| Description |
xvi, 205 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm |
| Contents |
Foreword / John Henry Merryman -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Cultural and Societal Context. Aspects of Chinese Culture. The Archaeological Movement. Art Market Development and Growth -- 3. The Imperilment of Cultural Property. Historical Perspective. The Economic Boom and Challenges to the Environment. Tomb-Robbing. Smuggling. Institutional Vulnerability. Official Acknowledgement of the Imperilment of Cultural Property -- 4. Laws Relating to Cultural Property. Overview of the System of Laws. The 1982 Cultural Relics Law. Administrative Structure. Local Legislation. Criminal Law Aspects. Customs. Underwater Relics. Miscellaneous Legislative Provisions. Current Protection and Enforcement Efforts -- 5. Transnational Aspects. Multilateral and Bilateral Involvements. The Flow of Cultural Property -- Appendices: I. Chronological Table of Chinese Historical Periods -- Appendices: II. Annotated Chronological Index of Selected People's Republic of China Statutory and Other Materials Relating to Cultural Property -- Appendices: III. Note on Definitions |
| Summary |
Cultural Property - works of archaeological, historical, and artistic merit - is valued the world over. China, with its many centuries of high civilization and its vast area, is arguably the richest source of cultural property. The People's Republic of China faces a great challenge in protecting this heritage since, despite restrictive laws, countless treasures are smuggled out of the Mainland each year. This is the first book to offer a comprehensive description and discussion of China's cultural property laws, and the first to discuss the legal and international market implications of its attitudes and practice. J. David Murphy argues persuasively that the country's restrictive laws governing the export of antiquities, combined with the current economic climate in the country, serve to foster the illicit trading which has been fed by constant tomb-robbing and museum thefts. This book will provide a valuable addition to the international cultural property dialogue. When the Chinese and British governments signed the Joint Declaration, providing for the transfer of Hong Kong to Chinese jurisdiction in July 1997, they allowed for a certain autonomy to be given to the territory: governance by its citizens and maintenance of its capitalist lifestyle for 50 years. The autonomy was expected to be preserved by Hong Kong's Legislative Council, a colonial administrative body established more than a century before. This study provides the first detailed portrait of the institution, placing it in the context of other British colonial legislatures the world over, tracing its 140-year history, and exploring its roles and responsibilities for the future |
| Analysis |
Antiquities Law |
|
China |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Subject |
Archaeological thefts -- China.
|
|
Cultural property -- Protection -- Law and legislation -- China.
|
|
Cultural property -- Protection -- China.
|
| SUBJECT |
China -- Antiquities.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85023988
|
| LC no. |
95018808 |
| ISBN |
0195859553 |
|
0195868749 |
|
9780195859553 |
|
9780195868746 |
|
