Foguang Temple, China
A Tang Dynasty Treasure
Detail of a wooden temple roof.
Until GHF’s initiative, Foguang Temple had not been repaired or conserved since the 17th century. The temple had suffered from extensive structural damages caused by landslide, water damages from leaking roofing, pests and foundation settlement; which threatened to permanently damage Foguang Temple, the last of China’s oldest wooden architectural wonders. The Foguang Temple project was completed under a collaborative agreement with local Shanxi government ministries.
Foguang’s Dongda Palace is the largest and oldest ancient wooden–structure architecture existing in the world. Unlike its sister Nanchan Temple nearby, which was poorly restored in the 1970s, Foguang’s Dongda Palace has never been conserved in modern times, offering a unique opportunity to employ the latest and most authentic ancient conservation techniques and methodologies. Emergency supports for the northeast and northwest corners of the Grand East Hall (Dongda Dian) are now in place, and flood protection now works on both sides of the temple. The Conservation Plan for the eight historic tomb pagodas in the surrounding vicinity, the most famous of which is Monk Zhiyuan’s Tomb Pagoda, has been completed and submitted for review. Restoration of the Master’s Tomb Pagoda, adjacent to the Grand East Hall, has been completed. In 2007, SIAARC submitted the conservation plan for the Grand East Hall to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) and invited six national experts to review the plan in-situ. Their final approvals are still pending, but the Shanxi Provincial authorities have confirmed that the restoration costs of the Grand East Hall will be funded by the national government once the conservation plan receives final approvals.
In 2009 a workshop was also conducted by GHF Director of Conservation John Hurd and China Program Manager Kuanghan Li on the subject of conservation to Shanxi Institute of Ancient Architecture Conservation and Research (SIAACR) staff.
