Healing the Past: Recovery of Chinese Cultural Objects Lost during the Colonial Era

Abstract

This article focuses on the colonial context of China, which led to a monumental loss of Chinese cultural objects by three means: looting and plundering; cultural expeditions; and illicit trafficking. The loss of cultural objects caused severe deprivation to the country of origin (i.e. China) from the perspective of culture, and active decolonization could helpheal the wounds and rebuild the cultural independency of China.In order to recover cultural objects removed during the colonial era, at the present time countries of origin are faced with difficulties at two levels. In terms of provenance research, the history and ownership trajectory of the cultural objects is difficult to establish in light of the fact that significant time has elapsed. In terms of legal claims, evidence needs to be collected in order to prove the original ownership, while at the same time issues of private law create obstacles to claims. Moreover, current international conventions fail to provide a legally-binding obligation on the part of current possessors to return objects lost due to colonialism. This article proposes mutual respect for cultural sovereignty as a way to make up for the absence of cultural sovereignty during past colonizations.