(Question about things) Du Xiaofan: Should the number in the "World Heritage List" be "capped"?
China News Service, Beijing, July 31. Title: Du Xiaofan: Should the number in the "World Heritage List" be "capped"?
China News Agency reporter An Yingzhao
Du Xiaofan.
Photo courtesy of me
The 44th World Heritage Conference concluded in Fuzhou, China on July 31.
At this World Heritage Conference, China’s “Quanzhou: Song and Yuan China’s World Ocean Trade Center” project was included in the “World Heritage List”, but the British “Liverpool Maritime Mall” was delisted due to irreversible damage.
Du Xiaofan, director of the Center for Land and Cultural Resources Research of Fudan University and professor of the Department of Cultural Relics and Museum Studies, pointed out in an exclusive interview with China News Agency “Dongxi Questions” that natural heritage will be less and less, but cultural heritage will continue to be updated. It is impossible to set an upper limit on the number of inheritances.
Du Xiaofan served as the cultural heritage protection commissioner of the UNESCO representative office in China for 15 years, and personally participated in the application of many Chinese World Heritage projects.
He believes that the world heritage system has promoted the development of China's cultural heritage protection and promoted the transformation of China's heritage protection concepts. Today, China also has full willingness and confidence to make more contributions to world heritage protection.
The summary of the interview record is as follows:
China News Agency reporter: From joining the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (the “World Heritage Convention”) in 1985 to the success of Quanzhou’s application for the World Heritage site recently, how has China’s world heritage protection work gone through?
Du Xiaofan:
On November 16, 1972, the 17th session of the UNESCO General Conference passed the "Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage" in Paris.
In 1976, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee was established as the governing body of the convention, and at the same time the "World Heritage List" was established.
In 1985, Hou Renzhi, Yang Hanxi, Zheng Xiaoxie, and Luo Zhewen jointly signed a proposal for the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, suggesting that China, which is in the early stage of reform and opening up, actively participate and promote not only beneficial to its own country, but also beneficial to the spirit of the people of the world. Civilized international cultural and scientific undertakings.
In the same year, China joined the "World Heritage Convention."
Data map: Beijing Palace Museum.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Du Yang
In 1987, six projects including the Ming and Qing Forbidden City (Forbidden City in Beijing, Forbidden City in Shenyang), the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin and the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Pit, Mogao Grottoes, Mount Tai, Peking Man Site in Zhoukoudian, and the Great Wall passed review and became the first batch of World Heritage Sites in China.
Mr. Fan Jinshi told me many times that the application materials for Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes were handwritten by her. He also emphasized that it was very rare to use a few color photos at that time. It is hard to imagine the conditions at the time. .
Today, the 44th World Heritage Conference has not only included the Quanzhou project on the World Heritage List, but also named the Great Wall as a model case of World Heritage protection and management.
It can be said that the world heritage system has promoted the development of China's cultural heritage protection and promoted the transformation of China's heritage protection concept. Today, China also has full willingness and confidence to make some contributions to world heritage protection.
In fact, China is already doing this.
Whether it is the protection project of Angkor Wat, the transnational inscription of the Silk Road, or the natural and cultural heritage work that may be carried out in Africa in the future, China hopes to strengthen cultural exchanges and dialogues with other countries through a platform such as the world heritage, in order to promote the global Peaceful development and sustainable development contribute to China's strength.
China News Agency reporter: There has been a long-standing dispute over the definition of natural and cultural heritage between the East and the West. What do you think? As the only country among the four ancient civilizations that has continued to this day, what is the significance of the traditional concepts of Chinese civilization for the protection of world cultural heritage?
Du Xiaofan: The
development process of China's world cultural heritage can be divided into three stages.
The first is the study of the world heritage value system.
In the 1980s, China, which had just joined the "World Heritage Convention", did not know enough about many rules of the World Heritage System, and more often tried to promote it based on the traditional cultural relics protection idea.
Data map: Huangshan Mountain in early summer, surrounded by clouds and mist, fresh and natural.
Photo by Wang Xinping
China has four "mixed heritages" (the "dual heritage" of nature and culture) of Mount Tai, Mount Huang, Mount Emei-Leshan Giant Buddha, and Mount Wuyi.
Among them, the application process of "mixed heritage" was not smooth.
Western society generally believes that nature and culture are separated and that things created by man and nature should be treated separately. In East Asian societies, especially in China’s traditional culture that emphasizes the integration of nature and man, people are accustomed to combining nature and culture. Treat culture as one thing.
The second stage is characterized by the conflict of values and the expression of ideas.
In 1994, the discussion and release of the "Nara Authenticity Document" formally brought the conflict of values between Eastern and Western societies in the protection of cultural heritage on the international stage.
This discussion not only allowed the international academic community to face up to the different material properties of East Asian wood structure buildings from the West, but also prompted China to rethink the deep relationship between traditional concepts and international documents, and further consider the passage of the world from the perspective of cultural context. The original intention of the heritage system to protect natural and cultural diversity.
In 2000, the "Guidelines for the Protection of Chinese Cultural Relics and Historic Sites" formulated based on the characteristics of Chinese cultural relics were issued, which not only reflected the integration of China's cultural relics protection work with international consensus, but also represented a declaration rooted in Chinese practice and demonstrated local characteristics.
In the third stage, China's exploration began to integrate and promote international ideas.
