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NEWS FROM KHAM
Conference on preserving cultural heritage held in Kangding
July 28, 2006
by Deqing Zhuoma, Program Assistant, Kham Aid Foundation
Three days' cultural preservation conference was held at the Gesar Hotel in
Kangding, from July 25 to 27th, 2006. The conference was organized by the
Tangla Tsewang Culture and Arts Research Association. TTCARA is a local
organization that is closely affiliated with Green Kham, an environmental NGO.
Conference attendees included eminent lamas from some Buddhist monasteries in
Ganzi Prefecture, representatives from various government departments and
bureaus, and staff of local NGOs including Winrock, Kham Aid, and TTCARA.
In the morning of July 25th, the first speaker, Dorzhu Tserin, director of the
Ganzi Prefecture Archive Department, gave an introduction on Tibetan history,
mentioning various dates, places, and scholars and leaders who affected Tibetan
culture by either making it prosper or decline. He repeatedly mentioned that
the true preservers of Tibetan cultural are the lamas and monks leading a
monastic life. As the audience agreed that his remarks were quite reasonable, he
proposed some of ideas for keeping Tibetan culture and relics. For example, he
suggested that each monastery appoint two monks to keep an inventory of its
cultural relics.
That afternoon, Kham Aid Foundation president Pam Logan gave a presentation on
the conservation process and some technical methods for preserving ancient wall
paintings. [Note: Her lecture is reproduced
here as a 2.4MB pdf file].
The next day, speaker Puxin of the Cultural Relics Bureau explained in depth
both international and national laws on the specific issues of preserving relics
and monasteries. One regulation he mentioned that is significant for monasteries
in Ganzi is that excessive display and use of relics is not allowed. Speaker
Puxin explained the system in which places, relics, and monasteries are
protected and supported at four different levels: international, national,
provincial and county.
On the twenty seventh of July, speaker Wang Xiaoli from the provincial Cultural
Relics Bureau talked about changes in Tibetan customs and life styles and their
causes. For example, he mentioned that Tibetans have started to celebrate
Western festivals instead of traditional Tibetan festivals. He led a discussion
on various ways to support development of Tibetan culture development and,
conversely, what may hinder it.
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The conference was funded by a grant from Winrock International as part of the
Sustainable Tibetan
Communities program, thanks to USAID support.
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