Crouching the tiger, or hiding the dragon? scale in China’s heritage production

Q1 Arts and Humanities
Yi Yu, June Wang
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Abstract

In the built heritage studies, the intricate web of social and selective processes that define heritage is evident. These processes are, in many cases, intertwined with the notion of scale, examplified through the production of heritage sites at the local, national, and transnational scales. While heritage and geography scholars have articulated the role played by scale in heritage-making and argue against a rigid, fixed, and hierarchical understanding of scale, they highlight the constant reproduction of scale. There is, so far, limited explanation of how the perception of scale gets reproduced and how crucial actors manipulate scalar power and resources for heritage making and the reproduction of scale. To fill this gap, this paper delves into mainland China’s heritage-making, using the southern Anhui historical villages as an example. Based on intensive 5-month field research, this paper has three findings: 1) The nomination process for a World Heritage Site is notably influenced by politics and selectivity; 2) Diverse stakeholders are pivotal in shaping heritage narratives; 3) Individual contributions to heritage creation directly interact with, and subsequently reshape, ‘scale’, an entity that is simultaneously discursive and tangible. By integrating the notion of ‘scale’ into heritage discussions, we illuminate two concurrent processes: creating hierarchies through rule assimilation by interpreting the UNESCO standard internally and evolving socio-spatial dynamics via the manifestation of individual agency with resource manipulation, scale jumping, and reproduction of scale. This approach aligns with the material orientation in human geography and repositions ‘scale’. Here, it’s not just an epistemological framework but also a tangible force that steers individual perceptions and actions and yields measurable material impacts.
卧虎藏龙? 中国文物生产的规模
在遗产建筑研究中,界定遗产的错综复杂的社会和选择性过程显而易见。在许多情况下,这些过程与规模的概念交织在一起,通过在地方、国家和跨国范围内的遗产地生产来体现。遗产学者和地理学者阐明了规模在遗产创造中的作用,反对僵化、固定和等级化的规模理解,强调规模的不断再生产。迄今为止,对于规模感知如何再生产,以及关键行为者如何操纵规模权力和资源以进行遗产制作和规模再生产的解释还很有限。为了填补这一空白,本文以皖南历史村落为例,对中国大陆的遗产制造进行了深入研究。基于为期 5 个月的深入田野调查,本文有三方面的发现:1) 世界遗产的申报过程受到政治和选择性的显著影响;2) 不同的利益相关者在遗产叙事的形成过程中起着关键作用;3) 个人对遗产创造的贡献直接与 "规模"--一个同时具有话语性和有形性的实体--相互作用,并随之重塑 "规模"。通过将 "规模 "的概念纳入遗产讨论,我们揭示了两个并行的过程:通过在内部解释联合国教科文组织的标准,以规则同化的方式创建等级制度;以及通过资源操纵、规模跳跃和规模再现等个人能动性的体现,发展社会空间动态。这种方法与人文地理学的物质导向相一致,并重新定位了 "尺度"。在这里,它不仅是一个认识论框架,也是一种有形的力量,引导着个人的观念和行动,并产生可衡量的物质影响。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Built Heritage
Built Heritage Arts and Humanities-History
CiteScore
2.00
自引率
0.00%
发文量
29
审稿时长
12 weeks
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