【 Li Xiang China 】 Developing in Protection and Protecting Cultural Relics | Protecting | China

At the symposium on cultural heritage and development, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that "Chinese culture has a long history and Chinese civilization is extensive and profound. Only by having a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the history of Chinese civilization can we more effectively promote the creative transformation and innovative development of Chinese excellent traditional culture, more effectively promote the construction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics and build a modern civilization of the Chinese nation". Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of strategic arrangements for the protection and inheritance of Chinese excellent traditional culture, made important instructions and instructions on the protection of cultural heritage many times, and put forward a series of new ideas, new viewpoints, and new ideas with profound connotations. In practice, many problems that have long been wanted to be solved but have not been solved have been solved, general Secretary Xi Jinping's important exposition on the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage has been formed. General Secretary Xi Jinping's important exposition on the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage, which has been formed and developed in practice, is a major theoretical achievement formed by combining the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific reality and with China's excellent traditional culture. it provides a fundamental basis for doing a good job in the work of cultural heritage in the new era, and must be adhered to and fully implemented for a long time.

Comprehensively strengthen the systematic protection of historical and cultural heritage in urban and rural areas

For a period of time, some places have misinterpreted cultural relics laws and regulations such as the Cultural Relics Protection Law of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations on the Protection of Historical and Cultural Cities, Towns, and Villages, and only designated cultural relics protection units and historical and cultural districts and towns announced by the government as objects of legal protection. The demolition of other cultural relics has caused serious harm to the protection and inheritance of Chinese culture.

Protection of cultural relics and historical sites: Preserve the original historical appearance as much as possible. From Dunhuang in Gansu Province to Mount Wutai in Shanxi Province, from Potala Palace to Summer Resort, cultural relics and historic sites are the historical testimony of all ethnic groups to jointly develop the beautiful rivers and mountains and vast territory of the motherland, and jointly create a long history and splendid Chinese culture. With the accelerated development of urbanization and large-scale urban-rural construction, some places have failed to properly handle the relationship between protection and development, leading to severe challenges in the protection of cultural relics. In 2012, according to the statistical results of the third national cultural relics census, over 40000 immovable cultural relics disappeared in China in the past 30 years, of which more than half were destroyed by various construction activities. Some regions overutilize cultural relics during the development of tourism industry, and even damage cultural relics for the construction of tourist attractions.

He has repeatedly proposed to develop and protect while protecting; The development of tourism should be based on protection, and the relationship between cultural relic protection and tourism development should be handled correctly. In 2020, during the investigation of the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi, it was proposed that "the development of tourism should be based on protection, and should not be overly commercialized. Let tourism become a process for people to appreciate Chinese culture and enhance cultural confidence.". In 2022, during the inspection of Pingyao Ancient City in Shanxi, it was required to "coordinate the development of tourism, characteristic management, and protection of the ancient city, establish a solid bottom line for cultural relics safety, and safeguard the precious wealth left by our predecessors.". He emphasized the need to preserve the original historical appearance and explicitly oppose the demolition of real buildings and the construction of fake ones. In 2013, important instructions were given to the report on the construction of the Memorial Hall for the Former Site of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Wuhan, emphasizing "restoring the old as before, preserving its original appearance, and preventing constructive damage.". During the inspection in Chaozhou, Guangdong in 2020, it was emphasized that "we should cherish and protect this precious historical and cultural heritage, not engage in excessive restoration or development, and try to preserve the original historical appearance as much as possible.".

In recent years, the principle of "not changing the original state of cultural relics" stipulated in the Cultural Relics Protection Law of the People's Republic of China and the principle of "authenticity and integrity of historical and cultural heritage" stipulated in the Regulations on the Protection of Historical and Cultural Cities, Towns, and Villages have been more resolutely implemented. "Preventing constructive destructive behaviors such as demolishing the real and building the fake, demolishing the old and building the new" was included in the 2016 Guiding Opinions of the State Council on Further Strengthening Cultural Relics Work. Maintaining the authenticity of cultural heritage, the integrity of historical style, and the continuity of social life have become guiding principles for many local cultural heritage protection practices.

Protection of underground cultural relics: Strengthening the effective protection of ancient sites. Exploring the archaeological basis for the orderly inheritance of Chinese civilization over five thousand years from various ancient cultural sites is the lifelong aspiration of several generations of Chinese archaeologists. In June 2016, four archaeologists, including Su Bai, Xie Chensheng, Huang Jinglue, and Zhang Zhongpei, proposed a proposal to declare the Liangzhu Site as a World Cultural Heritage Site and mark the 5000 year civilization of China.

For many years, archaeologists from all over the country have called for the implementation of archaeological pre construction. To address the passive situation faced by the protection of underground cultural relics, some places have made beneficial explorations through legislation. Although the principle of "archaeology before sale" has been proven effective in practice, it has not been implemented nationwide due to various reasons, which may affect the security of national cultural relics.He particularly emphasized the need to develop a system design and supporting policies of 'archaeology first, then transfer', and land that may have historical and cultural relics shall not be used until archaeological investigation, exploration, and excavation are completed in accordance with the law.

