逊清皇室的古物拍卖及其影响

The Auction and Effect of Ancient Relics of the Abdicated Qing Imperial Family

根据《优待条件》,民国政府每年应向逊清皇室拨款400万元,以为日常经费。民国初年,民国政府财政极为困难,对皇室的拨款多有拖欠,且数额愈来愈多,以致皇室无款可用,最终走上拍卖古物之路。逊清皇室的拍卖行为激起社会各界的强烈反对。在此情况下,皇室收敛了其行为,但并未因此终止拍卖活动,而是采用了更为恶劣的办法,将宫中大量金器熔化,拍卖黄金。逊清皇室采取拍卖的形式有着深刻的历史原因,其中,民国政府未能履行约定,不能按期拨款,对皇室的拍卖行为采取了消极的管理办法,但社会舆论则充当了保护国粹的主力军,他们对于保护古物做出了应有的贡献。

According to The Articles of Favorable Treatment of the Great Qing Emperor after his Abdication, the Government of the Republic of China should allocate 4 million Yuan annually to the abdicated imperial family for daily expenses. In the early years of the Republic of China, the finance of the government was extremely difficult. Most of the funds allocated to the royal family were in arrears and the amount was increasing. The royal family had no money to use and finally embarked on the road of auction of antiquities. The auction of the imperial family aroused the strong opposition from the society, but the royal family did not stop the auction. Moreover, they melt a large number of golden utensils in the palace and auctioned the gold. The most important reason is that the government of the Republic of China could not allocate funds on time. As a result, they adopted negative management measures to the royal auction. However, public opinion acted as the main force to protect the quintessence of the nation.