On the Anglo French expedition to China to captain Butler.
Hello, sir.
You ask for my advice on the China expedition. Do you think this expedition is decent, good. Thank you for your thoughts to my attention. In your opinion, under the banner of Queen Victoria and Emperor Napoleon of the double Chinese expedition, is shared by France and Britain's glory, and you want to know, I this victory against the law gives much praise.
If you want to know my opinion, then please read on:
In a corner of the world, is one of the wonders of the world. The miracle called Old Summer palace. Art has two sources, one is the ideal, which produces European art; a fantasy, illusion of Oriental art. Status of Old Summer Palace in fantasy art's status as the temple of Parthenon in the ideal of art. An almost can produce superhuman national imagination achievement to do in this. Please imagine an inexpressible construction, please assume human fantasy that is see things in a blur today, its appearance is a temple, is the palace, is a world miracle of the one and only, that is the park. In order to create the Old Summer Palace, once took two generations of long-term labor. This is a big city building is the crystallization of generations. For who built? In order to people all over the world. For years, the creation of all belong to the human. Artists, poets, philosophers all know the old summer palace; Voltaire was about old summer palace. People often say: the Greek temple of Parthenon in Pyramid, Egypt, the Coliseum in Rome, Notre Dame in Paris, and the East have the old summer palace. If I say, you have not seen it, but everybody dreamed about it. This is a kind of tremendous unknown masterpiece, faintly visible in the indescribable light. A glimpse at the European civilization of Asia on the horizon of the silhouette of the civilization.
This miracle has disappeared.
One day, two bandits broke into the old summer palace. One of the robbers looted property, another robber on the fire. It seems after the victory, they can begin to steal. They carried out a large-scale raid on the Old Summer Palace, stolen by two winners. We see, the whole incident was also associated with Erkin's name, the name and make people can not remember the temple of Parthenon. They used to do on the temple of Parthenon, now the Old Summer Palace also do, just a different stem more thoroughly, more beautiful, so that all gone. We put all the European Cathedral treasure together, maybe not the East this great magnificent museum. There is not only art treasures, and a ton of gold and silver products. Valiant record harvest! Great! Two winner, with a purse, this is visible, another full Qie box. They walked hand in hand, smiled back to europe. This is the story of the two bandits.
We Europeans are civilized people, Chinese is a barbarian in our eyes. This is the civilization of savage had done.
The two robbers will be history of sanctions, a French, another is called the english. However, I
want to protest, thank you for giving me such a chance of protest. Governs the human crimes not governed by others' fault; the government becomes a robber, but the people will never be the robber.
France swallowed half the booty, the victory today, the Empire was still so naive as to think that he is the true owner, the Old Summer Palace palatial junk for display. I hope some day in the future, the liberation of France will return this booty to looted Chinese, that is the true owner.
Now, I confirmed, there was a steal, two thieves.
Sir, the above is my all praised the China expedition.
Victor Hugo
November 25, 1861 in the high city home