Authorized Heritage Discourse In Contrast With Chinese Traditional Heritage Conservation

The “authorized heritage discourse”（AHD） emphasizes on the authenticity,materiality, monumentality of heritage and its historical, artistic and scientific values.It embodies the modern view of history and the logic of cultural thinking derived fromthe Enlightenment. It also reflects the western elite values, which constitute the basicprinciples and recommendations of international heritage conservation, and largelyinfluenced the formulation of laws and policies in such realm in China. Problems suchas the misunderstanding and assentation of the AHD and the lacking of localdiscourse have long existed in the theory and practice of Chinese heritageconservation, may have hurt the traditional Chinese values and the way ofcommemoration. The research will analyze basic attitudes towards "historical traces"and its values and discourses, carry out iconographical study, review the traditionalconcepts of “heritage”, and examine the establishment and development of modernconservation ideas and notions and its challenges faced in China. Methodologies suchas "locating the past", comparison and analysis of literature will be applied in thisresearch to map out the truth of the AHD and find out its local and native expression.Absorbing all the useful ideas and resources of mankind, this research will providedue basis for the reconstruction of conservation theory with Chinese characteristicswhich is effective to solve China’s practical problems.