How does Shanxi's "dibao" ancient buildings no longer disappear in the wind and rain
Produced by Deep Eye Studio
Written by: Our reporter Jiao Yang and intern reporter Du Peng
Planning: Liu Li
Of the nearly 30,000 ancient architectural cultural relics in Shanxi, less than 3% are listed as national and provincial cultural relics protection units.
Most of the most severely affected by the heavy rain disaster are low-grade and ungraded cultural relics.
There are 750 places that have reached a relatively serious situation, of which 84% are municipal and county-level “dibao” and unrated immovable cultural relics.
In the past few days, as the topic "Ancient buildings in Shanxi are being threatened during wind and rain" has rushed into hot searches, the restoration, protection and activation of ancient buildings in Shanxi have become the focus of attention from all walks of life.
Shanxi has a long history and rich cultural heritage.
In the eyes of Jia Zhangke, a representative of the National People's Congress and film director, Shanxi "there are ancient temples in every village, and ancient buildings everywhere", "a small village temple may contain national treasure-level murals."
Compared with the national and provincial (hereinafter referred to as "Gaobao") cultural relics that have attracted much attention, Shanxi also has a large number of little-known municipal and county-level (hereinafter referred to as "dibao") cultural relics, and even ungraded. (Hereinafter referred to as "non-guaranteed") What is the status quo of ancient buildings?
Does Shanxi suffer a loss in the process of grading cultural relics because of its abundance of cultural relics?
How can these "district guarantee" and even "non-guaranteed" ancient buildings resist the fate of disappearing?
From October 13th to 17th, reporters from Science and Technology Daily visited Hongdong, Fenxi, Xinjiang, Yangcheng and other counties in Shanxi, visited a number of Shanxi’s "dibao" ancient buildings on the spot, and interviewed relevant topics. Many experts in cultural relics.
28,027 ancient buildings, "high security" accounted for less than 3%
The two-layer simple canopy made of blue color steel plates is covered on the heavy eaves of the old temple that has been in disrepair for a long time.
"If it weren't for this steel shed, this ancient temple could not withstand this year's rain disaster, and it would have collapsed." On October 13, standing in front of the Ming Dynasty Jade Emperor Hall in Hejiazhuang, Hongdong County, He Guoping, Party Secretary of Hejiazhuang Village Said that the steel shed was created by Zhang Luo, a village cadre from the cultural relics system two years ago.
In 2011, Hejiazhuang Jade Emperor Palace was included in the cultural relics protection unit of Hongdong County.
On the exfoliated adobe wall, a black stone stele is embedded. On the obscure stele, it is vaguely distinguished that "the date of the original construction is unknown, and it was carried out in the 18th year of Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty (1813) and the 32nd year of Guangxu (1906). "Twice repaired".
Tang Dahua, a fellow folk ancient building conservation volunteer, inferred that according to its architectural style, this Jade Emperor Palace was first built in the Ming Dynasty.
Entering the hall, a scent of musty came over.
"Although the colored steel canopy blocks the rain, it also blocks the sunlight and increases the humidity in the hall." He Guoping said, and the loess walls around the main hall increase their weight after absorbing water, which increases the potential risk.
According to the official website of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, there are 53,875 immovable cultural relics in Shanxi Province.
The number of national cultural relics protection units is the first in the country; the number of existing Paleolithic sites is the first in the country; the number of existing ancient buildings in the Yuan Dynasty and before the Yuan Dynasty is the first in the country, especially the only four Tang Dynasty buildings remaining in the country, more than 75% of the country Before the Yuan Dynasty, the buildings were all in Shanxi; the number of extant colored sculptures and murals since the Tang Dynasty is the first in the country; the number of existing ancient theaters is the first in the country.
For such a large number of cultural relics, how much does the "high-guarantee" and "minimal-guarantee" account for each?
According to the data released by the third national cultural relics survey and the Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, there are currently 28,027 ancient architectural cultural relics in Shanxi, including 421 national key cultural relics protection units and 407 provincial-level cultural relics protection units, accounting for less than 3% of the total.
The vast majority of the rest are the "Minimal Guarantee" at the city and county levels, or even ancient architectural relics with no protection level.
Since October, heavy rainfall has occurred in many places in Shanxi. According to data released by the Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, as of 19:00 on October 11, Shanxi cities have reported a total of 1,783 cultural relics to varying degrees.
Most of the most severely affected by the heavy rain disaster are low-grade and ungraded cultural relics.
There are 750 places that have reached a relatively serious situation, of which 84% are municipal and county-level "dibao" and unrated immovable cultural relics.
During field visits, the reporter found that insufficient funding is a common problem faced by grassroots cultural relics protection departments.
