The Historical Origin of Xi 'an and Nara

Nara is as important to Japanese history as Xi is to China.

Nara was called Yamato State in ancient times, and the Yamato State established around the third century AD played an important role in the formation of Japan's early unified country and nation.

Since then, Nara, as the political center of Japan at that time, has made great progress because of its enthusiastic study and absorption of mainland culture dominated by China.

Fujiwara, the earliest official capital in Japan's history, is located in the big and southern bird areas of Japan. It was built and put into use in 694 AD.

Since AD 7 10, the capital moved to Daiwa and Pingchengjing in the north, thus starting the Nara era.

After moving its capital to Kyoto in the eighth century, Nara was no longer the political center of Japan, but as the temple capital, it continued to shine.

Nara, as an ancient capital, is not as long as Xi 'an, nor can it compare with Xi 'an in terms of cultural heritage richness and international influence.

Modern Nara, with the goal of facing the future and building a new cultural capital, has become a stronghold of culture, art and academic research. In terms of cultural heritage protection, it has made remarkable achievements: it has two world heritages: "Buddhist Architecture in Horyuji" and "Nara Cultural Heritage in Ancient Capital", especially the second one named after a city, which consists of Dongda Temple, Xiaofu Temple, Chunri Dashe, Yuanxing Temple, Yakutski, Tangzhaoti Temple and Pingcheng Palace. 1994 The document on authenticity compiled at the Nara International Symposium has become an important guiding principle for the protection of world heritage in the new era. 1999 The Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office of the United Nations Asia-Pacific Cultural Center was established in Nara, making it the center of cultural heritage protection research, information exchange and personnel training in the Asia-Pacific region.

The author personally went to the field for training and research, which was deeply touched. Here, I introduce some ideas and practices about the protection of cultural heritage, hoping to draw lessons from the protection and construction of Xi's famous historical and cultural city.

Nara-machi-urban pattern and protection of historical and cultural blocks Nara-machi is an area centered on the old territory of Yuanxing Temple, which was more prominent in the eastern part of Heisei-Jing in Nara era and was called Waijing.

Judging from the size and building volume of the block, it was just an ordinary town at that time.

There are many shrines and Buddhist temples preserved here, and some residential shops and relatively regular small streets and lanes from the end of Edo period (1603 to 1867) to Meiji period (1867 to191) continue to this day.

Although Nara-CHO no longer exists as an administrative system, it is protected as an important witness reflecting the development history of Naraichi.

Here, not only the ancient scenery has been well displayed, but also the ancient and rich market customs and historical traditions have been preserved.

By visiting traditional houses, arts and crafts galleries and other places, people can have a deeper understanding and feelings about the history and customs of the block.

In the urban master plan of 1980-2000, Xi 'an put forward the basic principle of "protecting the complete pattern of Ming city, showing the grand scale of Tang Cheng, and protecting the main relics of Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang Dynasties", which reflected the great attention paid to protecting the urban pattern and the ancient capital style in Xi 'an in history and became a model of modern urban planning in China.

However, in the process of modernization, many traditional houses, shops and halls have been demolished because of the policy of actively transforming the old city, which is undoubtedly a huge loss of the cultural heritage of the old city.

The newly promulgated Regulations on the Protection of Historical and Cultural Cities in Xi in 2002 clearly recognized the protection of historical and cultural blocks in Xi.

The two historical and cultural blocks, represented by Beiyuanmen and Sanxue Street, are the two largest existing blocks in Xi during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In addition to many residential shops, there are many temples and other historical sites in this area, which are very distinctive. Together with Xi 'an City Wall, Bell and Drum Tower and other Ming and Qing landmark buildings, it has become an organic part of the ancient capital.

However, there are still many problems in actual management and specific protection. Many places in historical and cultural blocks failed to become the beautiful scenery of the ancient capital, but damaged the city image of Xi 'an.

Building antique street is a shortcut to historical and cultural blocks, but it is rare in the protection practice abroad.

They asked the ordinary houses in the historic district to be renovated according to the traditional style, and the appearance was consistent with the style of the whole district; And pay great attention to publicize the significance of these practices to the owners in order to gain public support.

