AccScience Publishing / AC / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/ac.1923
Cite this article
135
Download
2335
Views
Journal Browser
Volume | Year
Issue
Search
News and Announcements
View All
REVIEW

Cultural convergence in heritage landscape conservation: A comparative study of Chinese and English traditions

Johnathan Djabarouti1* Youcao Ren2
Show Less
1 Manchester School of Architecture, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom
2 Sheffield School of Architecture, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
Submitted: 26 September 2023 | Accepted: 4 December 2023 | Published: 20 February 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract

There are distinct Eastern and Western approaches that shape the conservation and interpretation of cultural heritage landscapes. While existing literature assesses each approach individually, there is limited research exploring potential for cross-cultural exchange and innovation to inform a more holistic conservation of heritage landscape sites. Using Chinese (representative of Eastern) and English (representative of Western) approaches as archetypal cases, and underpinned by a phenomenological ontological perspective, this theoretical contribution firstly establishes key distinctions between Chinese and English approaches toward heritage landscapes by conducting a review of relevant sources. Differences are subsequently synthesized into a comprehensive framework that supports a cultural convergence of approaches toward heritage landscapes. Informed by the literature, six key differences in approach are identified: (i) Philosophical underpinnings; (ii) spiritual and artistic emphasis; (iii) holistic and individual attitudes; (iv) concerns of continuity and evolution; (v) approaches toward community involvement; and (vi) relationship between nature, spirituality, and human-centricity. After reviewing these differences, a holistic framework is proposed that is underpinned by four key elements which have the capacity to overcome the differences identified: (i) harmonizing spirituality and esthetics; (ii) balancing continuity and evolution; (iii) fostering inclusive stewardship between communities and practitioners; and (iv) cultivating equilibrium between people and nature. The study concludes that this framework – what is termed a “cultural convergence” – can support more effective conservation of landscape sites, by capturing a broader cultural spectrum of heritage principles and concerns. The proposed framework opens avenues for cross-cultural exchange and advancement of more holistic heritage conservation strategies within an increasingly globalized heritage context. Future research should seek to apply this framework to the contemporary conservation of distinct heritage case study sites of interest to further advance research on this topic.

Keywords
Conservation
Cultural heritage landscape
Heritage
Heritage landscape
Holistic conservation
Intangible heritage
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
References
  1. Glendinning M. The Conservation Movement: A History of Architectural Preservation. Oxon: Routledge; 2013.

 

  1. Jokilehto J. A History of Architectural Conservation: The Contribution of English, French, German and Italian thought towards an International Approach to the Conservation of Cultural Property. Heslington York: The University of York; 2005.

 

  1. Agnoletti M. Introduction: Framing the issue-a trans-disciplinary reflection on cultural landscapes. In: The Conservation of Cultural Landscapes. Oxfordshire: CABI; 2006. p. xi-1.

 

  1. Wong LE. Relocating East and West: UNESCO’s major project on the mutual appreciation of Eastern and Western cultural values. J World Hist. 2008;19(3):349-374. doi: 10.1353/jwh.0.0019

 

  1. Li C. Chinese philosophy as a world philosophy. Asian Stud. 2022;10(3):39-58. doi: 10.4312/as.2022.10.3.39-58

 

  1. Maags C, Svensson M, editors. Chinese Heritage in the Making: Experiences, Negotiations and Contestations. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press; 2018.

 

  1. Byrne D, editor. Counterheritage: Critical Perspectives on Heritage Conservation in Asia. New York: Routledge; 2014.

 

  1. Hunt JD. Historical Ground: The Role of History in Contemporary Landscape Architecture. Oxon: Routledge; 2014.

 

  1. Borsay P, Sweet R. The Invention of the English Landscape C. 1700-1939. London: Bloomsbury; 2023.

 

  1. Fowler P. Cultural landscapes of britain. Int J Herit Stud. 2000;6(3):201-212. doi: 10.1080/13527250050148197

 

  1. Gao Q, Jones S. Authenticity and heritage conservation: Seeking common complexities beyond the ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ dichotomy. Int J Herit Stud. 2021;27(1):90-106. doi: 10.1080/13527258.2020.1793377

 

  1. Li J, Krishnamurthy S, Pereira Roders A, van Wesemael P. Community participation in cultural heritage management: A systematic literature review comparing Chinese and international practices. Cities. 2020;96(96):102476. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2019.102476

 

  1. Elsner J, editor. Landscape and Space: Comparative Perspectives from Chinese, Mesoamerican, Ancient Greek, and Roman Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2022.

