The cultural relics excavated in the ancestral graves should belong to the country, not to future generations
Several families living in a village in Fangshan, Lvliang received a notice to build roads in February this year and needed to move the ancestral graves. So after discussing with my family, I started construction. What they didn't expect was that after the ancestral graves that had not been moved for hundreds of years were opened, the contents inside shocked everyone! Sister Mao, who moved the grave, said that they just dug a small hole and found that the space inside was surprisingly large! The villagers said that the tomb was more than 2 meters high, 4 meters deep and 3 meters wide, and there were two coffins in it. But because the mouth of the cave is too high and the coffin is heavy, everyone can't carry it to the mouth of the cave intact, so they can only decompose it on the spot, but at the moment after the coffin is opened, there are a wide range of jewelry inside, which shocked everyone! From the photos provided by the villagers, we can see that the coffin is engraved with names, official positions and other information. Sister Mao said that when she opened the coffin, she could see that the inside was an official, wearing an official uniform and an official hat. In the other coffin, there was a woman with a gold hairpin on her head and something similar to an emerald. People took them out one by one and found that the objects buried with them were particularly exquisite and the number was amazing. Together with the tomb next to it, there are three ancestral graves, all of which belong to the Zhang family. Zhang's people decided to move the tomb first, and then deal with these cultural relics. However, when the ancestral graves were successfully moved, the three families began to sum up the disposal methods of these funerary objects, and contradictions appeared at this time. Zhang Laosan said that the original things were temporarily stored in the old people, but when everyone went to divide them, they found that they were much less. However, Zhang's third son said that the previous three families had already been divided once, and he had taken away one third of them. Zhang's eldest brother also said that it had been divided once before, but Zhang's third son was not satisfied, and there was a conflict and a quarrel, which was very unpleasant. Zhang's eldest brother also said that he originally wanted to confiscate it, but the other two brothers disagreed, so these things happened. At present, the relevant departments have been involved in the identification, and it remains to be investigated whether these relics belong to these three families.
Do experts interpret the cultural relics excavated in ancestral graves as belonging to the state or future generations? Liang Yali, a senior lawyer of Beijing Kyoto Law Firm, said that the things in the ancestral graves can never be simply considered as belonging to future generations. Otherwise, with so many famous tombs, can the descendants ask for these cultural relics, and the descendants of the royalty can ask for the cultural relics of the museum? 1, if the things in the ancestral graves are cultural relics, they belong to the state. Many people think that the things in ancestral graves should be left to future generations by ancestors, but they are not. According to the laws of our country, underground cultural relics belong to the state, which is clearly stipulated by the law, and there is no exception in the current judicial interpretation. According to Article 5 of the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics: "All cultural relics left in the underground, internal waters and territorial waters of the Chinese people belong to the state." Article 79 of the General Principles of the Civil Law also stipulates that buried objects and hidden objects whose owners are unknown shall be owned by the state. For the ancestral graves that have been identified as belonging to one's own family, if it is found that there are buried objects in them during the migration, you can ask the cultural relics department to identify and verify them to see if they belong to cultural relics. If it belongs to cultural relics, it belongs to the state; If it is only a general burial object, it will be legally inherited by its legal heir. 2. Cultural relics excavated from ancestral graves should be turned in. Generally speaking, for buried objects, if it can be proved that the ownership of buried objects is personal, then national laws will protect them. However, unearthed cultural relics, whether excavated or discovered by individuals, belong to the category of ownerless buried objects and belong to the state. Although the relevant laws of some countries, such as Germany and Japan, admit that individuals can possess or even actively explore cultural relics. But this is because these countries all admit that land is private, while China's land, mountains and rivers are owned by the state or village collectives. And if the cultural relics are not turned in, it is illegal according to the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics, and criminal responsibility will be investigated. Article 74 of the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics stipulates that if one of the following acts does not constitute a crime, the cultural relics department of the people's government at or above the county level shall, jointly with the public security organ, recover the cultural relics; If the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than 5,111 yuan but not more than 51,111 yuan shall be imposed: (1) failing to report cultural relics or refusing to hand them in; (two) failing to hand over the selected cultural relics in accordance with the provisions. However, in this law, there is no provision on how to reward citizens for handing in cultural relics. 3. Money reward cannot be used as a condition for submitting documents. Because the reward standard is not clearly stipulated in the law, in recent years, cultural relics discoverers and officials have been controversial. For example, in 2111, Kang Zengfu, a villager in Mancheng County, Hebei Province, discovered the national third-class cultural relics, and the Cultural Relics Management Office promised to reward 4,111 yuan, but Kang Zengfu refused because he was not satisfied. What has a greater impact is that farmers in Xuchang, Henan Province are eager to rain. After a group of Western Zhou cultural relics were dug up in 1975, the cultural relics authorities promised to give certain rewards, but they have not fulfilled them for many years. In this case, some people also question that the state gives too little material rewards to those who hand in cultural relics, which is not conducive to the recovery and protection of cultural relics. Then, is there any clear stipulation on the reward method for handing in cultural relics in China? According to Article 12 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics: "Units or individuals who have the following deeds shall be given moral encouragement or material rewards by the state: cultural relics shall be reported or handed in in in time when they are discovered, so that they can be protected". This provision is very general, and there is no specific form and standard of rewards. Is it necessary to give material rewards and how much? Some experts believe that rewards must be given, but it is not necessary to give material rewards, that is to say, no money can be given. Moreover, handing in cultural relics is a citizen's obligation, so no citizen can take material rewards as a prerequisite for handing in cultural relics. Of course, lawyer Liang Yali suggested that a reward fund should be set up to reward those who protect cultural relics according to their contributions. For the discoverers and surrenders of precious cultural relics, can we consider signing autographs in cultural relics collection, exhibitions and other activities as encouragement? The establishment of these incentive mechanisms can fully mobilize private forces and encourage more people to participate in the cause of cultural relics protection.