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He is the figure at the centre of a fierce and long running international court case, brought by a tiny Chinese village desperate to get their revered healer back.

More than 1,000 years ago, Buddhist monk Qisan Zhang could never have thought his life - and his death - would have caused so much chaos.

Encased in the gold figure of a sitting, smiling Buddha , the mummified body of Zhang - known as Patriarch Zhanggong and Liuquan Zhanggong - was preserved and worshipped for decades in a Chinese temple.

But now the revered monk is the focus of a legal battle, as a Chinese village - working with the country's government - claim it was stolen and have taken their bid to court to pressure a collector to return the figure.

(Image: www.alamy.com)

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They claim the Buddha and the treasured monk inside was "stolen" in 1995 and should be returned from. It was most recently displayed in the Natural History Museum in Budapest at the request of its private owner, architect Oscar van Overeem, who had acquired the figure from another collector.

The dispute over the gold Buddha, which is estimated to be worth tens of millions of pounds, has already impacted relations between China and the Netherlands.

Zhanggong is believed to have been a monk and local healer who lived during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD).

During his life he was revered by many in the village of Yangchun in Fujian province, east China, because he was able to heal locals with his expertise in herbal remedies, preventing many from falling victim to the plague.

After his death this devotion continued, and the figure was also worshipped by residents of the neighbouring village of Dongpu.

The pious Zhanggong is likely to have starved himself as a form of self-mummification before his death.

Studies reveal he died at the age of 37 and his body showed signs of either disease or a prolonged period of abstinence - possibly self imposed so he stood the best chance of his body being preserved.

Worshipping him was a tradition passed down through generations, and the statue was renovated a number of times in the hope that it would bring villagers who contributed good fortune.

(Image: X02784)

According to scrolls found inside it, the last time this happened was during the Ming Dynasty where decorations of dragons were inscribed on the gold figure.

Born in the tiny village of Xukeng in China, Zhanggong was given the name Qisan - his surname Zhang.

According to the Economist , he was named Qisan because this is the word for 73, after the unusual tradition to give children a name denoting the age of their grandfather when they are born.

He became so pious he was also given the name Gong - denoting Lord. This is where his name Qisan Zhanggong comes from.

Zhanggong's birthday is marked on the fifth day of the tenth month according to the lunar calendar.

In 2013 a CAT scan conducted by the German Mummy Project identified the perfectly preserved mummified remains inside the Buddha, with the organs missing.

Carbon dating revealed he lived between 1022 and 1155 and experts said they believed the remains were Zhanggong.

Studies of his body revealed he died at 37 and he showed signs of disease or starvation in preparation for his death.

Erick Bruijn, an independent researcher on Tibet, Zen and esoteric Buddhism, told China Daily: "He obviously pined away, it might be his fasting near the end of his life to prepare for his mummification."

The practice of self mummification was rare but would see monks exercising to rid their body of fat, while existing on a diet of nuts, seeds and fruit.

They would then be encased in a tomb, as they sat in the lotus position and meditated, with just a tube to breathe through until they died.

The body would then be left for 1,000 days until it was checked to see if mummification had worked, Business Insider reports.

(Image: www.alamy.com)

However, doubt has been cast on the theory that Zhanggong self mummified as his organs had been removed and replaced by scrolls. It is unlikely his body would have been interfered with after his death if he had been responsible for his own mummification.

To preserve his body, locals are said to have encased Zhanggong in the 1.2 metre tall gold body of a sitting Buddha.

This was then placed in Puzhao Temple so he could be worshipped. It is even rumoured that when China was ransacked for relics the Buddha was hidden in people's homes in the village so that it would not be taken.

But, it is claimed, the Buddha was stolen in 1995 and brought by a collector from an anonymous owner in Amsterdam in 1996. It was then displayed at the museum in Budapest.

Even after the figure was stolen, villagers still worshipped a replica at the site and are calling for Zhanggong to be returned to his rightful home.

The mummified monk was discovered when it was recognised at an exhibition in Hungary in 2015. It has now been taken off display.

The case is being brought by Beijing lawyer Liu Yang who has fought a number of cases to retrieve apparently stolen Chinese artefacts from abroad. The private collector has previously claimed that it has not been proven that the Buddha contains the relics of Zhanggong himself and the lawsuit is a case of mistaken identity.

Both sides will give evidence in hearings this week, with villagers expected to argue that the Buddha was stolen from their temple and that a private collector cannot own a corpse. However an immediate ruling is not expected.

Villagers have previously collected hundreds of signatures calling for the Buddha to be returned and first launched the lawsuit two years ago.

It is claimed that more than 10 million precious artefacts are still missing from China.

In 2013 French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault returned two bronze fountainheads from Beijing’s Old Summer Palace, after an auction outraged residents in China.