ABSTRACT
Understanding Authenticity in Chinese Cultural Heritage explores the construction of "authenticity" and its consequences in relation to Chinese cultural heritage—those objects, texts, and intangible practices concerned with China’s past.
Including contributions from scholars around the world reflecting on a range of different materials and time periods, Understanding Authenticity emphasizes the situatedness and fluidity of authenticity concepts. Attitudes toward authenticity change over time and place, and vary between communities and object types, among stakeholders in China as they do elsewhere. The book examines how "authenticity" relates to four major aspects of cultural heritage in China—art and material culture; cultural heritage management and preservation; living and intangible heritage; and texts and manuscripts—with individual contributions engaging in a critical and interdisciplinary conversation that weaves together heritage management, art history, archaeology, architecture, tourism, law, history, and literature. Moving beyond conceptual issues, the book also considers the practical ramifications for work in cultural heritage management, museums, and academic research.
Understanding Authenticity in Chinese Cultural Heritage provides an opportunity for reflection on the contingencies of authenticity debates - not only in relation to China, but also anywhere around the world. The book will be of interest to scholars and students in a variety of fields, including heritage studies, Asian studies, art history, museum studies, history, and archaeology.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|59 pages
Art and Material Culture
chapter Chapter 2|14 pages
Copy, yet Original
chapter Chapter 3|14 pages
Substitutional Objects
part II|76 pages
Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation
chapter Chapter 5|15 pages
UNESCO World Heritage and the Problem of Authenticity
chapter Chapter 6|14 pages
Exploring the Implication of Tourism for Heritage Interpretation of National Archaeological Parks in China
chapter Chapter 7|13 pages
Perspectives on Authenticity and the Preservation of the Great Wall of China
chapter Chapter 8|16 pages
Critical Chinese Copying as an Interrogation of the Hegemony of Authenticity
part III|63 pages
Living and Intangible Cultural Heritage
chapter Chapter 10|14 pages
Crafting Authenticity
chapter Chapter 11|15 pages
The Authenticity Problem in Contemporary Techniques of Zisha Teapot-Making
chapter Chapter 12|16 pages
The Modern Invention of Big Red Robe Tea
chapter Chapter 13|16 pages
Authenticity, Legitimacy, and Mimesis in the Production and Use of Chinese-Inspired Japanese Tea Ceremony Utensils
part IV|57 pages
Texts and Manuscripts