The Study On The Legalization Of Culture Relics Protection In Modern China

Cultural relics are the material evidences of the social development and the reflection of traditional culture, with significant scientific, art and historical value. Accompanied by the strengthened globalization and the modernization that caused damage and threat, every country pays so much attention to protecting cultural relics by drawing up or revising cultural relics laws as an effective measure to protect cultural relics. The history of legally protecting cultural relics is less than 100 years in China, although China has thousands of years of civilization. The discussion on the origin of the legalization of cultural relics protection will be beneficial to understand the changes in the concept of cultural relics, the rise of the cautiousness of cultural relics protection, and the conservation of the ideas of cultural relics protection. Besides, it will also help to understand the current cultural relics laws and raise the public awareness of cultural relics protection.There were several changes in cultural relics conception for thousands of years by examing the concepts and regulations of cultural relics in the past. Some scholars paid attention to the academic value of cultural relics after epigraphy emerged in Song Dynasty, but cultural relic was still called curio or virtue before the Modern Times which was the real reflection of current cultural relic concept. For a long time, the Chinese lacked of the cautiousness of cultural relics protection because of their incorrect concepts, as well as the lack of the awareness of law, which results in the loss and damage of cultural relics after the First Opium War. At the same time, the cultural communication between China and the West lead to the rise of the cautiousness of cultural relics protection in China, and eventually use the form of legal to protect cultural relics.Taking several important modern events as nodes and around the formulation of the regulations of conservation, this paper uses the research methods of history and law to do comparison and case analysis, in order to reveal the legalization of the Chinese modern heritage prompted by a present variety of factors eventually.This paper discusses the factors that prompted the process of cultural relics that were protected by law in China, which not only has domestic academic development, also reflected by foreign ideas and regulations, which was the inevitable result of cultural relics suffered from erosion and destruction for a long time, but also was measure to solved a series of unexpected events. The process of legalization of cultural relics protection in our country was promoted continuously by two major forces:one is the unofficial force with intellectuals as the representative with cultural relics protection consciousness, because they earliest recognized the value of cultural relicsmore in-depth and comprehensively, under the reflection of modern academic. At the same time, the unofficial force spurred the government to realize the importance and the necessity of protecting cultural relics. The other factor came from the government. The government finally finished heritage realized legalization by establishing special committee, investigating cultural relics, and drawing up regulations. The process of heritage realized legalization company two kinds of the development to cultural relics cautiousness:cultural relics public ownership and sovereignty. The former means the domestic ownership of cultural relics that gradually belongs to the public; the later means the recognition of the relation between cultural relics and national sovereignty. Specifically, this paper contains four main parts:The first chapter briefly introduces the concepts of cultural relics and regulations in different ancient periods bases on the literatures. We can see from this part that the underdevelopment of cultural relics concept in China and deficiency in the law on cultural protection, which were main reasons that resulted in the looting and destroy of cultural relics. This chapter introduces the condition of the loss and damage of cultural relics in modern times, and takes Dunhuang scripture as an example to deeply analyze the main reasons. At the same time, the cautiousness of cultural relics protection spread, as some sensible person recognized the Western idea of cultural relics protection and the knowledge of museum spread in China. Chinese trying their best to save Dunhuang scripture is a good case. The methods on popularizing monuments conversation that promulgated by Qing Dynasty opened the process of protecting cultural relics by special regulations.The second chapter discusses the increase of cultural relics public ownership in the early Republic of China. The situation that the cultural relics were plundered and destroyed was not changed, regardless of the foundation of the Republic of China as a modern democratic nation. In addition to western scholars, Chinese had crazily excavated and illegally sold relics. One of the important reasons why people were not aware of the value of cultural relics and the public ownership character, more importantly, is the government did not fulfill its responsibility of protecting. As a result, people optionally disposed the cultural relics. With the increasing awareness of the value of cultural relics, comments and suggestions on the Cultural Relics protection from Chinese and foreigners, the government established the institutes for cultural relics conservation such as museum, and drew up regulations to restrict the export of cultural relics and personally selling as well. With the enhancement of public awareness of cultural relics, Qing Dynasty pledged and sold antiquities which were conserved in the Imperial Palace before caused the strongly objection from the whole society. Eventually, the government established rehabilitation work committee after Pu Yi left the Palace. The innumerable cultural relics that had been ever only belonged to the Imperator were transformed into state-owned. The palace museum were founded and became open to the public, which means the public ownership of cultural relics further came out, and also showed the control of the cultural property of national.In the third chapter, the intellectuals played a significant role in the process of the legislation of cultural relics protection, and they promoted the rise of cultural relics sovereignty gradually. With the development of modern academia in China, especially the establishment of scientific archaeology and the trend that New History focused on historical materials, the intellectuals were aware of the value and importance of cultural relics. In the case of ineffective government conservation, they began to take the initiative to restrain the loss of cultural relics through various measures. It can be seen that the cautiousness of cultural relics sovereignty gradually enhanced and it became the common view for the academia from three events:the distribution of the materials that were excavated and collected by Andersson in China, the cooperation between Li Ji and American Freer Galleries of Art, and the foundation of Chinese and Swedish Northwest Scientific Expedition. The establishment of the cultural relics protection committee disposed of scholars is the representation that the cultural sovereignty maintained by the civil behavior evolved into a formal government action, and also the representation that the cultural relics protection work in China became specialized.The forth chapter discusses the formulation and functions of the law of Antiquity Protection. Once the Nanjing Government had just set up, it formulated the Rules of Famous Historic, Cultural Sites and Antiquity Conservation, showing the government made an effort to protect cultural relics by law. However, due to the lack of formal laws, the foreigners still made all kinds of excuses in order to bring Chinese cultural relics abroad. At the same time, striving for cultural ownership within China became more and more intensified. It was necessary to draw up a formal law to solve the problem. As a result, the first modern cultural relics conversation law, "Antiquities Preservation Act", was promulgated. It not only greatly restrained the loss and destruction of the modern heritage, but also was the foundation of the subsequent conservation laws.