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The Paper has learned that Liu Tuo, a young archaeologist and doctor of the School of Archaeology and Archaeology of Peking University, died on October 26 at the age of 31 when he fell off a cliff during an inspection of the cave murals at JiazarJia Mountain in Malkang City, Sichuan Province. Liu Tuo's parents have now flown to Sichuan to deal with his aftermath, Liu Tuo's father said sadly to the surging news this afternoon, "You are 31 years old, graduated from Peking University, simple, enthusiastic, persistent, but also humorous and interesting you, let us and our family and friends are full of expectations, and put a bright future." You are full of fun because you love cultural relics, and you are taking your life because of visiting cultural relics, may you have no troubles in heaven and continue to be with cultural relics. ”
Liu Tuo at the Jam Minaret
From the confirmation of the news of Liu Tuo's death to the present, colleagues in Liu Tuo's archaeological and cultural circles have sent articles in the circle of friends to express their condolences and regrets. There is a tribute to it" precisely because of Liu Tuo, these adherents, have preserved precious cultural relics. ”
Liu Tuo's father sent "a father's last conversation to his son" to the surging news in the afternoon, and Liu Tuo's father said sadly in the text, "October 26, 2021 is a black day, our son Liu Tuo died unexpectedly, which makes us sad. ...... You leave us with endless pain of fantasies and longings. In addition to liu tuo's interests and hobbies, the most sorry thing is to love you, raise your parents, family and friends who love you! Maybe it is to ask for benevolence, you are full of fun because you love cultural relics, and you take your life because of visiting cultural relics, may you have no troubles in heaven and continue to be with cultural relics. ”
Liu Tuo's close friend Feng Yue told the surging news that Liu Tuo's love for cultural relics and monuments has touched countless people, and also allowed more people to appreciate the value of cultural relics and monuments. Over the years, he has insisted on visiting and documenting endangered cultural monuments at home and abroad, and has long been involved in the protection of cultural heritage. His departure is the pain of all the loved ones and friends who loved him, and we will always miss him.
It is reported that the Mural of the Cave of Jiazhar Cave inspected by Liu Tuo is located in the southern foothills of The Jiazar Jia Mountain in Dashitai Village, Baiwan Township, Malkang City, the cave is a natural rock cave, there is a stupa in the cave, the east and west walls and the stupa are painted with a large number of Buddhist murals, which is an important cultural relics of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and was listed as the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units on March 5, 2013.
In August this year, the relocation and protection plan for the murals of the Cave caves in The Cave of Jiazhar Cave in Malkang City was approved by the State Council. Affected by the construction project of the Shuangjiangkou Hydropower Station of the Dadu River, the murals of the Jiazhar Cave cave in Malkang City need to be relocated for protection.
Murals of caves in The Caves of Kázar Infographic
Liu Tuo once said to himself, "As a paleolithic graduate student majoring in archaeology, I often wonder to myself, what is my significance in this major? I am not doubting the significance of archaeology, but what significance I can have for this profession. I can also send papers to submit papers, but I have a number in mind, as a relatively mediocre person, I know what kind of value my paper can produce.
So after photographing these places, I felt that maybe my only strength was that I was willing to run outside, to go to more places, and I enjoyed the process of sorting out and collecting these materials, and when I did this work, I felt that I could achieve my best ability, so I felt particularly valuable. This passage became a footnote to his own life.
Liu Tuo, born in 1990 in Kunming, Yunnan, a native of Changde, Hunan, holds a Ph.D. from the School of Archaeology and Archaeology of Peking University, and was an associate professor at the School of Tourism of Lanzhou University of Arts and Sciences.
Liu Tuo first entered the public eye in 2015, as a graduate student of archaeology at North University, he ran to Iraq alone to see the monuments, and was mistakenly arrested by the Iraqi military as a "terrorist", and the media reported on this matter. In 2018, he went to the "one seat" and told everyone that "many of the cultural relics I photographed have disappeared later". In the same year, he also went on the "Strange Story", and was summarized on "Zhihu" - "The first surprise character to see the network in 2018, cute, introverted, professional, literate, probably the kind of water, but rich in mineral elements that are beneficial to the human body."