As a result, the problem of "archaeology first, sale later" has been completely solved nationwide. At the end of 2020, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics clearly stated that "before land transfer or allocation, archaeological investigations and explorations should be organized by the cultural relics competent departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government", indicating the continuous improvement of the legal protection before archaeology.

Red resource protection: protect, manage, and utilize with care and effort.From the Red Boat of Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing to Baota Mountain in Yan'an, batches of revolutionary cultural relics are precious spiritual treasures that remember the glorious history and inherit the red gene. The protection of red resources is to protect the historical memory of the CPC for more than 100 years of working for the people's happiness and national rejuvenation, and to protect the historical material evidence of the Chinese people's struggle for the Chinese revolution, construction and reform. It has a great responsibility and a glorious mission.

In November of the same year, during an inspection in Shanghai, it was requested that "these rich red resources be used as vivid teaching materials for theme education, guiding party members and cadres to deeply study the history of the Party, the history of New China, and the history of reform and opening up, so that the original aspiration can be passed down and the mission can always be shouldered.".

On the occasion of the 100 anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, in March 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping gave important instructions on the work of revolutionary cultural relics, emphasizing that "we should effectively protect, manage, and use revolutionary cultural relics, and give full play to the study and education of party history. The important role of revolutionary tradition education and patriotism education stimulates the spiritual strength of the broad masses of cadres and the masses, confidence is a hundred times to strive for the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country and the realization of the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation". In June of the same year, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized during the collective study of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, "We must protect, manage, and use red resources with heart and emotion", "We must carry out in-depth special investigations of red resources and strengthen scientific protection".

The revolutionary cultural relics and historical sites record the struggle history of Communist Party members. On the vast land of China, there are over 36000 immovable revolutionary cultural relics scattered, and over 1600 revolutionary museums and memorial halls. In terms of the protection methods for revolutionary cultural relics, more attention should be paid to maintaining the historical appearance of what was originally a revolutionary and difficult place.

Traditional Village Protection: Preserve the green mountains and waters, and remember the nostalgia. A large number of local architecture with distinct local characteristics not only reflect China's long-standing history and rich and diverse ethnic, folk, and folk cultures, but also serve as a historical witness to human civilization.

At the Central Urbanization Work Conference in December 2013, it was proposed that "in promoting urban-rural integration development, attention should be paid to preserving the original style of villages, carefully cutting down trees, not filling lakes, and demolishing houses less, and improving the living conditions of residents as much as possible in the original form of villages.". During the investigation in Dali, Yunnan in January 2015, it was pointed out that "the new rural construction must follow the path that conforms to the rural reality, follow the law of rural development, fully reflect the rural characteristics, pay attention to the local flavor, retain the rural style, stay green mountains and rivers, and remember nostalgia". In March 2019, during the deliberation of the Henan delegation at the second session of the 13th National People's Congress, it was proposed to "comprehensively consider land use, industrial development, residential layout, human settlement environment improvement, ecological protection, and historical and cultural heritage in accordance with the principle of planning before construction, and formulate a practical village plan that integrates multiple regulations.".

According to the decision and deployment of the Party Central Committee, the protection of rural agricultural heritage has been comprehensively strengthened. At present, China has announced 312 famous historical and cultural towns, 487 famous historical and cultural villages, and 6819 traditional Chinese villages, forming the largest agricultural civilization heritage group in the world to date.

Protection of Chinese cultural symbols: Enhancing recognition of Chinese culture.In February 2015, during an investigation in Shaanxi, it was pointed out that "the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor, the Terra Cotta Warriors, the Yan'an Pagoda, the Qinling Mountains, and the Huashan Mountains are the spiritual and natural symbols of Chinese civilization, Chinese revolution, and Chinese geography". In September 2019, at the National Conference for Commendation of Ethnic Unity and Progress, it was emphasized to "establish and highlight the symbols of Chinese culture and the image of the Chinese nation shared by all ethnic groups, and enhance the recognition of Chinese culture among the people of all ethnic groups.".

The Great Wall is a representative symbol of the Chinese nation and an important symbol of Chinese civilization.

The Yangtze River is a representative symbol of the Chinese nation and a symbol of Chinese civilization.

The Yellow River culture is the root and soul of the Chinese nation.

The Grand Canal is a precious heritage left to us by our ancestors.

In recent years, the General Office of the Communist Party of China and the State Council have issued the "Opinions on Implementing the Project of Inheriting and Developing Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture", proposing the planning and construction of a number of national cultural parks. Nowadays, the construction and protection of national cultural parks such as the Great Wall, Grand Canal, Long March, Yellow River, and Yangtze River have been solidly promoted, and the systematic protection of cultural heritage has been the primary task of national cultural park construction, providing profound nourishment for the inheritance of Chinese culture and the continuation of historical context.

