清末民政部与近代文物保护事业——兼及主事尚秉和之功迹

光绪三十二年,清政府进行大规模中央官制改革,民政部的设立就是其中的重要内容。民政部是清政府首次设立的专门统筹管理民政事务的机构,其职掌包括全国古迹的保存,具体由营缮司存古科负责。民政部主事尚秉和是存古科掌稿,是相关规章制度的拟定者。在民政部的推动下,清廷先后颁布了城镇乡地方自治章程、民政统计表等,其中都有保存古迹的内容。宣统元年,民政部更是制定了专门的保存古迹推广办法章程,包括调查事项6条和保存事项5条,成为各省保护古迹工作的指导。此时,各地开始执行古迹保护政策,取得了一些成绩,尤其是东南江浙一带。清末民政部制定的保护古迹规章制度在近代文物保护事业中有着重要地位,尤其对民国时期文物保护事业产生了积极影响。

Ministry of Civil Affairs in Late Qing Dynasty and Cultural Heritage Protection in Modern China

In 1906,the Qing government carried out a reform of the official system,when the Ministry of Civil Affairs(MCA)was established to be the first government body in the Qing dynasty in charge of civil affairs.One of the responsibilities of the MCA was to preserve historic sites nationwide,which was the main function of its Historic Sites Section under the Civil Engineering Department.Shang Binghe,head of the Section,was the drafter of related regulations.With promotion from the MCA,the Qing government issued the Regulations on Town and Township Autonomy and some civil statistical tables,both of which had contents about the preservation of historic sites.In 1909,the MCA formulated the Rules for the Preservation of Historic Sites,including six articles on investigation and five on conservation.The Rules became the guideline for provincial preservation work.At the same time,local governments began to implement protection policies and had made some progress,especially in southeast China’s Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.The MCA’s regulations on historic sites protection had great influences on cultural heritage protection in modern China,especially in the Republic of China period.