Recently, the reporter learned from the Mausoleum Museum of Qin Shi Huang that China and France will jointly carry out research on the protection of wooden relics and earthen sites of Notre Dame Cathedral and Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum.
- The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang in China and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in France have used a large number of wooden materials, and there are relics of burned wood
- China and France will carry out research on the identification of timber species, assessment of preservation status, deterioration mechanisms, and protection technologies and methods
- At the same time, research on the durability and stability of earthen sites, production technology, disease identification and assessment, and damage mechanism were carried out
- The two parties will also use this cooperation to jointly cultivate young talents in the protection of cultural heritage science and technology
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France
From May 5 to 7, President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to France, and the "Cooperation Agreement between the Mausoleum Museum of the First Qin Emperor of China and the French Scientific Foundation for Cultural Heritage on Scientific Research on the Protection of Wooden Remains and Earthen Sites" was included in the joint statement and interdepartmental agreement reached during the meeting between the two heads of state, bringing Sino-French cooperation in the field of cultural heritage to a new level.
According to the agreement, under the guidance of the cultural heritage authorities of the two countries, the two parties will implement the spirit of the Global Civilization Initiative, take the improvement of the level of practical cooperation between the cultural heritage of the two countries as the starting point, rely on the Sino-French cultural heritage such as the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang Huang and Notre Dame Cathedral, and focus on the "scientific research on the protection of wooden relics and earthen sites", and jointly carry out research on the protection and restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral and the burned timber relics (charcoal) of Notre Dame Cathedral and the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang (charcoal). This is also the first time that a foreign team has participated in the study of burnt wood samples at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. At the same time, the research on soil protection technology was carried out for the pit soil site of the Qin Tombs and the soil materials used as architectural elements in France.
Notre Dame Cathedral under repair
Before the cooperation agreement was reached, the Mausoleum Museum of the First Qin Emperor had conducted full consultations and exchanges with the French cultural heritage institutions. Since December 2019, the museum and the French Cultural Heritage Foundation have been in preliminary contact for cooperative research, and have reached a preliminary agreement on cooperative research on earthen site protection. Subsequently, under the guidance of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Shaanxi Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage, the museum sorted out the basic materials of the French cooperative institutions, gathered opinions from various parties, deepened the foundation of cooperative research, and expanded the cooperation intention of wood heritage conservation research in 2021. Focusing on these two major cooperation directions, the museum and French institutions continue to carry out online and offline exchanges to further refine the ideas and content of cooperative research. In May 2023, a delegation of French cultural heritage visited Xi'an to exchange views on cooperation in the Terracotta Warriors and Horses project at the museum. The two sides basically reached a consensus on the specific contents, principles and forms of cooperation. In February 2024, the Qinling Museum sent experts to Paris, France to participate in the conservation and restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral, and once again discussed the details of the cooperation with French experts and determined the basic content of the agreement.
The Mausoleum Museum of Qin Shi Huang sent experts to Paris, France to participate in the conservation and restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral
In the next step, the two parties will develop a detailed research plan around the framework defined in the cooperation agreement. Due to the scarcity and non-renewability of cultural relics, the two parties will first carry out basic research in the form of laboratory analysis and simulation experiments. It is planned to deeply explore the wooden remains (especially the burned wooden remains) and the material properties and historical value information of the archaeological soil sites in the two cultural heritages of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and Notre Dame Cathedral, and summarize the degradation mechanism of the heritage on the basis of indoor experiments and simulation tests, and develop the protection technology and methodology system suitable for the actual cultural relics. The two sides will also use this cooperation agreement to jointly cultivate young talents for the protection of cultural heritage science and technology. (Source: Comprehensive CCTV News WeChat public account of the Mausoleum Museum of the First Emperor of Qin; Editor: Fan Chaohui)