British explorer Marc Aurel Stein was the first foreigner to purchase a large volume of manuscripts, painting, textiles and prints from Wang at a very low price by deceitfully claiming he was an envoy from the West.
Though some have labeled Stein as merely a thief, it is crucial to recognize that he was a highly educated scholar. Rather than a common thief, Stein was exploiting his knowledge for profit in China.
Regrettably, only 30 percent of the Library Cave relics remain in China today.
Stein smuggled over 140 bundles of items in the summer of 1907 and a further 230 bundles in October that year, before shipping the unlawfully acquired items to the UK. Currently, the relics are mainly kept in the British Museum, the British Library and the V&A Museum in London.
