Familiarity with unearthed materials has become the norm among scholars of early China across the world. The field has come to re‐examine narratives of early Chinese history in a more nuanced way, moving beyond questions of “doubting” or “verifying antiquity” to detail how the situation on the ground in early China related to its representation in traditional historical constructs. The fruits of this process are undeniable. Confronting entrenched historical narratives through archaeology, however, has widespread methodological and epistemological implications. Unquestioned, traditional narratives can distract scholars from the motivations of ancient actors; moreover, they can limit the broad humanistic value of early China scholarship and its reception outside the field. Unchecked, however, the incautious deconstruction of such narratives can cast pointless doubt on well-founded networks of knowledge. Further, deploying unearthed material in historiography brings the narratological habits of history into contact with the customs of field archaeology, raising both practical problems of data management and theoretical issues about the production of knowledge about the past.
The Irresistible Allure of Patina and Pedigree: A Case Study
Lothar von Falkenhausen (University of California Los Angeles)
Understanding Authenticity in China’s Cultural Heritage
Conference at the University of Oxford, 16-20 March, 2021
Organized by Christopher Foster and Anke Hein
Contact: understandingauthenticity@gmail.com
What we deem to be genuine or fake is not an objective determination, but something that we agree upon as communities. Debates about authenticity, moreover, are often intimately bound to question who owns the past and its representation. The “Understanding Authenticity in China’s Cultural Heritage” conference this March will explore these issues and more. From contesting narratives about the mother trees of Big Red Robe tea, to the restoration of Qin terracotta soldiers; from the experience of visiting a replica Eiffel Tower in Hangzhou, to US-China diplomatic tensions over "originality" and "shanzhai 山寨 (imitation)” – "Understanding Authenticity in China's Cultural Heritage” brings together specialists from a broad range of fields and backgrounds, to explore how questions about “authenticity” impact their work on objects, texts, and intangible cultural heritage in China.
Please join us online March 16th- 20st, 2021, for a discussion on the construction of “authenticity,” both historically and today, in relation to China’s cultural heritage. Registration is free, attendance is open to all, via submission of a short survey at the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/X8T7T2C
The Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association has recently announced their upcoming conference, details of which are below. We would also like to congratualte Prof. Rasmi Shoocongdej, who has recently taken up the role of preident of IPPA!
About the conference:
The IPPA Executive Committee voted to support the Thailand proposal to host the 2022 IPPA Congress:
The Congress will be held at the Le Meridien Hotel, Chiang Mai from the 6th-12th November 2022.
Seminar Series jointly organized by Oxford University and SOAS
Everyone is welcome to attend the following sessions:
Wednesday, 21 October 2020, 11:00 BST
Zhang Lisheng and David Francis (UCL): Re-evaluating authenticity: Creativity in contemporary craft making in China
Wednesday, 28 October 2020, 12:00 BST
David Lebovitz (HKBU Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology): Was it really so, royal uncles? Notions of authenticity in the reception, redaction and reconstruction of some avuncular remonstrations.
The University of Kansas (KU) Center for East Asian Studies and Kress Foundation Department of Art History will be hosting a symposium "Visual & Material Culture of the Silk Road" from September 11-12, 2020 via zoom. The symposium will feature a diverse lineup of speakers from KU and other institutions [Registration information below].
What we deem to be genuine or fake is not an objective determination, but something that we agree upon as communities. Debates about authenticity, moreover, are often intimately bound to question who owns the past and its representation. Please join us at Oxford on March 18th- 21st, 2021, for a discussion on the construction of “authenticity,” both historically and today, in relation to China’s cultural heritage.
Understanding Authenticity in China’s Cultural Heritage
Conference at the University of Oxford, 28-30 May, 2020
What we deem to be genuine or fake is not an objective determination, but something that we agree upon as communities. Debates about authenticity, moreover, are often intimately bound to question who owns the past and its representation. Please join us at Oxford on May 28th-30th, 2020, for a discussion on the construction of “authenticity,” both historically and today, in relation to China’s cultural heritage.
May 1-3, 2020
TAG 2020 Stanford aims to facilitate archaeological conversation across a range of topics, formats, and media. The conference will include a variety of events: a full-day plenary debate on the “Potentials and Limits of Big Data” in archaeology; two days of thematically open, concurrent breakout sessions; and a range of art exhibitions to stimulate conversations about the intersections of ethics, politics, and archaeological practice. In the spirit of the Stanford Archaeology Center, a space that fosters collaboration and discussion among archaeologists in different disciplines, we welcome sessions and papers on all current archaeological topics.