《废墟上的未来:联合国教科文组织、世界遗产与和平之梦》:从缘起、机制与实践反思世界遗产

A Future in Ruins: UNESCO, World Heritage, and the Dream of Peace: Reflection on World Heritage from the Origin, Mechanism, and Practice

在联合国教科文组织的积极推动下,世界遗产成为媒体关注的热点话题、文旅行业追逐的热门资源、民族国家竞争的声望象征。不过,将世界遗产打造成为一个全球品牌是与这项事业的初心背道而驰的。有感于此,林恩·梅斯克尔在《废墟上的未来:联合国教科文组织、世界遗产与和平之梦》一书中,综合考古学、政治学的视角,以大量案例对世界遗产的早期发展、运作模式、实践得失及其所面临的复杂国际社会环境进行深入剖析。她认为,世界遗产工作经历了从重视考古发掘与研究到更关注遗产保护与修复的过程,这一转变背离了考古学的传统和视野;以国际主义为愿景构筑的世界遗产话语机制存在缺陷,必将深刻影响到以民族国家为主体的世界遗产实践;世界遗产越来越多地卷入国际冲突之中,而世界遗产机制并不能有效对这些问题予以裁定和解决。该书生动而鲜活地勾勒了世界遗产的乌托邦愿景是如何落空的,借此来呼吁我们反思世界遗产,重新审视世界遗产的初衷和使命,从而推进世界遗产的可持续发展。

In A Future in Ruins:UNESCO,World Heritage and the Dream of Peace,Lynn Meskell adopted the perspectives of archaeology and political science.With a wealth of cases,she delves into the early development,operation model,achievements and failures in practice,and complex international social environment of world heritage.Through the early history of world heritage concerning archaeology,this paper analyzes the formation and operation of the technocratic mechanism of world heritage.It further discusses the crises and challenges in world heritage practices under the influence of this mechanism.Meskell’s core argument in the book is that the United Nations Educational,Scientific,and Cultural Organization(UNESCO)and its World Heritage Program have struggled to realize the dream of peace from archaeological research to heritage restoration,from knowledge production to heritage management,and from the initial consensus and utopian vision to the current dysfunctional and anti-utopian reality.At last,she returns to the archaeological perspective,attempting to find a future path for world heritage.Meskell’s concern in archaeology encompasses both a discipline and an implicit metaphor.That is a holistic perspective of interdisciplinary,inter-institutional,and inter-regional collaboration and a perspective on the relationship between world heritage and local communities.She suggests opening dialogues among the World Heritage Centre,consulting organizations,and state parties,and launching active and equal consultation and cooperation among states based on respect for regulations,cultural diversity,and rights.Community participation has become a focal point of world heritage over the past decade,while the development of world heritage should always integrate with vibrant and interconnected social life.Meskell vividly depicts how the utopian vision of world heritage has failed,whereby calling for us to reflect on world heritage and re-examine its initial intention and mission,thereby promoting the sustainable development of world heritage.Examining China’s world heritage cause from the archaeological perspective presented in the book,we find that archaeological excavation and research are indispensable to the nomination and management of archaeological heritage.After receiving world heritage status,the sites carry on long-term archaeological work.Faced with the lack of archaeology and the plight of world heritage practices,we should keep exploring how to engage in cultural dialogues internationally and respond to these issues and challenges with Chinese knowledge.