China's cultural experts are trying not to miss a single piece of evidence as they bring a 1,000-year-old mummified Buddha, currently owned by an anonymous Dutch collector, to its home at the Yangchun village in Fujian province.
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| Latest Development | Indentiy of the stolen Buddha |
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1. Dutch collector: Mummified Buddha will return to China 2. Why return of mummified Buddha matters 3. Officials urged to take lead in Buddha's retrieval 4. China certain 'mummy Buddha' was stolen one 5. .Villagers write to Dutch collector to return stolen Buddha |
The statue is hailed as Patriarch Zhanggong, a local man who became a monk in his 20s and won fame for treating disease and spreading Buddhist beliefs. When he died at 37, his body was mummified and made into a statue during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The statue has been worshipped in the village temple ever since. |
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Experts' view |
Internet buzz |
| Going by precedents, China can bring the statue back, as long as it can come up with substantial evidence. It won two similar lawsuits in 2001 and 2008.
-- Xie Caifeng, legal researcher with the Shunyi District People’s court in Beijing. The statues look alike and both have marks on the hands and the stomach. The words written on the exhibited statue's cushion are the same as those on the lost statue. -- Chen Qizhong, director of the Datian County Museum in Fujian province Based on photos, local archives and witness statements, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) can confirm that this Buddha statue was stolen from the Fujian village. -- Jin Ruiguo, an SACH official |
These artifacts should return to their origin. They should be viewed in their country of origin because they are part of the identity of the culture. Gene (China) Not all artifacts should be returned to source countries. More people can learn about and appreciate the artifacts if they are spread out in museums throughout the world. Brigid (UK) If the country of origin can't afford to keep it in good condition they should just probably just leave it in the other country's museum. Mariam (US) >>>Join the discussion |
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