Legal protection of cultural heritage in China: a challenge to keep history alive

This article provides an in-depth examination of the current Chinese legal regime for cultural heritage protection from two perspectives, i.e. from that of legislation and law enforcement and highlights the deficiencies thereof. The article argues that China has to improve and reform its domestic law to rectify the blatant shortcomings of the existing statutes and to implement the international instruments that it has concluded or acceded to; Moreover, China should reform its administrative system of cultural heritage protection to overcome the obstacles to efficient law enforcement whose success, in turn, depends on the comprehensive reform promised by the Communist Party of China.     

水下文化遗产原址保护研究概述

长年埋藏于水下的文化遗产,在适应周围的化学、物理及生态环境后可达到一种平衡的保存状态。通过概述水下埋藏环境对文物产生的影响,并对国外文物保护工作者在沉船、水下文物点、古代聚落遗址等类型水下文化遗产原址保护的成果进行研究,为中国水下文化遗产保护相关工作的开展提供一定的借鉴。     

US protection of underwater cultural heritage beyond the territorial sea: problems and prospects

Current US treatment of underwater cultural heritage beyond the territorial sea is analysed in light of Law of the Sea principles and the UNESCO Draft Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.     

The policy of non-discrimination and the protection of minority cultural heritage in Albania

ABSTRACT

This paper looks at the effectiveness of the policy of non-discrimination towards minorities in the preservation of minority cultural heritage, constructing a case study within Albania. After defining the key terms used, this paper examines the legal framework of non-discrimination towards minorities in its historical development and looks into the state of preservation of minority cultural heritage on the ground throughout the 2010s combining extensive field-work with interviews with key representatives of ethnic minorities in Albania. The poor state of preservation of minority cultural heritage is mostly attributed to under-financing and the insufficient policy of non-discrimination. As I demonstrate, in the case of minorities with a kin-state in the region, most notably Greece, as well as the heritage claimed by neighbouring states, primarily Turkey, the policy of non-discrimination and the practice of under-financing paves the way for external involvement in the protection of cultural heritage, in pursuit of international political agendas. The paper concludes that more needs to be done for the protection of minority cultural heritage in Albania.     

Conceptualising the subjective authenticity of intangible cultural heritage

Authenticity is a significant concept in the heritage field. However, the connotations of authenticity and its relevance to Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) need further consideration. This paper ascertains the function of authenticity in the heritage field and reconceptualises authenticity so as to relate it to ICH. The subjectivities of ICH practitioners, as well as their subjective perspectives and experiences are privileged in this research, in line with the general aims of Critical Heritage Studies. Drawing on the idea of ‘existential authenticity’, which was developed in tourism studies, this paper presents a concept of ‘subjective authenticity’ with which to describe the ability of ICH practitioners to convey the dynamic, subjective and developing ICH values in both intrapersonal and interpersonal embodiments. Using case studies of ICH from Lijiang, China, the idea of subjective authenticity is evidenced and illustrated. Meanwhile, the materialist or ‘objective’ authenticity that exists in the Chinese Authorised Heritage Discourse is critiqued as inappropriate. Theoretically, this paper investigates people’s subjectivities and experiences in the process of ICH value-making, as well as identity-making. The results contribute not only to the establishment of an inclusive concept of authenticity in heritage studies, but also to the theorisation of existential authenticity in tourism studies.     

Transformations of cultural heritage in Melanesia: from kastam to kalsa

In this article, I look at the reverberations of the global discourse about heritage at the margins of the global system in the Pacific. To this end, I analyse the development of indigenous concepts of cultural heritage on Baluan Island, in Manus Province, Papua New Guinea. I discuss how over the past 50?years two different heritage concepts have developed on the island, which have been used to reflect upon and direct cultural and social change. Further I show how the genesis and transformation of this local discourse about heritage is driven by local concerns and politics, as well as national and international developments.     

Protecting contemporary cultural soundscapes as intangible cultural heritage: sounds of Istanbul

This paper aims to evaluate culture and traditions of everyday life from a sonic perspective and to suggest ways for protecting characteristic sounds and soundscapes. This multidisciplinary research, having roots in such fields as soundscape studies, intangible cultural heritage (ICH), museum studies and sensory studies, explores the larger contemporary cultural soundscape of Istanbul. This paper also draws on the project The Soundscape of Istanbul (https://soundscapeofistanbul.ku.edu.tr/), which is archiving the contemporary elements of the cultural soundscape of Istanbul that were determined by public contribution, and outlines examples from this collection. Sounds constitute an inevitable part of daily life and are therefore very important as ICH. Thus, they deserve to be protected to strengthen cultural memory. However, sonic culture is twice endangered due to the physical characteristics of sound itself and the dynamic structure of intangible culture. Therefore, urgent protection of contemporary cultural soundscapes in the context of ICH is crucial for transferring the present sonic environments to following generations in order to maintain cultural identity.     

