The roof and exterior wall of the main building of the Guanhai Building are crawling with vines, and Sun Lei, a reporter of the Yangcheng Evening News, took a photo
Yangcheng Evening News "Lingnan Literature and History" column related reports
The relevant report of the Yangcheng Evening News "Lingnan Literature and History" column has brought the protection of Guanhai Tower into the public eye
Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Sun Lei
On December 10, 2021, a report published in the Column of Lingnan Literature and History of Yangcheng Evening News (co-organized by the Cultural and Historical Committee of the Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Yangcheng Evening News) about "Xiong Shili once lived in Panyu GuanhaiLou in Guangzhou" attracted widespread attention, which brought the protection of GuanhaiLou into the public eye.
On January 19 this year, Mai Shuping, a member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and many other members jointly submitted the "Proposal on Repairing the Former Residence of Panyu Xiong Shili" (hereinafter referred to as the "Proposal") at the Fifth Session of the Twelfth CPPCC National Committee of Guangdong Province, calling for the repair of the Guanhai Building as soon as possible and the declaration of the "Guangzhou Historic Building" for protection and utilization. In addition, After reading this report, Zeng Dexiong, a deputy to the Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress, and others also planned to jointly submit the "Proposal on Repairing Xiong Shili's Former Residence" at the upcoming first session of the Sixteenth Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress.
The committee members suggested that the Guanhai Building be repaired and utilized as soon as possible
Located on Cunxin Avenue, Tangtou Village, Hualong Town, Panyu District, Guangzhou, the guanhai building, the old mansion, welcomed one of The most original chinese philosophers of the 20th century, Xiong Shili, a neo-Confucian hero, in the autumn of 1948.
Xiong Shili's philosophical views have a far-reaching influence and are self-contained in the philosophical community, and researchers of "bear studies" are all over the country and abroad. The Encyclopædia Britannica calls "Xiong Shili and Feng Youlan outstanding figures in contemporary Chinese philosophy."
More importantly, Xiong Shili's patriotic and sincere heart is touching and admirable. At the beginning of 1949, Xiong Shili made an important life choice - to stay in Chinese mainland and participate in the construction of New China. He also spoke to or wrote to his disciples to stay.
During his residence in Panyu GuanhaiLou, Xiong Shili immersed himself in writing and completed the preparation of many monographs. In addition to his academic writing, he also had a lot of contacts with the academic circles in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao. In addition to Xiong Shili, as early as 1928, another famous philosopher, Liang Shuming, also lived in Guanhai Lou.
Members of the Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference pointed out in the "Proposal" that since modern times, Guangdong has produced many celebrities, some local, some living in Guangdong at home and abroad, and Guangdong needs to further excavate these historical and cultural resources and tell the story of Guangdong well. In view of the fact that Xiong Shili's former residence has fallen into disrepair and the damage is serious, the "Proposal" calls for it to be repaired and utilized as soon as possible, and puts forward several suggestions on the issue of repair.
These suggestions include: asking the relevant departments of Guangzhou City, Panyu District Government, and other relevant departments to attach importance to the repair work of Xiong Shili's former residence and set up a special group to study the repair plan as soon as possible; inviting the relevant cultural departments of the province and city to further excavate and sort out the historical context of Mr. Xiong Shili's research results and humanistic exchanges during his residence in Panyu Guanhailou, especially his patriotic spirit and humanistic feelings are worthy of vigorous praise; to build the "GuanhaiLou" into a cultural landmark and cultural and tourism resort in Guangzhou, declare "Guangzhou historical buildings", and strengthen protection. Make it an important place to carry forward the excellent traditional Chinese culture, so as to help the development of cultural tourism and rural revitalization; and so on.
The "Proposal" hopes to take this as an opportunity to organize the investigation and research, excavation and collation of the former residences of historical and cultural celebrities, formulate relevant protection measures, plant the roots of Guangdong's history and culture, enrich and enhance the cultural image of Guangdong, and make positive contributions to the construction of a culturally strong province in Guangdong.
For the first time, the owner of the house came forward to respond to the repair
Recently, the Yangcheng Evening News reporter visited the Guanhai Tower again. The reporter saw at the scene that its roof and external wall were coiled with green vines, the wall was aging, some of it had fallen into disrepair and collapsed, and the corners of the wall were covered with cobwebs.
Xiong Shili lived in the room on the right side of the first floor. Entering the house on the first floor, the north wall is also engraved with the word "Ren House" personally inscribed by Xiong Shili.
Zeng Dexiong said that the inscription here is a valuable historical relic, which can be used as an important clue to study Xiong Shili's thought, and can also be admired and remembered by future generations.
