Searching for Treasures in the Wilderness: Three Records of Fangcheng

In the autumn of 2007, the clarion call for the third national cultural relics census sounded. Li Rui, director of cultural relics management in Fangcheng County, led a census team to comprehensively understand the quantity, distribution and survival status of immovable cultural relics in Fangcheng, a land with crisscrossed ravines and scattered monuments, and lay a solid foundation for the cultural heritage protection system. The Census Team's journey was challenging from the start. Most of the ancient ruins, grottoes, and temples in Fangcheng District are hidden deep in the mountains and forests or in remote villages. The team members carried surveyors, cameras and other equipment on their backs, traversing thorny mountain roads and climbing steep cliffs. During heavy rains and flash floods in midsummer, they protected census files in the mud; in winter, they braved the biting cold wind and mapped coordinates for ancient tombs in the wilderness. He stayed in a simple cave dwelling of the villagers and had to use an oil lamp to organize data and draw drawings late at night. In addition to the test of the natural environment, the team members also faced difficulties in identifying cultural relics and misunderstandings from villagers. Some of the historic sites were covered by farmland and private houses. Li Rui relied on his professional knowledge to discover Han Dynasty pottery fragments and Song Dynasty inscriptions in the inconspicuous ruins. Facing the villagers' doubts about the census work, he patiently preached the significance of cultural relics protection, and finally won their trust. Sanpu's hoe not only dug up sleeping cultural relics, but also revealed the code of the dialogue between the Chinese ancestors and heaven and earth. Let the wisdom of civilization three thousand years ago shine again in the light of contemporary technology. On the ruins, the latitude and longitude of ancient and modern times intersect. Every relic is a coordinate for the inheritance of civilization. Every census is an affectionate review of history.