As a descendant of the late Qing emperor, why did Weng Wanghua donate our cultural relics to the United States?

On 20 18 12 13, the Boston Museum of the United States released a heavy news that they received the largest donation of ancient China paintings and calligraphy in history. This priceless and precious painting and calligraphy *** 183 pieces, including painting 130 pieces, calligraphy 13 pieces, rubbings 18 pieces and embroidery, spans13 centuries and has gone through five generations. One of the most precious is Wang Yi's painting "The Yangtze River Wan Li Map" in Qing Dynasty.

This famous painting, painted from the thirty-seventh year of Kangxi to the thirty-eighth year of Kangxi, is another masterpiece of Wang Yi who returned to his hometown after completing his famous southern tour in the ruling and opposition circles. It is a rare treasure handed down from ancient times in the field of Chinese painting. The composition of the painting is grand, endless and imaginative. It depicts the scenery on both sides of the Yangtze River from the estuary to the source, and it took seven months to finish.

The collector of this famous painting is Weng Tonghe, a famous minister in the late Qing Dynasty. In the sixth year of Xianfeng, 26-year-old Weng Tonghe was the top student in high school. Since then, I have embarked on a career. He has served as minister of the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Housing, a university student, and an official assistant of the Prince Shaobao, and is known as the "Prime Minister of the Champion". He was a master of Tongzhi and Guangxu dynasties. Weng Tonghe managed to take this photo of the Yangtze River.

According to his diary, one day in March of the first year of Guangxu, Weng Tonghe, who has always loved collecting calligraphy and painting, strolled around Liulichang Bookstore. Inadvertently, he caught a glimpse of this famous painting, and was deeply moved at that time, exclaiming, "What a wonder of the world!" " So, Weng Tonghe asked the seller for a price, "asking for 1000 yuan", and Weng Tonghe had to leave sadly.

Later, the seller decided that Weng Tonghe was an expert and a big buyer, took the initiative to send the painting to the door, and finally sold it for 400 gold. The donor of this Boston Museum is Weng Tonghe's fifth grandson, Weng Wanghua. Weng Wanghua was born in Shanghai on July 19 18. He has been engaged in the collection of China paintings and calligraphy all his life, and devoted himself to cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.

In 2000, Weng donated 542 volumes of 80 kinds of Weng's books to Shanghai Library, valued at 4.5 million dollars. On 20 10, Wu Bin, a painter of Ming dynasty, donated Yuan Shaorui to Peking University. 20 15- 12 Weng Tonghe's diary manuscript and Weng literature series manuscript were donated to Shanghai Library.

20 16 Donated the Southern Song Dynasty painter Liang Kai's Portrait of Dao Jun to Shanghai Museum. In 2065438+2008, Weng donated two famous paintings to the Shanghai Museum, one is the Painting of Xie 'an Dongshan by Shen Zhou, a painter in the Ming Dynasty, and the other is the Giant Axis of Du Fu's Poetry and Painting by Wang, a painter in the Qing Dynasty. Of course, it is natural for us to donate to China. Then, why did Weng Wanghua donate China's cultural relics to the United States?

First, Weng Wange is a Chinese-American. Weng Wanghua was born in Shanghai 19 18. At the age of two, he inherited Weng's huge collection of calligraphy and painting. He has been in a private school since childhood and is familiar with the four books and five classics. Influenced by his family, Weng Wange was interested in ancient China calligraphy and painting since he was a child. 1936, Weng was admitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering of Shanghai Jiaotong University. After the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Shanghai quickly fell. In order to complete his studies, Weng went to the United States on August 1938 and studied at Purdue University in the United States, where he obtained a master's degree in engineering.

1948, Weng moved all his family's collections from Tianjin to Shanghai in order to avoid the war. However, Shanghai is not peaceful. In order to preserve the treasures left by our ancestors and the cultural and artistic treasures of China, Weng Wanghua had to pack these treasures and transport them to the United States. As the collection could not be transported by air, Weng Wanghua had to entrust a Russian to go by sea.

Later, when Weng Wanghua arrived in the United States a few months later, he received the news of the arrival of the cargo ship, and his heart was relieved. When these treasures came to new york through hardships, Weng made up his mind to do his best to protect his family and shoulder the inheritance mission of a collection family. Later, Weng Wang E became an American citizen and a Chinese American.

Second, Weng Wanghua is committed to cultural exchanges between China and the West. During his stay in the United States, Weng Wanghua seized the opportunity that Americans wanted to know about China and made a lot of publicity about China. He not only donated his collection to let the world know about the splendid and long-standing civilizations of China and China, but also made a documentary or wrote a book to introduce the artistic treasures of China.

Weng Wanghua once wrote a book in English, The Treasures of China's Ancient Fine Arts-The Collection of Beijing Palace Museum, which became a best seller after it was published in the United States. He also wrote a three-volume Chen Hongshou, which won the China Book Prize. These actions have greatly promoted the cultural exchanges between China and the West, and let westerners know that China's culture is profound.

Third, the Boston Museum has a strong ability to preserve these treasures. After Weng Wanghua went to the United States, the first museum he came into contact with was the Boston Museum, and he knew the collection and preservation of this museum like the back of his hand. It is understandable that he finally chose the museum he trusted as the foothold of these cultural relics. And Boston is a city with more immigrants in the United States. Showing China's artistic treasures here will be more conducive to the spread of China culture.

Therefore, Weng Wanghua donated his private collection to the United States, which was his deliberate choice. We can't carry out moral kidnapping narrowly and think that his behavior is unpatriotic. What's more, since it is the collection of Weng's family for generations, it is naturally owned by Weng, and he has the right to dispose of it at will. As long as it helps to carry forward and spread Chinese civilization, it is a patriotic act. (Reference:

Weng Wangkai, American collector)