The Rise of “National Heritage” in Modern China

Abstract

Guolong Lai, Associate Professor of Chinese Art and Archaeology, University of Florida - As a national cultural policy, heritage preservation was introduced into China from the West as part of the modernizing efforts under the late Qing dynasty. In fact, the very concept of “national heritage” emerged with modernity, which in turn compelled the changes in how cultural heritage was conceived and what measures were taken to conserve it. In this talk Professor Lai attempts to trace the process of the transformation of cultural property from imperial and mostly private possessions in late imperial China to public monuments and state-owned “national heritage” of the Republic and the People’s Republic China through the use of state legislations and administrative orders. In particular, Professor Lai focuses on several important legislative documents on cultural heritage in the first three decades of the 20th century, which set up the basic legal framework for the protection of cultural heritage in modern China.