Keeping on the columns of World Heritage and vernacular heritage projects with three articles in each, in this issue, we will see classic cases in the research and preservation of human heritage such as the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Acropolis of Athens, as well as the preservation project of the traditional village Shaxi in Yunnan province.

Shan Jixiang, Director of the Palace Museum, gave a long speech in Tongji University on the Forbidden City. This former Imperial Palace declares the broad and profound culture and the amazing historic value of the past 600 years. The good condition is largely due to the Overall Restoration of the Former Forbidden City and the 'Safeguard Palace Museum' project. In his speech, Shan introduces the features and significance of the palace complex, and the problems and solutions in the conservation project for the sustainability of the Palace in the next 600 years. The article in this issue is based on Shan's speech.

 

Liu Chang's article sets the subject on two examples, Yanchunge Pavilion in Jianfugong Garden and Fuwangge Pavilion in Ningshougong Garden of the Forbidden City. The relatively intact heritage architecture of the palace complex and its abundant documentary materials provide scholars with the conditions for multi-perspective research such as Liu's. Based on a review of the timeline and the order of building status of the constructions inside the Forbidden City during Emperor Qianlong's reign, Liu aims at interpreting the Emperor's deep thoughts on architectural design and his participation in the design process. Through a detailed analysis of the examples, Qianlong's design motivation and participation are discussed in depth.

 

While the first issue gives a retrospection on discussions about the Venice Charter, in this issue, American scholar Paul Hardin Kapp focuses on the principle of 'contemporary stamp' in Article 9 of the Venice Charter under new historical circumstances. Kapp notes that as more and more Modernist architectural heritages are preserved nowadays, the principle of 'contemporary stamp' should be reexamined. The discussions of Kapp have gone beyond the scope of cultural heritage as is defined in the Venice Charter, involving the problems in the adaptive reuse of non-heritage Modernist architecture. Further discussions could be carried out on whether it is appropriate to compare the two under similar scales, just as the understanding of the scope of cultural heritage keeps changing.

In his article, Lu Di argues that the idea of architectural conservation had existed in the traditional society long before the Enlightenment, in contrast to the generally accepted idea that the concepts and practices of modern heritage conservation are the response to the negative results from the Enlightenment Modernity. This article explores the relationship and discontinuity of the traditional and modern ideas of architectural heritage conservation, exploring the evolution of the concepts of cultural heritage.

 

Li Wenmo and Zhang Song give an analysis of the evolution and characteristics of the system of historic city conservation in Russia, aiming to provide a reference to the conservation system of China. As early as in the age of the Soviet Union after World War II, Russia had started the conservation of historic cities. As the largest inheritor of the resources of the Soviet Union in the post-Soviet age, Russia keeps adjusting its system of historic city conservation in response to the social upheaval.

 

In this issue, James Warfield contributes to the column of 'Heritage Illustration' by focusing on the relationship between architecture and the land in his personalized style. In 2013, Mr. Warfield donated more than 100,000 pictures to the library of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University. These pictures were taken by himself during the past 50 years, recording vernacular architecture all over the world.

If the Forbidden City of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing represents the climax of Chinese civilization, then the Acropolis of Athens is the icon of ancient Western civilization. In this issue, we invite Vassiliki Eleftheriou and Dionysia Mavromati to introduce in details the restoration process of the historical ruins which has a 2,500-year history. This article reviews the long process of the restoration project since 1975 by introducing the key techniques applied in the project such as the reinforcement of ruins, relocation, topography continuation, and the record and conservation of historical information.

 

Danzhou is an ancient city in Hainan Province that is conserved as the best one in integrity. Over the years, Chang Qing Studio of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning in Tongji University has carried out a detailed research on Danzhou as well as a conservation program approved by the national authority in charge. Significant results of the research and design are presented in this issue.

 

The rehabilitation project of Shaxi cooperated between China and Swiss has been carried out for 15 years, and it is time for a full discussion on the outcomes. A set of articles in this issue retrospect this rehabilitation project from varied perspectives on different aspects. Swiss scholar Christian Renfer analyzes the rehabilitation of Shaxi traditional village, explaining his insights and reflections on the project; Huang Yinwu discusses the issue of authenticity through the analysis of the logic of vernacular Sun-Mao joints as well as its application to the conservation practice of wooden structures in Shaxi; Liu Dongyang, under his pseudonym 'City Recorder', reviews Huang Yinwu's book Reading Time in Shaxi, expressing insightful thoughts and ideas. (Translated by Gu Xinyi)