Need to promote social resources in relic conservation work

(Baonghean.vn) - That was the statement of Ms. Hoang Thi Quynh Anh - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture & Sports at the 2017 conference on preserving and promoting the value of relics held on the afternoon of August 21.

Also attending the meeting were representatives of the Department of Culture & Sports along with the Relic Management Board, the Department of Culture, the Cultural Center, and relic management officers from 21 districts and towns.

In recent years, the work of preserving and promoting the value of relics has achieved many results. Districts, cities and towns, together with the Provincial Monuments Management Board, have had effective and close coordination in preventing degradation, preparing classification records, organizing festivals, celebrations and receiving ranking certificates at relics in the province.

Ms. Hoang Thi Quynh Anh speaks at the meeting. Photo: Thanh Quynh

In the first 8 months of this year, the Provincial Monuments Management Board has carried out restoration work, provided additional funding and protected areas for nearly 40 monuments. It has compiled ranking dossiers for 35 monuments, including 2 monuments for national ranking and 33 monuments for provincial ranking.

At the same time, directly manage and organize activities at 3 key relics including: Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Memorial House, General Secretary Le Hong Phong Memorial Site, Phan Boi Chau Memorial Site, creating highlights in the work of preserving and promoting the value of the province's relics.

However, in addition to the achievements, this work still has many shortcomings and limitations. Specifically, the staff in charge of cultural work at the grassroots level have limited expertise in restoring and embellishing relics, and hold many concurrent jobs, so the work of inspection, supervision and reporting to specialized agencies is not timely.

Some cases of spontaneous restoration and renovation do not comply with state regulations. The team of workers lack knowledge about restoration work, so during the restoration process, they lose the original value of the relic or use some materials that are not suitable for ancient architectural works such as: ceramic tiles, reinforced concrete, flashy colors, Western tiles, etc.

Xuan Hoa Temple, located in Quynh Xuan Commune, Hoang Mai Town, is a historical and cultural work recognized as a National Historical Relic in 1997. However, after many years, many items have deteriorated, and restoration work has been carried out in a patchwork manner. Photo: My Ha

The restoration was carried out without permission and without professional guidance, so at some relics, auxiliary structures (guest houses, ceremony houses, traditional houses, etc.) were built in inappropriate locations, affecting the landscape of the relics and overshadowing the original structures.

The work of ranking relics in the first 6 months of the year had many problems. Specifically: the problem of decoration at Doc Loi Temple - Nam Dan, Yen My Temple - Do Luong, Ban Tho Temple - Hoang Mai...; lack of funding such as Duc Thanh Mau Temple - Yen Thanh, Chieng Ngam Temple - Quy Chau; difficulties in zoning protection areas such as Tham Nang Man - Con Cuong.

Besides, the preservation of Han Nom documents at relics is not good, many documents are severely damaged such as Thanh Liet temple, Cho Hen pagoda (Hung Nguyen), Ha temple - Quynh Vinh, Ban Tho temple - Quynh Trang... (Quynh Luu)

Handing over Han Nom digitized documents to representatives of 3 districts Nghi Loc, Do Luong, Quynh Luu. Photo: Thanh Quynh

Speaking at the meeting, Ms. Hoang Thi Quynh Anh highly appreciated the increasingly close coordination between provincial and local departments in the work of preserving and promoting the value of relics in recent times. Especially in the districts of Thanh Chuong, Yen Thanh, Dien Chau, Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen, Do Luong, Hoang Mai, Tan Ky... this work has been implemented synchronously and achieved high efficiency.

For the remaining issues, not only do we need the participation of all levels, departments and branches, but we also need to promote awareness among the people. From there, we can mobilize maximum contributions from the people, especially socialized sources. If this work is done well, it will create a solid foundation for preserving and promoting the value of the province's relics./.

Thanh Quynh