[CPProt.net] Damage to Chinese Artifacts -- CCTV Lighting Condensation, Opening a,Protective Case, Etc.

[Ellie Bruggeman]

Damage to Chinese Artifacts -- CCTV Lighting Condensation, Opening a
Protective Case, Etc.

AUGUST 11, 2005 03:05

by Chae-Hyun Kwon (confetti at donga.com)
  
The intense lighting required for CCTV coverage caused moisture to form
on the surface of mural paintings that had formerly withstood 1,500
years of exposure. The dampness was particularly severe by the
air-conditioning unit standing right in front of the murals. However, a
Chinese caretaker casually remarked, "We run the cameras hundreds of
times a day," with no regard for the damaging onset of moisture. 

Since being registered on UNESCO's list of World Cultural Heritage sites
in July of last year, Goguryeo relics in China have been suffering from
indiscriminate tourism and propagandistic use by the Chinese government
as the latter continues its effort to subsume Goguryeo into Chinese
history. 

On June 30, Chinese authorities opened the door in the protective glass
compartment that has covered the tombstone of King Gwanggaeto since
2003. Now everyone has unimpeded access to the tombstone. Experts on the
preservation of historical artifacts are deeply concerned: although
stopping the natural flow of air by enveloping the tombstone in glass is
a problem in itself, frequent tourist traffic within such a closed space
will release an excess of human breath into the internal atmosphere and
accelerate the corrosion of the tombstone. 

Professor Seo Young-soo of Dankook University who heads the Koguryo
Research Foundation closely examined the tombstone and said, "An
adhesive has been injected into the cracks to prevent the tombstone from
splitting, but it has since trickled down the face of the stone to stain
the inscriptions in reddish black." He added with alarm, "There are even
signs of cement having been applied." 

Scattered on the ground before the tombstone are a mess of coins and
bills. The historic testament to Goguryeo's heyday, invested with the
grandeur and majesty of the powerful nation, has become a mere wishing
stone for tourists. 

The royal mausoleum of King Jangsu (or "Janggunchong"), known as the
"pyramid of Northeast Asia," has been so trampled by the increasing
masses of tourists that one of the tomb's support stones has slipped out
of place. As a result, the mausoleum's northeastern face has subsided to
an alarming degree. 

The mausoleum known as "Taewangneung," which boasts twice the scale of
Janggunchong, is becoming overrun with weeds that protrude between the
stones covering the burial mound, so that the loosened stones continue
to tumble down the sides of the tomb. 

Even more serious damage is being inflicted on Goguryeo relics that did
not make the World Heritage list. A stone quarry has dug its way to
within a mere 100m of the Baekam Fortress (or "Yeonjusanseong"), which
lies outside the city of Liaoyang in Liaoning Province, but the Chinese
government is doing nothing to prevent the incursion.