The stolen Buddha head is displayed at the National Museum of China, the second most visited museum in the world, next only to the Louvre in Paris, France. (Photo : REUTERS)
The head of a Buddha statue that is around 1,500 years old is now displayed at the National Museum of China in Beijing after being gone for two decades, as reported by the Xinhua News Agency.
=The Buddha head, which was previously listed as stolen, was returned to mainland China by Taiwanese Buddhist Master Hsing Yun of Taiwan, who is the abbot of Go Guang Shan Temple in the city of Kaoshiung.
A private collector, a Taiwanese businessman who wished to remain anonymous, donated the 80-kilogram head to Mater Hsing Yun in 2014.
After learning that what he had received was the head of a Buddhist sculpture from the Youju Temple in Lingshou County in Hebei Province, the Buddhist master immediately announced his intention to return the relic to its place of origin.
The head of the statue was stolen in 1996. Afterward, the rest of the statue was moved to the Hebei Museum in Shijiazhuang.
Last year, the head was reunited with its body at the Foguang Mountain Temple. More than 1.14 million people went to see the sculpture during its stay in Taiwan between May 2015 and Feb. 2016.
"It's fortunate, but it's also regretful," said Master Hsing. "Chinese cultural heritage has been the victim of many thefts in the last century, and Buddhism is not able to avoid it either. Nevertheless, it's fortunate that the lost head came to Fo Guang Shan."
"It's not acceptable to see many lost national treasures of China scattered overseas," added Master Hsing. "After traveling abroad for so long and coming to Taiwan, it should go back home."
The sculpture dates back to the Northern Qi Dynasty (A.D. 550-577) during the Southern and Northern Dynastic period in the 5th century. The dynasty lasted a mere 28 years, so there are very few relics still existing from that period.
The 47-cm Buddha head made of white marble was carved to satisfy an edict of Gao Rui, a royal family member during the Northern Qi Dynasty.
The Buddhist sculpture is set to be housed in the Hebei Museum in Shijiazhung, Hebei Province, after its brief stint in Beijing.