“The protection levels of cultural relics are generally divided into national, provincial, municipal, and county levels, thus forming a pyramid-like hierarchical structure responsible for the protection of cultural relics. Local financial resources are relatively limited, and funding guarantees vary from country to province to city to county. The level is decreasing, showing an'inverted pyramid shape.' Especially at the bottom of the tower, the protection level is low, the number of ordinary immovable cultural relics is huge, and the county-level cultural relics department is weak in maintenance." Tang Dahua said.
The reporter consulted relevant information and learned that since 2006, although the central government and Shanxi Province have continued to increase investment in the protection of cultural relics in Shanxi Province, the vast majority of them have invested in "Gaobao", and most of the "Gaobao" ancient buildings in Shanxi have therefore been supported. This rain disaster.
The "dibao" ancient buildings are not so lucky.
Walking in the alleys of Guangcun Village, Xinjiang County, a famous historical and cultural village in China, I am in a trance in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
In the village, there are row upon row of Ming and Qing-style mansions, with tall courtyard walls.
According to the introduction of the Guangcun planning map, there are currently 32 ancient buildings such as houses, ancient temples, and attics in the village have been included in the county-level cultural relics protection unit, which is a typical contiguous area of ancient buildings.
The home of villager Geng Wengui is located in Courtyard No. 18, which was built in the Ming Dynasty. Part of the wall on the north side of the courtyard completely collapsed, and the rest of the wall was also crumbling.
"In this torrential rain disaster, almost all ancient dwellings in the village suffered varying degrees of loss." Geng Wengui said.
Why is the Jade Emperor Temple, which has a history of hundreds of years, only a "county guarantee"
To the north of Guangcun, the ruins of a yellow temple stands impressively.
From a distance, even though the towering Huixian Building at the gate of the temple is dilapidated, it still reveals a fairy aura of "the sky is connected to the clouds and the waves and the dawn is mist, and the galaxy is about to turn a thousand sails and dance."
According to the inscription, the Jade Emperor Temple was first built in the Yuan and Liao Dynasties, and there were no statues in it. Later, in the 13th year of Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1508), the statues were rebuilt.
"At present, the oldest existing building in the temple is the main hall built in the Ming Dynasty." Tang Dahua said.
What is the condition of this once majestic temple now?
The villager Jing Run managed a family for three generations and lived in the small courtyard in front of the temple for 70 years, taking care of the Jade Emperor Temple by the way.
Not long ago, Jing Runguan, the last owner of the small courtyard, lived elsewhere, and the Jade Emperor Temple was basically left unattended.
Pushing open the gate of the temple, half-person-high weeds spread in the meantime.
Among the weeds, the once magnificent main hall is left with only a brick-wood frame, and one side of the main hall has long been drenched by rain.
The rain disaster accelerated the destruction of the Jade Emperor Temple. A hole had collapsed in the outer wall on the north side, and bricks and stones were scattered all over the place.
Why is the Yuhuang Temple that began in Yuanliao a county-level cultural relics protection unit (hereinafter referred to as "county insurance")?
How are cultural relics graded?
According to the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics", immovable cultural relics are divided into three categories: national key cultural relics protection units, provincial-level cultural relics protection units, and city and county-level cultural relics protection units.
Cultural relics of different levels shall be declared and determined by the national or local cultural relics management department.
"Ancient buildings are immovable cultural relics, and their classification is mainly based on the census of cultural relics, and is determined according to the size and scope of the value of the building's history, art, science, culture, etc., and the style of'mural' carving' "Structural type" and other factors are all reference content for the classification of ancient buildings." Ancient architecture expert and research librarian of the Palace Museum Zhou Gan said that provincial, county and city cultural preservation units can further apply for national key cultural relics protection units.
Regarding the view that some netizens believe that "Shanxi Province may suffer a disadvantage in the process of grading cultural relics because it is too rich in cultural relics," Zhou Qian thinks it is inappropriate.
"The classification of cultural relics has strict procedures, organized and carried out by a special cultural preservation management agency, and can be classified only after expert argumentation and the approval of the national cultural relics management department." The research is getting deeper and deeper, and the historical and cultural values it contains are more and more abundant, and more and more cultural relics will belong to their due level.
"Because of the need to have a relative balance across the country, in the process of declaration, Shanxi, which has a large stock, has accumulated some good ancient buildings." Qi Ying, a lecturer in ancient architecture at Beijing University of Construction , Can’t be treated extensively just because the level is low.
In fact, Guangcun Jade Emperor Temple, because of its increasingly recognized value in the industry, relevant departments have been working hard to upgrade its declaration to a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit.
How to repair a large number of "dibao" ancient buildings, and where does the money come from?
How to repair the ancient buildings of the "dibao" period scientifically, and where does the money come from?
