This book investigates China's demands for the repatriation of Chinese cultural relics 'lost'
during the country's modern history. It addresses two main research questions: Can the original
owners or their rightful successors of cultural objects looted stolen or illicitly exported
before the adoption of the 1954 Hague Convention and the 1970 UNESCO Convention reclaim their
cultural objects pursuant to remedies provided by international or national law? And what are
the philosphical ethical and cultural considerations of identity underlying the international
conventions protecting cultural objects and claims made for repatriating them? The first part
of the book explores current positive legal regimes while the second part focuses on the
philosphical ethical and cultural considerations regarding repatriation of cultural objects.
Consisting of seven chapters and an introduction it outlines the loss of Chinese cultural
relics in modern history and the normative framework for the protection of cultural heritage.
It presents case studies designed to assess the possibility of seeking legal remedies for
restitution under contemporary legal regimes and examines the cultural and ethical issues
underpinning the international conventions protecting cultural heritage and claims for the
repatriation of cultural heritage. It also discusses issues of cultural identity the right to
cultural identity and heritage multiculturalism the politics of recognition cosmopolitanism
the right to cultural heritage and other related issues. The concluding chapter answers the
two research questions and offers suggestions for future research.