Cultural effects of authenticity: contested heritage practices in China

In this study, I analyse how the Chinese Government imposes the concept of authenticity on local heritage practices in the process of heritage nomination, conservation and management. Rather than discussing authenticity as an objective criterion, I approach authentication as a social process in the heritage discourse that impacts on local cultural practice. Through illustrating two cases in China, I propose three cultural effects of authentication on local heritage practices, namely spatial separation, emotional banishment and value shifting. Moreover, the heritage practices in China have created space for dynamic negotiations between local and global value systems. When the concept of authenticity is imposed on local heritage practices by heritage agencies, local communities are not passive recipients; rather, they consume, contest and negotiate the concept of authenticity in various ways.     

A centralized decentralization: outsourcing in the Turkish cultural heritage sector

Recently Turkey has experimented with reforming its highly centralized cultural heritage sector by outsourcing commercial activities at museums and archeological sites. We examine three outsourcing contracts executed in 2009–2010 and their implications for understanding New Public Management in Turkey’s cultural sector. The initial project at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum was soon superseded by a ‘monopoly’ model that outsourced gift shop and ticket collection services at over 50 museums and sites to single companies. All three projects have significantly increased visitor numbers and revenues for the revolving fund that controls commercial operations within the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Yet unlike countries such as Italy, where outsourcing has led to decentralization, increased private sector involvement in Turkey has increased the control of the central government. This ‘centralized decentralization’ is a distinctly Turkish approach that allows for modernization without disturbing a highly centralized administrative tradition.     

Application of veratraldehyde as a temporary consolidant for relics at underwater cultural heritage sites

Because it is often difficult to preserve fragile relics in situ at underwater cultural heritage sites, it is sometimes necessary for relics to be extracted and moved to a controlled environment on land for protection and study. This paper discusses the feasibility of using the volatile organic compound veratraldehyde as a temporary consolidant for underwater fragile relics extraction. The results show that different materials (iron, tile, sand, wood) under water can be bonded together and extracted when using veratraldehyde. The fact that veratraldehyde is difficult to spread on the surface of underwater objects is a problem that can be solved by adding a layer of strong hydrophobic polypropylene (PP) fibres onto the object, serving as a ‘package' for the relics. Under laboratory conditions, we used veratraldehyde and PP fibres to extract broken tiles from underwater sand onto an exhibition stand. The broken tiles, in both condition and distribution, were safely and completely retained as the veratraldehyde was slowly removed by the soaking process. This work fills a gap in knowledge about temporary consolidant materials in underwater archaeology, and provides a new method for extracting underwater fragile cultural relics without damaging them.     

Politics of tangibility,intangibility, and place in the making of a European cultural heritage in EU heritage policy

The EU has recently launched several initiatives that aim to foster the idea of a common European cultural heritage. The notion of a European cultural heritage in EU policy discourse is extremely abstract, referring to various ideas and values detached from physical locations or places. Nevertheless the EU initiatives put the abstract policy discourse into practice and concretize its notions about a European cultural heritage. A common strategy in this practice is ‘placing heritage’ – affixing the idea of a European cultural heritage to certain places in order to turn them into specific European heritage sites. The materialisation of a European cultural heritage and the production of physical European heritage sites are crucial elements in the policy through which the EU seeks to govern both the actors and the meanings of heritage. On the basis of a qualitative content analysis of diverse policy documents and informational and promotional material, this article presents five strategies of ‘placing heritage’ used in the EU initiatives. In addition, the article presents a theoretical model of circulation of the tangible and intangible dimensions of heritage in the EU heritage policy discourse and discusses the EU’s political intents included in the practices of ‘placing heritage’.     

Recognising values of China’s scenic and historic interest areas as world heritage cultural landscapes: Lushan case study

ABSTRACT

China’s Scenic and Historic Interest Areas are a major contributor to the State’s World Heritage lexicon. However, understanding of their values has led to confusion internationally and in China, not least with controversy over China’s latest promotion of the Natural Protected Areas System. This paper discusses values of China’s Scenic and Historic Interest Areas from the cultural landscape perspective through an in-depth case study of Lushan. A theoretical framework for recognising values of China’s Scenic and Historic Interest Areas has been set up and tested at Lushan, including exploring stakeholders’ understanding of its values as a world heritage site by using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The findings reveal that Lushan clearly represents cultural values inextricably associated with Scenic and Historic Interest Areas, and also need for supplementary advice on its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). It suggests that the ideology driving management of China’s Scenic and Historic Interest Areas as national parks or natural parks focusing mainly on objective nature-related conservation without regard to the traditional Chinese philosophy of the culture-nature binary will adversely affect China’s Scenic and Historic Interest Areas as cultural landscapes and their community values.     

