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  Educational and Cultural Development


Historic Preservation (Hui-Cheng Lin)
2013-03-27


 

        Terminology such as “historical site” as used in literature or regulations can have different definitions. The general interpretation is similar to today’s definition of tangible cultural assets, which normally includes ancient buildings, traditional settlements, sites, cultural landscapes and views of natural land, among others, whereas in the narrow sense, it simply refers to ancient buildings. This article’s main discussion is concerned with the narrow definition, which is “ancient building”.

          Since the birth of the R.O.C and due to wars in the past, ancient buildings and antiquities have been severely damaged. Therefore, in 1912, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Beiyang Government planned to set up an antiquity preservation department and published “antiquity display charters” and “antiquity preservation association charters”. In 1913, the cabinet minister of internal affairs, Jhu Chi-chian, used the Wen Hwa Temple and the Wu Yin Temple from the Qing imperial palace to set up an antiquity display museum so as to collect and display antiquities from the Qing Rehe  and Shenyang palaces, which became the first R.O.C national museum. In 1915, “temporary measures for antiquity preservation” were prescribed, and within these measures, the subjects of protection were clearly stated and included the following five types of buildings and antiquities under protection: the graves of emperors and sages, the ancient city walls at military fortresses, barriers and caves, etc., the affiliated celebrity relics, chronicle tablets, photographic and painted wall cliffs, trees, stone, bamboo and celebrity paintings, among others. In 1924, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Beiyang Government proclaimed the “Draft for Antiquities and Monuments Preservation Act” in order to prevent illegal selling of stolen Qing imperial Palace artifacts. Later that year, the Qing royal family was expelled from the Forbidden City by Feng Yuxiang, and this draft was not promoted anymore and never became law.  

          From the book “Reports on the Member’s Work on Preservation of Antiquities”, one can generally conclude that during the six years reign of the antiquity preservation committee, its achievements included: 1. Foreign affairs: (1) foreign archaeological team excavations and the disposal of antiquities such as the antiquities unearthed by the American Museum of Natural History and a German named Klinkchin; (2) Collaboration with foreign academia to proceed with archaeological excavations, such as a joint Central Asia expedition with the American Museum of Natural History and the China West expedition, as well as a joint expedition with France a nine scientific items expedition, among others; (3) application  for the customs-seized stone carvings and bronzes antiquities. 2. Domestic affairs: (1) Antiquity protection: Application for local government protection and for stopping or investigating the destruction of antiquities and old trees and illegal sales, among other restrictions, (2) Application for the governing authority to execute protection for antiquities: Stopping the Summer Palace Firm from dismantling the Yu Chuan Shan Tai Juen building and the Jhuon Gu building, giving up the dismantling of the front gate watchtower in Peking, and stringently investigating the responsibility for architectural destruction of the western building’s white stone in western Peking and for the theft of the tower top from the west side of the Wu Tai temple, investigating the dismantling of the watchtower in Chun Ping County, acquiring through purchasing the Hon Chen Lan ancestral hall at Nan Luer Gu Alley in Peking, fixing the east and west galleries of Guo Tse Gian; (3) Antiquity foundation survey: Promotion of the antiquity surveys at the Huon Luo Temple in Whi Zer County and Yiaw Hwa Menn in Nanking Chi Shia Shan; (4) Archeological excavations: a joint excavation team with Peking university targeted at Hebe Yi County Yin Shia Du.  

          In the early stages after the formation of the Central Antiquities Trustees, the planned work outlines had ten points: (1) For the already established legally protected institutions, supervision and promotion of the comprehensiveness and enhancement of the preservation methods; (2) For those antiquities not under government preservation jurisdiction, working in conjunction with local authorities to provide protection and maintenance; (3) For requisitions for excavation submitted by academia, approval or rejection based on individual merits and provision of considerable assistance or banning; (4) Severe punishment for unauthorized excavations by profiteers and local ruffians; (5) Protection of privately own antiquities and accurate surveys and registration of precious and important antiquities;(6) In the case of all locally and recently discovered antiquities, after appraisal by the Trustees, the institution of responsible for its protection would be determined;(7) delegation to local governments for protection of any local antiquities and artifacts,; (8) As for those antiquities with academic and cultural value, the Trustees would appropriate resources from the central government’s cultural and academic institutions so as to facilitate future research; (9) All other already unearthed antiquities and artifacts would be registered and afforded proper preservation; (10) Strong supervision applied to unearthed antiquities and artifact excavations. 

          The Central Antiquities Trustees were re-affiliated to the Ministry of the Interior in 1935. By 1937, operations stemming from the “antiquity preservation law” were handed over to The Ritual department of the Ministry of the Interior, whereas the achievements of the preservation efforts were not recorded in the annals.

 

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