 

  1. Akagawa N. Rethinking the global heritage discourse-overcoming ‘East’ and ‘West’? Int J Herit Stud. 2016;22(1):14-25. doi: 10.1080/13527258.2015.1068213

 

  1. Palang H, Fry G. Landscape interfaces. In: Landscape Interfaces: Cultural Heritage in Changing Landscapes. Berlin: Springer; 2003. p. 1-14.

 

  1. Taylor K. Managing Cultural Landscapes. London: Routledge; 2012.

 

  1. Winter T. Civilisations in dialogue? UNESCO and the politics of building East and West relations. Int J Cult Policy. 2022;28(3):259-273. doi: 10.1080/10286632.2021.1941913

 

  1. Husserl E. Ideas for a Pure Phenomenology and Phenomenological Philosophy. Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company; 2014.

 

  1. Seamon D. Interconnections, relationships, and environmental wholes: A phenomenological ecology of natural and built worlds. In: Geib M, editor. Phenomenology and Ecology: The Twenty-third Annual Symposium of the Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center: Lectures. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press; 2006. p. 53-86.

 

  1. Shirazi MR. Towards an Articulated Phenomenological Interpretation of Architecture. Oxfordshire: Routledge; 2014.

 

  1. Moore N, Whelan Y, editors. Heritage, Memory and the Politics of Identity: New Perspectives on the Cultural Landscape. Hampshire: Ashgate; 2007.

 

  1. Huynh LTM, Gasparatos A, Su J, Lam RD, Grant EI, Fukushi K. Linking the nonmaterial dimensions of human-nature relations and human well-being through cultural ecosystem services. Sci Adv. 2022;8(31):eabn8042. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abn8042

 

  1. Avrami E, Macdonald S, Mason R, Myers D. Introduction. In: Values in Heritage Management: Emerging Approaches and Research Directions. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute; 2019. p. 1-8.

 

  1. Alumiie H, Printsmann A, Palang H. Cultural and historic values in landscape planning: Locals’ perception. In: Palang H, Fry G, editors. Landscape Interfaces: Cultural Heritage in Changing Landscapes. Berlin: Springer; 2003. p. 125-145.

 

  1. Liu X. The Otherness of Self: A Genealogy of the Self in Contemporary China. Michigan: University of Michigan Press; 2002.

 

  1. Lee Y, Shaw RE, Jin Z. Gih (Qi): Beyond affordance. Front Psychol. 2017;8:556. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00556

 

  1. Xu Q, Taylor K, Han F. Recognising values of China’s scenic and historic interest areas as world heritage cultural landscapes: Lushan case study. Int J Herit Stud. 2021;27(1):39-56. doi: 10.1080/13527258.2020.1764610

 

  1. Hou S. Remembering trees as heritage: Guji discourse and the meaning-making of trees in Hangzhou, Qing China. Int J Herit Stud. 2019;25(5):455-468. doi: 10.1080/13527258.2018.1509229

 

  1. Eco U. Faith in Fakes: Travels in Hyperreality. London: Vintage; 1998.

 

  1. Beck J. Landscape and Utopia. London: Routledge; 2023.

 

  1. Treib M., editor. Representing Landscape Architecture. Oxon: Taylor and Francis; 2008.

 

  1. Harrison VS. Eastern Philosophy of Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2022.

 

  1. ICOMOS China. Zhongguo Wen Wu Gu Ji Bao Hu Zhun Ze (Principles for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in China). Beijing: Wenwu Chubanshe; 2015.

 

  1. Taylor K. Landscape and Memory: Cultural Landscapes, Intangible Values and Some thoughts on ASIA. In: 16th ICOMOS General Assembly and International Symposium: ‘Finding the Spirit of Place-between the Tangible and the Intangible. Canada; 2008.

