Practical on-site training
The second half of the course on the conservation of historical buildings, a part of the “Program for Capacity Building along the Silk Road,” which is a joint project with the China National Institute of Cultural Heritage, was conducted from early April at Kumbum (Ta’er) Monastery, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Qinghai province. While last year’s program focused on restoration theory and measurement survey, this year’s course focused on practicing the actual flow of work, from drawing up conservation management plan to basic design and detailed design. In addition, by giving an outline of the restoration system unique to Japan, in which survey, design and on-site control are undertaken by the same person, we sought to offer an opportunity for Chinese trainees to think about the meaning of conservation that often relies on given manuals.
Lectures from the Japanese side, which sent 5 lecturers in succession, were completed at the end of May and were followed by lectures from the Chinese side, which continued until the end of July. The twelve trainees have been working hard in their respective fields, but the course has also shed light on various issues. First, although both Japan and China have traditions of wooden constructions and Chinese characters, there are significant unexpected differences between Chinese and Japanese architecture. Thus there was often trouble communicating because of differences in terminology and views on restoration. Second, since restoration work was already in progress at many parts of the monastery, on-site practice could be conducted only on a part of the work site. As such, there was no choice but to change the building used for practice in cases when we could not reach an agreement with the monastery, who wanted the restoration to be done quickly. We really felt the necessity of making sufficient consultation at the planning stage for both curriculum and operation.
Integrated discussions
Visit to a devastated site (Erwangmiao)
The Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, China last May devastated many cultural properties, and specialists from all over China are exerting themselves in restoring them. A workshop jointly hosted by the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan and State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China was held in Chengdu city, Sichuan province from February 9 to 12 to support restoration activities and to contribute to future disaster prevention policy planning. The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation was entrusted with the work of conducting practical businesses, such as planning programs, selecting lecturers and compiling a textbook, from the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
Sixteen people, including four members of the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation, were dispatched from Japan and over 70 Chinese took part in the workshop. Lectures were given and discussions were held on measures related to earthquake, preventive measures as well as countermeasures, for museums and other buildings. Japanese speakers introduced anti-earthquake measures to protect cultural properties as well as quake-resistant engineering that has developed in Japan since the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake. Reports were presented by Chinese participants on the situation of cultural properties devastated by the Wenchuan earthquake and actions taken afterwards. Participants also visited stricken sites in Dujiangyan where restoration is being conducted and exchanged opinions on issues that both countries face as well as future countermeasures. This workshop, in which representatives of private enterprises and museums as well as those of 3 provinces, 4 cities and 20 organizations related to the restoration of cultural properties participated, greatly aided in promoting exchange among Chinese professionals in this field as well as between specialists in Japan and China.
Studies into specific designs for restoration and guidelines for protective measures against earthquakes are ongoing in China, but there remain many issues, such as a shortage of structural engineers, that make us recognize once again the necessity of supporting these activities. Additionally, we felt the need to make every effort to ensure that Japanese ideas of conserving cultural properties are properly understood.
