China to Auction Returned Tibetan Relics

[paineinthearse]

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0509/S00256.htm

China to Auction Returned Tibetan Relics
Wednesday, 14 September 2005, 9:37 pm
Press Release: Govt. of China

Thirty-two Tibetan cultural relics returned to the mainland will be auctioned by Chengming International Auction Company on September 17 in Beijing. The relics are now on display at the Asia Hotel until September 15. Huang Jing, president of Chengming International Auction Company, said these relics, held previously by a Taiwan collector, are all from Tibet and most of them are connected with Tibetan Buddhism.

Sometime in the 1980s, a collector from Taiwan noticed a bejeweled pagoda-shaped three-level golden prayer wheel in an antique shop in Europe. The collector knew at once that this was a precious Tibetan antique. The store manager told him this was just one of a batch of Tibetan cultural relics, which were presented to Tibetan religious leaders over a period of time during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). This batch of antiques also included a four-armed jade Kwan-yin sculpture, and a golden triton. The collector bought the entire batch.

In 2003, the relics were exhibited at the Taiwan History Museum where they caused a sensation. At the beginning of this year, Chengming made contact with the collector and persuaded him to put the antiques up for auction in Beijing. Experts say these relics are of high historical and artistic value. One of the relics, a jade piece dubbed "Seven Treasures", is said to be worth an estimated 800,000 yuan (about US$98,800) to 1.2 million yuan (about US$148,300).

According to the history books, the sixth Panchen Lama went to the Chengde Mountain Resort in Hebei Province to present gifts to Qing Emperor Qianlong on the occasion of the emperor's 70th birthday in 1781. In return, the emperor gave Panchen Lama the "Seven Treasures". Huang said that the relics are worth a total of about 50 million yuan (about US$6.2 million). According to the auction law and cultural relics protection law of the People's Republic of China, the relics, because they were retrieved from Taiwan, may be bought by foreign merchants and taken out of the country again. The relics were featured in a September 7 broadcast of Archives on National Treasures, a China Central Television magazine program.

[paineinthearse]

1. Letter to Rep. McGovern (D-Ma3)

(name)
Chief of Staff

Given Rep. McGovern's history of supporting the people of Tibet,

1 . FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006 -- (House of Representatives - June 28, 2005)
2 . FOREIGN RELATIONS AUTHORIZATION ACT, FISCAL YEARS 2006 AND 2007 -- (House of Representatives - July 19, 2005)

...I bring to your attention this press release from the government of China, via Scoop - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0509/S00256.htm, and urge Mr. McGovern to introduce a "sense of the House" resolution condemning this action, and calling on the Secretary of State and/or other appropriate agents of the US government to take appropriate action to restore the relics to the people of Tibet.

Respectfully,

(me)

[arikara]

2. That is just wrong

They should return them to the Tibetans. That said, the Dalai Lama will no doubt accept it with the same graciousness that he does the occupation of his country.

[Nothing Without Hope]

3. The Chinese looting and ravaging of Tibet continues. Horrible.

If you've read eyewitness accounts of the Chinese suppression and violence in Tibet, you know that this theft and selling of deeply significant Tibetan historical/spiritual treasures is just more of the same.

The tragedy goes on.

Recommended.

http://www.pacificvillage.org.nyud.net:8090/villagevoices/int4/Dalai_Lama.jpg

[Maple]

4. Tibet never was any shangra-la

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles9/Parenti_Tibet.htm

[sweetheart]

6. Clearly that writer has a bone to pick

It was not a shangri-la, nor was it a slave state as he gets about framing. By his standards, landowners with tied labour the world over
are slave masters, and religious leaders are ideological elite who own
unnatural powers over people.

What if people had good lives in tibet, and managed to live there
without killing a million of their own people, something the chinese
have done rather. So then some revisionists are out there to remind
us why china modernized tibet, saving them from fudalism and 1/6th
of their population.

Buddhist enlightenment is in the west now, like was seen long ago by
seers in tibet, even Padme Sambhava (Guru Dorge) saw that. Many of the
religious relics endowed with religious powers remain with the exile
tibetan community.

The objects are from tibetan mysticism and constructing them is a
monastic duty of monks in some of the traditions. So what which art
auction collector has them. China killed off tibetan buddhism and like
a virus, it left tibet and spread to every country on earth.

Might tibet indeed be a tragedy had buddhist enlightenment died as
well, but not so... rather the west is now rich with the tibetan old
form, and china has committed genocide... no apologist changes that.

[Maple]

7. It is still not the Nirvana

westerners like to portray it as.

[sweetheart]

8. Who's portraying

I've read most every account of tibetan life published in english and
have spent several months in the himalayas in multiple journeys. I find
tibetan buddhism to be an outstanding and profoundly moving force for
good in the world.

What happened happened... and nirvana is today, now, idolized for being
tibetan, as much as it was cool to be a long hair hippy in the 60's..
time makes things that are gone seem romantic. However, tibet was a
sovereign nation not doing any genocide or nasty shit, and the other
nations of the world have all seemed to grow up from feaudalism from
effective internal struggles without mass murder and chinese genocide.

