Lightning protection of ancient Chinese buildings

The fact that Chinese ancient buildings have been preserved for thousands of years without being struck by lightning shows that ancient people have found effective ways to protect buildings from lightning. This kind of small probability of safety risks can be maintained and extended by learning ancient methods, which not only conforms to the principle of preserving cultural relics as old as before, but also can continue to adopt good methods proved by practice.

The ancients have been successful in protecting ancient buildings against lightning. On the one hand, traditional measures should be applied and maintained as far as possible to avoid damaging the appearance of cultural relics. Even if lightning protection facilities are added to ancient buildings, ancient lightning protection means should be adopted as far as possible. On the other hand, the research of lightning protection methods of ancient buildings should be strengthened. It is suggested that more lightning protection experts should study the characteristics of cultural relics buildings, explore different lightning protection measures in line with the requirements of individual cultural relics buildings, ancient building groups, historical and cultural towns and villages, traditional villages and so on, so as to truly become lightning protection experts of ancient buildings.

In general, modern lightning protection technology is not recommended to be first used in ancient buildings. It must be a very mature and widely used new material and new technology. Even if modern means can be used, ancient lightning protection must be the main method, and the two should be combined.

Not all cultural relics and ancient buildings must be re-lightning protection engineering, some of their own use of building components cleverly constructed lightning protection system, some of the location is very special, surrounded by tall buildings, trees and other shelter is not easy to be struck by lightning, there is no record of lightning strikes in the history of ancient buildings like this there is no need to do new lightning protection facilities.

Even more, just because they are national preservation units and World cultural heritage sites, lightning protection facilities should not be added to the list. The necessity of lightning protection for ancient buildings must be given top priority. In the case of financial support and other restrictions, priority can be given to ancient buildings with high cultural heritage level. In the choice of lightning protection materials, should put practical, reliable, economic in the first place, there is no need to consider high, large, on the foreign import facilities, as far as possible to transform and use the ancient building itself lightning protection system.

The main purpose of lightning protection of ancient buildings is to avoid natural disasters, protect the safety of cultural relics, so that cultural relics can prolong their life and be passed on forever, and the phenomenon of repeatedly torturing cultural relics itself must not occur. There are still many ancient buildings in need of repair and maintenance, and we need to use our limited funds in places with real major security risks to bring their due economic and social effects into full play.