历史、记忆与现实：汶川大地震十周年祭

The Wenchuan earthquake was the most destructive earthquake to strike the country since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The sudden earthquake caused an unprecedented disaster to Wenchuan and everything came to a standstill when the earthquake struck at 2:28 p.m. on May 12, 2008. The infrastructure was badly damaged; the newly built highway from Dujiangyan to Wenchuan was completely destroyed; 80% of the buildings in the urban area needed to be rebuilt; most rural houses had collapsed, and the farmers had not lived prosperous lives. Following the disaster, people in Wenchuan were concerned with how to build a better and stronger Wenchuan. The reconstruction process in Wenchuan was difficult and long, but after ten years of hard work, tremendous changes have taken place. The traditional folk dwellings, which are located on the mountain slopes and made from wood and stone, have been generally updated with two or three stories of modern architecture while retaining strong ethnic qualities. All townships and villages have also been rebuilt with new appearances. The town of Yingxiu, the epicenter, gathers the works of the world’s excellent architectural designers. Both the towns of Sanjiang and Shuimo embody the combination of tradition and modernity. The town of Weizhou, where the county government is located, has become a huge urban garden. In 2017, the GDP of Wenchuan County grew to 5.757 billion yuan, 2.6 times higher than that in 2008; the per capita disposable income of urban residents reached 29,472 yuan, 1.7 times higher than in 2008; and the per capita disposable income of rural residents reached 12,243 yuan, an increase of 3.5 times over 2008. Moreover, Wenchuan was successively awarded a series of titles, such as “Sichuan Advanced County for County Economy Development”, “Sichuan Advanced County for Increasing Farmers’ Income”, and “Sichuan Demonstration County for Annual Promotion of Major Rural Reform Task”. Almost all of people said that the post-disaster reconstruction has advanced the overall economic and socio-cultural development of Wenchuan by about 30 years. The “Complementary Counterpart Assistance” policy, formed after the Wenchuan earthquake, has become a unique mode of emergency and poverty relief with Chinese characteristics, and is playing an increasingly important role in China. Approved by the State Council in 2009, “May 12” has become a National Day for “Disaster Prevention and Reduction”. The Wenchuan earthquake demonstrates “supports from all directions when one is in difficulty”. The big earthquake brought great destruction; great destruction brought great construction; and big construction brought big development. How to sum up the transformation of Wenchuan? We are now working with the Wenchuan County government to hold an academic seminar and invite experts and scholars from within China and abroad to hold discussions. What implications does the Wenchuan earthquake have for the world? Ten years of Wenchuan: Earthquake Relief Spirit and Social Cultural Reconstruction, a book which we plan to publish after the seminar may give you an answer.