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 | Sold 2009-10-19 18:13 | | | Most relics were actually stolen and sold by officials, who had 100 yeasr to lay their hands on them. The foreign troops occupied Beijing only for a few weeks.
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| Some history 2009-10-19 18:07 | | | Continuation of the war
In June 1858, shortly after the Qing Court agreed to the disadvantageous treaties, more hawkish ministers prevailed upon the Xianfeng Emperor to resist encroachment by the West. On 2 June 1858, the Xianfeng Emperor ordered the Mongolian general Sengge Rinchen to guard the Taku (Dagu) Forts near Tianjin. Sengge Richen reinforced the Dagu Forts with added artillery. He also brought 4,000 Mongolian cavalry from Chahar and Suiyuan.
In June, 1859, a British naval force with 2,200 troops and 21 ships, under the command of Admiral Sir James Hope sailed north from Shanghai to Tianjin with newly appointed Anglo-French envoys for the embassies in Beijing. They sailed to the mouth of the Hai River guarded by the Taku Forts near Tianjin and demanded to continue inland to Beijing. Sengge Rinchen replied that the Anglo-French envoys may land up the coast at Beitang and proceed to Beijing but refused to allow armed troops to accompany them to the Chinese capital. The Anglo-French forces insisted on landing at Taku instead of Beitang and escorting the envoy to Beijing. On the night of 24 June 1859, a small batch of British forces blew up iron obstacles that the Chinese had placed in the Baihe River. The next day, the British forces sought to forcibly sail into the river, and shelled Taku Fort. They encountered fierce resistance from Sengge Rinchen's positions. After one day and one night's fighting, four gunboats were lost and two others severely damaged. The convoy withdrew under the cover of fire from a naval squadron commanded by Commodore Josiah Tattnall. Tattnall's intervention violated U.S. neutrality in China. For a time, anti-foreign resistance reached a crescendo within the Qing Court.
Cousin-Montauban leading French forces during the 1860 campaign.In the summer of 1860, a larger Anglo-French force (11,000 British under General James Hope Grant, 6,700 French under General Cousin-Montauban)[9][10] with 173 ships sailed from Hong Kong and captured the port cities of Yantai and Dalian to seal the Bohai Gulf. Then they carried out a landing near at Beitang (also spelled "Pei Tang"), some 3 kilometres (2 mi) from the Taku Forts on 3 August, which they captured after three weeks on 21 August. After taking Tienstin on 3 August, the Anglo-French forces marched inland toward Beijing. The Xianfeng Emperor then dispatched ministers for peace talks, but relations broke down completely when a British diplomatic envoy, Harry Parkes, was arrested during negotiations on 18 September. He and his small entourage were imprisoned and tortured (some were murdered by the Chinese in a fashion that infuriated British leadership upon discovery in October). The Anglo-French invasion clashed with Sengge Rinchen's Mongolian cavalry on 18 September near Zhangjiawan before proceeding toward the outskirts of Beijing for a decisive battle in Tongzhou District.
On 21 September, at the Battle of Palikao, Sengge Rinchen's 10,000 troops including elite Mongolian cavalry were completely annihilated after several doomed frontal charges against concentrated firepower of the Anglo-French forces, which entered Beijing on 6 October.
Burning of the Summer Palaces
Looting of the Yuan Ming Yuan by Anglo-French forces in 1860.
Ruins of the "Western style" Xiyanglou complex in the Old Summer Palace, burnt down by Anglo-French forces.With the Qing army devastated, Emperor Xianfeng fled the capital, leaving his brother, Prince Gong, to be in charge of negotiations. Xianfeng first fled to the Chengde Summer Palace and then to Jehol. Anglo-French troops in Beijing began looting the Summer Palace (Yihe Yuan) and Old Summer Palace (Yuan Ming Yuan) immediately (as it was full of valuable artwork). After Parkes and the surviving diplomatic prisoners were freed, Lord Elgin ordered the Summer Palaces destroyed starting on 18 October. Beijing was not occupied; the Anglo-French army remained outside the city.
The Belvedere of the God of Literature, in the Old Summer Palace, one week before its destruction by Anglo-French troops.The destruction of the Forbidden City was discussed, as proposed by Lord Elgin to discourage the Chinese from using kidnapping as a bargaining tool, and to exact revenge on the mistreatment of their prisoners.[12] Elgin's decision was further motivated by the torture and murder of almost twenty Western prisoners, including two British envoys and a journalist for The Times. The Russian envoy Count Ignatiev and the French diplomat Baron Gros settled on the burning of the Summer Palaces instead, since it was "least objectionable" and would not jeopardize the treaty signing
All this can be found at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
We hope that any of the looted Items would be donated back to China, some of the soilders familys may hold them in private
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| Joanna 2009-10-19 17:18 | | | i am amazed that so many relics were kept in the museums of other country, just as one of my friends said as long as the relics are well stored and some of them can be viewed for free in europe or America, it is a chance for forenginers to know more about China, especially chiese culture.
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| Question answered! 2009-10-19 16:04 | | | When I visited the London museum in the 1990's, I saw a number of spectacular Chinese relics there.
I still remembered clearly when I was there, I asked myself this question, "How on earth did these awesome Chinese relics were put on display in London? Shouldn't it be in a museum in China"? Now, I know why!
However, many people, both inside and outside China, still asked the same question as I did in the 1990's. The actions by Chinese relic hunters will undoubtedly be informative and educational.
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| Malena 2009-10-19 15:28 | | | Hope this is a good start ,'cause we have been waited for so long to have our things back.
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| William 2009-10-19 14:10 | | | The story about the gardens being "looted and burned" never gets around to explaining just why the gardens were looted. We get the explanation in foreign countries so we know the background.
China Daily should write a more balanced story, otherwise it appears that the British and French just happened to be walking by the palace that particular day and looted and burned for no special reason.
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| Give Credit 2009-10-19 13:27 | | | A lot of these cultural relics were bought or stolen. However 100 years ago or even 70 years ago these treasures were lying in the original countries(when poor) as a worthless relics or art. If these cultural heritage are not "rescued" they would have been lost for ever.
Today these heritage are kept in good condition and displayed for free viewing. A good example is London Museum.
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Comments posted above represent readers' views only. |
