I see we are in tune. I have the same idea, and the point of this series was to explain this little by little. Besides, I also have some little theories to explain WHY Chinese don’t care so much about the “real deal”, and why Europeans really care so much (or do they really?) and since when.

And even more difficult: WHO is right?

I hope I will be writing about this very soon (but not before 1 week)

When talking about heritage conservation, I fell it’s very important to point out, that, in general terms, there is a huge difference in how people in China and the West understand authenticity and thus how they accept something being authentic or not. When visiting historical monuments, westerners only appreciate them when we can see actual historical leftovers, see what is left of some ancient ruins. Tampering with them destroys the authentic image of history.

Many Chinese, in my opinion, are more interested in seeing the image of how things were, not caring so much about whether what they see is the “real deal” or just a (often a historical incorrect) reconstruction. Being able to stroll through for example a shikumen alley can thus give them an authentic image how it used to be, while a westerner will only look for the last remnants of the actual wall from 80 years ago.