At that time, the Qing court was still enforcing the maritime ban and had a huge market, so Britain sent envoys to open trading ports for trade. However, due to territorial issues, Britain refused to give up and began to transport opium. As a result, the Opium War broke out, and western powers also joined the upsurge of carve-up.
During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, when Eight-Nation Alliance and Britain and France joined forces, countless historical relics and cultural treasures were lost overseas. After World War II, China began to pay attention to the protection and recycling of cultural relics. Some patriots have also devoted themselves to the protection of cultural relics. Similar to the return of Ma Shou and Zhu Shou, thanks to Mr. Stanley Ho's donation, some people often behave strangely.
Weng Wanghua is the fifth grandson of Weng Tonghe, the champion of the late Qing Dynasty. Weng Tonghe is an imperial envoy and prime minister of the top scholars in the two dynasties, and his position is very important. He is good at calligraphy and likes to collect some rare antiques. Calligraphy even collected six classics written by Ling Fei during the Kaiyuan period of Tang Dynasty. After his death, these collections were also passed on to future generations.
Weng Wanghua was born in Shanghai 19 18. He got the inheritance when he was born. Like many people, he devoted himself to saving the country through study. Only by learning more knowledge can he build a new China after the war. 1938, Weng Wanghua went to Purdue University in the United States to study and engage in electromechanical. He firmly believes that industry saves the country.
But after graduation, he switched to oil painting, engaged in painting and photography. The reason for his switch is summarized in one sentence? I live for my family, and my family has become my life? 1948, in order to escape the war, Weng Wanghua went to the United States with his family and chose to settle down.
Museums in China inquired about Weng Wanghua from various channels. After many negotiations, Weng Wanghua finally agreed to sell 80 kinds of precious ancient books and 542 kinds of rare books in Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties at a sky-high price of $4.5 million. This collection belongs to Weng Wanghua's personal belongings, and it is understandable to resell it in the form of sale.
However, on 20 18 12 13, the Boston Museum of Art suddenly publicly announced that it would accept the largest and most significant China painting and calligraphy donation in history. The donor was Weng, and a total of 83 pieces of cultural relics/kloc-0 were donated, including 30 pieces of painting/kloc-0 and 3 pieces of calligraphy/kloc-0.
In addition to this donation, he also donated 2 1 pieces of China artworks to the Boston Museum in the past 10 years, including the extinct map of the Yangtze River16m. After the Boston Museum published the news, the Chinese community exploded. The reporter also interviewed Weng Wanghua at the first time and wanted to ask him why he didn't donate it to the motherland.
Although Weng Wanghua didn't answer directly, he told reporters that he was lucky to donate this collection on his centenary birthday. Compared with him, the Boston Museum can better protect his collection, and his collection can also let more Americans know about China culture.