Focus on strengthening the overall protection of historical and cultural cities

Culture is the soul, cherishing it like life. From Xi'an in the Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties to Beijing in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the historical and cultural city system is an extremely important carrier of Chinese culture. We should cherish it from the bottom of our hearts and do our best to cherish it.In recent years, the protection of historical and cultural cities has received unprecedented attention and support from the whole society. Various parts of the country are actively exploring new plans and paths for overall protection, comprehensive protection, and active protection.

Emphasize the great significance of protecting ancient cities: like cherishing one's own life. The protection of historical and cultural cities is of utmost importance in the protection of cultural heritage.Serious criticism of the problems that emerged during urbanization at that time: "Currently, there are many problems in urban construction that have been criticized by the people. Some places are demolishing and building large buildings, and the entire city is filled with construction sites. Urban construction lacks characteristics and has a monotonous style. Some cities are greedy for foreign culture, and some officials pursue visual effects during their tenure. Some cities ignore historical and cultural protection, destroying urban relics and historical memories."

He pointed out that "Beijing is a world-renowned ancient capital, and its rich historical and cultural heritage is a golden calling card. It is the responsibility of the capital to inherit and protect this precious historical and cultural heritage. In the spirit of being responsible for history and the people, it is necessary to inherit the historical context, handle the relationship between urban renovation and development, and the protection and utilization of historical and cultural heritage, and effectively achieve development in protection and protection in development.".

He pointed out that "a city is a carrier of national culture and emotional memory, and historical culture is the key to the charm of a city. As the ancients said, 'All things are born, but only know how to keep their roots.' Chinese civilization has continued to this day because of this awareness of roots. Nowadays, many construction activities show ignorance and contempt for historical culture, and have done many foolish things to cut off the historical context.".

Clarify the scientific strategy for protecting ancient cities: we cannot engage in foolish activities such as demolishing the real and building fake ones.In December of the same year, at the Central Urban Work Conference, it was requested to "protect the cultural heritage left by our predecessors, including cultural relics, historical and cultural cities, towns, villages, historical blocks, historical buildings, industrial heritage, and intangible cultural heritage, and not engage in foolish activities such as demolishing real historical sites and building fake antiques.".

In September 2017, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council explicitly proposed in the approval of the "Overall Urban Plan for Beijing": "Strengthen the overall protection of the old city and the" Three Mountains and Five Gardens ", the old city cannot be demolished again, and through evacuation and restorative construction, we can achieve full protection.". In accordance with important instructions such as "the old city cannot be demolished again", various regions continuously summarize the successful experience of protecting ancient cities, adopt more protection strategies of "protecting ancient cities and building new cities", adhere to the overall protection of ancient cities, and promote the blueprint of protecting historical and cultural cities to the end.

Writing a New Chapter in the Protection and Inheritance of Chinese Cultural Heritage

In the past 10 years, cultural relic protection has been subordinate to economic development, and has moved towards the equal importance of protection and development, developing in protection and protecting in development; From the complete demolition of historical and cultural cities to the overall and comprehensive protection of ancient cities; From the large-scale demolition and construction of historical blocks, and the repeated prohibition of real and fake demolition, to the more widespread use of micro renovation "embroidery" techniques nationwide; From the passive situation of archaeological work being forced to give way to land development, to the design of a "archaeological first, then transfer" system to achieve archaeological pre development; From the extremely low legal cost of destroying cultural relics to strict law enforcement, lifelong accountability for cultural relic protection, and strict crackdown on cultural relic crimes.

Enable residents to see mountains, water, and remember their homesickness; Historical and cultural heritage is the soul of a city, and we should protect it as well as cherish our own lives; To protect and promote the excellent traditional Chinese culture, continue the historical context of cities, and protect the cultural heritage left by our predecessors; Party committees and governments at all levels should enhance their reverence for historical relics, establish the scientific concept that protecting cultural relics is also a political achievement, and coordinate the protection of cultural relics with economic and social development; Without high cultural confidence and cultural prosperity, there can be no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation; To highlight local characteristics, pay attention to improving the living environment, and adopt more micro renovation techniques such as' embroidery '; To unify the renovation and upgrading of old urban areas with the protection of historical relics and the preservation of historical context, we need to improve the living environment while also protecting the historical and cultural heritage, integrating historical and cultural elements with modern life; We should cherish and protect this precious historical and cultural heritage, not engage in excessive restoration or development, and try to preserve the original historical appearance as much as possible; We should cherish and respect ancient buildings, old houses, and old neighborhoods; We must respect history, culture, and ecology, and comprehensively protect historical and cultural heritage. These important statements, word by word, demonstrate the realm and sentiment of Communist Party members who love culture. They are not only clear deployments to strengthen the systematic protection of cultural heritage, but also political requirements for party committees and governments at all levels to strengthen cultural confidence and promote cultural construction.