Reappearance of the Guge Civilization

　　On the south bank of the Xiangquan River in Zanda County, Ngari Prefecture in the western part of Tibet Autonomous Region stands an ancient castle - the capital of the Guge Kingdom.

　　After the kingdom was established, the king enfeoffed three princes, revived Buddhism, and invited senior monks to rectify religious doctrines. The royal court adopted Buddhism as a means of supporting its rule and as a basic state policy. The kingdom became a center of Buddhism in the Later Period of Buddhism. During that period, numerous temples were built. Of these, the Toding Monastery in Zanda County has gained an international reputation for its unique architectural style and elegant murals.

　　Zanda County has the best natural conditions in Ngari Prefecture and is home to a variety of cultural relics, including 37 temples, half of those found in the prefecture. In addition, there are many sites that are suspected of having great historical and archeological value. Among the large number of ancient sites are the Guge Kingdom's capital, the Toding Monastery, several sites in Dunggar and Piyang, and remnants of Buddhist art in the ancient sites and grottoes of Daba and Qangze. These are the cream of ancient art in Ngari Prefecture and gems of Chinese culture. Because of this, the area has attracted the attention of both domestic and foreign scholars.

　　In the 1970s, archeological studies brought new vitality to research into the Guge Kingdom, Zhangzhung and the Guge culture. Surveys revealed many murals dating to that period. These have proven very important to research into the history of Tibet's Middle Ages, exchanges between Tibet and other regions, and the development of different schools of Tibetan Buddhist art.

　　In order to preserve this rare heritage, the State Cultural Relics Bureau and the Cultural Relics Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region jointly organized a survey of cultural relics in Ngari Prefecture in 1996. In a short time, they worked out a renovation plan for the Guge capita~ the Toding Monastery, Dunggar and Piyang.

　　In March of 1997 an enlarged conference of the Ngari Cultural Relics Rescue Leading Group was held in Beijing and a decision was made to quickly mobilize forces to rescue and protect the cultural relics of Ngari Prefecture. The State Cultural Relics Bureau made it priority and supported it not only in finance, but also in transferring 10 archeologists, including Luo Zhewen, leader of the ancient architecture group of the State Cultural Relics Bureau, Zhang Jianlin, director of the Sui-Tang-Dynasty Research Office of the Shaanxi Provincial Archeology Research Institute, and others from the Hebei Ancient Architecture Institute, the China Cultural Relics Research Institute, the Palace Museum and Sichuan University.

　　The Cultural Relics Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region assigned seven leaders and professionals from its staff of 20 to take part in the rescue work. On April 20, 1997, Ngagwang Lozhoi, leader of the repair group of Ngari Cultural Relics Rescue Office, and Gaisang, leader of the rear-service group, led the first group of 40 experts to Ngari. Among them were six staff members of the Regional Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, who were to conduct a survey of the Toding Monastery, and workers with the Lhasa Ancient Buildings Corporation. With their arrival, the work of rescuing the cultural relics of Ngari began.

　　The remains of the Guge Kingdom's capital are in the form of caved-in buildings set against sun-baked mountain slopes in the Zarang District of Zanda County.

　　The remains cover an area of 720,000 square meters and included 400 temples, near 1,000 inhabited caves, 58 watchtowers, four blind passes, 28 pagodas of various styles, 11 warehouses and other structures. The city was established in the 10th century, but was gradually deserted after the kingdom was conquered in the mid-l7th century. Five buildings have survived the ravages of time. Exquisite murals in these halls display a variety of subjects and are considered of very high artistic value.

　　The survey team carefully verified the layout of the Guge Imperial Palace. Erosion was the most serious threat to the ruins. Therefore, the team worked out measures to block culverts, dredge draining outlets, bury drainage pipes and divert natural drainage. They also set about propping up walls and supporting the buildings with additional bricks or stones.

　　In the case of severely leaning walls, protective and supporting walls were built as a means of preventing complete collapse. In the case of important buildings bearing heavy loads on their support beams, dangerous caverns and unstable cliff faces, square columns were set to provide additional support. Bricks or stones were used to repair and strengthen key buildings and walls with openings or crevices or those in danger of collapse as a means of arresting the degradation.

