A short video series about a jade teapot finding its way back to China has gone viral, stoking calls for the British Museum to return its Chinese artefacts.
Titled Escape From The British Museum, the three-part series created by two Chinese social media influencers follows a homesick teapot which assumes the form of a woman and attempts to escape from Britain’s most controversial museum. She is helped by a Chinese journalist she meets on the streets of London.
The teapot is based on a real item made in 2011 by a Chinese artist who specialises in intricate jade carvings. Though the item is a relatively recent addition to the British Museum, the difficult technique used in its making is unique to China.
Since its launch on Aug 27, the video series has amassed 270 million views on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, and won its creators more than five million new followers within a week. It has also sparked a trend of influencers dressing up as figures from ancient Chinese art.
The Chinese state media has been quick to endorse the series. State broadcaster CCTV commented: “We are very pleased to see that Chinese young people are passionate about history and tradition… We are also looking forward to the early return of Chinese artefacts that have been displaced overseas.”
While the success of the series seems to have baffled traditional media, social media users attribute it to the relatable message of “homecoming”, reported the BBC.
“Maybe the Chinese cultural relics in the British Museum are also missing home right now... Will they be thinking ‘Bring me home’ when they see Chinese faces there?” read one top comment on Douyin.
“Eventually, there will be a day when (the items) come home in a dignified way,” said another comment on the Weibo platform.
Cultural heritage and ownership have become tetchy subjects for the Chinese public amid rising nationalist sentiment under President Xi Jinping, reported the BBC. Mr Xi has been pushing for a strong Chinese identity in the face of growing tensions with the West.
In 2022, luxury French fashion house Dior was accused of “culturally appropriating” a traditional Chinese design, leading to online backlash and protests at its stores.
Earlier in 2023, a video of a Chinese influencer calling the artefacts in the British Museum “homesick” went viral on Douyin. A comment suggesting an animation about the escape of the treasures reportedly inspired the latest series, said BBC.
The series’ release comes at a time of intense pressure for the British Museum, as 2,000 items under its care were reported as “missing, stolen or damaged” in August.
The scandal has drawn the ire of many countries and reignited demands for the repatriation of looted treasures.
Last week, Chinese nationalist tabloid The Global Times published an editorial asking the museum to return its entire Chinese collection. It said: “We formally request the British Museum to return all Chinese cultural relics acquired through improper channels to China free of charge.”
China’s calls for repatriation echo the cries of other countries: Egypt has long campaigned for the return of the Rosetta Stone, which was forcibly taken by the British Empire in 1801, and Greece has also requested the return of the Elgin marbles to the Parthenon.
The British Museum holds about eight million objects from six continents, though only 1 per cent of the total collection is on display at any given time.
The museum has long defended its refusal to return looted treasures by arguing that it is best placed to protect them, but critics say that the thefts undermine this argument.
