The Construction and Introspection of the Discourse System of Inheritance: Three Cultural Heritage Practices

Since the 2003 Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), the concept of heritage has been further influenced by national heritage discourses and processes, especially within the Heritage Convention's member states. However, the way state bodies, social groups, or individual actors strategically employ and disseminate the notion of heritage may differ significantly from the internationally authorized heritage course. Based on three cases studies in Germany and China, this paper will examine how international heritage discourses and conceptualizations have travelled and impacted domestic heritage discourses, paving the way for new actors as well as new conceptualizations and debates to enter the established national heritage discourse on a national as well as local level. Although making use of different arenas and media to spread their understanding of cultural heritage, the diverging heritage conceptualizations clash and come in conflict with each other both behind closed doors and in public. Ultimately, it is precisely the knowledge and power over, as well as the ability to navigate between the different heritage discourses that decide how heritage is safeguarded in practice.