Reimagining Private Museums: Challenging Collecting Ethics and Shaping Public Cultural Practices in China

Juewei Fan

doi:10.71113/JMSS.v2i1.161

Authors

Juewei Fan Department of Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, UK

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71113/JMSS.v2i1.161

Keywords:

Cultural Memory, Material Culture, Collecting and Nationalism

Abstract

This paper explores the private museum accompany by the collecting craze in contemporary China and examines their impact on public cultural practices. It argues that while much existing research has concentrated on revolutionary events or modern art collections, the emergence of private museums challenges traditional museum narratives and offers a new lens through which to understand the evolving political and social contexts. This study provides a new perspective for understanding the psychological and cultural motivations behind heritage collection, emphasising the importance of material cultural attributes in shaping an individual’s sense of self-empowerment. It not only sheds light on the practice of cultural relic collecting, but also has far-reaching implications for cultural inheritance and individual identity construction.

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