Shot in the “museum” or interpretive center at the temple complex on top of Miaofengshan (outside Beijing by about 40km), this picture from our fieldwork illustrates the flexibility of spaces used to make sense of culture and heritage. Filled with historic photos that help carry the narrative of the temples in conjunction with Mr. Wang’s stories and explanations, it also houses a ping pong table. While this may seem incongruous from some perspectives, it’s perfectly reasonable from others. And that’s the trick of interpretation: the space in play is more than an institution (i.e museum), but also more than a concept (i.e. truth or authenticity). This space is flexible and multimodal, allowing for visitors, culture workers, and other participants to engage in meaning-making.

On the topic of interpretation, here are links to two different articles. The first is about a museum in Fangshang County (west of Beijing) dedicated to the important revolutionary song, “Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China.” This piece was written in 2009, but recently revisited in another recent post here.

The second article tracks the history of the pipa in terms of its iconic role of “national instrument.” Adapted from a conference paper, it’s somewhat long but worth reading.

With both of these pieces, we should consider the question/issues of interpretation. What meanings emerge in each article? What are the perspectives of each author? What are the goals of interpretation? Many more questions likely linger, so have a look at these and consider the spaces for interpretation generated by ChinaVine and our field school.