In Hejiazhuang Jade Emperor Palace, the cultural relics department has already made a design plan and budget for the repair project. The total project cost is about 2 million yuan; the repair budget for the Guangcun Jade Emperor Temple is even larger, with a total amount of up to 5 million yuan.
"If only the villagers raise funds spontaneously, it would be a drop in the bucket." He Guoping said.
In the face of such a huge demand for cultural relics protection funds, it is equally unrealistic to rely on grassroots finances.
Government information disclosure data shows that the total budget for cultural relics protection in Yuncheng City in Shanxi Province in 2020 is 20.4 million yuan, and it is necessary to be responsible for more than 1,000 cultural relics and ancient buildings at the city level and below under its jurisdiction, which is difficult to cover.
Through the visits to several ancient villages, the reporter saw that most of the ancient houses of the “subsistence allowances” or “non-guarantees” were damaged to varying degrees.
Graded ancient buildings must be preserved if they are damaged. Self-repair is not allowed; some ancient buildings have been uninhabited for a long time and have already collapsed, leaving only ruined walls; and many ungraded ancient buildings are More or less there are cases of self-reconstruction.
How to protect a large number of "dibao" ancient buildings when funds are tight?
In fact, the government and the private sector have been conducting various explorations for many years.
In 2017, Shanxi Province launched the "Civilization Watch Project" to encourage social forces to participate in the adoption of cultural relics, and established a mechanism with Shanxi Federation of Industry and Commerce to hold two cultural relics and architecture adoption promotion meetings every year.
The document titled "Shanxi Province Mobilizes Social Forces to Participate in the Protection of Cultural Relics and Utilizes the Implementation Plan of the "Civilization Watch Project"" frankly stated: "The danger of natural damage or even loss of cultural relics has increased. Underutilization and improper utilization coexist. In the face of heavy cultural relics protection tasks and the actual needs of expanding utilization, it is far from enough to rely on the input of governments at all levels."
According to statistics, Shanxi Province has completed the adoption of 238 cultural relics, attracting 300 million yuan of social funds.
"But in the face of the huge number of ancient buildings and cultural relics, the adoption effort still needs to be improved." A staff member of the cultural relics system said.
Stones from other hills, can learn.
Yongtai County in Fujian Province has made full use of private forces to explore a new road.
"We have established a council in the ancient village. This is a private organization that is registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs and accepts annual government audits and can bear legal responsibility. It is uniformly responsible for the maintenance, operation and management of the ancient houses in Zhuangzhai. At the same time, according to the local people The folk customs with a strong concept of relatives and natives condense all the strengths of the descendants of Zhuangzhai, so that they have memories of homesickness and emotional sustenance, and establish a close bond of contact, which not only helps solve the various issues of their return home, but also invites them. Many descendants of ancient houses have done repairs." Zhang Peifen, vice chairman of the CPPCC of Yongtai County, Fujian Province, said that because of the close nostalgia and large-scale cooperation, many descendants regard the repairs of ancient houses as merits and basically obligatory help. .
In accordance with the relevant cultural relics law, the restoration of ancient architectural cultural relics must have professional restoration qualifications and technical means.
As for the protection and restoration of ancient buildings, “repair the old as the old” is the consensus of the industry.
"The so-called'old' means that the restoration materials should be contemporary and the same species, and the restoration techniques should be the traditional construction techniques of ancient buildings in China." Zhou Qian said.
"Through decades of development, our technology for repairing ancient buildings has become very mature." Qi Ying said.
Zhou Qian did not approve of repairing ancient buildings with modern materials.
"This kind of'restoration' method is equivalent to'antique'. It only obtains the original appearance and shape of the ancient building. ) Historical and cultural information.” Zhou Gan said that the best repair to ancient buildings is to use traditional crafts and traditional materials as the main means under the premise of minimal disturbance to them to reduce the further deterioration of this damage. .
Most experts believe that although financial funds are an important guarantee for the protection of ancient buildings, timely daily maintenance can reduce or avoid "overhauls."
"For single ancient buildings, the daily maintenance costs are not expensive." said Ren Yimin, director of the Shanxi Provincial Academy of Ancient Buildings and Painted Sculptures Conservation Research Institute.
"The ancient buildings in China are mostly wooden frame structures. With the long-term use, problems such as cracking, deformation, decay, looseness, missing components, etc. will appear." Zhou Gan said, based on rich architectural experience and excellent architectural wisdom, ancient times Craftsmen have inherited a variety of scientific repair methods, such as rotten column root pier connection, curved wooden beam support, tenon joints, nail pull connection, mural bonding, colored plastic filling and so on.
In addition to strengthening the propaganda of cultural preservation concepts, the issue of cultivating traditional restoration skills of ancient buildings is an urgent issue.
