Abstract
This chapter examines the Chinese concept of heritage with an archaeological method proposed by Michel Foucault. Through the examination of the Chinese heritage discourse before 1950, not only an ongoing process of heritage concept is revealed, but also the underlying logical structures beneath heritage statements are brought out. The results show that sayable heritage emerges from the visible death of people in the Imperial Era and is underpinned by a logical structure named similitude. In the first half of the 20th century, due to the significant changes in authorities, two new concepts of heritage appeared and prevailed in Chinese society: heritage is regarded as either a commodity or something classical. In line with these new concepts, a logical structure named the "System" is revealed. Different from similitude, the System offers a nearly infinite space for new heritage concepts, and this partially engenders a polysemy of heritage in contemporary China.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Notions of Heritage |
| Editors | Jessica Mace and Yujie Zhu |
| Place of Publication | Quebec |
| Publisher | Presses de l'Universite du Quebec |
| Pages | 85-104 |
| Volume | 1 |
| Edition | 1st |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-2-7605-5563-1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2021 |