1st Edition

Understanding Authenticity in Chinese Cultural Heritage

Edited By Anke Hein, Christopher J. Foster Copyright 2023
298 Pages 23 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

298 Pages 23 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

298 Pages 23 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Understanding Authenticity in Chinese Cultural Heritage explores the construction of "authenticity" and its consequences in relation to Chinese cultural heritage—those objects, texts, and intangible practices concerned with China’s past. Including contributions from scholars around the world reflecting on a range of different materials and time periods, Understanding Authenticity... Read more

Part I: Art and Material Culture

Chapter 1. The Construction and Deconstruction of Authenticity in Chinese Art

David Scott

Chapter 2. Copy, Yet Original: Re-examining "Fang Ni Zan" Paintings in the 15th - 17th Century

Penny Xu

Chapter 3. Substitutional Objects: The Authenticity of Su Shi’s Snowy Wave Stone from 1101 to 1700

Gillian Zhang

Chapter 4. Shanzhai Tensions in U.S.-Chinese Cultural Heritage Diplomacy

Jennifer Kreder

Part II: Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation

Chapter 5. UNESCO World Heritage and the Problem of Authenticity: The Case of Built Structures and China´s Tangible Cultural Heritage

Phillip Grimberg

Chapter 6. Exploring the Implication of Tourism for Heritage Interpretation of National Archaeological Parks in China: The Case of Linzi Qi State Site,

Tao Li

Chapter 7. Perspectives on Authenticity and the Preservation of the Great Wall of China

Stefan Gruber

Chapter 8. Critical Chinese Copying as an Interrogation of the Hegemony of Modernity

Guo Boya

Chapter 9. Can a Copy Deliver an Authentic Experience? An Interdisciplinary Approach to Fieldwork Conducted in Southeast China

Patrycja Pendrakowska

Part III: Living and Intangible Cultural Heritage

Chapter 10. Crafting Authenticity: Two Case Studies of the Material Metamorphosis of Cultural Heritage in China’s Creative Economy

David Francis and Zhang Lisheng

Chapter 11. The Authenticity Problem in Conteporary Techniques of Zisha Teapot Making

Gao Xuyang and Anke Hein

Chapter 12. The Modern Invention of Big Red Robe Tea: History, Science, Story, and Performance

Jean DeBernardi

Chapter 13. Chapter 13. Authenticity, Legitimacy, and Mimesis in the Production and use of Chinese-inspired Japanese Tea Ceremony Utensils: Karamono (Chinese Things)

Robin Wilson

Part IV: Texts and Manuscripts

Chapter 14. "Authenticity" and Shu: What is at Stake?

Corina Smith

Chapter 15. (Mis)remembering the Tang? Issues of Authenticity Surrounding the Attribution of the Ershisi Shipin to Sikong Tu

Rachel McVeigh

Chapter 16. Authenticity and Self-representation: A Case Study of Song Zhiwen

Miao Xiaojing

Chapter 17. Authenticity beyond Authority? The Case of Handwritten Entertainment Fiction from the Chinese Cultural Revolution

Lena Henningsen and Duncan Paterson

Biography

Anke Hein is Associate Professor in Chinese Archaeology at the University of Oxford and St Hugh’s College. She is an anthropological archaeologist focusing on issues of culture contact, identity formation and expression, and the history and practice of archaeology as a discipline, particularly in the Chinese border regions.

Christopher J. Foster is a British Academy postdoctoral fellow, affiliated with the School of History, Religions and Philosophies at SOAS University of London. He is an historian of premodern China, focusing on intellectual history, manuscript culture, primary education, and canonization.

"In a world fraught with uncertainties about "verity" the collection of essays entitled Understanding Authenticity in Chinese Cultural Heritage comes at a particularly germane time. Assembled by leading scholars in Chinese art and social history, the essays dig deeply into definitions of antiquity, authenticity, replication, and deception—intended and not."

William Chapman, Dean, School of Architecture, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

"Does authenticity matter in the context of Chinese heritage? How do we understand 'copycat' culture? From the forbidden city, to tea, to Chinese literacy, this book delves into these questions on a delightful journey through Chinese heritage from ancient to contemporary times. A must-read for anyone interested in China, or antiquity in general."

Yujie Zhu, Senior Lecturer, Research School of Humanities & the Arts, Australian National University

"The problem of this volume can be fairly stated as why the idea of authenticity in China cannot be reduced to questions of copying and representation. But nor can they be dismissed. All the contributors have their different answers to this paradox which, by following their real value, we are led to a new pathway for a comparative understanding of authenticity."

Michael Rowlands, Emeritus Professor of Material Culture, University College London