The impulse to apply for a cultural heritage does not mean historical responsibility

At the just-past 32nd UNESCO World Heritage Conference, Tulou in Fujian and Sanqingshan in Jiangxi successfully passed the test and were elected as "New Science" World Cultural and Natural Heritage respectively.

So far, the number of heritage sites in China has risen to 37, ranking among the best in the world.

Judging from the current situation across the country, there are still as many as 200 projects to be selected with the willingness to "apply for cultural heritage", which shows that our potential and stamina are quite large.

The question is, as the owners of this land and descendants of this nation, can we permanently manage this family business and preserve this heritage?

For quite some time, Chinese people have changed from being unheard of and unfamiliar with applying for cultural relics on the international stage to being actively involved and keen to participate.

This is undoubtedly a good thing, but there are also hidden worries.

Successful application for the heritage heritage will greatly increase the popularity of the relevant heritage sites and expand the intensity of tourism development and publicity to attract more tourists, make a lot of money, promote economic growth, and demonstrate the political achievements of relevant officials.

It is precisely because of this that governments and officials at all levels and even local people have a very fierce impulse and enthusiasm to apply for cultural heritage.

In recent years, it has been common for some places to change cultural heritage and cultural relics to attract tourists.

Real antiques have been demolished but a large number of fake antiques have been created.

The purpose is nothing more than blindly expanding the number of scenic spots with fake ones, so that they can sell tickets to tourists to make money.

As a result, batches of absurd examples emerged.

The Great Wall of Jiayuguan was connected to a fake city wall for no reason; the streets and alleys in the Jiangnan water town are getting newer and newer, and more and more scenic spots are being built; the most unbelievable thing is the reconstruction of Yuanmingyuan.

Based on this line of thought, I am afraid that the Parthenon in Athens and the Colosseum in Rome should be renovated separately, and the Egyptian Sphinx will also have to be reshaped with its golden body to fill the gap!

What is the purpose of applying for a cultural heritage? The first thing we are still fulfilling our commitments and responsibilities is to better protect our cultural traditions, protect the natural environment left behind by our ancestors and the home where we live.

It is possible to develop and utilize, develop tourism, and seek certain economic benefits, but it must be subordinate to the primary goal and secondary.

This relationship must not be reversed.

There is no normal mind or a rational attitude in applying for a cultural heritage.

Using partial generalizations and putting the cart before the horse will only lead us astray.

(According to Wen Wei Po, the author is a professor and doctoral supervisor of the Department of History at East China Normal University