In Beijing and Shanghai, new art complexes have been built following European and American standards, showing that they are considered global standards

"curiosities," which had historical significance as unique and unclassifiable objects.

British army had specific procedures for legalizing plunder

Plunder was seen as a natural part of war, and it was managed by categorizing it as "prize"

no laws

evelopment of a field of art history on China. The objects had various meanings, representing the British army, the humiliation of the Chinese emperor, and the global discourse on non-European curiosities. The sell-off of imperial art in East Asia was influenced by war and revolution. Recently, mainland Chinese companies intervened to repatriate some of the plundered objects.