彩绘类文物灭菌方法的回顾与展望

彩绘类文物的灭菌防护工作是延续其艺术价值的重要方法。本文简单描述了文物相关材料、温度、湿度、大气污染物、微生物五种因素对彩绘类文物的损伤效应,重点描述了微生物消杀在彩绘类文物保存工作中的重要性。梳理了化学、物理、复合三类灭菌方法在彩绘类文物灭菌方面的应用与发展,并对各类方法的优缺点进行了汇总,其中化学法最为成熟,但绝大部分对环境影响很恶劣,物理法和复合法更符合绿色发展要求,但又受经济性、专业性以及不成熟的市场规模制约。未来,绿色、无损将成为彩绘文物灭菌的前提,复合法将成为彩绘文物灭菌未来研究的发展趋势。     

Degraded towns in Poland as cultural heritage

This paper discusses how the concept of cultural heritage is currently used in relation to the so-called degraded towns (i.e. deprived of their urban status) in Poland. It shows the role of heritagisation in the process of restitution of urban status, and addresses the effects of the ongoing revitalisation of degraded towns in order to restore their lost urban glory. I argue that the Polish understanding of urbanity is ambiguous, muddling formality with cultural connotations. I address how such convolution both rewrites history and affects modernity by the imposition of values and foreclosures. I also discuss how alterations to the built environment made in the name of cultural heritage (revitalisation) are often conducted with disregard to identity, authenticity and historical hybridity, and how the introduction of ‘history’ into a modern arena affects the local society. I conclude that considering degraded towns as a special form of cultural heritage is a new construction, where coupling of the disconnected dimensions of the Polish understanding of urbanity becomes even more apparent. I stress that this field is neither sufficiently differentiated nor problematised, and that cultural heritage relating to degraded towns is often taken for granted.     

Communism and cultural heritage: the quest for continuity

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the theoretical genealogy and main uses of heritage in actually existing communist countries. This is performed by carrying out a critical review of Èleazar Aleksandrovi? Baller’s Communism and Cultural Heritage, (1984, Progress, Moscow). The analysis of Baller’s work reveals that the logics of heritage in communist countries differed in various ways from capitalist countries, mainly because of the almost total state control over the heritage apparatus and the subordination of heritage policies to Marxist–Leninist ideology. Heritage was fundamental in dealing with the problem of change and continuity with the traditions, narratives and identities of previous society, and in the process of transforming citizens into ‘new men’ through the cultural revolution and the inculcation of ideology through museums and monuments.     

Postcolonial cultural governance: a study of heritage management in post-1997 Hong Kong

This paper seeks to unpack the politics of heritage preservation in post-1997 Hong Kong. Referring to international frameworks on heritage preservation, it seeks to position Hong Kong’s cultural resource management on par with international discourses for the advancement of heritage governance. Debates surrounding heritage are indeed a part of the wider picture of Hong Kong’s cultural and identity politics and the Hong Kong-China relationship. By examining various contested cases of heritage conservation, and by linking those debates back to the government’s responses within the context of cultural governance, we suggest that heritage management has become a hot stove for cultural politics in post-colonial Hong Kong with deep repercussions in the political, social and economic spheres. The paper examines the rising social debates concerning the removal and conservation of built heritage, and the various government attempts to address these debates. It argues that the current heritage governance mechanism has failed to meet social needs and provide an articulated heritage policy. We propose that a coherent organisational structure is required to better accommodate diverse and contradictory views and discourses surrounding heritage and cultural governance and to tackle the various cultural challenges in postcolonial Hong Kong.     

区域历史文化传承与区域文化资源产业化

面对经济全球化的影响和外来文化的冲击,区域文化资源产业化不失为一种有效保护传统区域文化的明智选择。然而,我国当前区域文化资源产业化整体上还处于初级阶段。只有从思想观念、运行机制、人才培养等方面进一步加大创新力度,才能尽快实现区域文化资源优势向区域文化产业优势的转换。     

NMR as a new tool for cultural heritage application: The provenance of ancient white marbles

Identifying the origin of marble used in antiquity brings back to light details of the economic, social and political organization of classical societies, and characterizing in depth the chemistry of marble is key to discovering its provenance. Beyond X‐ray diffraction, which could reveal the presence of discriminant secondary crystalline phases and the quantification of accessory minerals combined with a multivariate analysis approach, solid‐state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) enables one to recognize the local structure arrangement of both crystalline and amorphous materials by looking at one or more selected atoms. In present paper targets the ¹³C nuclide, and thus the major component of marble, calcium carbonate. Whatever their geological origin, marbles ¹³C‐NMR spectra present only one resonance corresponding to the carboxyl function whose intensity and line width vary from one marble to another. If the variation of the NMR signal intensity observed is the result of great T1 variations (from 220 to 5300 s) and is linked to iron content, the line width reflects defects in the calcite crystal in which calcium has been replaced by another element such as magnesium, aluminium or strontium. The specific profile of the NMR signal has been used successfully to help determine the origin of some archaeological items.     

An overview of Caribbean and Latin-American cultural heritage studies

Abstract

This review analyzes, through three recently published books that talk about cultural heritage in Latin America, how the Cultural Heritage Studies have allowed us to understand the current situation in the region characterized by the growing tendency to promote declarations of heritage as part of a plan for the use of culture as a resource for sustainable development. Likewise, those books analyze how responses from local communities are generated to hegemonic definitions of heritage, which indicates that cultural heritage in Latin America is not something given but something in constant construction and dispute.