Tomb robbing in
China, my Malaysian-
Chinese wife tells me, is for the Western
antiquities market.
It is culturally undesirable to have relics displayed around a house associated with death, funerals and burials in
Chinese culture- even among those with the highest education.
An antique dealer once told me that previous to this latest outbreak of looting, the chaos of the war years, and the disruption due to railways being built in the early 20th century were the prime source of many
Chinese antiquities found on the Australian market.
Steve
