The development of conservation practices in China from the 1980s to the present

This article reviews cultural materials conservation in China from its foundations in the early 1950s when traditional craftsmanship and workshop techniques were practised, through its growth in the 1980s to the present day as a prestigious profession at the leading edge of multidisciplinary science. Its historical evolution is delineated into four phases: traditional, post-revolution, post-1980 and contemporary cultural materials conservation. The current situation of the conservation profession in China is discussed in terms of regulation, organisation, education, cooperation, current challenges and future opportunities.