In the area of North Yard Gate, our city cooperated with Norway to repair several traditional courtyards, and also demolished several courtyards that were rebuilt in recent years and were not in harmony with the style of the block. According to the style of Xi 'an residential building in Ming and Qing Dynasties, the city redesigned and built it, and cooperated with the construction of urban infrastructure, which improved the living environment of historical and cultural blocks and set a good example for the protection of residential buildings.

Second, the integration of historical and humanistic environment and natural ecological environment "Nara is a beautiful place.

Nature is beautiful, and so are the preserved buildings.

And the integration of the two is invisible in other places.

Shiga Naoya, a famous Japanese writer who lived in this kind of life in the early 20th century, has a special liking for Nara, and his writings reveal the reasons why this city won people's love.

Nara attaches great importance to the integration of historical and cultural environment and natural environment in urban planning.

In order to protect cultural relics, a special protection zone for historical customs has been set up for management; For the areas where some cultural relics are located, it is divided into different restricted areas such as scenic spots and urban landscape formation areas, so that the rich historical and cultural environment and beautiful natural environment tend to be harmonious and unified.

Nara has many scenic spots, all based on historical and cultural resources.

Nara Park and its surrounding areas are outstanding examples of their harmony and unity.

Nara Park is located in a famous scenic spot, where there are several world heritages such as Xiaofu Temple, Dongda Temple and Chunri Dashe, as well as natural landscapes such as Ruocao Mountain.

It is four kilometers long from east to west and two kilometers wide from north to south, with lush forests and vast grasslands.

In ancient times, sika deer, supported by gods, roamed in groups today, becoming a unique landscape.

Even in the world heritage of Nara, the ancient capital, Kasugayama virgin forest itself is protected as a sacred area of the ancient Spring Festival society, which embodies the Japanese tradition of feeling the existence of God through nature and is regarded as a "cultural landscape".

After the founding of New China, Xi planned a number of cultural relics and historic sites such as Wang Xiang Tomb in Qinzhuang, Chang 'an City Site in Tang Dynasty, Xingqing Palace Site in Tang Dynasty, Qujiangchi Site in Tang Dynasty, Wild Goose Pagoda in Tang Dynasty, Xi City Wall in Ming Dynasty and Mi City Wall in Qin Dynasty as green spaces or parks, which reflected the consciousness of combining the protection of cultural relics and historic sites with the natural ecological environment and gained some successful experiences.

However, in the specific design and implementation, some failed to pay more attention to the protection of historical and cultural cities, lacked the display and display of cultural relics, and failed to dig out rich historical and cultural connotations, which was not much different from the general garden amusement places.

In addition, around Xi 'an, especially in the Qinling Mountains, there are many cultural landscapes that blend with beautiful natural scenery, forming some scenic spots with rich connotations and distinctive features, such as Mount Lishan Huaqingchi Scenic Spot, Chang 'an Fan Chuan Buddhist Cultural Scenic Spot, Ming and Qing Tombs Scenic Spot, Louguantai Taoist Cultural Scenic Spot and so on.

Strengthening the protection and construction of these scenic spots is of great significance for promoting the development of historical and cultural cities and maintaining the external ecological environment of historical and cultural cities.

At present, it is urgent to evaluate and confirm the cultural scenic spots around Xi 'an, delimit the scope, and incorporate them into the protection and construction of historical and cultural cities for planning, legislation and management.

Three. The establishment of historical parks is an important way to protect ancient sites in Japan.

There are more than 500 ancient sites in Japan, including tombs, castles, villages, temples, official halls, gardens and roads, which are all protected in this way.

Historical parks are managed by the Ministry of Environment and Construction, and there are more than ten national historical parks.

The Bird History Park in Nara has preserved many relics of the Asuka period. It is a national historical park, and its cultural relics have been well protected and displayed.

Because there is a national archaeological research institute in Japan-Nara National Institute of Cultural Property, which is the research center of archaeological excavation and cultural relics protection in Japan, the site of Heisei Palace is managed by the Ministry of Education.

The restoration practice of the site of Heisei Palace embodies the ideas and methods of Japanese cultural relics protection, which is of great reference significance to us.

