The long road home for lost relics

In May 2025, the second and third volumes of the Zidanku Warring States silk manuscripts returned by the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art arrived in Beijing and came home to China.

The silk manuscripts are the earliest ever discovered in China and the first of their kind in the sense of classical texts. They were unearthed in 1942 from a looted Chu tomb at Zidanku in Changsha, Hunan, and were taken overseas in 1946.

Not long ago, the Hunan Museum and the Smithsonian signed a memorandum of understanding. Under it, cooperation on silk manuscript conservation and research, Chu culture research and integrated exhibitions is being carried out.

"Bringing lost cultural relics back home is an echo of history, a call of civilization, and a responsibility entrusted to us by our times," said Rao.

He said that China is willing to work with the international community, including Asia-Pacific countries, to promote cooperation through dialogue and practice consensus through action, injecting new momentum into promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations and building a community with a shared future for humanity.

Contact the writer at dengzhangyu@chinadaily.com.cn