Telling the Story of Cultural Relics to More People (Telling a Lifetime Event) Culture | Work | Stories

Liu Shiyou is measuring cultural relics.

Liu Shiyou and colleagues are researching materials.

The above pictures are provided by the Cultural Relics Management Office of Longde County

Biographies of Characters

Liu Shiyou, born in 1966 in Longde County, Guyuan City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, director of Longde County Cultural Relics Management Institute and museum director, has been engaged in local history research and cultural management for more than 30 years, participated in the third national cultural relics survey, the first national survey of movable cultural relics and other work, wrote more than 20 articles on local cultural research, was employed as a researcher by the Ningxia Academy of Social Sciences and Ningxia Normal University, compiled and published 8 works such as Longde County Cultural Relics Records, and was rated as the exemplary individual of the national cultural relics system in 2022.

In Longde County, Guyuan City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the most well-known tourist destination is the Old Lane in Hongya Village. Walking in the old alley, the earth walls, stages, grinding platforms, and stone carvings seem to tell the story of history everywhere. The uncle who sings Qin Opera Opera on the roadside and the aunt who can make six plates of hot pot wine and farm rice vinegar all show the primitive style and features of the northwest countryside.

The preservation of old traditions cannot be separated from the persistence of Liu Shiyou, the director of Longde County Cultural Relics Management Institute and museum director. At the beginning of the development of the old alley, some people proposed to relocate the villagers and attract investment to renovate it. "The biggest highlight of traditional villages is the old buildings and customs. When people leave the village, homesickness has nowhere to be placed; when a village leaves people, it loses its vitality and spirit." Liu Shiyou believes.

Research materials and regulations, establish archives and cards for cultural relics, and promote the establishment of a three-level cultural relic protection network in counties and villages

"Cultural relic management, if not driven by passion, is a tedious task." Liu Shiyou entered the cultural department of Longde County in 1993 and has been engaged in cultural relic management and local history research for more than 30 years. He sighed sincerely, "I can't bear to part with Longde, let alone leave these cultural relics."

When he was young, Liu Shiyou, who had a background in music, thought that cultural work was just about going to the countryside and wilderness to pick up the scenery. However, after joining the company, the actual situation completely surprised him. The unit's buildings are dilapidated, and the conditions for collecting and managing cultural relics are also very weak; The unit is understaffed, so he has to take turns scheduling shifts with colleagues and be on duty day and night.

Liu Shiyou started by searching for local chronicles, historical books, measuring sizes, and studying laws and regulations, and established archives and cards for each cultural relic in the cultural management office. He completed more than 5000 cards and took thousands of photos, giving each cultural relic its own "ID card".

It is precisely these tedious tasks that have given Liu Shiyou a preliminary understanding of cultural relic protection and local history, and have also made him feel the charm of cultural relic protection work. He has become increasingly calm and cautious in his work. "Behind every cultural relic, there are many historical stories. Understanding them allows one to feel the details of history," said Liu Shiyou.

Since 2007, the third national cultural relics census has been carried out. Liu Shiyou overcame various difficulties and led a work team to conduct on-site inspections of 13 townships and 625 village groups in Longde County. 229 new cultural relics were discovered, and over 800 cultural relics census archives were completed. Regarding immovable cultural relics, Liu Shiyou, in conjunction with the "Four Haves" work on cultural relics, delineated the scope of protection for cultural relics protection units at all levels, set up markers and boundary stakes, and completed the compilation and enrichment of protection archives for cultural relics protection units at all levels. Under his promotion, Longde County took the lead in establishing a three-level cultural relic protection network at the county, township, and village levels in the entire Ningxia region.

On site exploration, transportation, restoration, and meticulous protection of every cultural relic

More than 100 Neolithic cultural relics are distributed in the Yu River, Zhu Zhuang River, Ganwei River, Zhuanglang River and other river basins in Longde County. Many Qijia and Yangshao cultural relics have been unearthed from sites such as Yehezi, Beiyuan, and Zhoujiazuitou. Faced with such a dense distribution of cultural relics, Liu Shiyou has always been meticulous and meticulous in the inspection, investigation, and on-site exploration of immovable cultural relics, as well as the restoration and transportation of movable cultural relics over the years.

In order to protect cultural relics, Liu Shiyou once directly faced criminals. On November 8, 2008, Liu Shiyou worked the night shift as usual. In the middle of the night, the anti-theft alarm sounded, and he conducted a patrol but did not find any abnormalities. He thought it was a problem with the anti-theft system. Just as I returned to the room, the alarm sounded again. He got up again to check and found that the anti-theft railing in the cultural relics warehouse had been cut off, and the window had also been opened.