From 7 10 to 784, Pingchengjing was the capital city, which was built by Japan imitating Chang 'an and Luoyang, the capitals of Sui and Tang Dynasties.

The site of Peace Palace is located in the middle of the northern part of the capital, with a length of 1.3km from east to west and a width of 1km from north to south, covering an area of 120 hectares.

After moving the capital, most of the sites became rice fields.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, Japan has acquired the property rights of most of the land in this site through a series of redemption.

On the basis of large-scale archaeological excavation, it has been preserved, restored and displayed, becoming a ruins museum, which can also be called a historical park in form.

On the site of Pingcheng Palace, there are museums that introduce the history and cultural relics of Pingcheng Palace, as well as cultural relics exhibition halls that faithfully display archaeological sites.

In addition, because ancient Japan is mainly a civil structure building, unlike the masonry structure in Europe, it is easy to be preserved on the ground, so we pay attention to the protection and restoration of archaeological sites, mainly adopting the following methods: First, copy or imitate according to the original archaeological excavations.

For example, the site of a well in Danili, Pingcheng Palace, copied the wellhead in its original position, and the paving stones on the surrounding ground were imitated with chemical materials.

Secondly, it shows the ground remains and scope of architectural sites.

For example, the steps, foundation altar and pillar foundation stone are restored to the second hall; For a group of buildings in the inner area where the emperor lived, lawn was used to represent the scope of the site, and shrubs trimmed into columns were used to represent columns.

Third, rebuild or partially rebuild the original building.

For example, Zhuquemen, the main entrance of Miyagi, was rebuilt according to the expert's restoration plan.

Fourthly, use the method of landscape planning to express the site.

Mainly by planting some plants that are harmless to the site, it can not only protect the site in a state close to nature, but also be beneficial to landscape viewing.

The ancient sites in our city are densely distributed, especially Zhou Fenghao, Qin Epang Palace, Han Chang 'an City and Tang Daming Palace, which are the main remains of the famous historical and cultural city An, occupying an important position in the history of the development of China's ancient capital and also belonging to the cultural heritage of the whole world.

In recent twenty years, under the situation of urbanization and large-scale development of rural economy, the protection of large sites has been greatly impacted and challenged.

According to the idea of establishing historical and cultural parks and restoring the exhibition of large sites, the cultural relics department of Xi City has carefully organized and compiled the protection plan.

At present, more than ten ancient sites, led by the four major sites, have formulated protection plans or schemes.

On the other hand, raise funds from various sources and actively implement cultural relics protection projects.

Especially in recent years, with the support of UNESCO Japan Trust Fund, the protection and restoration project of Hanyuan Temple site in Daming Palace has been successfully implemented through multi-party consultation and demonstration by Chinese and Japanese experts, laying a foundation for public display in the future and giving play to the role of cultural relics in social education and tourism.

However, the protection of great sites is a systematic project involving the whole society, which needs the great attention of leaders at all levels and the joint efforts of relevant departments.

I hope that with the strong support of leaders at all levels, the unremitting efforts of relevant departments, and the concern and cooperation of local people, the protection plan for large sites can be adopted and put into practice as soon as possible, adding new glory to Xi 'an, a famous historical and cultural city.

Protection of Intangible Cultural Wealth and Folk Cultural Wealth Japan calls cultural relics cultural wealth, which can be divided into five categories: tangible cultural wealth, intangible cultural wealth, folk cultural wealth, historical sites and traditional architectural communities. The connotation is much broader than the general definition of cultural relics in China.

The division of intangible cultural wealth and folk cultural wealth is a remarkable feature of Japanese cultural wealth view, and it is also protected by classification like other cultural wealth.

Intangible cultural wealth refers to intangible cultural property such as performing arts, music and technology with historical and artistic value in Japan.

Folk cultural wealth is indispensable for understanding the evolution of Japanese national life, including customs and habits, folk art and articles used in food, clothing, housing and transportation. It can be divided into intangible folk cultural wealth and tangible folk cultural wealth.

Abstracting "intangible" content from cultural wealth conforms to the international trend of recognizing and attaching importance to intangible heritage, which makes the concept of cultural heritage more complete and richer in content.

