Fallen Arches in Xiamen

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Collections of 19th and early 20th century photos of Xidmen often include photos of magnificent stone memorial arches built over 300 years ago in memory of two great Chinese generals. But they were partially destroyed by the Japanese during the war,and after Liberation razed so completely for new construction that it took years to find their location.

The grand memorial arches once stood at the intersection of Tacuoshe Rd.and#50-58 Jiangjunci Rd.，near Xiamen City Hotel（Xiamen Binguin）.The arches are long gone，but this site still has remnants of artwork unlike anything I have seen in China.

Just inside the gate are two small doorways to the left.The small courtyard just inside the rear doorway has old columns that are a century or more o1d，but the real treasure is the artwork below the eaves and above the windows.I was astonished to see a bas-relief of a bushy bearded foreigner in high hat riding a Chinese tiger（symbolic of foreigners running roughshod over China？）.To either side of this foreign daredevil were flying deer，replete with antlers and wings；evidently Santa Claus was not the first to get about by reindeer.

Another carving was of a rider on what Prof.Chau Tam Luan，a visiting Vietnamese Overseas Chinese，said was a Chinese elephant.

I joked with my Chinese friends that the elephant’s eyes looked Western，but theChinese professor explained that the ears，not the eyes，made it Chinese.However，whether the rider was Chinese or foreign no one could say since the face was disfigured so badly-and the few remaining historical treasures will also vanish if we do not take protective measures.

Much of Xiamen’s history has been lost through neglect or wanton destruction.Two stone lions in front of the nearby bike repair shop are so weathered I could barely discern what they represented.

We can’t save everything from the past.If we did，there’d be no room for the present（especially in China，which has so much past）.But it’s a pity that the only arches left in Xiamen today are McDonald’s golden arches.I hope Xiamen will take measures to protect the few remaining historical sites，and to put up bronze plaques explaining their historical significance.

Over the years，officials in nearby Qudnzhou have told me，“Xiamen，unlike Quanzhou，has no history-only 600，700 years.”But while Xiamen’s history is relatively short-by China’s standards-it is rich，and we should treasure ourpast，so that our future generations may learn from it and build upon it.