"You must not take away any cultural relics!" Liu Shiyou picked up the shovel and shouted at the outlaws hiding in the dark. In the darkness, four lawbreakers made a noise, Liu Shiyou rushed with a shovel, and the lawbreakers were scared to flee in all directions

"I feel a bit scared when I think about it, but at that time I only wanted to drive away the criminals and preserve the cultural relics," Liu Shiyou said.

Ensuring the safety of cultural relics during transportation is a common concern for Liu Shiyou. Longde County has a collection of over 2900 cultural relics, and with the addition of coins stored in the cellar, the collection reaches over 30000 pieces. All cultural relics have never been damaged during multiple relocations.

Once, there were several stone artifacts and fragments of inscriptions in Beilianchi, Longde County that needed to be moved to the museum warehouse. Liu Shiyou found a pickup truck to transport the goods, but due to the slippery snow road, the pickup truck was unable to move halfway, almost causing an accident. Liu Shiyou and his colleagues could only step on the thick snow, time and time again, using manpower to move all the cultural relics back.

"I still don't understand why there was such great strength at that time, and I had to carry the stone tablet back with my back straps." Liu Shiyou said, "Cultural relics are like my child, and parents' efforts towards their children are priceless."

At the end of 2018, the Longde New Museum was completed. As the relocation approached, the old museum had a painting called "Guo Da Nian" that was nearly 2 meters high and 14 meters long. It was directly mounted on a wall and despite multiple attempts, it could not be removed. Many people believe that spending a lot of energy on this painting is not cost-effective, but Liu Shiyou does not agree. He searched for the top framing masters in Ningxia to study the framing technique of this painting. Later, he found the master who originally framed this painting and invited him back to the museum. Finally, he removed the painting intact and moved it to the new museum. "The cultural relics in the collection cannot be missing, and each one must be carefully taken care of," said Liu Shiyou.

Publishing cultural relics chronicles, writing commentary, bringing cultural relics to life and telling history

In addition to his daily work, Liu Shiyou also has a stubborn attitude towards cultural relics.

There was an old object lying in the warehouse for 20 years, and Liu Shiyou pondered it repeatedly, but he never knew what it was. It wasn't until early 2018 when Liu Shiyou went to study at the Hunan Museum and saw similar objects that he remembered this old object. After returning, he quickly requested the superior unit to carry out repair work. In this way, a precious Tang Dynasty handmade stove was recreated.

When visiting the cultural relics in the museum collection, the reporter was surprised by Liu Shiyou's rich knowledge reserves, and he knew every cultural relic very well. "Digging out the stories behind cultural relics from classics, telling these stories well, and cultural relics will come to life," said Liu Shiyou.

In order to tell the story of cultural relics to more people, Liu Shiyou compiled and published the "Cultural Relics Chronicle of Longde County". He also wrote a 50000 word museum commentary, trained commentators, and widely disseminated the story of Longde cultural relics.

In recent years, as the cultural life of rural residents in Longde County has gradually enriched, Liu Shiyou has added another task. These days, Liu Shiyou is busy organizing a lecture notes. He combines cultural relics with geography, climate, historical evolution, and even rural revitalization policies, preparing to tell the villagers and try to bring cultural relics closer to them as much as possible.

"In the past, going to the countryside was to inspect cultural relics and promote relevant laws and regulations on cultural relic protection. Nowadays, everyone in the village is a volunteer for cultural relic protection." Liu Shiyou said, "Let cultural relics live in the lives of villagers and inspire everyone's pride in their hometown. This is what I most want to do and want to see."

Journalist's Notes

Take care of cultural relics and feel happy

On the day of the interview with Liu Shiyou, he was representing the Longde County Museum to Guyuan and signed a communication agreement with the museums in the city. He happily told reporters, "Great, now our cultural relics in Longde County have the opportunity to be known to more people." In the afternoon, he rushed back to Longde without stopping to explain cultural relic protection knowledge and the stories behind each cultural relic to the visiting citizens and students in the museum.

After finishing his full work, he came to the warehouse, sometimes checking one by one, sometimes sitting quietly, full of love for cultural relics. In interviews, Liu Shiyou often said, "The happiness of protecting cultural relics is difficult for others to understand."

Liu Shiyou regards the protection and research of cultural relics as a lifelong love, not caring about effort, fame and fortune, and not knowing fatigue. He feels proud and happy about his career in cultural relic protection, because everything he has done for cultural relics - guarding, inheriting, and promoting - has brought them to life as he wished.