A Study On The Course Of Universal Value Of Cultural Heritage

The concept of "outstanding universal value" was first proposed in the "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage" in 1972. However, the connotation of this notion has not been defined clearly at that time, which consequently sparked public suspicion. The focus was mainly on a pair of opposite connotations, i.e. "outstanding" vs. "universal". Empirically speaking, the more prominent, the more special and thus naturally the less universal it would be. Compared with "outstanding", a conclusion based on sensory organ and experience, "universal" apparently can not be obtained by simply induction or deduction. Therefore, people ought to demonstrate it from both fact and logic. That is to say, they should not only explore how heritage value becomes universal, but also explicate why it is universal. In view of the fact that the existing studies mainly concentrated on the analysis and induction of various international documents and specific practical cases after 1972. Besides, the cause of evolution of any concept is implied in the original sources. Consequently, in order to reply to the first question, people should set out from the perspective of "value" and sifting the development of the campaign of heritage conservation before 1972 to explore the historical approach of the universalization of heritage value. And this approach has involved three stages of development:The first stage ranged from the 1830s to 1930s, during which time, people’s recognition of the universality of heritage value has transcended the temporal dimension by means of "age value". Then from the 1930s to 1950s, the post Italian School of Conservation has resisted Scientism via making heritage value more humanization, which was spreading around the field of conservation. This in turn has established the keynote for the contemporary conservation theory. Thereafter, from the 1950s to 1970s, with the globalization of the conservation campaign, the heritage value has manifested pan-regional features and finally achieved diversification and subjectification.Therefore, the process of universalizing heritage value began with transtemporality and then advanced along two separate lines. One is called the externalized line, which intends to achieve "diversification" by the aid of "pan-regionalization". The other is oppositely called the internalized line, which manages to fulfill "subjectification" through "humanization". Eventually, these two lines will be combined into one for the sake of arriving at the highest and purest form of the universality of heritage value, i.e. universality of logical category.Furthermore, the logical connotation of heritage value has experienced several different phases, including sensory values, life values, spiritual values, holyness values, etc. It would ultimately take on a new look of value construction, which is composed of instrumental value oriented towards self-confirmation and intrinsic value based upon subjectivity. Hence, the "universality" of heritage value are based on the subjectivity value of human, while the "outstanding" of heritage value is determined by capacity of compactedness in self-confirmation. Generally speaking, these two connotations actually represent dialectical relations.Fact and logic has jointly directed the final home of heritage value, namely the universal humanity capable of saving the spiritual world of mankind from the "lost in modernity".