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preface
It is very sad and regrettable that many precious cultural relics in China have been lost overseas. All of these cultural relics are a precious heritage of our country, and each one of them is a national treasure.
Today, the editor has selected ten national treasures that have been lost overseas, let's take a look at them together~
Yao change Tianmu tea bowl
Yao change Tianmu tea bowl
The Yaobian Tianmu Tea Bowl is a Song Dynasty black glazed bowl used in the tea fighting ceremony of the Southern Song Dynasty. This tea bowl was one of the favorite leisure pleasures of the female lyricist Li Qingzhao and her husband Zhao Mingcheng during the Southern Song Dynasty. As a treasure from the Southern Song Dynasty, the bowl was later lost to Japan and is housed in the Seikado Bunko Library in Tokyo.
It represents a part of the tea fighting culture in the Southern Song Dynasty, showing the life of the literati at that time. As a precious relic of the Southern Song Dynasty, it not only has important historical significance, but also has important reference value for the study of tea culture and ceramic production in the Southern Song Dynasty.
Twin Sheep Zun
Twin Sheep Zun
This artifact has a cylindrical mouth, and the abdomen is in the form of two sheep forequarters facing each other. Its horns show obvious large curves, and the unique string pattern and dragon face gluttonous pattern are decorated under the venerable mouth, which is quite rare. In addition, the lower jaw and belly of the sheep are decorated with ribs, alluding to the sheep's whiskers and the drooping hair of the abdomen. The utensils are also decorated with dragon face patterns, scale patterns, and dragon patterns on the legs. After the burning of the Old Summer Palace in 1860, the artifact was looted and lost overseas, and is now housed in the British Museum.
The bronze statue of the 12 zodiac animal heads in the Old Summer Palace
The bronze statue of the 12 zodiac animal heads in the Old Summer Palace
The bronze statue of the 12 zodiac animal heads in the Old Summer Palace was originally an art treasure cast during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and was once inlaid in the fountain outside the Haiyan Hall of the Old Summer Palace. However, when the British and French invaded China in 1860, the Old Summer Palace was burned down, causing these precious bronze statues of animal heads to begin to be lost overseas.
Although seven lost bronze statues of animal heads have returned to the motherland, there are still five bronze statues of animal heads missing, which is our regret and sadness. I hope to continue to work hard to find and promote the return of these precious cultural relics to the motherland as soon as possible for future generations.
Emerald watermelon
Emerald watermelon
The jade watermelon is a precious cultural relic of the Qing Dynasty in China, and there is a pair of them, which is regarded as a precious national treasure. This pair of jadeite watermelons is made of imported American watermelon tourmaline, with exquisite craftsmanship, and the skin of the melon is crystal clear, full of green, and has dark green stripes; The black seeds and red flesh inside the melon are even faintly visible.
Empress Dowager Cixi was deeply fond of the pair of jade watermelons, and after her death, the jade watermelons were buried in her coffin. However, it was later stolen by the warlord Sun Dianying, and his whereabouts are unknown.
Five-colored parrot figure
Five-colored parrot figure
The painting is a banner in which a parrot stands on a slanting branch, as if in dialogue with the viewer, in a playful and lovely posture. The picture depicts the bright spring season, the apricot trees pulling out their tender branches, and the white flowers are full of life. This work shows the delicacy of realism, from which we can get a glimpse of Huizong's profound skill in painting techniques and keen capture of form.
It was painted by Zhao Ji of Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty and is currently in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA.
Diagram of the emperors of the past dynasties
Diagram of the emperors of the past dynasties
This masterpiece "Picture of the Emperors of the Past Dynasties", also known as "Picture of the Emperor", "Picture of the Thirteen Emperors", "Picture Scroll of the Ancient Emperor" and "Picture of the Ancient Emperor", is said to have been painted by the Tang Dynasty painter Yan Liben. Ink and color on silk, only a facsimile of the descendants has survived, and it is currently in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA.
It vividly depicts the images of thirteen emperors in history, each of whom has a regular script inscription in front of the picture, and attendants, who together form an independent group of thirteen figures on the whole picture, a total of forty-six people. These vivid images and wonderful painting techniques show the majesty and style of these emperors in history, and also highlight the excellence of ancient Chinese painting art.
Tiger cannibal
Tiger cannibal
The Shanghu Cannibal is a rare bronze treasure from the late Shang Dynasty in China, and it was also a vessel for holding wine at that time. It is rumored that there are two pieces in total, which were excavated at the junction of Anhua and Ningxiang in Hunan Province, and later these two precious cultural relics were lost overseas, one was collected by the Cernuschi Museum in France, and the other was collected by the Sumitomo Izumiya Hakukokan Museum in Japan. Among them, the Tiger Man-Eater in the Izumiya Hakukokan Museum in Japan is particularly famous, with a height of 35.7 centimeters and a weight of 5.09 kilograms, while the Tiger Man-Eating Cave in the French collection is 35 centimeters high and 20 centimeters long.
These two tiger man-eating pieces are similar in size, but judging from the special configuration of one large and one small common in bronze blocks, they should not be a pair. As a ritual vessel, the slab represents the status symbol of the aristocracy, and during the Shang Dynasty, people chose to use the tiger as a decorative motif, aiming to show the majesty and power of the aristocracy.
Funeral post
Funeral post
"Funeral Post" is a cursive work created by the famous calligrapher Wang Xizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty during the Yonghe period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and is now treasured in the Sannomaru Collection of the Imperial Household Agency of Japan.
"Funeral Post" has a total of 8 lines and 62 characters, which is connected with "Two Thanksgiving Post" and "Deshi Post" to form a whole work.
This work embodies Wang Xizhi's expression of helplessness and grief in the current situation. Using hard yellow resounding tops, double hook outline filling, and white linen ink, the work shows a very rich emotional core under the beautiful appearance. The exquisite brushwork of this work, the knotted body is multi-sided, and it is full of strange and elegant beauty, which can be called a classic masterpiece of Wang Xizhi's latest posture.
Manjushri travel map
Manjushri travel map
The Journey of Manjushri is now in the collection of the Russian State Museum of the Eastern Palace, and is the largest of the murals in the Turpan Berzikrik Caves. The fresco, which is 232 centimeters high and 339 centimeters long, has undergone a lengthy restoration process before it was brought to life. The work depicts Manjushri leading his family members to the Huayan Festival, with a majestic posture and solemn demeanor, riding on a green lion, wearing a round light on his head, backlit behind him, holding a cherry blossom vase in his left hand and Ruyi in his right hand. This mural not only has high artistic value, but also vividly shows the majesty and solemnity of Manjushri.
Yongle Grand Ceremony
Yongle Grand Ceremony
"Yongle Canon" is a collection of books in the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, which was compiled by Ming Chengzu Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao. The book has a total of 22,877 volumes (including 60 volumes of catalogs), 11,095 volumes, about 370 million words, and includes seven or eight thousand kinds of books from ancient and modern times.
The question of whether the original copy of the Yongle Canon was buried in Yongling is still inconclusive, but the copy suffered heavy losses. Most of the copies were destroyed in the fires and wars, and a considerable number of them were stolen by later generations and their whereabouts are unknown, and now only more than 800 volumes remain, scattered around the world. The content of the Yongle Canon covers many fields such as scriptures, history, sub-collections, etc., and embodies the knowledge and wisdom of the Chinese nation for thousands of years.
epilogue
It is our common responsibility to protect and recover the lost cultural relics, and we hope to recover these precious cultural relics as soon as possible, so that they can be returned to the motherland and continue to be cherished and passed on by future generations.