Tibet of old is lost, and it was what it was, not a nirvana, but a
magical plateau where many enlightneed people used to openly teach the
high paths of enlightenment. I think anyone who knows the real history
will know that tibet was a hard life, but as well, a place with
mystical significance.

[Maple]

9. Westerners have been taught

to view Tibet as some happy happy place, very spiritual and shangra-laish...

It was just another country...and just as brutal.

Nothing mystical about it.

[Chicago Democrat]

5. I say its ok... at least the relics will be freed from those devils!

I saw the "Treasures of Tibet" exhibit at the Asian Arts Museum in SF and the Chinese are absolutely revolting and disgusting. According to them Tibet is just some Chinese province and the Dalai Lama is just some despot. Essentially they view the Tibetans and their religion and culture as inferior and to be destroyed and viewed through Cowboy and Indian eyes. Indeed the comparisons of the Native Americans and the Tibetans is striking.

As a Tibetan Buddhist,I view many of these relics as religious items and should only be presented in a religious setting. When barbarians steal temple relics their Karma for these actions will follow them throughout time and space. So when these barbarians sell them, the buyer is "liberating" them and the money paid should be viewed as "ransom".

SO LET THEM SELL ALL OF TIBET TO US AND AT LEAST WE CAN SAVE SOME OF IT IN OUR HEARTS AND HOMES!

[paineinthearse]

10. These religious/national treasures were stolen

Auctioning them is nothing more than a fencing operation. They will end up in private collections of a couple globalist billionaires.

[Chicago Democrat]

11. Maybe so, maybe not... Look the Chinese DESTROYED

anything that wasn't Jade or Gold. Selling it off is just part of their genocide.

Tibetan Buddhism is HUGE in the West because of the Tibetan Dyaspora. Anyone who bought these was probably a Buddhist, albeit a rich one. The Dalai Lama himself is in India, or the US, or Europe, and thank goodness for that!


The Dalai Lama himself says we must FORGIVE the CHinese for this ATROCITY. All that is left is made of Jade or Gold. All that is left is things that would not burn. THINK OF THOUSANDS OF MONKS THEY KILLED!! Each one a potential Buddah, I'll take the American Karma over the Chinese any life!

[radwriter0555]

12. Under Mao, virtually all relics & antiques of chinese history in homes and

temples were destroyed, set fire to, smashed and erradicated. Mao wanted the people to forget the past and look to the future.

Because of that, little is left of China's heritage... few antiquities are left in China, and the few that remain outside of China are, as we can see, in private collections. Worse still, few books and writings survived, in particular as a favorite target of destruction by Mao. Mao eschewed education and favored an ignorant citizen, and for many years forbade education for a long period of time.

[paineinthearse]

13. Official news release & photos

http://www.china.org.cn/english/2005/Sep/142085.htm

Returned Tibetan Relics to Be Auctioned

Thirty-two Tibetan cultural relics returned to the mainland will be auctioned by Chengming International Auction Company on September 17 in Beijing. The relics are now on display at the Asia Hotel until September 15.

Huang Jing, president of Chengming International Auction Company, said these relics, held previously by a Taiwan collector, are all from Tibet and most of them are connected with Tibetan Buddhism.

Sometime in the 1980s, a collector from Taiwan noticed a bejeweled pagoda-shaped three-level golden prayer wheel in an antique shop in Europe.

The collector knew at once that this was a precious Tibetan antique. The store manager told him this was just one of a batch of Tibetan cultural relics, which were presented to Tibetan religious leaders over a period of time during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). This batch of antiques also included a four-armed jade Kwan-yin sculpture, and a golden triton. The collector bought the entire batch.

In 2003, the relics were exhibited at the Taiwan History Museum where they caused a sensation. At the beginning of this year, Chengming made contact with the collector and persuaded him to put the antiques up for auction in Beijing.

Experts say these relics are of high historical and artistic value. One of the relics, a jade piece dubbed "Seven Treasures", is said to be worth an estimated 800,000 yuan (about US$98,800) to 1.2 million yuan (about US$148,300).

According to the history books, the sixth Panchen Lama went to the Chengde Mountain Resort in Hebei Province to present gifts to Qing Emperor Qianlong on the occasion of the emperor's 70th birthday in 1781. In return, the emperor gave Panchen Lama the "Seven Treasures".

Huang said that the relics are worth a total of about 50 million yuan (about US$6.2 million). According to the auction law and cultural relics protection law of the People's Republic of China, the relics, because they were retrieved from Taiwan, may be bought by foreign merchants and taken out of the country again.

The relics were featured in a September 7 broadcast of Archives on National Treasures, a China Central Television magazine program.

(China.org.cn by Chen Lin September 14, 2005)

[Nothing Without Hope]

14. The Chinese are doing all they can to eradicate all Tibetan culture,

hisory, and spiritualtiy. They show what they are by this act. They are thieves and murderous invaders on a huge, genocidal scale.

But Tibet is still alive in the hearts and minds of her people.

http://www.pacificvillage.org.nyud.net:8090/villagevoices/int4/Dalai_Lama.jpg