Chinese experts renew calls for Japan to return looted stele

A recently released compendium of archival documents on a Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) cultural relic has renewed calls for Japan to return the artifact looted more than a century ago.

The book, compiled by the Center for Overseas Chinese Cultural Relics at Shanghai University and other institutions, systematically brings together all existing images of the Tang Dynasty Honglujing Stele at its original site in northeast China's Lyushun, and archival and documentary materials tracing its history from its creation to the looting and removal of it by Japan. It also incorporates relevant research and writings by Chinese and foreign scholars since the 20th century. 

Spanning nearly 1.2 million Chinese characters, the volume contains 368 archival documents and photographs. The records showed that in 1908, under the pretext of Russo-Japanese War "trophies," Japan illegally dismantled the Honglujing Stele and its pavilion, shipped them to Japan and placed them at the Kenanfu within the Japanese Imperial Palace, a place dedicated to preserving the so-called trophies of the Russo-Japanese War.

The collection also includes rare photographs taken in the early 20th century that document the stele's historical context. The images provide key evidence that in 714 AD, the northeastern region of China was under the direct jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty's central government.

Chen Wenping, deputy director of the Center for Overseas Chinese Cultural Relics at Shanghai University, told CMG that the photographs underscore the Tang Dynasty's authority over the region. Noting that the Honglujing Stele symbolizes territorial integrity, Chen described it as a national treasure of exceptional importance.

Huo Zhengxin, professor at the School of International Law at the China University of Political Science and Law, told CMG that the Japanese government has classified the stele as part of Japan's cultural heritage and placed it in the Imperial Palace. He said such treatment constitutes a humiliation and disgrace for the Japanese imperial family.

The Honglujing Stele, experts say, is only the tip of the iceberg. From the First Sino-Japanese War to Japan's war of aggression against China, tens of thousands of Chinese cultural relics were illegally taken to Japan. Among them were three stone lions removed by Japanese troops from a temple in northeast China's Liaoning Province during the First Sino-Japanese War. Today, two of the lions remain standing beside the main torii gate of Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine.

Chen said research by Chinese scholars has conclusively shown that the stone lions were looted from China, transported to Japan, presented to the Japanese emperor and later bestowed upon the Yasukuni Shrine.

In recent years, Chinese and Japanese civic groups have repeatedly petitioned the Japanese government and the Yasukuni Shrine to return the stolen relics, including the stone lions, but have received no substantive response.

In 2014, the China Federation of Civil Claims Against Japan sent letters to both the Japanese emperor and government, urging the return of the Honglujing Stele. In 2021, Japanese lawyer Keiichiro Ichinose founded the China Cultural Relics Return Movement Association in Tokyo and the following year, the group called on the Japanese government to return four cultural artifacts, including the Honglujing Stele.

Ichinose told CMG that the so-called war trophies stored in the Imperial Palace are directly linked to the emperor's wartime responsibility. He said greater transparency about the origins of the Honglujing Stele would help the public better understand its history and strengthen calls for the return of looted cultural relics to China.

Duan Yong, vice-chancellor of Shanghai University, said the key issue now lies in Japan's stance. "We must continue to raise this demand so that Japan recognizes the seriousness of the issue and the necessity of resolving it," Duan said.

Echoing that view, Ichinose said a resolution depends on a clear commitment from the Japanese government: cultural artifacts looted from or illegally taken from China should be returned.