More recently, the Cultural Revolution brought untold destruction to China's Buddhist sculpture, while strong demand from collectors around the world has spurred a great deal of art theft, which is why one so often sees forlorn Buddhist statues overseas in museums or at auctions cut off at the neck, or with their limbs missing.
文化大革命時的全面性宗教迫害，更使得佛像遭到無情的破壞。近代世界收藏家對佛教文物的喜愛，也使得許多殘存的佛像被盜賣。因此，不論在國外博物館，或是拍賣會上，都經常見到那一個個硬生生被砍下來的佛頭，或是斷臂殘掌。「古佛新生」單元裡，參觀者眼前就是這樣殘存下來的文化資產。