A village cadre in Tangtou Village told reporters that there are four households whose property rights belong to GuanhaiLou, which have been abandoned so far due to property rights issues. After the Yangcheng Evening News launched the relevant reports, the relevant local departments attached great importance to the protection and repair of the Guanhai Building, and successively contacted the four property owners to conduct preliminary consultations on the repair. This is also the first time in many years that owners have responded to the problem of house repairs.
Among them, the property owner surnamed Zhou expressed his consent to the repair, but asked for some compensation; there were two huang property owners who were two sisters, both of whom said that the house belonged to private property, such as as being used as a cultural relic after repair, they wanted to transform or use it for other purposes, so they did not agree; another property owner surnamed Huang said that it could be discussed, but their interests should be considered, and required a specific and detailed repair plan.
Since its opening in October 2018, the Column of Lingnan Literature and History of Yangcheng Evening News is the longest-lasting and largest media reporting project in Guangdong with the theme of cultural and historical excavation and cultural heritage protection. The column has launched a large number of all-media series of reports that connect the past and the present to help cultural construction, and has promoted the excavation and protection of a number of cultural heritages, which has been increasingly concerned and loved by the public.
Cultural protection experts called on the government to take the initiative to bear the cost of repairs
Guanhai Building has not yet been identified as a historical building, Tang Guohua, a professor at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning of Guangzhou University, said that the former residences of important celebrities, the government has not yet been recognized as a protected building, the public can ask the cultural relics administrative department to register as immovable cultural relics or to the district planning administrative department to register as a historical building. After receiving the application, the government department shall organize expert demonstration in a short period of time, and the government shall feedback the opinions after the demonstration to the applicants.
Tang Guohua said that once a private property house is announced as a cultural relic, it is necessary to determine what is the cultural relics body and repair it in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Cultural Relics Protection Law. The Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics stipulates that the repair of cultural relics with private property rights shall be undertaken by the owner, and it is necessary to hire a correspondingly qualified design unit to prepare a plan and report to the administrative department for cultural relics for approval.
"On the one hand, we must let the owners realize the importance of the Guanhai Building and let them consciously participate in the protection; on the other hand, we must emphasize that the property rights of the houses after the repair still belong to the original owners." Tang Guohua said that although the Cultural Relics Protection Law stipulates that the general repair costs are borne by the owner of the property rights of the house, and the government only gives help when the owner cannot afford it, the government should take the initiative to bear the emergency repair costs for cultural relics buildings with important value.
At the same time, Tang Guohua stressed that the issue of revitalization and utilization after the repair of the house should also be communicated with the property owner in advance. On the one hand, whether it is to hold exhibitions or give academic lectures, it is necessary to obtain the consent of the property owners; on the other hand, some property owners also want to obtain certain economic benefits, which is a new topic of turning cultural heritage into cultural assets.
"This issue must be made clear, and if the property owners cannot collect high tickets or transform them into entertainment facilities for profit after the government has finished repairing, it will lose the meaning of protection." Tang Guohua said.
Cultural scholars have suggested that guanhailou be made a cultural landmark
Historical buildings carry the historical and cultural memory of a city.
"We can build GuanhaiLou into a cultural base, and then slowly build it and enrich it." Jing Haifeng, dean of the School of Chinese Studies and professor of philosophy at Shenzhen University, said.
In Jing Haifeng's view, Xiong Shili's former residence Guanhai Building can be built into a node for cultural exchanges in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, "From the perspective of cultural bloodline, we may be able to sort out a clue of cultural flow, and try to establish a path of cultural exchange through this clue." ”
In addition, Jing Haifeng said that the significance of Huang Gunyong, the original owner of Guanhai Lou, cannot be ignored. Huang Gunyong was not only a student of Xiong Shili, Liang Shuming's niece and son-in-law, but also the earliest cultural person in the village to receive a Western-style education. Moreover, Guanhai Lou is his former residence, which has more far-reaching significance and more things to excavate. ”
From Huang Gunyong, the historical and cultural origin behind Tangtou Village can also be traced. Qu Shenning, an old cultural person in Panyu District, introduced that Tangtou Village, which has been open for more than 800 years, was a famous cultural village in that year, and there were many cultural celebrities, and there are still many ancient buildings in the village. Among them, there are countless ancient buildings on Cunxin Avenue, mainly ancestral halls and residences, as well as gatehouses, ancestral chambers, ancient tombs, etc., all built by the Ming and Qing dynasties, exquisite wood carving, brick carving, gray carving technology, magnificent green brick and white stone feet, high historical value.
Qu Shenning said that once GuanhaiLou becomes a cultural landmark, it may further promote people's understanding of panyu's local culture, and also promote the protection of other buildings.