HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS BRIEFS

DIGITAL FORBIDDEN CITY TO GO ONLINE IN 2008

On 16 June 2006, James Yeh, chief technology officer of IBM China, announced that his company is co-operating with the Palace Museum to produce an interactive online site of the Forbidden City. The project envisages constructing a multilingual platform, but will begin by presenting images illustrating some of the artefacts and incidents from the Forbidden City's history, when it goes online in 2008.

2,400-YEAR-OLD TOMBS DISCOVERED IN HUBEI

On 18 June 2006, Xinhua News Agency reported that archaeologists in Hubei have discovered 47 tombs that date back more than 2,400 years in Yunxian county. Two of the tombs are believed to contain the remains of nobles of the little known state of Jun of the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BCE). According to historical documents, Jun state was eventually conquered by Chu. Vessels made from a unique type of bronze were discovered in these two tombs, and archaeologists hope these will provide important information regarding the metallurgy of the period.

LARGE ANCIENT STONE CHIMES UNEARTHED

On 18 June, archaeologists from the Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology recovered two very large stone chimes at the Jinsha site in the suburbs of Chengdu. The Jinsha site is believed to date to around 1200 BCE. The larger chime stone measures 110cm in length, and is described as 'the largest Shang dynasty chime stone ever unearthed'. It is elliptical in shape and would have been originally suspended from a frame. Such chime stones are generally believed to have been instruments on which 'ritual music' was played.

PROJECT TO DOCUMENT HOLDINGS OF ANCIENT BOOKS

On 11 June 2006, Xinhua reported that the Ministry of Culture has launched a ten-year survey to inventory all ancient books and their locations in China. Zhan Furui, a curator at the National Library of China, was quoted in the report as saying that 'one third of the 30 million ancient books existing in China are damaged', and pointing out that China has fewer than 100 specialists in book restoration.

SURVEY FINDS 646 HERITAGE SITES IN BAO'AN

On 8 June, the Bao'an Cultural Relics Management Office in Shenzhen was reported to have listed 646 heritage sites in the district after a two-year-long survey. The heritage sites on the list capture the unique contours of Cantonese and southern culture, comprising 185 family temples, 189 tombs, 170 towers, 43 academies and schools, 37 temples, 9 Hakka buildings, 7 Western-style constructions built in the early 1900s, 3 blockhouses, 2 monuments and 1 early wharf facility.

THE WORLD'S LARGEST BUDDHA TO BE EXAMINED

On 7 June, it was reported in China Daily that the 71m-high Buddha carved into a cliff at Leshan in Sichuan province is to be tested for structural flaws using geological radar. The 'X-ray' treatment is part of a large repair project that began in 2001. The entire project will cost RMB 250 million yuan (about USD 30 million). USD two million is being extended to the project in World Bank loans. The giant Buddha of Leshan was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO in 1996.

CHINA'S FIRST NATIONAL 'CULTURAL HERITAGE DAY' CELEBRATED

On 10 June 2006, China celebrated its first 'Cultural Heritage Day' (Wenhua Yichan Ri). The event is to be celebrated annually on the second Saturday of June. The media gave publicity to cultural heritage issues and some museums organised special displays for the two weeks surrounding the event. The National Museum of China, for example, staged the '2006 Special Exhibition for the Cultural Heritage Day of China' which ran from 5 June to 5 July. The highlight of the exhibition was a grade one national treasure, the bronze Zilong ding vessel, regarded as the earliest known bronze ding of the Shang dynasty (c.1600-1046 BCE) that bears an inscription of the Chinese character for 'dragon' on its interior surface. The patriotic theme conveyed by the item underscored the fact that the item was recently recovered on the international market. The special exhibition comprised objects from 'the national patrimony' recovered from abroad.

NATIONAL HERITAGE LOTTERY MOOTED

On 4 June, Xinhua reported that Chinese cultural heritage officials have suggested that China adopt the UK and European practice of raising funds for cultural heritage work through the institution of a national lottery for this express purpose. Guo Zhan, Vice President of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), was reported as saying that cultural heritage circles and related departments in China were very interested in the idea. At an international conference on heritage conservation in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, Judith Cligman, from Britain's Heritage Lottery Fund, presented a paper outlining the British experience in such fund raising. China's massive heritage protection needs are constantly short of funding, local officials stressed.