Liu Tuo photographed cultural monuments
"Because of the Iraq affair, many people think that I am specifically looking for a dangerous war country to travel, in fact, until now, my main trip is still in China." "So far I have visited a total of 150 World Heritage Sites, mainly in China, outside of China, in the Middle East, of which 12 have been rated as Endangered World Heritage Sites because of the risk of war, these 12 heritage sites are relatively difficult to get to, which is also the focus of my record." Liu Tuo said.
In June this year, Liu Tuo's archaeological collection "Notes on Ancient Visits to Afghanistan" was published by Peking University Press.
Liu Tuo's keen travel was influenced by his parents. His parents loved to travel and went out with them since he was a child. On my first trip, I went to fourteen or five provinces. When he traveled, he initially went to some well-known attractions and preferred monuments. In 2010, many of his plans revolved around the national key cultural relics protection units. After his junior year and senior year, he felt that some important cultural relics were recorded more and paid more attention to people, so he focused on some monuments that were rarely recorded and could disappear and could disappear easily.
He has photographed many important cultural relics that are not noticed in counties, such as the construction of demolished neighborhoods, natural disasters, potentially risky cultural relics, wilderness cultural relics, and some cultural relics that have suffered repair damage, many of which disappeared after he photographed them. He said that such a record made him feel more fulfilled, and many things followed by this more urgent event.
Liu Tuo photographed cultural monuments damaged by the earthquake
Outside of China, he chose to go to the Middle East because of the risks of war and urban construction, where there is more uncertainty about cultural relics, and because it is relatively difficult to get there, there is relatively less recorded and retained information.
Head to the villages and farmers on Bamiyan Road
He overcame numerous obstacles to reach the Jam Minaret, a world cultural heritage site in Afghanistan. "Afghanistan has two World Heritage Sites, one of which is famous, the Bamiyan Caves. This legacy is still quite good to go, with three or four flights a week from Kabul to fly over. And Bamiyan itself is a safe area, so it's easy to go if you're willing.
But the location of the Jam Minaret is very remote, it is the most central part of the whole of Afghanistan. Herat to the west and Kabul to the east are two large cities, both more than a day's drive from this tower, and the road is more dangerous. Why is this tower important? This pagoda is the second tallest minaret in the world, 68 meters high, its decoration is particularly exquisite, built more than 1200 years AD, more than 700 years away from the present. This period coincided with a critical period of transformation of Islamic architectural styles, and it was established by the Gur dynasty, which ruled Afghanistan for only a few decades, and its architectural remains are very small.
Liu Tuo photographed the poppy field on the road to jam minaret
Most importantly, this tower is not very accessible like other Islamic buildings, because Islamic architecture is usually built in the city, and this tower is built in the middle of a very steep canyon, and the scenery is very unique.
Afghanistan World Cultural Heritage Jam Minaret (Partial) Infographic
This tower is really beautiful to see up close, especially against the valley and blue sky and white clouds. As you can see in the photo on the right, there are many fine patterns on the tower, they are not ordinary patterns, in fact, this zigzag is a piece of the Quran, which is a very long chapter of the Quran. ”
Liu Tuo's disciple at Peking University's College of Archaeology and Literature wrote today, "In my eyes, Liu Tuo does have the difference of a legendary figure in the eyes of mortals. He really loves to search for the past, and is the kind of person who can leave detailed text and pictures on the road whenever he has the opportunity... After the bad news came, I saw some of his close friends say that he was simple, which I actually felt the same way, not only because he did get into trouble caused by his remarks, but also because he was not afraid of dangers in order to preserve the information of cultural heritage, and everyone had been sweating for him until the bad news came in the early morning of this morning...
East of Ghazni, the Minaret of Massoud III (built in the 12th century), a pair of horse-drawn carriages are slowly passing by. Filmed in 1950.
Liu Tuo photographed the current situation of the twin towers of Ghazni.
Liu Tuo's dedication and love for cultural monuments touched many people, and his death is regrettable that his enthusiasm and practice for searching for cultural heritage materials came to an abrupt end.
(Some of the graphic content of this article is synthesized from the relevant reports of Beijing Youth Daily and Liu Tuo's narration in one seat)
Editor-in-Charge: Ruoxi Chen