Understanding Authenticity in China's Cultural Heritage

chinas cultural heritage

Notions of “authenticity” are both culturally constructed and historically contingent. What one deems to be genuine or fake follows norms agreed upon by their particular communities. In this network, we discuss the construction “authenticity,” and its consequences, in relation to China’s cultural heritage - those objects, texts, and intangible practices concerned with China’s past. Questions to consider include, but are not limited to: How do standards for authenticity change in time, space, and between various object- or text-types, and why? Who arbitrates what counts as authentic, and from where does that authority stem? Who made forgeries, how did they circulate, and what was their economic effect? How has forgery been used to contest ownership of the past, to enact political protest, or push intellectual programs? How do current anxieties over authenticity impact the management of China’s cultural heritage today? We would like to emphasize that we are *NOT* interested in methodologies for authentication per se, or adjudicating whether or not specific objects or texts ought to be regarded as genuine or fake, but rather in the cultural, social, economic, and political construction of authenticity.


Over the course of the next year, we will hold a series of  events that bring together members of this network to consider together the above theme. These may include round table discussions, lectures, workshops, exhibitions and site visits. A larger international conference is planned for May 28-30th, 2020, to present our findings in a more formal setting. We look forward to collaborating with a range of stakeholders who also grapple with the question of "authenticity" in their work on China's cultural heritage, including but not limited to: museum curators, conservators, librarians, antiquities dealers, collectors, journalists and media, art lawyers, police and politicians. 

Save the date!

"Understanding Authenticity in China's Cultural Heritage" Fall 2020 Online Talk Series


This fall we will be hosting a series of events online. Please save the dates for the following talks! Further details and links to join-in will be posted closer to the dates of the events.

Wednesday, 21 October 2020, 11 AM. 

Zhang Lisheng and David Francis (UCL): Reevaluating authenticity: Creativity in contemporary craft making in China 

Wednesday, 28 October 2020, time TBD.  

David Lebovitz (HKBU Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology): Authentically Old Leftovers? Philology, robbery, and the Yi Zhou shu in historical perspective. 

Wednesday, 4 November 2020, time TBD. 

In discussion:

Lyce Jankowski (Musee Marimont): Forgers and Coin Collectors in Qing dynasty China 

Stephanie Su (University of Colorado): Making Forgeries, Making Canons: Chinese Art Historical Writings in the Early 20th Century 

Followed by moderated discussion and Q&A.


Christopher J. Foster

Anke Hein


Past Events