"Although some modern equipment or technologies (such as laser scanning method to measure building dimensions, use angle grinders to polish the ground, etc.) can be'saving effort' for construction, compared with buildings built by traditional craftsmanship, the historical and cultural connotations of ancient buildings themselves Valuable information, such as exquisite architectural art, outstanding ancient architectural wisdom, etc., may gradually disappear. Therefore, traditional ancient architectural construction techniques need to be promoted and passed on." Zhou Qian appealed.
Protection and development and utilization of ancient buildings are contradictory or complementary
Is the protection and development of ancient buildings contradictory or complementary?
On this issue, all parties have always held different views.
Du Xiaofan, a professor in the Department of Cultural Relics and Museums of Fudan University, who once worked in the UNESCO Beijing Representative Office and served as the cultural heritage protection commissioner, believes that the revitalization of cultural heritage should not only consider economics, but more importantly, cultural values. The ultimate goal is to make the public feel To the cultural connotation behind the heritage, "live" in people's hearts.
"Shanxi has the largest number of ancient architectural cultural relics in the country, and it retains various historical buildings from before the Tang Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. It is known as the'treasure house of ancient Chinese architecture' and is an important part of the architectural wisdom of the Chinese nation." Du Xiaofan believes. The amount of ancient buildings in Shanxi is too large, and not all of them are suitable for development into tourism resources. Various factors such as infrastructure, popularity, and tourism characteristics need to be considered comprehensively.
Du Xiaofan explained his point of view by taking the development of Pingyao ancient city as an example.
"The ancient city of Pingyao was successfully declared as a world cultural heritage in 1997. It has been more than 20 years. Although it has attracted a large number of tourists, it has not completely solved the fundamental problem of Pingyao's economic and social development." Du Xiaofan said, because tourists stay in Pingyao for a short time, The expected income coming is not high.
Some industry experts, represented by Du Xiaofan, believe that Pingyao was not the entire city of Pingyao, but Shuanglin Temple, Zhenguo Temple and other national key cultural relics protection units.
"The sculptures and murals in these buildings are of great significance in Chinese art history. Since Pingyao City became a world cultural heritage, very few people have visited these temples, including some very nice villages around Pingyao." Du Xiaofan said .
For those in ancient villages such as Zhang Peifen, what is most needed is to find a way that can activate and utilize the abundant ancient building resources and also play a good role in protection.
"The protection of ancient buildings cannot be separated from life, otherwise there will be no protection." Zhang Peifen believes that excessive commercialization and complete protection are separated from the most important element of life.
Zhongzhuang Village, which is less than 3 kilometers away from Huangcheng Xiangfu, a national key cultural relics protection unit in Yangcheng County and a 5A-level scenic spot, is an ancient village where the descendants of Li Zhe, the first-ranking chief ambassador of the Ming Dynasty, lived. It is a cultural relic of Yangcheng County. Protect the unit.
Its unique ancient castle-style buildings coincide with the direction of the mountain, with a complete layout and magnificent momentum.
Due to disrepair for a long time, the courtyard of the ancient buildings in Zhongzhuang Village is gradually dilapidated.
How to revitalize this ancient village with profound cultural heritage?
In 2013, the Yangcheng County government and the village committee came up with a way to promote protection through tourism.
In order to attract investment, with the support of the Yangcheng County Government, the then village party secretary Liu Qiukui successively promoted the completion of the protection and repair of more than 30 courtyards.
In 2016, the ancient buildings of Zhongzhuang were transformed into ancient characteristic homestays, focusing on the immersive living experience of the Ming Dynasty, which attracted many tourists to come to live.
In order to protect the original building from damage, thick wooden boards are used to isolate the building body during the internal decoration process.
"Equivalent to all the decorations are carried out on wooden boards, behind the wooden boards is the original ancient building walls." Liu Qiukui said that in the past five years, the operation of the homestay has basically achieved a revenue balance.
Zhongzhuang Village is a small and medium-sized ancient village, and it is more feasible to develop homestays. For larger-scale villages, in Du Xiaofan’s view, it is necessary to comprehensively consider various factors such as infrastructure, popularity, and tourism characteristics according to different characteristics, so as to explore more Good model.
He Junsheng, a villager in Hejiazhuang, looked forward to the restoration of the Jade Emperor Palace as soon as possible.
"Every June 12 of the lunar calendar, there will always be a troupe singing on the stage opposite the main hall, and villagers will gather in front of the main hall to catch the temple fair. It is very lively." When he was a child, He Junsheng often surrounded the Jade Emperor Hall with his friends. Play the game in circles.
These seemingly humble ancient buildings not only carry historical information for thousands of years, but also carry the cultural memory of a region.
(Our reporter Zhang Galun also contributed to this article)