------Program code: DO-080428-02119 (what's this?)

Source: CCTV.com

04-28-2008 09:42

In 1927, Gutzon Borglum, an American sculptor, carved the images of four US presidents onto Mount Rushmore, South Dakota. All four had made a special contribution to the independence and development of the US. The spectacular carvings blend harmoniously with the mountain. Besides the admiration and respect they invoke among tourists, the carvings have also become spiritual symbols of the US.

Watch Video: Part 1

Stonehenge in the English county of Wiltshire is a series of giant stones. It is a testament to the extraordinary command of mathematics and architecture of people thousands of years ago. How and why it was built is an ancient mystery, which draws crowds of visitors, particularly around summer solstice.

Time and again throughout human history, people’s beliefs and convictions have been the source of great inspiration.

The Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing were begun in the early Tang Dynasty, fourteen hundred years ago. Having survived through the turbulence of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, they flourished under the two Song Dynasties, between the tenth and the thirteenth centuries. Today the Dazu rock carvings are a symbol of the power generated when Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism come together.

The Dazu Rock Carvings, along with Mount Rushmore and Stonehenge, constitute the shining glory of historical rock carving worldwide. People who venture into the mountains of Dazu are impressed above all by the remarkable talent of those responsible for the carvings.

Perhaps most impressive of all is the science employed to protect them.

In the course of time, rock carvings are routinely subjected to human damage and the violence of Nature. Often, the destruction is irreversible.

And yet, our ancient ancestors sometimes remind us of our responsibility to protect our heritage.

The Dazu Rock Carvings – The Way of Protection

The Great Pyramid at Khufu in Egypt, one of the “7 wonders of the world”, was originally 164.5 metres high. However, thousands of years of wind and rain have reduced its height by nearly 10 meters.

The Longmen Grottoes have also been subjected to erosion by many centuries of rain. Calcareous sediment deposited by the rain has covered the carvings, to the detriment of their artistic value.