pace with the times so that they will not be beaten by backwardness.