 

  1. ICOMOS. The Nara Document on Authenticity. In: Nara Conference. Vol. 309. ICOMOS; 1994. p. 9-12. doi: 10.1063/1.4748569

 

  1. Wang S, Gu K. Pingyao: The historic urban landscape and planning for heritage-led urban changes. Cities. 2020;97(97):102489. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2019.102489

 

  1. Elsner J. Introduction: Landscape and space. In: Landscape and Space: Comparative Perspectives from Chinese, Mesoamerican, Ancient Greek, and Roman Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2022. p. 1-14.

 

  1. Djabarouti J. Practice barriers towards intangible heritage within the UK built heritage sector. Int J Herit Stud. 2021;27(11):1101-1116. doi: 10.1080/13527258.2021.1958363

 

  1. Historic England. Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance. London: Historic England; 2008.

 

  1. Forster AM, Thomson D, Richards K, Pilcher N, Vettese S. Western and Eastern building conservation philosophies: Perspectives on permanence and impermanence. Int J Archit Herit. 2019;13(6):870-885. doi: 10.1080/15583058.2018.1490827

 

  1. Xu J, Ma ET, Tashi D, Fu Y, Lu Z, Melick D. Integrating sacred knowledge for conservation: Cultures and landscapes in Southwest China. Ecol Soc. 2005;10(2):7. doi: 10.5751/ES-01413-100207

 

  1. Prominski M. Andscapes: Concepts of nature and culture for landscape architecture in the ‘anthropocene’. J Landsc Archit. 2014;9(1):6-19. doi: 10.1080/18626033.2014.898819

 

  1. Verschuuren B, Furuta N. Asian Sacred Natural Sites. Milton Park: Routledge; 2016.

 

  1. Chapagain NK. Introduction: Contexts and concerns in Asian heritage management. In: Asian Heritage Management: Contexts, Concerns, and Prospects. Milton Park: Routledge; 2013. doi: 10.4324/9780203066591-8

 

  1. Zhang R, Taylor K. Cultural landscape meanings. The case of West Lake, Hangzhou, China. Landsc Res. 2020;45(2):164-178. doi: 10.1080/01426397.2019.1589438

 

  1. Zhang R, Brown S. Comparing landscape values and heritage stakeholders: A case study of West Lake cultural landscape of Hangzhou, China. Int J Cult Policy. 2023;29(2):184-201. doi: 10.1080/10286632.2022.2038142

 

  1. Han F. World heritage cultural landscapes: An old or a new concept for China? Built Herit. 2018;2(3):68-84. doi: 10.1186/BF03545711

 

  1. Aplin G. World heritage cultural landscapes. Int J Herit Stud. 2007;13(6):427-446. doi: 10.1080/13527250701570515

 

  1. Djabarouti J. Imitation and intangibility: Postmodern perspectives on restoration and authenticity at the Hill House Box, Scotland. Int J Herit Stud. 2022;28(1):109-126. doi: 10.1080/13527258.2021.1883716

 

  1. Loulanski T. Revising the concept for cultural heritage: The argument for a functional approach. Int J Cult Prop. 2006;13(2):207-233. doi: 10.1017/S0940739106060085

 

  1. Taylor K. Cultural landscapes and Asia: Reconciling international and Southeast Asian regional values. Landsc Res. 2009;34(1):7-31. doi: 10.1080/01426390802387513

 

  1. Ogino M. Considering undercurrents in Japanese cultural heritage management: The logic of actualisation and the preservation of the present. In: Reconsidering Cultural Heritage in East Asia. London: Ubiquity Press; 2016. p. 15-29.

 

  1. Fong KL, Winter T, Rii HU, Khanjanusthiti P, Tandon A. Same same but different?’ A roundtable discussion on the philosophies, methodologies and practicalities of conserving cultural heritage in Asia. In: Daly P, Winter T, editors. Routledge Handbook of Heritage in Asia. London: Routledge; 2012. p. 39-54.