'FAVOURITE GARDEN' OF QIANLONG EMPEROR RESTORED

On 16 May 2006, Xinhua News Agency reported that the restoration of the 4,000 sq m Garden of the Palace of Established Happiness (Jianfu Gong) in the Palace Museum, burned to the ground under suspicious circumstances in 1923, has been completed. The restoration was funded by the China Heritage Fund of Hong Kong which provided HK$100 million (US$12 million) for the project. According to Happy Harun, a project manager with the fund, the restoration attempted to capture the garden as it was in 1740 when completed by the Qianlong Emperor. The restored garden and its buildings will not be open to the public; according to Harun they will be used 'exclusively for academic conferences and special exhibitions'. The foundation will also help restore the complex called the Hall of Rectitude (Zhongzheng Dian), destroyed in the same fire in 1923.

2,400-YEAR-OLD SALT FILTER UNEARTHED IN HEBEI

On 11 May 2006, Xinhua News Agency reported the discovery of a 2,400-year-old filter once used to extract salt from seawater. The filter would have been placed under a vat containing seawater blended with plant ash, according to Wang Lingfeng, director of the Office for the Protection of Cultural Relics in Haixing county, Cangzhou, Hebei province. The helmet-shaped filter, measuring 22cm in height and having an inner diameter of 13.7cm and an outer diameter of 19.5cm, is believed to date from the Spring and Autumn period (722-481 BCE). The filter was unearthed together with a drain, fragments of pottery, metal ware, plant ash and a brine well. Cangzhou was an important ancient base for salt production.

CHINA SELECTS TOP 10 ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES OF 2005

On 9 May 2006, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and China Cultural Relics News finally announced their selections of 'China's top 10 archaeological finds of 2005'. This year's announcement came with none of the fanfare that surrounded the selections a decade previously, highlighting the failure over the past two years to list some major discoveries and the pre-empting of the awards by the Institute of Archaeology of CASS, who issued its own list at the beginning of the year.

This year's list consisted of:

The final selections were made from more than 400 archaeological discoveries last year. The competition has been held for 16 years.

ANCIENT CITY RUINS AND TOMBS FOUND ON SINO-KOREAN BORDER

On 9 May 2006, Xinhua News Agency reported that Chinese archaeologists in Jilin province have discovered the ruins of an ancient city and many tombs that date back to the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. The tombs, found in outlying mountains near Yufeng reservoir on the border between China and North Korea, are believed to belong to the Koguryo-Gaogouli kingdom. The ancient city ruins, now covered by thick mud, are square in plan and surrounded by a wall 1.5m high and 4m thick, and are alternatively described as belonging to the Han dynasty period. There is also evidence that a moat once surrounded the city wall. The 180m-long western wall and a gate 6m in width are still visible, as is the wall along the northern side. A dozen tombs were also found inside the city ruins and in an area to the north. Further excavation of the ruins needs to be conducted. A cemetery, containing 2,360 individual tombs, was also discovered some 20km from the location of the ancient city ruins. The tombs are believed to belong to the ancient Koguryo kingdom (1st-5th centuries CE). The reservoir is the vicinity of Ji'an, a Chinese city on the Sino-DPRK (North Korea) border that drew global attention in July 2004 when it was included on the World Heritage List for being home to an even larger number of tombs, over 6,000, from the ancient Koguryo kingdom.

TEMPLE OF HEAVEN RE-OPENS

On 29 April, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing re-opened to visitors, after being closed for nearly one year for renovations. The renovations were completed with an investment of RMB 47 million, and have, reportedly, restored the imperial prayer hall according to its appearance in the late Guangxu period (1875-1908) of the Qing dynasty. The structure rests on 28 massive wooden pillars and contains no steel, cement or crossbeams. Built in 1420 during the reign of the Ming dynasty's Yongle Emperor (1403-1424), the temple was the site where Ming and Qing emperors prayed for bountiful harvests.

SEA GODDESS CELEBRATIONS IN FUJIAN

On 20 April, a ceremony was held on Meizhou Island off the coast of Fujian province to mark the 1,046th anniversary of the birth of Mazu, a Chinese sea goddess also known by her title of Tianhou, meaning 'celestial empress'. The Mazu cult is well known is coastal south-eastern China, but Meizhou Island is said to be the site of the ancestral Mazu Temple. About one million tourists visit the temple every year, including 100,000 visitors from Taiwan.

