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 | Friday, April 21, 2000, updated at 11:33(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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Some 700 Rare Books Returned to ChinaSome 700 rare books have been returned to China after an absence of nearly one hundred years. Well-known Chinese-American octogenarian collector Weng Wan'ge recently agreed to transfer these books, some of which are the only existing copies in the world, to an organization in Shanghai, the Wenhui Daily reported.Chinese antique dealers regard this group of books as "very precious," with extremely high artistic and academic value, the Shanghai-based newspaper said. These books were part of the large collection held by Weng, a direct descendant of Weng Tonghe who was the mentor of Emperor Guangxu (1875-1908) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In early 1900's, Weng's family secretly transported most of their possessions overseas during a period of constant war in China, the newspaper said. Afterwards, Chinese relics experts said they believed that the rare books were lost during wartime. Nevertheless, some of these rare books appeared at an exhibition organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1985. After strenuous persuasion by experts from China Guardian Auction Co., Ltd., Weng agreed to sell the rare books in one batch to a high-level Chinese museum or library via the auction firm, the newspaper said.
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