The 1,200-year-old Qianling mausoleum is the joint tomb of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history, and her husband, Emperor Li Zhi of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It has long been regarded as a model of tombs for ancient Chinese emperors and kings. Whether or not to excavate it is a question of great concern to the archeological circles as well as various walks of life.

At a press conference held recently by the Information Office of the State Council, officials with the State Administration of Cultural Heritage said imperial tombs such as Qianling Tomb in northwest China's Shaanxi Province would not be excavated for the time being. Currently, the main task is preserving them well for later generations.

A key question in the debate centering the Qianling Tomb archeological studies is whether the conditions for excavation have matured. On this question, in spite of different opinions, experts have to admit one thing that the preservation conditions are not yet qualified. As archeologist professor Su Bai with Beijing University once said, the silk cloth excavated from Famen Temple's Tang Dynasty underground palace has since been preserved in a refrigerator, unable to display itself to the general public. Even if questions as to whether other conditions are mature enough are left unanswered, as far as the preservation conditions are concerned they are not qualified enough for excavation.

The excavation of the Qianling Tomb is indeed rather tempting. However, the conditions for excavation are not determined by how tempting it is, even less by people's interests or desire.

In the 1960s Shaanxi Province once considered excavating the Qianling Tomb. Instructions by then Premier Zhou Enlai were not to excavate for the time being, and leave it to the later generations. It was out of this consideration that Premier Zhou disapproved the plan among the historical circles to excavate the Ming Tombs.

Archeological excavation is a very precise task that relies on the application of various kinds of technological means. The reasons the Chinese government has always insisted on the principle of "not initiating excavation" and the guideline for cultural heritage work of "concentrating on preservation and giving priority to rescue" are because first, China's excavation and preservation conditions have not matured, and second, we trust the wisdom of later generations. Since the archeological studies of the Qianling Tomb are not such that rescue is necessary, the decision to leave excavation to later generations is most rational and most advisable.

Since the Qianling Tomb will not be excavated for the time being the chief task for now is to preserve them well, which is of course a great good deed. Speaking of preservation, however, one's heart cannot but be burdened with worries. The Qianling Tomb can, of course, be left intact to later generations. For other cultural relics it is not optimistic that they can be kept intact for posterity.

Take the Great Wall for example, only one third is repaired and preserved well. Another one third is dilapidated and the rest has long disappeared. Two farmers in Zuoyun county of Shanxi, who wanted to join two brickfields in the village, decided that a section of the Great Wall between them was standing in the way. In the name of "protecting the interests of the whole village" the village leader gave the order to demolish it. And part of the Ming Dynasty (1368AD - 1644AD) Great Wall as long as 60 meters disappeared instantly amid the roar of the bulldozer.

Some villages at the foot of the Great Wall build pigsties and henhouses with the Great Wall bricks. Some, for their convenience, dig holes in the Great Wall to be used as toilet. With such kind of awareness and behavior how can we preserve the cultural relics? Even the basic work of preservation cannot be done well, how is it possible to begin discussing exploitation and utilization.

Cultural heritage is a materialized development history of the Chinese nation, which is an important means for us to connect and communicate with the remote ancestors. It is a spiritual tie maintaining the unity of the Chinese nation. Protecting cultural heritage is development and leaving it to later generations is also development, while preserving it well an achievement of an official. In the face of various kinds of cultural heritage resources we should do our utmost to conscientiously protect and repair them in a scientific way. We should in no case make unconditional and excessive exploitation at the expense of cultural heritage. Otherwise, we would stand ashamed in front of our later generations.

By People's Daily Online