Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: (Un)Authorised Heritage Discourse and Practice in China
- Section 1 (Re)constructions, (Re)inventions, and Representations of Heritage
- Section 2 Creating Identities: Constructing Pasts, Disseminating Heritage
- Section 3 History, Nostalgia, and Heritage: Urban and Rural
- Section 4 Appropriations and Commodifications of Ethnic Heritage
- 10 ‘Even if you don't want to Drink, you still have to Drink’: The Yi and Alcohol in History and Heritage
- 11 ‘Ethnic Heritage’ on the New Frontier: The Idealisation and Commodification of Ethnic ‘Otherness’ in Xinjiang
- Afterword: Historicising and Globalising the Heritage Turn in China
- Index
- Publications / Asian Heritages
2 - Confucian Academies and the Materialisation of Cultural Heritage
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 November 2020
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: (Un)Authorised Heritage Discourse and Practice in China
- Section 1 (Re)constructions, (Re)inventions, and Representations of Heritage
- Section 2 Creating Identities: Constructing Pasts, Disseminating Heritage
- Section 3 History, Nostalgia, and Heritage: Urban and Rural
- Section 4 Appropriations and Commodifications of Ethnic Heritage
- 10 ‘Even if you don't want to Drink, you still have to Drink’: The Yi and Alcohol in History and Heritage
- 11 ‘Ethnic Heritage’ on the New Frontier: The Idealisation and Commodification of Ethnic ‘Otherness’ in Xinjiang
- Afterword: Historicising and Globalising the Heritage Turn in China
- Index
- Publications / Asian Heritages
Summary
Abstract
The past two decades have witnessed a ‘boom’ in the restoration and reconstruction of traditional Confucian academies (shuyuan 书院) as cultural heritage sites. This phenomenon is related to the promotion of Confucianism since the 1990s as both a value system of global relevance and a distinctive marker of Chinese cultural – and national – identity. The renovation of academies is also motivated by economic development strategies undertaken by local and regional governments. However, I will argue that public pedagogy, more than commercial profit, motivates the investment of state resources in academies as sites of cultural heritage tourism. The transformation of academies into cultural heritage sites can be seen as the materialisation of a classless, ahistorical Confucian past in the service of a socialist and nationalist present. It also signifies the appropriation of a historically elite institution as a medium of mass education.
Keywords: academies, Confucianism, cultural heritage, tourism, national identity
Introduction
Beginning around 2000, many Confucian academies (shuyuan书院) – some dating to as early as the tenth century – have been renovated, and even completely rebuilt, by local governments across China as cultural heritage sites. Investment in the restoration of historic academies by municipal or county governments can be seen as a development strategy designed to boost the local economy by attracting domestic tourism (Sofield & Li 1998; Wu, Zhu & Xu 2000; Shepherd 2017:566). Along with potential economic benefits, restoring academies is also a means for political leaders to add cultural capital to their communities by promoting local places as sites of historic importance, regionally and even nationally. As tourist destinations, newly restored academies testify to the cultural and historic importance of the city, the county, or the region. Restored academies are seen as materialisations of the cultural efflorescence of the region in earlier times, as well as important historical resources (Hu 2005: 21). Whether sponsored by municipal, county, or provincial authorities, restored academies help to create a sense of common historic and cultural identity among residents, and foster bonds of national identity among visitors – tourists who come from all over China.
I will argue that dramatic growth in domestic tourism, the post-1989 National Studies (guoxue 国学) movement, and renewed interest in Confucianism combined to spur the recent academy revival.
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- Information
- The Heritage Turn in ChinaThe Reinvention, Dissemination and Consumption of Heritage, pp. 69 - 88Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2020