A “seed bank of continuous Chinese civilization” protecting “golden seeds of culture hidden in famous mountains, passed onto future generations”
Nestled at the foot of Yanshang Mountain north of Beijing near the capital’s central axis1 is the National Archives of Publications and Culture, or Guojia Banben Guan. The central branch of the “National Archives of Publications and Culture” (NAPC) was designed by the Tsinghua University Architecture Design and Research Institute, led by the current Dean of Tsinghua Architecture department Zhuang Weimin, who was “invited to lead the project” by the Central Propaganda Department, or Zhongxuanbu (中宣部) of the CCP in April of 2019.2 Xi’s personal investment in the project was made clear during his inspection visit on June 1, 2023, when Xi remarked that, “I personally approved this project and have been paying close attention to it. Chinese traditional architecture looks very comfortable located between the water and mountains.”3 Stylistically, the complex features calm grey stone exteriors, dark red metallic cornice, and simplified hipped rooves in an homage to classical Chinese architecture. A September 2023 article of Qiushi, the party’s leading theoretical journal, described the project as “seed bank of continuous Chinese civilization” protecting “golden seeds of culture hidden in famous mountains, passed onto future generations”4 and a “seed gene bank of Chinese culture.”5 Thus, the building has taken on literal and symbolic functions as collecting and preserving the “genes” of Chinese civilization.
It's interesting to compare the NAPC as a “seed bank” for Chinese civilization with the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, completed in 2008. Located in a remote mountainous region of Norway and designed by Peter Soderman, Svalbard was conceived of as securely storing the seeds of global plant species to preserve crop diversity, amidst climate change and growing threats to global species diversity. Featuring austere brutal materials suitable for the harsh Arctic climate, the Svalbard vault is run by the Norwegian government but is conceived as a “global vault” into which any country can deposit seeds, while the NAPC is explicitly intended to store the “cultural seeds” of Chinese civilization, and thus is linked to national imaginaries of Chinese civilization as opposed to global ones. Since entering office, Xi has promoted the term cultural confidence,” or wenhua zixin 文化自信, as part of the “four confidences.”—confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture (of “socialism with Chinese characteristics”). Under Xi, the Party has taken ever greater interest in what Elizabeth Perry has termed “cultural governance,” or the “deployment of symbolic resources as an instrument of political authority…in a manner that underscores the distinctively “Chinese” character of the political system.”6
The Beijing branch of the NAPC was built on the site of an abandoned quarry, “turning waste into treasure, realizing the dual benefits of humanity and nature, and implementing the development concept of the new era.” Besides the 380,000 sq meters of built area, there are 55,000 sq meters of subterranean storage space for rare artifacts and books. Like Svalbard, the NAPC employs modern technology to preserve “seeds”, but in this case the seeds are books, cultural artifacts, and documents rather than actual seeds. The question is: who gets to decide what counts as the “seeds” of Chinese civilization?
The overall layout of the Beijing complex comprises three main buildings with auxiliary structures on either side, loosely following a 三段式 “three section layout”. The front hall, Wenxing Lou 文兴楼, features an exhibit on “Chinese stamps and currency”, while the second main hall, Wenhua Lou, “houses more than 30,000 volumes of classic publications and relics”. One of the exhibits here, “Witness Great Achievements” celebrates the accomplishments of New China such as industrial development and features original works by Mao. The rear section of the complex is anchored by a five-storied pagoda-like tower which contrasts stylistically with the rest of the complex: featuring glazed orange roof tiles and grey stone clad walls that recall some of the “ten great buildings” shi da jianzhu of the early years of the PRC, such as the National Art Gallery and Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square. This Is the octagonal 15-meter high 文瀚阁 Wenhan Hall, which contains original copies of some of the most famous Chinese encyclopedic collections such as the Si Ku Quanshu, or 四库全书 , the Yongle Dadian 永乐大典 Yongle Encyclopedia, and the Complete Classics Collection of Ancient China, which was compiled between 1700 and 1725 during the Kangxi and Yongzheng reigns of the Qing Dynasty. The Wenhan Hall also features an exhibit called “Light of Truth” with more than 2000 Marxist works, “reflecting the theoretical achievements of the Sinicization of Marxism.”[6] The building integrates Chinese traditional materials with historical works of Marxism, a physical manifestation of recent current ideological discourses around the “two integrations” or liange jiehe.
