Shanxi’s cultural relics may be lost in renovation due to a lack of funds, expertise

A pagoda standing in a cornfield in a village in Shanxi Province. Even though it is registered as a cultural relic, the pagoda needs urgent repairs, as it has started to lean and parts of it have been stolen. Photo: Zhang Yiqian/GT

China has seen growing public enthusiasm for the protection of the country's historical sites, whether through taking photos to raise awareness of their dilapidation or paying for repairs. But renovation projects must follow legal procedures and require qualified workers. As the government is struggling to cope with the sheer number of sites, experts say that the public needs to be careful about its participation in these efforts, otherwise they may end up damaging the sites, rather than helping.

Du Baofu knows there's an abandoned temple in his village, but never really paid it any attention.

The 200 residents of the village, surrounded by miles of cornfields, only use the temple during Spring Festival, when they burn incense to the gods. The statues in the temple, some beheaded, some armless, rarely drawn their attention.

Recently, Du saw a figure going in and out of the temple, sometimes alone, sometimes with company, with a camera and note pad.

That person is Tang Dahua, a self-proclaimed "relics enthusiast." He uses social media outlets to share his photos and descriptions of relics. Tang has also organized relic sightseeing trips for the media and Weibo celebrities to, in his words, "pressure the government into taking action."

But his actions have drawn criticism. Xin Yi, another relics enthusiast who also travels around the Shanxi countryside, believes that Tang's actions hurt, rather than protect, the historical sites.

"When we enthusiasts find a tombstone covered with grass, for example, the common consensus is to leave it be, not to take a photo and post it online," she said.

As awareness of the importance of protecting cultural heritage sites grows in China, some people have started to voluntarily repair historical sites, or share information about dilapidated sites on social media. But experts warn that even though the public's participation should be encouraged, they must follow the law and proper procedures.

Making the old new

Many of China's historical relics, such as ancient wooden buildings, temples and statues were destroyed in the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). Many were turned into storage spaces, schools or even sheep pens.

But in recent years there have been several cases of residents near historical sites raising money in order to repair and preserve their local relics. However, there are many cases where people have attempted to protect relics and ended up damaging the artifacts instead.

The Guangzhou Daily has reported that many ancestral temples in Guangdong Province were repaired by locals without any outside help. At Dajiang and Dazhen villages, near the city of Foshan, Guangzhou Daily reporters saw that the Ming Dynasty temples had had a makeover, with cement floors laid, newly painted doors and iron gates installed. It's now hard to tell that the temples were from the Ming Dynasty, the article said.

Deng Guangmin, the director of the relics department at the Foshan Cultural Relics Bureau, told the Guangzhou Daily that there are certain principles that need to be kept in mind when repairing relics.

"We need to follow the principle of 'minimum intervention,' we cannot alter the structure of a building, or the materials and construction techniques used when we renovate a historical site," he said.

To protect or destroy

Many of the sites Tang visits are unoccupied. At a village in Jinzhong, grass grows on the rooftops of the temples, and villagers have used the side hall to store coffin boards. The gate to the temple was sealed in a landslide and villagers dug it open. Children duck in and out, playing hide-and-seek.

Tang remembers the Taoist temple for the Jade Emperor, located in Bucun village outside the Shanxi city of Changzhi. He has been there about 10 times, checking on its status. It was totally abandoned, the gate was blocked, and a few times he had to climb over the wall in order to get in.

He has repeatedly called for its protection on his social media accounts. And he's happy to see that the temple is now being restored by the government.

Xin pointed out that what Tang posted online might provide an opportunity for unscrupulous relic dealers to pilfer some ancient artifacts. She said communicating with the local relics bureau is a better way to raise the profile of the relics Tang finds.

In Tang's defense, he is honestly trying to prompt the government to register relics and to repair those that have already been registered.

"It's no use telling the government," Tang said. "They already know. We need to exert pressure on them."