Recently, Zhu Bingren, one of the “Three Elders of the Grand Canal,” honorary president of the Grand Canal Professional Committee of the China Cultural Relics Society, and a master of Chinese arts and crafts, donated a commemorative plaque entitled “Dragon Seal and Oar—The Canal’s Legacy” to the Capital Museum.
Commemorative Plaque for the Protection and World Heritage Application of the Grand Canal
This commemorative plaque, personally designed and made by him, is an important material evidence of the Grand Canal’s protection and World Heritage application process, further enriching the Capital Museum’s collection of related material evidence.
Zhu Bingren has a deep connection with the Grand Canal. In 2005, he hoped to build a bronze bridge across the canal in Hangzhou. Unfortunately, this bridge was never built, but it led to an even greater “bridge.” At the time, Hangzhou was about to hold a conference on cultural heritage protection. He, along with 82-year-old ancient artifact expert Luo Zhewen and 91-year-old ancient architecture expert Zheng Xiaoxie, believed that while a bronze bridge across the canal was unnecessary, a spiritual bridge leading to the World Heritage application was essential.
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The Three Elders of the Grand Canal: Zheng Xiaoxie (left), Luo Zhewen (center), and Zhu Bingren (right)
In December 2005, the three elders jointly drafted a letter entitled “On Accelerating the Protection of the Grand Canal Heritage and the Application for World Heritage Status,” which was sent to the mayors of 18 cities along the canal, thus initiating the Grand Canal’s World Heritage application process. The following year, after the conclusion of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (NPC & CPPCC) sessions, the “Grand Canal Protection and World Heritage Application Inspection Tour,” organized by the CPPCC, held its launch ceremony at the Capital Museum in Beijing.
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“Letter on Accelerating the Protection of the Grand Canal Heritage and the Application for World Heritage Status”
Zhu Bingren also participated in the Grand Canal inspection tour. At that time, dozens of CPPCC members and experts from various fields such as cultural relics, history, archaeology, and water conservancy conducted a 10-day inspection tour of six provinces and municipalities along the Grand Canal, covering nearly 2,000 kilometers. This was the first large-scale national-level inspection tour in history.
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Zhu Bingren and Luo Zhewen participate in the launching ceremony of the “Grand Canal Protection and World Heritage Application Inspection Activity”
The team departed from Beijing, with Hangzhou being the last stop. To commemorate this inspection, Zhu Bingren specially designed and produced a “Grand Canal Protection and World Heritage Application Commemorative Marker.” The work uses a dragon seal and a paddle as elements; the dragon seal represents national authority, while the paddle represents the people. The paddle diagonally cuts through the dragon seal, expressing that laborers are the masters traversing the history of the canal. On its front, it is also inscribed with the large characters “Commemorating the Grand Canal Protection and World Heritage Application Activity” and the date “National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, May 12, 2006.” Zhu Bingren’s work also became a symbol of the ceremony.
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Three veterans of the Grand Canal conduct an inspection of the Zhejiang section of the Grand Canal
Subsequently, Zhu Bingren, along with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, conducted a second inspection of the entire Grand Canal, summarizing and studying the experience of canal protection. He proposed new concepts such as “zero-use protection,” “zero-development protection,” and “zero-intervention protection,” which have had a profound impact in the post-World Heritage application era of the Grand Canal.
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Zhu Bingren recounts the story of the Grand Canal’s World Heritage application on CCTV’s “Open Lecture” program.
Recently, China National Radio’s special program “Rivers Flow Across China” featured an interview with Zhu Bingren, one of the three initiators of the Grand Canal’s World Heritage application, in the eighth episode, “The Living Heritage of the Millennium-Old Canal.” Click to listen to Zhu Bingren’s story, from an open letter to the Grand Canal’s successful World Heritage application!