In 2011, after in-depth research on the types of world heritage, China took the initiative to declare Hangzhou West Lake as a “cultural landscape” heritage type for the first time, and it was successfully included in the World Heritage List.
Different from the passive declaration of Lushan National Park as a "cultural landscape" in 1996, the declaration of West Lake fully elaborated the natural and human relationship of "the harmony between man and nature" in traditional Chinese culture in an international language, marking the national spirit and world heritage. The integration of discourse systems.
Data map: Hangzhou West Lake.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Gang
China has explored methods for the protection of living heritage for decades, and the establishment of the "historical and cultural villages" and "traditional villages" list system has in turn promoted the practice and reflection of the international community on rural heritage, and has been an international organization from many aspects. It has made a multi-dimensional contribution to formulating the protection methods of the global "rural landscape" heritage.
World heritage has always been an important stage for China to express its values and voice to the world.
In the past, we regarded the declared heritage sites as independent projects, and the listing was regarded as the highest affirmation of the value of the heritage site.
But in the future, they will, as a whole, jointly tell the international community about China's historical, cultural, and aesthetic views.
Reporter from China News Service: Should the World Heritage List be "capped" and set an upper limit?
Du Xiaofan:
From the
passage
of the "World Heritage Convention" in 1972, the "Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the Convention for the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage" was issued in 1977, the first batch of World Heritage Sites were born in 1978, if they were set in accordance with the then World Heritage Standards Many people believe that there should be an upper limit for world heritage. When a certain number is reached, there should be no world heritage that can be re-evaluated, because there are not so many heritages with “outstanding universal value”.
Data map: Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, Fujian.
Photo by Wang Dongming
In the past, people thought that World Heritage was an unchanging concept.
However, as the world continues to develop and human society is increasingly emphasizing the demands of sustainable development, people’s understanding and understanding of world heritage is gradually changing, and some new ideas have prompted experts to recognize the world heritage more and more fully. .
The operating manual in 1977 had only 29 items, and it has grown to nearly 300 items today.
In the late 1980s, there was a classification of industrial heritage, and in 1992, the concept of cultural landscape was born.
Nowadays, there are more and more heritages of various types, especially the emergence of new types of heritages such as some 20th century heritages and industrial heritages, which will gradually increase the number of world heritages.
People's understanding of the world heritage itself, its "outstanding universal value" and the concept of authenticity and completeness are constantly evolving, so it is impossible to set a clear quantitative limit on the world heritage.
There will be fewer and fewer natural heritage, but the cultural heritage that has been played by human beings will continue to be updated.
China News Agency reporter: At this World Heritage Conference, when China's "Quanzhou: Song and Yuan China's World Ocean Trade Center" project was included in the "World Heritage List", the British "Liverpool Maritime Mall" was removed from the list. What enlightenment does this "one in and one out" have for mankind to protect the world heritage?
Du Xiaofan:
This is expected.
Next year is the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the "World Heritage Convention". After half a century of development, it is actually very difficult to delist from the World Heritage List.
There is a list of endangered world heritage sites, some of which have not been improved for a long time.
The World Heritage Committee has tried to delist these items several times, but when the international community pays more and more attention to the title of the world heritage and countries regard it as an honor, the political nature of the world heritage becomes stronger and stronger, and some countries even Diplomatic measures will be adopted to influence the World Heritage Committee’s resolutions, which has caused the committee’s determination to delist.
Until 2007, the Arabian Oryx Reserve in Oman was delisted due to a sharp decline in area and other reasons.
In 2009, the Elbe Valley in Dresden, Germany was delisted due to the destruction of the river valley landscape by the construction of a modern bridge project.
Whether it is natural heritage or cultural heritage, in fact, they are facing the contradiction between protection and development.
Not only in developing countries, but also in developed countries, this kind of contradiction also arises. Which one is more important will test the management wisdom of all aspects.
After all, World Heritage is an important international project of UNESCO, and its rules are binding. Countries participating in this project should unconditionally abide by the relevant rules.
When a project is included in the World Heritage List, people should coordinate its protection, management, and local social development. This is a common problem faced by mankind.
The cases of Quanzhou in China and Liverpool in the United Kingdom remind people that the successful application and inclusion on the list is not the end of World Heritage protection management, but the real beginning.
(Finish)
Du Xiaofan, Director of the Research Center for Land and Cultural Resources, Fudan University, Professor of the Department of Cultural Relics and Museums, and Adjunct Professor of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University.
Received a doctorate in literature from Kobe University, Japan in 1999.
Served as an instructor at the Gansu Provincial Museum (1984-1991), a special researcher at the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Nara, Japan (1999-2001), and a cultural heritage protection commissioner at the UNESCO Representative Office in China (2001-2015).
Editor-in-chief of 12 volumes of "World Heritage in China Series".
Vice President of the East Asian Cultural Heritage Conservation Society, Vice President of the China Cultural Heritage Protection Technology Association, Vice President of the China Forbidden City Society, Vice President of the World Heritage Research Committee of the Chinese Society of Cultural Heritage, Vice President of the Territorial and Cultural Resources Research Committee of the Chinese Society of Land Economics He is also the secretary-general, deputy director of the Cultural Heritage Protection Professional Committee of the Chinese Society of Surveying and Mapping, and deputy director of the Historic Building Protection Professional Committee of the Shanghai Architectural Society.