ABSTRACT
The status of Tibetan culture in the Folk Culture Villages reflects the attention that the nationality has received in Chinese academic study of late. If the Tibetan exhibits underscore the significance of that culture, the mosque provides a contrary puzzle. The exhibition is significantly named ‘Moslem architecture’. This approach-purely architectural-contrasts very markedly with all the other displays. In this display there are none of the normal Skansen-like ‘living pictures’: there are no interiors, no culture or performances. Skansen near Stockholm is widely regarded as the first of its kind, though this is disputed by the Norwegians. This chapter argues that a strong sense of nationalism, particularly ethnonationalism, can be detected in the work of the founder of Skansen, Arthur Hazelius. Hazelius’ concept spread rapidly, and the early twentieth century saw the introduction of Skansen-type museums across the length and breadth of Europe.
