26 years of a professor of anthropology and museology at Minzu University of China, Beijing and now distinguished professor at Shanghai University, Shanghai
What has changed in the Mainland China museumscape since the introduction of the Reform and Openi... more What has changed in the Mainland China museumscape since the introduction of the Reform and Opening Up policy when, in 1978, only 349 museums existed across the country? According to the speech given by Liu Yuzhu, the director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA), on the 2020 International Museum Day held in Hu'nan Museum, the total number of museums in Mainland China soared to 5,535, 4,929 of which provide free admission for the public. This adds up to one museum on average for every 250,000 people, and in some areas like Beijing, Gansu and Shaanxi, the average becomes one museum for every 120,000-130,000 people. This huge increase in museums is often reported as 'Golden Times', an allusion to the similar phenomena that took place in the 1930s under the Republic of China, and in the 1950s under the People's Republic of China. The volume Museum Development in China: Understanding the Building Boom (中国博物馆发展, Zhongguo bowuguan fazhan), issued at the twenty-fifth conference of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in Kyoto, Japan in 2019, is an official evaluation of this 'unexpected' phenomenon through the voices of experts in the field. The book opens with a preface and introduction by Guan Qiang, the deputy administrator of NCHA, and Gail Lord, co-founder and president of Lord Cultural Resources. The 25 papers (written by prolific museum studies researchers and various leaders from the field) are divided into four parts-China's museum boom in context, Museum Building in China's new urban culture, Opening up to the world, Case studies innovation. This book is a clear response to the international debate around the extraordinary development of museums in China. Additionally, it is an experimental, inspiring study in 'museum building' (used as a verbal noun, like 'developing') in the context of China and from a global perspective. Part 1 explores the Chinese museumscape chronologically and synchronically, as well as the global trend of museum growth in the last 20 years, which witnessed an increase of 50,000 museums, totalling 80,000 overall. This is mainly stimulated by the development of new cities, the emergence of new art forms, and the rise of private collections and philanthropy. With the transition from industrial society to knowledge society, museums are not only stores of knowledge, but engines of meaning-making. Chinese museum development has also experienced dramatic change, particularly under the strong support of the government, along with the implementation of new policies, like the integration of culture and tourism administration, and a great emphasis on social, economic, political and cultural aspects. However, as the authors argue in this section, both hardware (such as collection management and facilities) and software (such as professional staff training and academic research) of museums in China still have a long way to go, and fortunately, board institutions, social inclusion and open-source digital data will push museums in China into a more dynamic future. Confronted with the tension between busy life in cities and a slow pace in rural areas, and large amounts of immigrants to newly built cities, Part 2 discusses how museumsfollowing planned modernization-have been assigned or have taken responsibility as the symbolic identity of local place. As shared by directors, architects, and designers of private or public museums, the transformation of Chinese museum-building emphasizes high
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Papers by Steven Pan