East-West Question|Zhu Bingren: How does China's Grand Canal show that it is "alive" to the world?

(Question from East and West) Zhu Bingren: How does China's Grand Canal show that it is "alive" to the world?

　　China News Service, Hangzhou, January 2nd. Title: How does China's Grand Canal show that it is "alive" to the world?

　　——Interview with Zhu Bingren, one of the "Three Elders of the Canal" and Honorary Chairman of the Grand Canal Committee of the Chinese Cultural Heritage Society

　　Author Wang Yifei Wei Yanran

　　As the world's largest canal, the longest route, and the longest lasting canal, as well as a living world cultural heritage, the Grand Canal of China is known as the spiritual home of the Chinese nation.

At present, China is actively promoting the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt and the Grand Canal National Cultural Park.

In October 2021, the 2021 China Grand Canal Cultural Belt Beijing-Hangzhou Dialogue opened in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

The picture shows aerial photography of the busy scene of the Hangzhou section of the Grand Canal.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Mao Jianjun

　　Zhu Bingren, one of the “Three Olds of the Canal”, the honorary chairman of the Grand Canal Special Committee of the Chinese Cultural Heritage Society, and the master of Chinese arts and crafts, Zhu Bingren, in an exclusive interview with China News Service, "Ask East and West", pointed out that the Grand Canal of China belongs to the Chinese nation. Blood and roots allow the world to see the local feelings and way of life of the Chinese people.

It is necessary to leave "fireworks" while protecting, and to consider "blank" while developing.

The summary of the interview record is as follows:

A reporter from China News Service: Because in 2005 jointly sent an open letter to the mayors of 18 cities along the canal, which opened the prelude to the Grand Canal application, you and Mr. Zheng Xiaoxie, an expert on ancient architecture, and Mr. Luo Zhewen, an expert on ancient cultural relics, were honored as the "Three Olds of the Canal". ", witnessed the entire process of the Grand Canal application.

What do you think of the value of the Grand Canal?

Zhu Bingren:

The Grand Canal of China is the blood and cultural

of the Chinese nation.

For thousands of years, it has connected the five major water systems of the Haihe, Yellow, Huai, Yangtze, and Qiantang Rivers. They are the main arteries linking China's north-south water transport and play a key role in maintaining the unity of the country and the nation and promoting economic and social prosperity.

　　I am not a canal expert or water conservancy expert. It was Mr. Zheng Xiaoxie and Mr. Luo Zhewen who brought me into the great historical event of the canal application.

In 2005, I was fortunate to draft a joint letter with the two elders and sent it to the mayors of 18 cities along the canal, calling for joint participation in the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal application.

A few months after the letter was sent, it was the National People's Congress and the National People's Congress. 58 CPPCC members jointly supported the letter. Later, the Grand Canal application continued to advance and successfully "realized the dream."

　　Looking back now, that letter not only promoted the application of the Grand Canal, but also played a leading role in the protection of Chinese cultural heritage.

Before that, Chinese society did not pay enough attention to cultural heritage. Many people felt that cultural heritage was far away from them, and the Grand Canal passed through many provinces and cities.

The appearance of that letter drove ordinary people to pay more attention to the value of cultural heritage. The 300 million people along the canal knew that the canal had so many cultural connotations. As a result, more people outside the canal also noticed that there is still a lot to stay around. It is something for posterity, which has formed an upsurge of attaching importance to cultural heritage throughout the country.

This can be reflected from the addition of the Sui and Tang Grand Canal and Zhedong Canal as an important part of China's Grand Canal.

In the long run, China has produced this kind of ideological foundation, which is also of great significance to the development and promotion of global cultural heritage protection.

In June 2014, at the 38th World Heritage Conference, the Grand Canal of China was approved to be included in the World Cultural Heritage List and became China's 46th World Heritage Project.

The picture shows the Huai'an section of the Grand Canal in Jiangsu Province in the morning light.

China News Agency issued Zhou Changguo photo

China News Agency reporter: 16 years have passed since the official participation in the Grand Canal application.

In your eyes, how has the Grand Canal changed?

Zhu Bingren:

I am from Hangzhou, Zhejiang

I have lived by the Grand Canal since I was a child

I have fond memories and deep feelings for the Grand Canal.

After the National Conference of the People’s Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China in 2006, I participated in the national survey of the resources of the Grand Canal led by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. At that time, I felt that "The Grand Canal is no longer what I imagined." In other places, river sections have become "small river ditch" for sewage discharge.

　　It is completely different now, and the protection and development of the Grand Canal is indeed getting better and better.

I have been to many cities along the canal and participated in many related inspections and conferences. I can clearly see that under the consensus of protecting, inheriting, and making good use of the Grand Canal, the Grand Canal has not only gradually restored its supposed beauty and functions, Moreover, each city has a sense of responsibility for the protection of the Grand Canal. It has systems, plans, measures, special forces and special organizations. This is an excellent change.

The Tongzhou section of the Grand Canal in Beijing.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Yuhuan

China News Agency reporter: China's Grand Canal has a history of more than 2,500 years. As one of the world's few cultural heritages that are still alive, what is the reason?

