Chinese Places of Remembrance and of Cultural Memory
-- A joint workshop
by Zhejiang University and Humboldt University
文化记忆及其纪念之所
——浙江大学与洪堡大学师生合作研讨会
Time: 1:30- 4:00pm, 25th March 2011
Venue: Room 207, East Block 5 Zijingang Campus, Zhejiang University
In the historical and social sciences, the idea of "places of remembrance“ was conceptualized first by the French historian Maurice Halbwachs and further developed by the eminent British historian Eric obsbawm. They see such places as loci of cultural and national identity which are often artificially created and intended to further the pride in one’s own nation and its history and to produce historical continuity. But they can also contribute to the legitimisation or de-legitimisation of political authority. Cultural memory (see the study by Jan Assmann) manifests itself in places like museums for or birthplaces of eminent personalities, or in places with literary/cultural/religious connotations, such as the Leifeng Pagoda in Hangzhou. In contrast, the Chinese in ancient time had developed a unique way of using and practicing the memory of the past, which places self cultivation and moral interpretation as the priority of all national issues. The past is a mirror to see the present. This tradition has been discontinued since the introduction of historical consciousness of modernity into China. The workshop is planned to explore the two lines of traditions in the Chinese practice of cultural memory.
Institute of Cross-Cultural Studies
