Chinese heritage recognition, discourse, and gaze

This paper unpacks the language and corresponding classification system used when discussing heritage. Following a Foulcauldian logic, the results of this ever-changing lexicon mean that our understanding of "heritage" changes geographically, and over short spans of time, as new names come to supplant old ones, making others obsolete. The concrete results of this are that heritage is now made to fit these precise definitions, impacting real-world decisions and economics. This paper will share the results of this approach through a case study of the conservation planning in the historic towns of Dujiangyan, China, sharing this novel take with other heritage scholars.