 

  1. UNESCO. Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Paris: UNESCO; 2003.

 

  1. Zhu Y, Maags C. Heritage Politics in China. Milton Park: Routledge; 2020.

 

  1. Storm A, Olsson K. The pit: Landscape scars as potential cultural tools. Int J Herit Stud. 2013;19(7):692-708. doi: 10.1080/13527258.2012.705060

 

  1. Tom B. Jiirnnoddharana: The Hindu philosophy of conservation. In: Asian Heritage Management: Contexts, Concerns, and Prospects. Milton Park: Routledge; 2013.

 

  1. Selman P. Community participation in the planning and management of cultural landscapes. J Environ Plan Manage. 2004;47(3):365-392. doi: 10.1080/0964056042000216519

 

  1. Fan L. International influence and local response: Understanding community involvement in urban heritage conservation in China. Int J Herit Stud. 2014;20(6):651-662. doi: 10.1080/13527258.2013.834837

 

  1. MacRae G. Universal heritage meets local livelihoods: ‘Awkward engagements’ at the world cultural heritage listing in Bali. Int J Herit Stud. 2017;23(9):846-859. doi: 10.1080/13527258.2017.1339107

 

  1. Ren Y, Djabarouti J. Towards a holistic narration of place: Conserving natural and built heritage at the humble administrator’s garden, China. Architecture. 2023;3:446-460. doi: 10.3390/architecture3030024

 

  1. Lu Q. Protection and Revival of Traditional Villages in China’s New-Type of Urbanization. In: International Principles and Local Practice of Cultural Heritage Conservation. China: National Heritage Center of Tsinghua University; 2014. p. 146.

 

  1. Wang Q. New trends and challenges for the conservation and utilization of modern architectural heritage. In: International Principles and Local Practice of Cultural Heritage Conservation. China: National Heritage Center of Tsinghua University; 2014. p. 213-224.

 

  1. Chitty G. Introduction: Engaging conservation-practising heritage conservation in communities. In: Heritage, Conservation and Communities. Oxfordshire: Routledge; 2017. p. 1-14.

 

  1. Swensen, Jerpåsen GB, Sæter O, Tveit MS. Capturing the intangible and tangible aspects of heritage: Personal versus official perspectives in cultural heritage management. Landsc Res. 2013;38(2):203-221. doi: 10.1080/01426397.2011.642346

 

  1. Keitumetse SO, Matlapeng G, Monamo L. Cultural landscapes, communities and world heritage. In: Hicks D, McAtackney L, Fairclough GJ, editors. Envisioning Landscape: Situations and Standpoints in Archaeology and Heritage. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press; 2007.

 

  1. Wijetunga CS, Sung JS. Valuing the cultural landscapes past and present: Tea plantations in Sri Lanka. Landsc Res. 2015;40(6):668-683. doi: 10.1080/01426397.2015.1057803

 

  1. Wallach B. Understanding the Cultural Landscape. New York: The Guilford Press; 2005.

 

  1. Levi D, Kocher S. Perception of sacredness at heritage religious sites. Environ Behav. 2012;45(7):912-930. doi: 10.1177/0013916512445803

 

  1. Hassard F. Intangible heritage in the United Kingdom: The dark side of enlightenment? In: Smith L, Akagawa N, editors. Intangible Heritage (Key Issues in Cultural Heritage). Oxon: Routledge; 2009. p. 270-288.

 

  1. Li J, Krishnamurthy S, Pereira Roders, A, van Wesemael P. Imagine the old town of Lijiang: Contextualising community participation for urban heritage management in China. Habitat Int. 2021;108:102321. doi: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2021.102321

 

  1. Li K. The contemporary values behind Chinese heritage. In: Values in Heritage Management: Emerging Approaches and Research Directions. Seattle: Getty Publications; 2019.

 

  1. Rössler M, Nakamura A. World heritage cultural landscapes. In: The Routledge Handbook of Cultural Landscape Heritage in the Asia-Pacific. London: Routledge; 2022. p. 78-99.
Share
Back to top
Arts & Communication, Electronic ISSN: 2972-4090 Published by AccScience Publishing