Interview with Liu Rong	July 16, 2008

(Photo by Eti Bonn-Muller) The Qianlong emperor used to receive the Dalai Lama at this Lama-style temple next to the Juan Qin Zai Garden.

In the past, the Palace Museum has been criticized for over-restoring parts of the Forbidden City, but I hear that things are changing for the better. How is restoration work done today?

In the Ci Ning Gong Garden, for example, where the concubines used to live, the color of the original [yellow-glazed terracotta] roof tiles had faded, so they were sent to a factory to be colorized. When the construction work on the rest of the building is finished, they will be placed back. All the tiles are the originals as they are of really high quality so we still use them. We also make brand-new ones, if necessary, when the originals are broken. But if the originals can be reused, we keep them.

In an area of the Forbidden City currently closed to the public, materials for restoration projects throughout the palace are stored. The salvageable original roof tiles in the foreground will be sent to a factory, repaired, and re-glazed. The yellow tiles in the background have already undergone this process. The square gray blocks will be used in the walls and on the floors.
Workers rebuild the Juan Qin Zai Garden in the northwest district of the Forbidden City. It was burned down in 1923 by eunuchs who wanted to hide evidence of jewelry theft from Pu Yi, the last emperor of China. Restorers use new materials but incorporate traditional construction methods. It will open to the public in the coming years.
The stone terrace in the middle of the complex at the Juan Qin Zai Garden was all that remained after the rest was burned to the ground.	(Photos by Liu Bowen)

Do you also reuse wooden elements?

When the wood has rotted, it cannot be used again. But we select and reuse the pieces that are still good enough.

We use new wood, but work in the old style. To clean [prepare] the wood requires a lot of skill. The work is very complex. First, we cover it with some oil and paint, and then some ash. Then we apply the color. The construction technique is also special. No nails are used. We are working in the old style. With this construction, very long and wide drawings can be placed on the wall.

We are also re-creating all the signs that once hung in the buildings. Our calligrapher, Mr. Miao, works in the style of Emperor Qianlong. He uses Manchu and Chinese Han [Mandarin Chinese] characters. There were originally nine signs that hung outside the buildings, too.

(Photo by Liu Bowen)	(Photo by Eti Bonn-Muller)
Parts of the Juan Qin Zai Garden are almost completely restored. Thin sheets of brown paper protect the newly painted surfaces.

Once the construction work is finished, is there anything special you will need to do to preserve the buildings?

Since the roofs and the walls are made of blocks set in mud, trees grow out of them. This has always been a problem. To destroy the plants and trees used to be a very important event for the emperor. Every year, the emperor sent a lot of eunuchs to take out the weeds on the roofs and walls. Every year.

(Photo by Liu Bowen)	(Photo by Eti Bonn-Muller)	(Photo by Eti Bonn-Muller)	(Photo by Eti Bonn-Muller)
No nails were used in the original construction of buildings in the Forbidden City. Today, craftsmen rebuilding the Juan Qin Zai Garden must be skilled in such traditional building techniques.		Glazed terracotta roof ornaments depicting fantastic creatures will decorate the finished Juan Qin Zai Garden buildings.

© 2008 by the Archaeological Institute of America archive.archaeology.org/beijing/luo.html