Document to preserve artifacts depicting revolution

A document was recently published by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council providing guidance on the preservation of revolutionary artifacts.

At a news conference hosted by the State Council Information Office on Monday, Liu Yuzhu, director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, introduced the document’s content and background.

This was the first central policy document issued by the general offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council concerning revolutionary artifacts since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, and it demonstrates the great emphasis the committee places on such artifacts, Liu said.

The document stresses that the preservation of revolutionary artifacts is an urgent priority in the new era, as the development of the CPC and the nation requires the exploration and dissemination of the values of revolutionary cultural relics in order to serve the overall interests of the country, facilitate better governance, enlighten the citizenry and promote development.

To realize these goals, the document lists five major missions centered around revolutionary artifacts: consolidating fundamental work, strengthening preservation, expanding utilization, improving exhibition quality and creating new forms of dissemination.

Specifically, the implementation of the five missions is classified into key projects.

According to Lu Qiong, director of the policy and regulation department at SACH, key projects include exhibiting CPC historical artifacts, preserving regional revolutionary relics, maintaining the Long March route, preserving artifacts according to various themes, displaying selected artifacts and publicizing the artifacts themselves.

“The implementation of the guidance rests upon a solid foundation as different regions’ awareness of revolutionary artifact preservation and utilization has been increasingly enhanced.

“Also, relic preservation in the former revolutionary base area in southern Jiangxi province has improved practices and provided favorable experiences,” Liu said.

The document helps strengthen the protection of old revolutionary areas, and aims to promote overall planning within a particular area by enhancing resource integration and reinforcing unified regional protection, Liu added.

“All cultural heritage bureaus nationwide should consistently work in unison with the CPC Central Committee in the preservation and utilization of revolutionary relics,” Liu said.

“Not only should we steadily push forward our work, but we should also resolve, innovate and persevere in preserving revolutionary relics and inheriting the revolutionary spirit,” he added.