China's tangled web of heritage

Abstract

Cultural heritage preservation presents a paradox: anything that needs preserving is probably done as a living cultural phenomenon, though we can ask ourselves whether preservation is really different from any of the other ways in which cultural things change. China's cultural preservation presents this and other conundrums, some of them shared with other countries, while others seem particular to China and its relationship to its cultural heritage. As in other countries, cultural heritage preservation in China reflects motivations of pride and profit, while the particular configurations of who gains pride and who gains profit are specific to China.