Nara's emphasis on folklore is impressive.

These vivid customs inspire people's love for the countryside and are also an important part of tourism.

Nara's seasonal custom "Notes on Yamato Times" is an indispensable part of the local sightseeing manual, listing more than 40 items, such as burning mountains in Ruocao Mountain, lanterns in the spring club, salary in the south gate site of Xiaofu Temple, saw antlers in Luyuan, spring dance concert in Ye Wan Botanical Garden, and royal festivals in Ruogong in spring, all of which are very distinctive and influential.

The treasure exhibition of Zhengcangyuan held every year from the end of1to the beginning of1has also become a major local activity and custom.

As for the New Year's Eve bell ringing in temples on the night of 65438+February 3 1 every year, it has become an increasingly popular custom to visit temples and shrines on the first day of Japanese New Year's Day.

The connotation of intangible cultural wealth and folk cultural wealth in Japan is close to what we are used to saying about culture, art and folk customs.

China's protection of them is not as important as that of Japan, and it has not been formally included in the protection of historical and cultural cities.

In fact, it is these cultural heritages that constitute the cornerstone of our cultural building and vividly reflect the uniqueness of national culture.

Xi's culture, art and folk customs have a long history and rich contents, but great changes have taken place under the impact of modern western civilization.

For a long time, we have not paid enough attention to local operas, national music, traditional crafts, folk beliefs, traditional houses and holiday customs, and lacked sorting, research and protection.

In recent years, through the deep excavation of history and culture, Xi has launched some special tourism projects, such as ancient culture and art festival, imitating Tang music and dance, knocking at the bell and drum in the morning, entering the city from the south gate to the north gate, city wall lantern festival and folk lantern festival in Xingqing Palace Park, which has made great contributions to shaping the image of a famous historical and cultural city.

However, many of our precious cultures, arts and folk customs are in danger of extinction and urgently need to be protected.

As an ancient city with a long history, we haven't established our own systematic chronicle of Xi 'an, let alone spread it to the whole society and publicize the customs and culture of Xi 'an.

Cultural heritage is the carrier of unique culture handed down by various nationalities and countries, which deeply embodies the diversity of world culture and constitutes the main content of historical and cultural cities.

Without cultural heritage, it will not be a famous historical and cultural city.

Xi 'an is the birthplace of Chinese civilization and the capital of powerful dynasties such as Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang, with a history of more than 3000 years and a history of 1000 years.

Therefore, protecting historical and cultural heritage is the basis of protecting and building a famous historical and cultural city Xi.

At the same time, Xi 'an's cultural heritage not only belongs to Xi 'an, but also shoulders the heavy responsibility of displaying, inheriting and developing Chinese civilization.

As one of the most important historical and cultural cities in the world, Xi has the unique conditions to become the world heritage capital.

However, at present, only the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors and Horses in our city are world heritage sites, which are inconsistent with the actual cultural relics we have, and there is also a big gap compared with Nara.

In fact, what we lack at present is not a world-class cultural heritage, but a lack of protection and environmental conditions that meet the requirements of international standards and a lack of far-sighted policies for the protection and construction of historical and cultural cities.

At the international symposium on the important cultural heritage of Xi 'an, the ancient capital, listed in the World Heritage List held in 1994, the historical values of Chang 'an City Site in Han Dynasty, Daming Palace Site in Tang Dynasty and Ming Xi's An City Wall were fully affirmed by Chinese and foreign experts.

However, in view of the fact that the current grim situation of cultural relics protection and surrounding environment is inconsistent with the goal of long-term preservation of world heritage, it is suggested that on the basis of strengthening protection, the declaration should be made after the environment has been greatly improved.

Entering the 2 1 century, with the profound Chinese culture marching towards modernization, the ancient capital Xi, as the historical and cultural holy land of China, has ushered in a brilliant historical opportunity.

Whether we can live up to the rich material and intangible cultural heritage, launch a new impact on the world heritage in the form of "the cultural heritage of Xi 'an, the ancient capital" and make new contributions to China's culture going global is the call and test of history for modern Xi.