The inconsistencies between the Venice Charter and the

The inconsistencies between the Venice Charter and the Chinese architectural conservation practices were clarified, and the awareness of such conflict became increasingly acute after 2000. In 2002, the China Cultural Relics News organized a series of discussions on the contradictions between the Venice Charter and the existing practices in China. Several of the resulting articles had titles that resembled tongue twisters, such as “On the Restoration of Ancient Chinese Buildings: An Understanding of Relevant Articles of the Venice Charter,” “Research on the Restoration of Hu Xueyan׳s Former Residence Challenges the Venice Charter” (first published by Guangming Daily), “Deliberate before Using the Word Challenge,” “Reflection on ‘Deliberate before Using the Word Challenge,’” and “What to Challenge: Reflection on ‘Reflection on Deliberate before Using the Word Challenge.’” These articles considered the contradictions from the Venice Charter as protocols for restoration. In defense of the Venice Charter, Chen translated and published “Must Stick to the Principle of ‘Identifiability’” in August 2002. The most relevant section of this article is quoted as follows: “The Venice Charter is brief, with 16 articles and no more than 3000 words, and formulated as principles. I asked Mr. Lemaire, the first drafter, why he had not written the charter in more detail. He answered that space should be left for practitioners to innovate” (Chen, 2002). Lemaire׳s answer echoed the Western view of the Venice Charter. In this and other debates, Chinese architectural conservationists critically accepted, applied, and reflected on the Western conservation theory represented by the Venice Charter.
Practical characteristics of the Chinese stylistic restoration
Conclusions: future of the Chinese stylistic restoration The aforementioned restoration practices have also influenced the trp channel of the modern Chinese conservation ideology. Compared with Western approaches to stylistic restoration, the Chinese stylistic restoration is based on different interpretations of “original” and “restoration.” The semantic and conceptual evolution of these two key terms is evident in documents that articulate Chinese ideological concerns with conservation, such as the Qufu Declaration (Luo et al., 2005b) and “China Principles” with its associated case studies. Qufu Declaration, which is also known as “a consensus on the theory and practice with Chinese characteristics for the conservation and maintenance of cultural relics and ancient architecture,” has begun to emphasize the specificity of the Chinese wood structure. The “China Principles” are proposed based on China׳s long-term conservation experience and international principles, particularly the Venice Charter that was formulated in 1964. These principles have been extensively accepted in China since their enactment; thus, the cultural background of the Chinese stylistic restoration must not be neglected. Moreover, the mechanism of the feedback on restoration practice must also be considered.
Acknowledgments This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51508361).
Introduction Throughout history, the evolution of habitation has been closely related to the surrounding environment. Tudoran and Dumitrescu (2013) stated that habitation, which depends on the geographical region and the available technology, moves through stages that result in certain functional schemes, thereby generating architecture typical of these specific regions. The dwellings in Siirt and its surroundings share some formal similarities to Arabian housing forms in North Africa and the Middle East (Dethier, 1982; Ragette, 2006). However, adobe is the main construction material in these regions. The usage of gypsum mortar and gypsum plaster is widespread in Anatolia and in other regions of the world, particularly in the countries in Central Asia, such as Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan (Çigdem and Sedat, 2012). However, although the usage of gypsum material is similar in these regions, the buildings have different forms (Fig. 1).