China appreciates role of U.S. cultural body, museum in return of ancient silk manuscripts: spokesperson

BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- China appreciates the efforts made by cultural and museum institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of Asian Art in the return of ancient silk manuscripts from the United States to China, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art on Friday officially returned "Wuxing Ling" and "Gongshou Zhan," volumes II and III of the Warring-States period (475-221 BC) Zidanku Silk Manuscript, to China's National Cultural Heritage Administration.

Spokesperson Mao Ning elaborated on the great cultural value of these silk manuscripts at a regular news briefing. She said that they are not only the oldest silk text in known existence, but also the only silk text from the Warring States period unearthed in China, and the earliest example of a Chinese book in the classic sense.

Facts have proved that China and the United States can achieve mutually beneficial and win-win results through dialogue and cooperation on the basis of equality and respect, Mao said.

This is a typical case of successful repatriation of China's lost cultural artifacts, and is also a successful example of China's advocacy of promoting protection and return of lost cultural relics through dialogue and cooperation, Mao added.

Mao expressed the expectation that two sides will strengthen exchanges and cooperation, promote closer people-to-people ties, and promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations.

The silk manuscripts were unearthed in 1942 from the Zidanku site in Changsha, Hunan Province, and were illegally taken to the United States in 1946.