The NAPC and China’s Imperial Book Collection Traditions
One might ask what is the difference between the new “National Archives of Publications and Culture” and other museums or archives in China, of which there are many? As Anderson (1983) argued, the museum (along with maps and censuses) were tools of modern states to establish narratives and visions of national identity; “museums and the museumizing imagination, are both profoundly political” (178). China’s National Museum, prominently located on Tiananmen Square, and other museums can be viewed as Chinese versions of the Western-derived institution of the museum, located in a prominent location open to the public, designed to cultivate appreciate for art and culture while also communicating political ideologies, as the museum has featured the “Road to Rejuvenation” exhibit that Xi himself visited in 2012 shortly after becoming China’s leader.7 On the other hand, each of the four locations of the NAPC are located in remote locations, nestled at the foothills or within mountains outside the nearest city. Like Svalbard Seed Vault in Norway, China’s four new seed banks of cultural genes are meant to preserve and protect rare artifacts. The facilities also have underground storage areas. The Beijing Branch is currently only open for group tours, while the Hangzhou branch is open to the public and has become popular as a photo background for influencers. This suggests the more important objective of the NAPC is “security”, related to the term of “cultural security”. The remote location of each branch of the NAPC indicates the core function is “preservation” and “safeguarding” while public visitation is a secondary concern, unlike most museums.
The tradition of collecting and preserving classic works of literature and state records has a longer history in China that predates the modern museum’s emergence in Europe, or in colonial Southeast Asia8. The Qiushi article makes the link between the new NAPC and this tradition quite explicit “our country has always placed preservation baocang of classic works in an important position, from the 收藏室 of the Zhou Dynasty, Qin Dynasty 石室, Tianluge 天禄阁 of the Han Dynasty, Song Dynasty’s Chongwen Yuan 崇文院, Wenyuan Pavillion 文渊阁 of the Ming Dynasty, and the seven pavilions of the Qing Dynasty.” The more ambitious imperial archival efforts resulted in the publications of collections that are now some of the very works being stored in the newly completed NAPC. The Yongle Encyclopedia Yongle dadian was commissioned by the third Ming Emperor Yongle in 1403, one year after he usurped the throne by overthrowing his nephew. The Complete Classics Collection of Ancient China Gujin Tushu Jicheng was compiled between 1700-1725 during the reigns of Qing Emperors Kangxi and Yongzheng. The siku quanshu is an encyclopedic collection of 36,000 volumes of Chinese history and literature, undertaken by the the Qianlong Emperor in 1772 as part of an effort to collect and synthesize the important texts of Chinese history and literature at the time.
Integrating Marxism and Confucianism under one roof : architecture and ideology
用建筑代表意识形态： 国家版本管当作为 【两个结合】 的标志
What the Qiushi article obviously doesn’t mention with use of the term baocang or preservation, is that such imperial archival efforts were typically also political projects that synthesized or edited history in a particular way to strengthen the ideological foundations of the ruler at the time. For example, Guy points to how Qianlong’s project of the Siku Quanshu destroyed by some estimates 2,400 works, some that were seen to be critical of the Manchus, who founded the Qing. “The compilation of the siku quanshu was ultimately meant to demonstrate the legitimacy, in traditional Chinese terms of Qing rule, so the campaign of suppression was meant to show that the regime had always had justifiable control over the Chinese state.”9 There’s no indication the NAPC has been involved in any such direct censorship efforts, but nonetheless the ideological aims of the project are quite clear. In gathering both works of “traditional culture” alongside more contemporary “red culture classics”, the NAPC is a physical manifestation of Xi’s effort to integrate traditional Chinese culture and Marxist culture, what is now referred to as the “two integrations” or liange jiehe. In each location, there has been an effort to include significant ancient texts and artifacts alongside texts and artifacts celebrating China’s Communist history or “red culture”, thus literally integrating under the same roof works of 优秀传统文化 “excellent traditional Chinese culture” and “classic works of red culture”. In 2019, on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, 70 works were included in a volume called Classic Collection of Seventy Novels from Seventy Years of New China. In remarks given during a visit to the complex in June, Xi himself celebrates the inclusion of works from the early years of the Communist Party such as the so-called “three red novels” or San Hong Yi Chuang, Defending Yanan Baowei Yanan, and “Songs of Youth” Qingshan Baolin 10
A nationwide “cultural security” system: Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Xi’an branches
国家文化安全体系—1+3 格局 —杭州 广州 西安分管
The National Archives of Publications and Culture is a nationwide “1+3 system” comprising the main branch in Beijing plus satellite branches spread across the four cardinal directions of China: Guangzhou in the South, Hangzhou in the East, Xi’an in the West, and Beijing in the North. This makes the NAPC’s resemblance to earlier imperial archival projects even more apparent, such as the seven libraries around China designated to store the siku quanshu in Qianlong’s reign. The design of these branches follows a similar overall structure as the parent complex in Beijing, with low-rise building arrayed around courtyards or gardens, each one featuring some version of a central pagoda-like tower. The style of each branch incorporates elements of each region, referencing historic regional styles: the Hangzhou branch incorporates elements found in Jiangnan-style gardens, while the Xi’an branch follows a “new Han-Tang style” referencing the low sweeping rooflines of Tang style buildings.
