Zhao Furong
When I was a child, I liked to listen to storytelling, especially the story about Liang Hongyubeating drums and Han Shizhongleading eight thousand Song troops to trap 100,000 enemies in the Battle of Huangtiandang in Song and Jin Dynasties. I have always thought about it in my heart. A heroic dream of "drunk and burning the lamp to read the sword, dreaming of the trumpet-blowing camp".
There is Lingyan Mountain in the southwest of Suzhou City, which was the former site of the Guanwa Palace of King Wu Fucha during the Spring and Autumn Period. At the southern foot of the mountain are the tombs of Han Shizhong and his wife. In 2003, not long after I came to Suzhou to study, I couldn't wait to visit this ancient tomb. I couldn't help but feel sad when I saw the tombstones were broken and the ancestral hall was dilapidated. More than ten years later, my colleagues and I were able to protect the ancient tombs represented by Han Shizhong Cemetery by performing public interest litigation procuratorial duties. At this moment, the dreams of youth and the loss of youth all had a "déjà vu" connection. .
At the beginning of 2019, our hospital handled a case of robbing ancient tombs. What was stolen in the case was the epitaph of Dong Fen, the Minister of Rites of the Ming Dynasty. This epitaph was jointly written by the three chief ministers in the Wanli 4th year of the Ming Dynasty. It has clear patterns and elegant calligraphy. It is a national third-level cultural relic. . Out of professional sensitivity, I have many questions: The cultural relics involved weigh several tons, so how could the criminal suspect steal them so easily? Why has it not been discovered more than two years after it was stolen? There are also many tombs of celebrities such as Han Shizhong, Wang Suo, Jin Shengtan, etc. in the jurisdiction. How is the protection situation? As the guardian of public interests, can the prosecutorial office make a difference in cultural protection?
Based on the regional characteristics, our hospital established a Wu Culture Prosecution and Public Welfare Protection Case Handling Team. Most of the ancient tombs are located in remote places in the mountains and are difficult to find by navigation. We searched for records in books, archives, online travel notes, and asked older villagers. For more than four months, from winter to summer, we visited all 22 ancient tombs in the area. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in Luzhi Water Town, villagers dressed in traditional water town costumes came to worship in front of Lu Guimeng's tomb; in the ancestral hall of King Han Qi at the foot of Lingyan Mountain, the seated statue of Han Shizhong is still majestic; in the ancient village of Luxiang in Taihu Lake, there are The simple villagers who have guarded Wang Hao's tomb for generations; among the weeds in Wufeng Mountain's Xishanwu, there are white wine and fruits for worship in front of Jin Shengtan's tomb... all of these remind us: we must not forget the connection between the sages of Wu. The history of Wudi cannot allow the marginal cultural relics of ancient tombs to disappear in the long river of history.
At that time, it was still undecided whether the new area of procuratorial public interest litigation could include the protection of cultural relics. During the process of searching for ancient tombs, I was greatly supported and moved by the public's recognition and encouragement of this work. On November 27, 2020, the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Jiangsu Province issued the "Decision on Strengthening Procuratorial Public Interest Litigation", which clarified that the procuratorial organs can explore the public welfare protection of cultural relics and cultural heritage, which confirmed that our exploration at that time was correct and timely.
After investigation, it was found that the protection of ancient tombs in the jurisdiction generally has problems such as unclear protection scope, unknown subjects, loss and damage, etc., and the grassroots cultural protection force is relatively weak, so the protection of ancient tombs is urgent. We formulate and issue procuratorial recommendations to urge functional departments and local governments to perform their duties; write special research reports to attract the attention of superior authorities and all sectors of society; organize multi-party discussions and consultations to clarify regulatory issues arising from overlapping powers. In response to the fact that Han Shizhong Ancestral Hall has been occupied for a long time, in December 2019, our court filed the province's first administrative public interest litigation in the field of cultural relics protection, urging the cultural protection department to administer in accordance with the law. In July 2020, the court ruled in favor of the prosecutor's claim. All the illegal buildings that had occupied Han Shizhong Ancestral Hall for more than ten years were finally demolished.
The protection of the ancient tombs lasted for more than a year, with ups and downs. Now when I talk about the ancient tombs in the jurisdiction, I can count them all. After revisiting the old place, the ancient tombs have been completely repaired and the ancestral hall has returned to peace.Deep in the covered soil, the war and iron horses have become history; in the ancient city of Suzhou, Wu Fengya continues to spread. This is the original intention and significance of our public interest litigation prosecutors in performing their duties.
Source: Procuratorate Daily
