On April 17th, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) announced the inscription of 74 new items to its Memory of the World Register. Among the newly added entries are China's solo submissions:  the Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng, the Steles of Shaolin Temple (566-1990), and the Trilingual Inscription (Feb 15, 1409) installed by Chinese Admiral Zheng He jointly submitted by China and Sri Lanka. The latest additions further enrich the world's documentary heritage with invaluable treasures.

4月17日，联合国教科文组织发布公报，宣布将74项文献遗产新列入其《世界记忆名录》，其中包括中国组织申报的《随州曾侯乙编钟》《少林寺碑碣(566—1990)》以及中国与斯里兰卡联合申报的郑和遗存《布施锡兰山佛寺碑(1409年2月15日)》。　随着新一批文献遗产的收录，世界记忆再添珍贵财富。

The Memory of the World Register, established by UNESCO in 1992, aims to facilitate the preservation of the world's documentary heritage, whether on paper, audiovisual, digital, or any other medium, to enable universal access to documentary heritage worldwide, and to enhance public awareness of the significance of documentary heritage among the wider public.

据悉，“世界记忆名录”由联合国教科文组织在1992年发起，旨在实施联合国教科文组织法中规定的保护世界文化遗产任务，促进文化遗产利用，提高人们对文献遗产重要性的认识。其所指文献遗产不仅包括纸莎草纸、羊皮纸、棕榈树叶、木片、石片、纸张等传统载体，还包括录音、电视电影作品和数字媒体等新型媒体。

The Steles of Shaolin Temple (566-1990) contain 499 surviving steles of the iconic temple, presenting a relatively complete and coherent sequence of historical documents in the form of stone inscriptions dating back to 1424, and covering a wide range of topics, including politics, economics, religion, taxation, military affairs, culture, and landscapes. Serving as unique and comprehensive records for studying China's classical literature, official documents, folk contracts, and seals, the steles not only witness the establishment and development of Shaolin Temple but also provide an authentic record of cultural exchanges and mutual learning between China and countries such as India, Japan, South Korea, and Mongolia.

作为此次入选的三位“中国成员”之一，《少林寺碑碣(566—1990)》现存499通，呈现出1424年较为完整连贯的石刻历史文献序列，其内容涉及政治、经济、宗教、赋役、军事、文化、自然景观等，是独特研究中国历代经典文献、官文书、民间契约、印章的原始、系统史料，既见证少林寺的形成与发展，也真实记录中国与印度、日本、韩国、蒙古国等国家之间的文明交流与互鉴进程。

"With the May Day holiday just around the corner, the inscription of the Steles of Shaolin Temple (566-1990) is a wonderful achievement," said Yang Hongrui, Director of the Shaolin Temple Archives. He added that this inscription would boost the digital preservation, research, and public awareness of Shaolin Steles. Moreover,  the temple is set to implement plans to bring overseas Shaolin archives and documents back to China.

“恰逢五一前夕，少林寺碑碣入选《世界记忆名录》，对我们来讲是件大事、好事。”中国嵩山少林寺档案馆馆长杨红瑞说，以此为契机，未来将持续深化对少林寺碑碣的数字化保护、学术研究和公众传播工作。同时将启动全球少林档案文献资源回流工程，进一步丰富和完善少林寺历史文化的整体面貌。

The UNESCO's Memory of the World Register reflects the global commitment to the preservation and inheritance of cultural archives. Since 1997, 18 Chinese  documentary heritage collections have been included, such as The Compendium of Materia Medica, The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine, The Nanjing Massacre Archives, Oracle Bone Inscriptions, and the Archives of Suzhou Silk from Modern and Contemporary Times.

世界记忆名录体现了对文化档案的保护与传承，自 1997 年来，我国已有 18 项文献遗产入选，包括《本草纲目》《黄帝内经》《南京大屠杀档案》《甲骨文》《近现代中国苏州丝绸档案》等。（中文来源/河南日报 记者/祁道鹏 康亚飞 编译/丁岚）

Web editors: Shen Jianqi, Zhang Rui