{"id":255717,"date":"2025-05-25T01:22:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T01:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/the-smithsonian-transfers-rare-2300-year-old-silk-manuscripts-to-china\/"},"modified":"2025-05-25T01:22:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T01:22:18","slug":"the-smithsonian-transfers-rare-2300-year-old-silk-manuscripts-to-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=255717","title":{"rendered":"The Smithsonian Transfers Rare 2,300-Year-Old Silk Manuscripts to China"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Zidanku Silk Manuscripts were smuggled into the United States in the 1940s. Scholars say they provide remarkable insights into ancient Chinese philosophy and religion<\/h2>\n
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\n \"Eli\n <\/div>\n
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Eli Wizevich<\/a><\/p>\n

– History Correspondent<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\"Zidanku
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Newly transferred fragments of the\u00a0Zidanku Silk Manuscripts on view in Beijing on May 18
\n Fu Tian \/ China News Service \/ VCG via Getty Images<\/span>
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In the early hours of May 18, an airplane touched down in Beijing carrying precious cargo: fragile fragments of 2,300-year-old philosophical texts, which were making a long-awaited homecoming.<\/p>\n

The Zidanku Silk Manuscripts arrived from Washington, D.C., where the Smithsonian\u2019s\u00a0National Museum of Asian Art<\/a> (NMAA) had formally deaccessioned them several days earlier during a ceremony at the Chinese Embassy. The museum transferred the artifacts to China\u2019s National Cultural Heritage Administration, ending their 79-year voyage overseas.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a museum of Asian art, much of our work engages with cultures around the globe,\u201d\u00a0Chase F. Robinson<\/a>, the director of the museum, tells Smithsonian <\/em>magazine in an email. \u201cWe value the work that we do with our international partners. These relationships allow us to serve as a global and national resource for understanding the arts and cultures of Asia and their interaction with America, past and present.\u201d<\/p>\n

The museum acquired the manuscripts in 1992, when it received fragments known as Volumes II and III in a bamboo basket as a gift from an anonymous donor. Volume I is privately owned and was not included in the recent transfer.<\/p>\n

Dating to around 300 B.C.E., the Zidanku Manuscripts are the oldest known silk manuscripts found in China and the only ones from the Warring States period<\/a>. They\u2019re thought to be a divination guide that offers rare insights into ancient Chinese philosophy and religion.<\/p>\n

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Fragments of Volumes II and III of the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts<\/p>\n

National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Volume II, also known as \u201cWuxing Ling,\u201d contains lunar calendar illustrations and accompanying text that explains \u201cseasonal taboos and auspicious practices,\u201d per the Chinese news agency Xinhua<\/a>. The texts in Volume III, or \u201cGongshou Zhan,\u201d are arranged in a rare circular pattern and are read clockwise. They may offer guidance for attacking and defending cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Dead Sea Scrolls are foundational to understanding the religious roots of Judaism and Christianity,\u201d Li Ling<\/a>, a scholar of Chinese studies at Peking University, tells the Chinese broadcaster CCTV, per\u00a0South China Morning Post<\/em><\/a>\u2019s Luna Sun. \u201cThe Zidanku manuscripts are no less vital to Chinese civilization. They speak to our ancient knowledge systems, our understanding of the cosmos and the details of everyday life.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the 1940s, the manuscript fragments were looted from a tomb near the city of Changsha in China\u2019s Hunan Province. A Chinese collector gave them to\u00a0John Hadley Cox<\/a>, an American collector who brought them back to the United States.<\/p>\n

Arthur M. Sackler, a pharmaceutical marketer and art collector, bought Volume I, the most complete portion of the manuscript, in 1965. Questions surrounding how the other two volumes arrived at the Smithsonian remain largely \u201cunsettled,\u201d Robinson tells the\u00a0Art Newspaper<\/em><\/a>\u2019s Gabriella Angeleti.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the case of these particular manuscripts, there are gaps,\u201d he adds. \u201cOur colleagues in China have done an excellent job of piecing together whatever evidence there is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Museum officials say the transfer resulted from a collaboration with China\u2019s National Cultural Heritage Administration. Because the decision wasn\u2019t based on provenance research, it was processed through the museum\u2019s standard deaccession protocols.<\/p>\n

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The National Museum of Asian Art @smithsonian<\/a> has returned Zidanku Silk Manuscript Vol. II and III\u2014the earliest known Chinese silk texts and the only surviving silk manuscripts from China\u2019s Warring States period (475-221 BC).<\/p>\n

By working together on the basis of equality and\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/FdLHschM94<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mao Ning \u6bdb\u5b81 (@SpoxCHN_MaoNing) May 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While the fragments never went on display at the museum, they have been \u201cdocumented, researched, diligently preserved and undergone scientific analysis,\u201d according to a\u00a0statement<\/a> from the museum. They have also been the subject of scholarship, including Li\u2019s two-volume monograph\u00a0The Chu Silk Manuscripts from Zidanku, Changsha (Hunan Province)<\/em><\/a>, published in 2020 and 2025.<\/p>\n

Efforts to secure the transfer of the manuscript fragments began in 2022, after the Smithsonian issued a new ethical returns policy<\/a> that detailed how to handle objects in its collections that it \u201cwould not have acquired under present-day ethical and professional standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis transfer reflects a carefully considered decision, grounded in our focus on sound stewardship and the belief that these materials belong in dialogue with their cultural and archaeological context,\u201d Robinson says in the statement.<\/p>\n

While the physical manuscripts have returned to China and will go on view at the\u00a0National Museum of China<\/a> in July, the Smithsonian will retain digital versions of the documents for further research.<\/p>\n

At last week\u2019s ceremony, Xie Feng, China\u2019s ambassador to the U.S., noted that more than 40 artifacts had been returned to China from the U.S. since the beginning of this year, per the South China Morning Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe return of the Zidanku manuscripts reflects a national revival as lost treasures of Chinese civilization make their way home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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