The crew of the TV serial program "Clan Feuds" is accused of
devastating two stone inscriptions designated as national cultural
relics in Zhejiang, the Dong Fang Daily reported on August 10.
"The crew painted the characters Tie Cheng gray in an effort to
make them look good on TV," the scenic spot management director Hu
Zhengqing told the paper.
This came just months after the film crew of the blockbuster "Wu
Ji", directed by internationally acclaimed Chen Kaige damaged the
local ecosystem of Bigu Lake in the southwestern province of Yunnan
after erecting roads and buildings without permission.
But producer Guangdong CHS Media Holding Co., Ltd denies the
charges, saying that no one had told them the inscriptions were
cultural relics.
According to the paper the characters Tie Cheng were carved by
Ming Dynasty calligrapher Hao Jing in praise official Li Jian. Li's
alias was Tie Cheng.
According to the crew communication director who can only be
identified by his surname Guo, they would not have painted over the
inscriptions if they had been informed in advance.
"On discovering what they had done, we immediately discussed the
matter with the crew," Hu says.
According to Hu, the crew promised beforehand that the paint on
the inscriptions could be removed and agreed to clean the paint off
after finishing the shoot.
"We gave them tacit approval because of the publicity they were
going to bring to the spot," says Hu, adding that they charged the
crew 2,000 yuan (US$250) as a cash deposit to ensure they can
remove the paint after their shoot.
But the crew rushed to leave the site after paying the 2,000
yuan as the fee for relieving, according to the paper.
Experts and officials expressed concern over the damage.
Xu Wenping, who serves as a director at the School of Drawing at
Lishui University in Zhejiang Province, says the incident is
another great blow to national relics following the damage from the
'Wu Ji' crew.
According to the deputy director general of the department of
cultural relics of the Zhejiang Historical Relics Bureau Yang
Xinping, what the crew did was illegal, and that TV and film crews
must obtain permission from the proper departments before filming
in order to protect cultural relics. "Damaging original relics is
not allowed," Yang says.
According to Yang, the crew didn't apply for a permit before the
shoot.
The case is under investigation by the Supervision Team of the
Zhejiang Cultual Relics Protection Bureau.
According to the paper, the inscriptions' color has been tainted
following efforts to remove the paint.
"We can't recover the original image," Hu says.
(China Daily August 11, 2006)
