Wang Haolan

Holly_cn@163.com

A MOURNFUL headline in the French newspaper La Croix, reading “Le coeur en cendres,” which can be translated into English as, “my heart has been smashed by grief,” could perfectly summarize the feelings of Parisians looking on aghast as Notre Dame Cathedral was engulfed in flames Monday afternoon.

The relentless efforts of firefighters and the chants of “Ave Maria” seemed futile in preventing the mutilation of the 850-year-old cathedral, whose signature spire, once immortalized in Victor Hugo’s tale, “Notre Dame de Paris,” burned down in front of the Parisians’ eyes. By yesterday morning local time, most of the blaze had been put out, and an official with the Paris Fire Brigade stated that the bell towers, which witness the love and death of Quasimodo and Esmeralda in Hugo’s work, and the stoned facade of the cathedral, had survived the disaster. Also, a collection of priceless artifacts, including the Crown of Thorns and the tunic of Saint Louis, were carried away from the flames to safety.

However, the losing battle against the fire could have been avoided, because the accident might have been triggered by sparks produced during regular maintenance being conducted on the spire, which was part of a US$6.8 million renovation project on the cathedral.

In fact, most catastrophic fires involving historical architecture are deliberately or inadvertently caused by humans, and due to the age of the structures they tend not to conform with modern fire-proofing standards, meaning the damage is often irreversible.

On Feb. 10, 2008, after having his property coercively requisitioned by the government for land renovations, a 69-year-old fortune-teller surnamed Cai set fire to Sungnye Gate, the largest gate of the ancient Korean capital, in central Seoul, South Korea. After burning for five hours, the gate’s entire wooden structure, including the pavilion and the roof, was left in ruins.

The tragedies of Notre Dame Cathedral and Sungnye Gate have definitely rung an alarm bell among cultural heritage institutions around the world, especially in East Asian countries where there are many pieces of wooden architecture. Rather than reconstruct the historical sites in accordance with modern safety standards, it’s better to carefully regulate the behavior of visitors to snuff out potential risks. For instance, the Palace Museum completely banned smoking in early 2013. Staffers spotted smoking in the Forbidden City have their fire prevention bonus deducted as a penalty.

A picture of a crying Quasimodo holding Notre Dame Cathedral in his arms, which was painted by a female Cuban artist, went viral on social media after the disaster broke out. Protecting cultural gems from the wrath of Hephaestus, the fire deity in ancient Greek mythology, requires the concerted efforts of the entire human race, so that the Quasimodos of the world will no longer be left in tears.