　　The Imperial Palace is reached by a winding path leading 300 meters up from the foot of the hill. In order to complete their work, the team had to carry all materials up the path. The experts overcame many difficulties in order to survey, record and map every corner of the palace.

　　The Toding Monastery is screened by mountains to the south and the Xiangquan River to the north. Halls, pagodas, walls, and homes are found throughout the ground. The monastery was built in the Later Period of Tibetan Buddhism and is now a site under prefectural and national protection.

　　The Toding Monastery's renovation differs from that of the Guge Kingdom's capital. This is in part because it is still an active monastery. Its renovation attracted concern from locals because of their religious devotion. The Ngari Cultural Relics Rescue Office restored to their original key buildings and those facing the threat of collapse. Renovation of key buildings was carried out under the principle of respecting tradition and religious demands. For instance, Sekang Hall and the White Hall and the walls and roofs of Sakya Hall and Naijulagang Hall were restored to their original appearance. Other buildings, including pagodas, were left in their current condition, but measures were taken to arrest further damage. Since being partially restored, Sakya Hall displays the grandeur of the past with its magnificent appearance and unique corner watchtowers.

　　Located in Dunggar Township, the villages of Dunggar and Piyang are two kilometers apart in a narrow and long valley 30 kilometers southwest of Zanda county seat. Steep cliffs lead to a grassy valley floor fed by a small brook.

　　The Dunggar Grottoes are located at the bottom of a hill some 500 meters north of Dunggar Village. The three caves are in a row along the cliff. Although the top of the grottoes appears square from the outside, it is actually round on the inside. The three-dimensional and mandala-like caves house beautiful murals. Cave construction is elegantly combined with the mural art to create a natural setting.

　　The Ngari Cultural Relics Rescue Office stresses the renovation and protection of the caves and murals at Dunggar. Because the ceilings of the caves are unstable and leak water, the office decided to construct a restraining wall near the entrances to control drainage waters from the summit of the mountain. The wall was constructed in a way that it blends naturally with the yellowish brown of the cliff face. It serves not only as a supporting structure, but also as a security measure.

　　The Piyang site is located 500 meters to the west of Piyang Village and covers the slopes of a hill. The site features caves, Buddhist niches and pagodas. The work at this site was similar to that at the Toding Monastery, since the site receives numerous pilgrims. The rescue office restored the hall of scriptures and cleaned and sealed the caves where well-preserved murals could be found.

　　Mural protection is viewed as the most important work in the current phase of protection. The Ngari Cultural Relics Rescue Office followed the principle of protecting the existing state and putting equal emphasis on consolidating and protective measures. Murals were cleaned and the structures were consolidated. Those murals that were split or peeling off were repaired. In order to prevent damage caused by human activity, railings, glass enclosures, and steel doors were added.

　　Since 1997, when they arrived in Zanda, the staff of the Ngari Cultural Relics Rescue Office worked every day except for July 1, 1997 when they celebrated the return of Hong Kong. Sixty Han and Tibetan experts and technicians worked hard for four years.

　　They repaired 3,200 square meters of ancient buildings and consolidated 16 grottoes and remains, repaired drainage systems covering 2,500 square meters, consolidating 550 square meters of murals, and repainted an area of 1 ,350 square meters.

　　In coordination with the renovation work, 1,700 square meters of dilapidated structures were excavated. A large number of valuable ancient murals were discovered and a great deal of cultural relics, including scriptures, statues, thangka and Buddhist implements, were collected. At the same time, 500 images at the sites, murals and implements were repaired, mapped and copied.

　　Along with the renovation of ancient buildings and archeological excavations, they collected 5,000 pictures and various materials, including ten rolls of photos, while checking a great number of historical records and copying ten thousand characters from inscriptions accompanying murals.

　　Ngari cultural relics rescue and protection efforts have the characteristic of combining archeological excavation and study with the repair of ancient buildings. In engineering designs great attention has been paid to scientific methods and practical results.

　　Under the most arduous conditions, the experts and technicians carefully renovated and deeply studied the ancient Guge Kingdom. Through their hard work, large areas of remains have been protected and many ancient structures and murals have been repaired and strengthened. The ancient Guge civilization has reappeared for the world to explore and appreciate.