Village awaits return of Buddha statue with monk inside
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A Chinese Buddha statue with the mummified body of a Buddhist monk inside is on display at the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Budapest, Hungary on March 3, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua] |
Li Zhen, overseas liaison for Yangchun village, confirmed Lin Yongtuan's words. "After I came back from Hungary, I paid a visit to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and we learned that the official had done abundant research to identify the statue, and has been trying to communicate with the collector," he said.
"The Dutch collector said at first that he's willing to return the statue, and we were encouraged. But now we feel we've been fooled, and he's not showing respect to the Yangchun villagers' pleas," Li said.
On June 2013, French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault donated bronze rabbit and rat head statues to China, which were taken by British-French expeditionary forces from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing during the Second Opium War (1856-1860).
This July, it was reported that the Pinault family has returned to China another four golden heads, which were made in AD 700. These relics were also stolen and sold in Europe decades ago.
Li said that he hopes the Zhanggong statue returns to China soon, as keeping a stolen relic is not only immoral, but also is against the law in many countries.
"We have always believed that the statue of Patriach Zhanggong should be returned to where it belongs. It is not only a relic, it is a saint that's been worshiped by the locals," Li said. He added that, "The statue should not be kept in a dark warehouse, in a place that is so strange to him."
In the meantime, an old man comes to the temple every day to clean the dust off the reproduction of the seated statue and he will sometimes chat with villagers resting in the temple.
This year's Fifth of Octoberon the lunar calendar, or Nov 16, is the birthday of Patriach Zhanggong. Villagers in Yangchun had hoped that the statue could return to his hometown on this particular day. As the day is approaching, villagers are becoming more eager.
"We have never ceased celebrating the birthday of Patriach Zhanggong, not even during the past 20 years – when it's been missing. Now we've learned its whereabouts, we're more eager than ever for its returning home," Lin Yongtuan said.
"The emergence of the statue might be indicating that Zhanggong really misses his home," Lin said.
The original article is in Chinese. It has been edited and translated by Ruan Fan.
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