Nature, Culture, and Civilization

Abstract

This chapter explores underlying differences between Euro-American and Chinese perspectives on preservation and heritage management. Assumptions about the relationship of “nature” to “culture” and the rationale for material preservation are, in the case of China, quite complex, combining Confucian and Daoist perspectives on the place of humans within nature, a traditional Buddhist lack of concern for material preservation, and a hypermodernizing, broadly utilitarian Maoist-derived emphasis on material growth at the expense of the past and a subsequent exploitation of natural resources. This emphasis on growth has only recently begun to be questioned, as seen for example in an emerging environmental movement in China and a state shift at the national level toward environmental stewardship and sustainable development initiatives.

We begin this chapter by discussing traditional Chinese understandings of the relationship between nature and culture and how this relates to heritage preservation and tourism. After this, we discuss an ongoing national campaign aimed at increasing “civility,” used in a broad sense to include civic consciousness, public behavior, and personal responsibility, and how this campaign intersects with environmental concerns, heritage projects, and the rapidly expanding domestic tourism industry. We conclude by noting key challenges that still remain.