FROM PROTECTION TO GOVERNANCE: THE EVOLUTION OF CHINA’S INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE POLICY SINCE THE REFORM AND OPENING-UP
Keywords:
Intangible cultural heritage, Cultural governance, Policy evolution, Cultural subjectivityAbstract
Since the Reform and Opening-up, China’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH) policy has undergone a profound transformation, moving from the rescue of endangered cultural practices to institutionalised protection, from alignment with international heritage norms to more autonomous forms of cultural governance. Focusing on national-level policy documents issued between 1978 and 2024, this article identifies four stages in the evolution of China’s ICH policy: an exploratory period of protecting ethnic and folk culture (1978–2000); a period of rescue-oriented protection and institutional foundation-building shaped by the UNESCO heritage framework (2001–2010); a period of legal institutionalisation and the reassertion of cultural subjectivity marked by the adoption of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Law (2011–2016); and a period of governance transformation centred on systematic protection and creative transformation (2017–2024). Three characteristics are particularly evident in this trajectory. First, the policy orientation has shifted from externally driven intervention towards governance grounded more firmly in cultural agency and participation. Second, the policy system has moved from a predominantly rescue-oriented approach towards multi-actor and systematic governance. Third, China has evolved from a relatively passive learner of international heritage norms into a more active participant in global cultural governance. The article argues that future ICH policy should seek a dynamic balance between state leadership and people-centred participation, and between national cultural agency and global engagement. Such a balance would enable ICH protection to move beyond administrative and policy-driven governance towards culturally grounded good governance.References
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