This horse-head statue was recently returned to Beijing by Stanley Ho. CFP
Twelve animal head statues of the Chinese zodiac are well-known treasures from Yuanmingyuan, or the Old Summer Palace. After Anglo-French troops broke into the Old Summer Palace in 1860, numerous national treasures, including the 12 animal head statues, were taken away.
十二生肖兽首是圆明园的著名珍宝。1860年英法联军侵入圆明园，包括十二兽首在内的大量国宝从此流失海外。
On Nov 13, a red bronze horse-head statue returned to Beijing. It was donated by Macao-based collector Stanley Ho and handed over to the National Cultural Heritage Administration in Beijing.
11月13日，其中的马首铜像回到了北京。该铜像由澳门收藏家何鸿燊捐赠给国家文物局。
“The broken link of historical memory is thus re-connected,” Liu Yuzhu, director of the NCHA, told China Daily.
“历史记忆的断链由此再次连接，”国家文物局局长刘玉珠在接受《中国日报》采访时表示。
“The return of these relics holds the public’s collective emotion. People’s cultural confidence can be strengthened. It will also encourage more compatriots’ devotion, both at home and abroad, to better preserve the cultural heritage of our country.”
“这些回归的文物承载着民族情感，增强了民族文化自信，也激励了海内外爱国同胞们更好地保护祖国文化遗产。”
In the past 70 years, the Chinese government and many compatriots have spared no effort to reclaim lost Chinese relics and artifacts from overseas. Due to their efforts, the horse statue is the seventh of the 12 animal statues to be returned from overseas. Now, the search is on for the remaining five: a dog, a rooster, a dragon, a sheep and a snake.
在过去的70年间，我国政府以及无数爱国同胞一直在不遗余力地从海外追回中国流失的文物。在他们的努力下，马首是十二兽首中第七尊从海外回归的兽首铜像。余下的蛇首、羊首、鸡首、狗首、龙首五尊铜像至今仍在追寻。