THE MILLENNIUM BRA

Xinhua reported on 17 April that Tian Yanguo, a textiles specialist at the Aohan Banner Museum in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, has identified an object recovered from a Liao dynasty (907-1125 CE) tomb in April 2004 as an ancient silk brassiere with shoulder and back straps. The item was padded with cotton, and featured gold filigree and fine embroidery. The bra was found together with a pair of fine silk slippers measuring 23cm in length. They were embroidered with hundreds of flowers and even the soles were made of fine silks. According to Shao Guotian, a curator with the Aohan Banner Museum, more than 90 percent of Liao dynasty tombs in Inner Mongolia await further excavation.

2,300-YEAR-OLD TRIPODAL BRONZE VESSEL RETURNED TO CHINA

Bernard Gomez, a noted French archaeologist and an expert on Chinese antiquities, presented a 2,300-year-old bronze ding, or three-legged tripod, to the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Bureau. It arrived at its new home in Xi'an on 10 April. The valuable vessel bears an inscription that runs to 50 inscribed characters, which indicates that it was owned in turn by the Han state of the Warring States period (475 - 221 BCE), the Xianyang Palace of the Qin dynasty and by the Linjin Palace of the Han dynasty.

Gomez purchased the object on the open market for an undisclosed price, although it is believed to be worth several million USD. Xinhua reported that Gomez 'came to China in 1986 and has been devoted to Chinese antiquities ever since. He set up an Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe in 2004 to help retrieve relics lost overseas, after seeing so many Chinese relics sold at auction abroad'.

The object will be exhibited at the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum in Lintong.

CEREMONY HONOURS YELLOW EMPEROR

The Qingming Festival (April 5), tomb sweeping day, is now celebrated at the mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor in Huangling, Shaanxi province. Xinhua News Agency, on 6 April, quoted Chen Deming, governor of Shaanxi province, as saying that 'realising the reunification of the motherland is the best way to cherish the Yellow Emperor's memory'. The ceremony, which was initiated in the 1990s, is designed to appeal to Taiwanese and overseas Chinese.

YUEJU OPERA MARKS 100TH ANNIVERSARY

Shaoxing Opera (Yueju) celebrated its 100th anniversary in April 2006. Created in 1906 by a group of mostly female performers in Dongwang village, Shengzhou, Zhejiang province, the opera form was based on a local recitative genre called luodi changshu, which was transferred to the stage and originally termed xiaoge ban (small-song troupe). It later proved remarkably popular and acquired a mass following in Shanghai. It still flourishes in its hometown today, and at the beginning of April a dramatic festival was organised to celebrate its centennial.

DIGITAL MODEL OF QIN TERRACOTTA WARRIOR PIT

On 5 April 2006, the Shaanxi Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage announced that scientists from the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum in Lintong and the Xi'an Siwei Air Survey Remote Sensing Centre had completed a digital model of the no. 2 pit at Qin Shihuang's mausoleum that captures the structure of the pit, with its covering timbers intact, prior to excavation. Work on the model began in May 2005.

MORE THAN 1,000-PLUS SITES UNDER STATE-LEVEL PROTECTION

SACH announced on 31 March 2006 that it has added another 1,081 cultural heritage sites to its state-level protection list, bringing the total number on the list to 2,352. This is the sixth listing of sites by SACH. The Chinese government previously announced five batches of state-level cultural heritage sites—in 1961, 1982, 1988, 1996 and 2001, respectively, with a total number of 1,271. Shan Jixiang, head of the SACH, pointed out that although more than 400,000 ancient sites across China have been registered in surveys, only 1,271 were previously under state-level protection previously. He noted that in Egypt, over 20,000 heritage sites are protected by the central government, and about 5,000 relic sites in India and 2,823 sites in Vietnam are under state-level protection.

Among the new sites on the sixth list were: Zhongnanhai, the office compound of China's central leadership; the Grand Canal, a surprisingly late inclusion; Beijing's Jesuit cemetery containing the graves of Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) and other European missionaries; and the burial site of victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese invaders in 1937. The latest list brings the total of national key cultural relics sites to 2,351.

ANYANG HOPES FOR WORLD HERITAGE LISTING

On 23 March 2006, Jin Suidong, secretary of the Anyang municipal committee of the Communist Party of China, told a reporter from China Youth Daily that he expected the Yinxu site of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1100 BCE) in Anyang to be listed as a world cultural heritage site, when UNESCO's World Heritage Committee meets in July. SACH has already included the conservation of the Yinxu site in its 11th Five-Year Plan, which began in 2006.