Chiaroscuro

: a memória coletiva na política chinesa de restituição de bens culturais

Abstract

Taking the international debate we have witnessed during the last few decades on the return by the universal museums of cultural property, whose possession is tainted by the way it was appropriated, as its starting point, this thesis aims to observe the way China has entered that same debate. It examines, on the one hand, the Chinese collective memory about the Second Opium War and, on the other, the manner that memory could affect China’s stands on the issue of the return of cultural property, by paying particular attention to the situation during that period which resulted in the removal of thousands of objects from China with the looting and destruction of the Yuanming Yuan, the emperor's preferred residence. In demonstrating the influence of that memory, this thesis seeks to determine whether China has adopted a particular attitude, thus possibly differing in this respect from the countries that play an active role in this field at international level.

Date of Award	28 Apr 2015
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Jorge Santos Alves (Supervisor)