Zhu Bingren:

From ancient times to the present, the Grand Canal has been "alive" because it has been in use.

　　In history, the people on both sides of the Grand Canal were closely related to the Grand Canal. They lived on the Grand Canal and depended on the transportation function of the Grand Canal. Small vegetables, fruits, pots and pans were transported by ships on the Grand Canal.

The Grand Canal also brought prosperous cities along the route.

　　To this day, there are still many people living on ships in the Grand Canal, and many people's work and life are closely integrated with the Grand Canal.

This is the unique charm of the Grand Canal, which closely connects people and people, people and nature, people and history, people and endless culture on the land of China, and integrates itself into the lifestyle of the people along the line. .

China News Agency reporter: From the perspective of the global canal family, what are the similarities and differences in the development of China's Grand Canal compared with other major canals in the world?

Zhu Bingren:

Many countries in the world have canals, which together form the global canal family.

For example, five canals such as the Canal du Midi in France, the Central Canal in Belgium, and the Rideau Canal in Canada were included in the World Cultural Heritage list before the Grand Canal in China.

From the perspective of commonality, both in history and in the present, the canals in China and the West have promoted coordinated development and cultural exchanges between regions through shipping, and also recorded the lifestyles and struggles of people in different countries.

The transport ship travels on the Hangzhou section of the Grand Canal.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Gang

　　From the overall development trend, the Grand Canal of China presents different characteristics compared with some western canals.

At present, the cultural flavor of the Grand Canal in China is becoming stronger and stronger. From the central to the local level, we pay attention to the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Grand Canal, the protection, inheritance and utilization of traditional Chinese culture, and the Grand Canal as a cultural business card.

Many canals in the West have pure functions.

For example, the Suez Canal, Panama Canal, etc., pay attention to the transportation function of the canal itself.

While the transportation function of China's Grand Canal has faded, the transportation function of foreign canals has been continuously strengthened.

　　In addition, the biggest difference between China's canal culture and the West is that we advocate the aborigines to stay and continue to live normally by the canal.

In this way, when Western friends come to China's Grand Canal, they can see the way of life of the Orientals and the local complex of the Chinese. This is a very precious exchange and display effect.

In September 2021, in Weihe Village, Gaolou Township, Weishan County, Shandong Province, fishermen Zhang Yulong and Chen Henghua were fishing in fish ponds.

Weihe Village is located in the Weishan Lake area, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal passes by the lake.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Shi Chunyang

China News Agency reporter: China is actively promoting the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt and the Grand Canal National Park, and is committed to making them a beautiful national business card.

What do you think should be focused on doing well in this process?

Zhu Bingren:

From a historical perspective, China's Grand Canal itself is very grounded.

In the future, in the process of protecting, inheriting, and making good use of the Grand Canal, it is very important to make it more grounded and make it look like a canal.

　　First, "luck" is the soul of the Grand Canal, and this function should not be ignored.

For example, in some places, to protect the stone arch bridge on the Grand Canal and avoid collision damage to the bridge by passing ships, a new tributary is opened as a new channel, which is equivalent to stopping the transportation function of the Grand Canal.

I saw the bridge standing alone on the canal without any ships passing by, and it felt very "lonely".

This situation can be resolved by limiting the maximum amount.

People living by the canal want to see that the canal has something to do with them, not just the scenery.

Now the country proposes to build the Grand Canal National Park. The implication is very profound, and it also includes fireworks, which allows the material and spiritual enjoyment of people’s lives to be closely integrated with the Grand Canal.

　　Second, we must "leave blank" by the canal, just like Chinese ink painting, so that there is room for imagination.

I previously proposed the concept of zero protection of the Grand Canal, including zero development, zero use, and zero intervention.

It does not return the whole street or the whole city to zero, but emphasizes the formation of different levels of protection and display forms in heritage protection.

For example, in the reconstruction of street dwellings, leaving a part of the original buildings in their original form, allowing future generations to see the living environment of their parents. This is zero development and zero use.

Zero intervention is another level of zero protection. It is to enclose an area in a certain area along the canal without any intervention, leaving the original ecological appearance here to future generations and leaving a "blank" development space.

　　Third, the cities along the canal should pay attention to differentiation.

All cities attach importance to the protection, inheritance, and utilization of the Grand Canal, but they cannot be one size fits all.

Whether it is the environment or the history, the influence and effect of the Grand Canal on each city is different.

Therefore, the same thinking cannot be used in protection, inheritance, and utilization. For example, not every city needs to build a Grand Canal Museum.

In the process of protecting and developing the Grand Canal, we have formed a set of inherent rules and patterns. Such unconventional and unified patterns should be broken.

(Finish)

About the interviewee:

Photo courtesy of the interviewee

　　Zhu Bingren is a master of Chinese arts and crafts, a representative inheritor of national intangible cultural heritage bronze carving techniques, and honorary chairman of the Grand Canal Special Committee of the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics.

In 2005, Zheng Xiaoxie, Luo Zhewen, and Zhu Bingren jointly initiated the canal application, which was called the "Three Olds of the Canal".