The Guardian of Yanmen Culture

This is a microcosm of Chinese civilization. The ancient and weathered city of Daizhou has been tempered by the passage of time to become quaint and grand. 78 year old Wang Sen was the first director of the Daixian Museum after the founding of the People's Republic of China. He devoted his life to this place, and the protection, reconstruction, and development of the ancient city are inseparable from him.
Daixian, although weathered by storms, still shines brightly in the long river of history. As a famous historical and cultural city in China, it has formed its own unique style and local characteristics. The historical sites such as Yanmen Pass, Inner Great Wall, Bianjing Tower, and Yang Zhongwu Temple within its borders constitute a unique pass culture with Chinese charm. The desolate and magnificent ancient city of Qianguan is also telling future generations about the magnificence and grandeur of the silent years.
Since Wang Sen started working in 1955, whether as the leader of the county cultural bureau in the 1960s or in other positions thereafter, he has been selfless and open hearted, with a deep affection for Yanmen culture. He has made indelible contributions to the protection and construction of his hometown's ancient city. Many historical relics in Dai County were protected and built by him, and he never cared about remuneration, enjoying poverty and morality.
Xing Shengming, the director of the Dai County Museum, introduced Wang Sen to us as follows: Wang Sen was the first director of the Dai County Museum. At that time, the museum was located at the Dai County Confucian Temple, which had been taken over and was already in a state of disrepair, not as required by the cultural relics protection unit. In this situation, Mr. Wang Sen began the first maintenance, and almost all the buildings underwent major repairs, restoring the Dai County Confucian Temple to its original appearance. After his retirement, he assisted in the construction of many buildings in the Yanmen Pass management area. At that time, he proposed many new building designs and ideas, and also participated in the reconstruction of Ximen Wengcheng in Dai County. It is now well built and has made significant contributions to the protection and construction of cultural relics.
During the Cultural Revolution, the cultural relics and historical sites of this ancient city of Dai County were also doomed. Some ancient memorial archway and temples in Daixian County were saved, and Wang Sen, who was then the deputy director of the Cultural Bureau, was an indispensable contributor.
Wang Sen told us the story of his protection of cultural relics: at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, it was called "breaking the four old and establishing the four new". The Red Guards wanted to break the four old, which was to remove the two giant plaques "Sound of the Four Great" and "Mighty at the Three Passes" on the border building and hang slogans that were in line with the times. Because Wang Sen was working at the Cultural Bureau at that time, the Red Guards ordered him to put down the two plaques of "Sound and Sound Four Great Passes" and "Mighty Three Passes" within a few days. In order to avoid unnecessary conflicts, Wang Sen quickly organized relevant personnel to put down these two large plaques and keep them properly. After the Cultural Revolution, he restored them to their original appearance and hung them on the border building.
The people of Daixian often say, 'The Drum Tower of Daizhou, the Pagoda of Yingzhou, and the Great Bodhisattva of Zhengding Prefecture.' The Drum Tower of Daixian, also known as the Bianjing Tower, is very representative and famous in Shanxi and even across the country. Therefore, we must protect it in its original form and not allow it to suffer any human damage. In addition, Wang Sen also protected some other cultural relics during the Cultural Revolution, some of which were collected from the people and some from temples. These cultural relics included plaques, ancient books, calligraphy and paintings, as well as more than a thousand physical objects. After these cultural relics were collected, Wang Sen protected them all and sent them to the museum after its establishment.
During the Cultural Revolution, Wang Sen did his best to protect cultural relics and refused to compromise. Even if he was demoted, dismissed, or sent to criticize, he never gave up his ideals and responsibilities. And history never stops for a moment. Time is like the flowing river beneath the frozen surface, never turning back and moving forward. Wang Sen still stands guard over this historic city of Dai County, using his own meager strength to protect its cultural relics and historical sites. He also infected his children with his persistent beliefs and elegant lifestyle.
Wang Hongxu, who is now the editor of Yanmen Pass Annals, introduced his father to us in this way: his father's influence on our brothers and sisters is reflected in all aspects. Because of the strict style of cultural research and the integrity and foundation of life of the old father, all six of our brothers and sisters are in awe of the old father. The influence of his words and deeds on the six of our brothers and sisters is far-reaching, but also an incomparable influence. Because the old father often said, 'Clear and peaceful is also a realm, as long as one lives, they must live out their own personality.'.
The desolate and tragic border towns, protected by feudal dynasties that have long passed away, but the historical and cultural heritage they embody has become a precious asset worth cherishing today. It has been nearly 20 years since the county was listed as a historical and cultural city in China in the 1990s.
The ancient city blocks and traditional dwellings are important components of a historic and cultural city. In today's Dai County, the shadow of the ancient city is shattered and blurred, and many historical blocks and ancient houses are nowhere to be found. Mr. Wang Sen spent twenty years collecting and organizing information, and three years painting the "Complete Map of the Ancient City", which shows us that the ancient city of Dai Zhou, with "five sheep in the south and lying cows in the north," once shone brightly in the long river of history.
Some buildings and streets have been damaged and are no longer intact, but in terms of their historical value, they still have their own characteristics, representing the historical culture of that special period and specific region, conveying our understanding of history, a memory of history, and also an inspiration for us now. So the protection and restoration of cultural relics and historical sites in the ancient city has become the main work that Mr. Wang Sen has been striving to do over the years. He formed a cultural relic reconstruction team with some like-minded people in the local area. In the past 10 years, they have assisted relevant parties and departments in completing the reconstruction of key cultural relics and historic sites such as Confucian Temple, Wumiao Temple, Bairen Rock, Zhaogao Temple, etc.
Daizhou Wu Temple, also known as Guandi Temple, is a relatively large temple in the city of Daixian. In the early days of liberation, Daixian Wu Temple was the office of a theater troupe in Daixian. Due to years of disrepair, it was in a state of disrepair and the murals inside were also damaged. In the 2002's, the county formed a folk repair committee to repair the Wu Temple. Before the reconstruction of the Wu Temple, Wang Sen restored it based on his own memory and the accounts of the elderly. The Wu Temple standing in Dai County now was rebuilt based on the floor plan drawn by Wang Sen.
When history flows slowly in its own form. When people break through their iron shoes, they find crumbling houses, scattered ruins and broken monuments in the weeds, peeling doors and windows, and crumbling walls. When those ancient relics that once flourished and recorded the deeds of historical figures are also washed away by time, their glory is no longer shining. For many moments, the ancient city and county seem to be sighing softly.
For decades, Wang Sen not only personally participated in the restoration and reconstruction of cultural heritage units in Dai County, but also provided over 100000 words of detailed information for the compilation of the "Yanmen Pass Chronicle", and created precious paintings such as "The Complete View of the Ancient City", "The Complete View of Yanmen Pass", and "The Eight Scenic Spots of Dai County", leaving behind the glory of Dai County for future generations.
Throughout history, countless people have contributed to the preservation and restoration of cultural relics. Dai County is known as a "national level historical and cultural city" not only for its long history, but also for the people who have made contributions to the restoration and protection of cultural relics.