You know, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, western powers took away a lot of China's cultural relics, which were all shipped at that time. In other words, there will be many precious cultural relics in China. Although it is not as valuable as the ancient sunken ship, it is still valuable. The cultural relics on it belong to China. No, in recent years, China has salvaged four British sunken ships in the East China Sea, all of which are relics of Yuanmingyuan.
Yuanmingyuan is a large imperial garden in China. It took 150 years to build, not a generation's effort. Its grandeur and exquisiteness are invisible to modern people, but its original grandeur can be seen from the Forbidden City. Everyone who saw it was full of praise, even the robbers were amazed. 1860 10 10 On 6 October, the British and French allied forces entered Beijing and went to Yuanmingyuan that night, where there were a lot of treasures. No one knows how much was robbed, and the objects in the park don't count at all.
Even The Times in Britain claimed that at least 6 million pounds of property had been destroyed. In fact, this may be only one thousandth, and there are countless priceless treasures, such as the lost Yongle Grand Ceremony. There is also Yongle sword, which represents the highest sword casting technology in Ming Dynasty. It is known as the treasure of the town hall in the Royal Ordnance Bureau Museum. Hugo once said that all the treasures of the China Museum, even if put together, can't compare with this Oriental Museum.
Unfortunately, after several days of robbery, this beautiful garden was destroyed by fire. The robber with bags and boxes finally returned to Europe arm in arm. At that time, planes were rarely used, especially so many cultural relics. They can only choose to use the boat. When a ship is sailing, some fish will always slip through the net and sink. The four ships found in the East China Sea probably sank by accident, and their sinking enabled China's cultural relics to be preserved.
Although four ships are not many, they may be less than one tenth of the number robbed at that time. However, it is gratifying that they have gone through hardships and returned to the embrace of the motherland after sleeping underwater for a hundred years. However, some British media actually wanted to return it at sunrise, and Britain itself did not respond. What they did in those years was disgraceful. Of course, it is impossible to get them back. They originally belonged to China, and their existence is also a kind of evidence. Speaking of the shipwreck salvage industry in China, it was forced out by an Englishman. With so many treasures shipped to England, some people who haven't got them will naturally be jealous.
No, a British professional treasure hunter named Mike Hatcher heard about that history, and he keenly felt the opportunity to make money. He set his sights on the waters of China. At that time, there was no underwater archaeology in China. Mike Hatch had the audacity to set up a salvage company in Australia to look for sunken ships in the South China Sea. After calculation, he salvaged more than 80 shipwrecks in World War II and ancient shipwrecks, which made him rich. One or two boats would have been enough for him to live for a lifetime, but his greed was never satisfied.
Exquisite porcelain and cultural relics are placed on the stage of the auction house, and the loss will be heavier if they are not sunk. It has been nearly forty years since the underwater archaeology in China began. The technology of salvaging sunken ships in China has been improving, and Nanhai No.1 is just the beginning. The salvage of South Australia 1 and British sunken ships also proves this point. Since it is in its own territory, it will not easily drift out.