Chinese, Japanese groups issue joint call for Japan to return Tang dynasty stele
9.5-tonne stone slab shipped to Japan as ‘war trophy’ in 1908 is described as one of China’s most significant ‘lost national treasures’
Chinese researchers and Japanese activists have renewed calls for Japan to return a Tang dynasty relic looted over 120 years ago.
The effort to recover the Tang Honglu Well Stele comes amid rising regional tensions and Beijing’s ongoing national campaign to reclaim cultural heritage.
Shanghai University’s Research Centre for Chinese Relics Overseas and Japanese cultural groups issued a joint declaration on Friday urging Tokyo to “correct historical errors” and return the stone monument, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.
The call on behalf of the research centre was made by the editorial committee of a new book, Compendium of Archival Documents on the Tang Honglu Well Stele, also released on Friday.
The massive 9.5-tonne stone monument was erected in 714AD, during the height of the Tang dynasty (618-907), regarded as a golden era of Chinese art and culture.
Standing nearly 1.8 metres (5.9 feet) tall and 3 metres wide, the carved stone relic bears inscriptions that researchers identify as a tangible testament to China’s early sovereignty over its northeastern territories, including the Liaodong peninsula, the southern extension of China’s Liaoning province today.