1st LD: U.S. museum returns to China ancient silk manuscript volumes from Warring States period

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art on Friday officially returned the Zidanku silk manuscript volumes II and III: Wuxing Ling and Gongshou Zhan from the Warring States period to China's National Cultural Heritage Administration.

The handover ceremony took place at the Chinese Embassy in the United States in Washington, D.C.

The silk manuscripts were unearthed in 1942 from the Zidanku site in Changsha, Hunan Province, and were illegally taken to the United States in 1946. The silk manuscripts are currently the only known silk manuscripts from the Warring States period (475-221 BC).

The Zidanku silk manuscripts are divided into three volumes. The returning texts, The Wuxing Ling and Gongshou Zhan are the second and third volumes, respectively. Enditem