Last week we read about China's top 10 archaeological finds in 2005 with both joy and sadness.

Joy came from reading about the significance of the discoveries. Sadness came from learning about the archaeologists' work and thinking about the many deplorable things that have been done to the nation's historical assets.

There were reports about unearthed treasures, although many of them are yet to be released for public viewing. Some murals in old tomb chambers and silk paintings covering the caskets were reported to be stunningly beautiful.

But more impressive was how widespread the discoveries were. In fact, archaeological sites identifying various early communities exist far beyond the Yellow River Valley, known as the cradle of Chinese civilization.

The 2005 finds included evidence of rice-planting in the highlands of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces in southwestern China, and traces of a previously unknown culture (that included barbecuing) of 8,000 or more years ago in Zhejiang Province, on the coast of the East China Sea.

At the same time, however, we learned that some archaeological treasures had potentially already fallen into the hands of cultural thieves.

Five of the top 10 archaeological sites had reportedly been invaded by tomb diggers. And among the 25 candidates for experts' voting in 2005, 10 had been victims of serious cultural theft, virtually plunder in some cases, in the previous couple of years.

Of the 25 sites, only six received police protection. In another 17 cases, as Xinhua News Agency reported, the police failed to take any action after archaeologists notified them of their ongoing work in the areas of their jurisdiction.

In one case involving the salvage of a sunken ship of the old porcelain trade off the Fujian coast in East China, there was a virtual race between archaeologists and 25 boats commissioned by illegal treasure hunters working during typhoon alarms.

Before archaeologists could finish their work there were already early Qing (17th century) blue-patterned porcelain objects on offer in collectors' flea markets in Beijing, costing as much as 80,000 yuan (US$10,000) apiece.

At a time of rampant tomb-raiding and relics theft, the inadequate police presence in the nation's most important archaeological sites is hard to justify. It is not hard to point out what the government should do about the problem: setting up law-enforcement units, signing more anti-crime treaties with foreign governments, increasing budgetary allocations, and even defining certain protection areas.

The key, however, is to persuade citizens about the value of our culture, and to bring a sense of shame to those who attempt to trade the nation's cultural assets for their own personal gain. This is an area where the better educated people, at least those who regard themselves as such, and those who are in the cultural business, should help by offering themselves as examples.

As viewed from this perspective, the environmental mess left behind by filmmakers in the scenic areas of northern Yunnan after shooting "The Promise," directed by Chen Kaige, is similar to the ugly hole left by tomb robbers in an imperial cemetery.

In both cases, cultural wealth belonging to the public to be appreciated by future generations is sacrificed for the immediate financial return of just a few individuals.

It is odd that the industry has been basically quiet in response to the environmental damage wrought by the filmmakers, as if it was the misfortune of a few individuals to get caught behaving irresponsibly. Why can't they say something? At least to say they will ensure due care is taken to protect the nation's environmental and cultural areas next time they are using them to give us a better promise?

Email: younuo@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/15/2006 page4)