During the reign of Emperor Qianlong , a nationwide system for storing copies of Siku Quanshu was built with seven libraries referred to as tianyige 天一阁 constructed around the empire, which were modeled on a private library built in Hangzhou in 1566 during the Ming Dynasty. One of these, Wenyuange is located within Beijing’s forbidden city, and others were sited in various palaces or gardens. Each branch of the NAPC features a core pavilion: the octagonal Wenhan Pavilion 文瀚阁 in the Beijing Branch (described above), the Wenrun Pavilion 文润阁 in Hangzhou, the Wenji Pavilion 文济阁 in Xi’an, and the Wenqin Pavilion 文沁阁 in Guangzhou. These pavilions display some of the most precious items of each respective branch. The multi-sited system is “intended to safeguard the protection of cultural relics” with copies of important items stored at each of the sites, not unlike a cloud computing system with redundant servers backing up data in multiple locations. Each complex is located in outlying mountainous areas outside the city center. There is also a digital archive of materials from the NAPC.
Hangzhou
The Hangzhou branch of the NAPC opened on August 2, 2022, and was designed by Wang Shu, the Pritzker-prize winning architect and Dean of Hangzhou-based China Fine Arts Academy. The design of the Hangzhou branch is based on “contemporary Song style”—Hangzhou, or Lin’an as it was called then, was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279). Located next to the Liangzhu heritage park in the northwest of Hangzhou, the complex incorporates elements of classical “Jiangnan garden architecture”, the northern section is the core exhibition complex with the garden in the south (beizhan nanyuan), which abuts a small hill that is incorporated into the complex in the traditional Jiangnan garden feature known as jiejing, or “borrowed view,” directly recalling a scene from a Song dynasty era painting. The main exhibition hall features blue-green qinglu shade louvres that front the pond and gardens to the south. The panels can be opened or closed. The walls of the building itself use rammed earth or huangtu construction, and the ceiling of the hall features a contemporary interpretation of wooden lattice dougong bracket system of traditional buildings. The collection, like its other counterparts, features original works of traditional art and literature alongside “red culture” such as original copies of Marx and Engels’ early works. The traditional works emphasize regional traditions of Jiangnan, such as an exhibit on 100 famous painters of Jiangnan.
Xi’an
The Xi’an branch is, like its other counterparts, nestled against the mountains—in this case the Qinling mountains southwest of central Xi’an. Designed by the head of the China Northwest Design Institute Zhang Jinqiu, the complex is designed in a “new Han and Tang style”, with large sweeping roofes vaguely alluding to the characteristic rooflines of Tang-era buildings. Like its other regional counterparts, the Xi’an branch features artifacts and historical exhibits on Sha’anxi, the Northwest, and the Silk Road. The branch also features a bronze zun engraved with what is believe to be the earliest recorded use of the term “China” or zhongguo. There is also a Ming-era copy of Sima Qian’s shiji, “records of the grand historian”, one of China’s first and most famous histories. And like the other branches, there are also copies of Marx’s Communist Manifesto and Capital. The core hall of the Xi’an branch is called 文济阁 wenji ge.
Guangzhou
The Guangzhou pavilion is a contemporary interpretation of Lingnan style, also nestled against the mountains.
The central axis or Zhongyang zhouxian of ancient Beijing runs through the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square
清华院新作：中国国家版本馆中央总馆编辑：李博超 | 校对：李博超 | 2023.02.08
http://www.mod.gov.cn/gfbw/sy/tt_214026/16228530.html
Guojia Banben Guan, “Nuli Jiancheng Gengxu Zhonghua Wenming de ‘Zhongzi Ku’ "Strive to Build a Seed Bank That Carries on Chinese Civilization,” Qiushi, September 1, 2023
Qiaosu Zhang, “Caifang guojia banben guan zhongyang zongguan:Gengxu Zhonghua wenming ‘jiyinku,’” Xinhua, August 12, 2022, http://www.news.cn/politics/2022-08/12/c_1128908639.htm.
Perry EJ. Cultural Governance in Contemporary China: “Re-Orienting” Party Propaganda. In: Shue V, Thornton PM, eds. To Govern China: Evolving Practices of Power. Cambridge University Press; 2017:29-55.
https://chinachange.org/2012/05/11/the-road-to-rejuvenation-the-full-text-of-chinas-party-approved-history/
Ren, J. (2001). Zhongguo cang shu lou (第1版. ed.). Liaoning ren min chu ban she.
R. Kent Guy, The Emperor’s Four Treasuries: Scholars and the State in the Late Chʻien-Lung Era (Harvard Univ Asia Center, 1987), 162
新中国成立后，“三红一创（《红岩》《红日》《红旗谱》《创业史》）”“青山保林（《青春之歌》《山乡巨变》《保卫延安》《林海雪原》）”等经典红色作品在社会上产生广泛影响
This one is not open to the public
For the group tours you mentioned, do you know how to schedule one? I’ll be in Beijing in September, would love to make a trip to the archives near Beijing