Restoration and Conservation Practice in China

A component of China Principles
Exterior of an ancient, multi-story Buddhist temple in China

The Liao dynasty Guanyin pavilion, Dule temple in 1997 

In tandem with the development and application of the China Principles, the Conservation Institute undertook a review and study of the history and traditions of restoration and conservation practice in China. The purpose was to better understand Chinese approaches (past and present) to conserving cultural heritage. Original Chinese-language sources were investigated to gain a better understanding of attitudes in China toward preservation of its cultural heritage.

This phase of research, published in 2004, explored the influence of Liang Sicheng on the development of conservation practice in China beginning in the 1930s.

Symposium

To better inform this research and foster dialogue with scholars working in related fields, the Conservation Institute cosponsored a 2004 symposium with the Department of Art History and Archaeology and the Society of Fellows in the Humanities at Columbia University, and with the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation. “The Persistence of Tradition: Monuments and Preservation in Late Imperial and Modern China” brought together scholars from various disciplines to address the ways in which cultural heritage has been invented, valued, and managed in late-imperial, modern, and contemporary China.

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