What is the definition of cultural relics lost overseas?

The understanding of "lost cultural relics" comes from the statement put forward by the China Social and Cultural Development Foundation's special fund for rescuing lost overseas cultural relics, that is, "lost cultural relics refer to cultural relics plundered by the war during the more than 100 years from the Opium War of 1840 to the founding of New China in 1949, as well as cultural relics scattered abroad by illegal and immoral means such as poaching, chiseling and unfair trade".

The author thinks it seems necessary to discuss the time limit of lost cultural relics 1840- 1949. Undeniably, that one hundred years was a period of crazy outflow of cultural relics in China. After the founding of New China, although there are no more cultural relics lost due to war looting, there are also many cultural relics lost due to theft and smuggling, so I think it is best to take the latter into account when defining the lost cultural relics.

If we use more accurate legal terms to characterize the loss of overseas cultural relics, the loss of overseas cultural relics should refer to the illegal export of cultural relics. The common practice of the international community in the legal export of cultural relics is to implement a licensing system for cultural relics export. All cultural relics approved by the country of origin and issued with export licenses are legally exported; On the contrary, it is illegally exported cultural relics. No matter what kind of illegal export, it can be called the loss of overseas cultural relics.

Before the founding of New China, the loss of overseas cultural relics in modern China was complicated. There are mainly cultural relics directly plundered by western powers and imperialists when they invaded China, cultural relics illegally excavated, stolen and trafficked by some groups or individuals in western countries, and cultural relics illegally purchased and smuggled by some people. These cultural relics are the most important part of China's overseas cultural relics lost in modern times.

After the founding of New China,1May 24, 1950, the Government Affairs Council of the Central People's Government issued the Interim Measures for Prohibiting the Export of Precious Cultural Relics Books, which implemented a strict licensing system for the export of cultural relics, thus ending the history that cultural relics in modern China were plundered, smuggled out of the country and lost abroad in large quantities, causing great losses to the cultural heritage of the Chinese nation. However, since 1980, the smuggling outflow of cultural relics has become increasingly serious, and smuggling activities have become increasingly collectivized.