Rule of Law Ensures the Inheritance and Development of Outstanding Traditional Culture
Date：2023/11/18 13:59:26
The outstanding traditional culture of China is a brilliant chapter in the magnificent historical process of the Chinese nation, an important part of our cultural heritage, and a splendid treasure of human civilization. Inheriting the excellent traditional culture of China and promoting its creative transformation and innovative development can enhance cultural confidence, solidify the cultural foundation for the construction of a modern socialist powerhouse, provide cultural nourishment for the sustainable development of the economy and society, and is closely related to the noble cause of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. All sectors must make unremitting efforts for this.
Law is the standard for adjusting social relations and an important tool for maintaining fairness and justice. In the various fields and tasks of inheriting and developing the excellent traditional culture of China, it is necessary to establish basic protection and management systems through law, clarify the responsibilities of governments at all levels and relevant departments, reasonably allocate resources, encourage and guide all sectors of society to actively participate in the rescue, protection, utilization, and development of excellent traditional culture, and determine corresponding legal responsibilities for actions that infringe on traditional cultural resources and fail to fulfill the obligations of protection and inheritance. Formulating and strictly implementing a sound legal system can ensure the inheritance and development of the excellent traditional culture of China.
China has always attached importance to protecting outstanding traditional culture through legislation. Shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China, legal documents such as the "Interim Measures for the Export of Valuable Cultural Relics and Books" and the "Interim Regulations on the Protection and Management of Cultural Relics" were formulated to strengthen the protection and management of cultural relics. At the beginning of the reform and opening-up period, China formulated the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics, demonstrating a high degree of importance for the protection of the excellent traditional culture of China.
At present, China has formed a relatively complete legal system for the protection and inheritance of traditional culture led by the Constitution. At the national level, two cultural heritage protection laws have been formulated, the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics and the Law on Intangible Cultural Heritage, as well as laws related to traditional culture such as the Yellow River Protection Law, the Yangtze River Protection Law, and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Law. A series of administrative regulations have been enacted, including the "Implementation Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics," "Regulations on the Protection of Historical and Cultural Cities, Towns, and Villages," "Museum Regulations," "Great Wall Protection Regulations," and "Regulations on the Protection of Traditional Arts and Crafts." At the local level, all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and cities divided into districts have, in accordance with the provisions of the Legislation Law and in combination with their local cultural resources, formulated local cultural heritage protection regulations, such as the "Beijing Central Axis Cultural Heritage Protection Regulations," "Shanghai Historical Style Areas and Excellent Historical Buildings Protection Regulations," and "Jiangsu Cultural Relics Protection Regulations." In the rapidly changing social development environment, these laws and regulations have largely curbed the destruction of cultural heritage and greatly promoted the protection, inheritance, and development of the excellent traditional culture of China.
Currently, the inheritance and development of the excellent traditional culture of China face new historical opportunities. Our understanding of the laws of cultural construction in socialism with Chinese characteristics has reached a new height, and our historical and cultural confidence has reached a new level. The role of continuing the Chinese cultural tradition in promoting cultural prosperity, building a strong cultural country, and building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation is fully highlighted.
Based on further improving relevant legislation, the legislative plan released by the 14th Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in September this year attaches great importance to traditional culture, with several cultural field legislation projects included, not only including first-class legislation projects such as the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics, the National Common Language Text Law, and the National Park Law, but also including second-class legislation projects such as the Cultural Industry Promotion Law, the Historical and Cultural Heritage Protection Law, and the National Unity and Progress Promotion Law. As the legislative plan continues to be implemented, the cultural heritage legal system will provide more comprehensive and systematic legal protection for the inheritance and development of the excellent traditional culture of China. In this process, how to better clarify the relationship between various protection objects, further reduce the overlap between various management systems, more broadly expand the ways in which social forces participate in the protection and utilization of cultural heritage, and more effectively strengthen the rights protection of legal subjects related to traditional culture, still require legislative bodies to treat with more caution in order to achieve greater success.
The inheritance and development of the
excellent traditional culture of China require not only scientific legislation
but also strict law enforcement and fair justice. There are contradictions and
problems to varying degrees in the fields of law enforcement and justice
related to the inheritance and development of traditional culture, which need
to be resolved through strengthened education and promoted reform. Leading
cadres engaged in traditional cultural fields should consciously learn and use
the law, accept the constraints and standards of the law in their work.
Judicial personnel also need to understand traditional culture more and better
grasp the legal system for the protection of cultural heritage to achieve fair
and just justice. Only in this way can the excellent traditional culture be
effectively inherited and developed.
This article was published in the "Legal Daily" on November 6, 2023(04).
Author: Wang Yunxia, Professor and Doctoral
Supervisor at the Law School of Renmin University of China, Director of the
Institute of Cultural Heritage Law at the Law School of Renmin University of
China, and holder of the UNESCO Chair on Cultural Heritage Law.
