Heritage, Memory, and Law: A Perspective from Chinese Legal History

China, with its long-standing emphasis on history, now faces the challenge of responding to global uncertainty by reconstructing collective memory. This raises a fundamental question: how do history and culture provide the normative foundations of law, and how does law, in turn, preserve and institutionalize cultural identity?

This workshop consists of two parts. The first, Reconfiguring Legality for Cultural China, examines China’s drafting of a Law on Historical and Cultural Heritage, which aims to unify the protection of both tangible and intangible heritage. This legislative initiative reflects a shift from passive memory preservation to the active legal construction of commemorative communities. It further calls for a renewed interpretation of the 1982 Constitution—a document that marked China's transition from ideological politics to an era of reform and openness—as a constitutional anchor for a legality embedded in historical continuity.

The second part, Cultural Heritage as Embodiment of Residents’ Rights in Macau, is presented in collaboration with Shuhao LIU. It examines Macau as a successful contact zone where heritage plays a key role in fostering mutual understanding and shared memory across cultural boundaries. The inscription of the “Historic Centre of Macao” as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005 reflects sustained efforts—by both the Portuguese administration and the Chinese central government—to prevent conflict and division. In Macau, heritage serves as a living tradition that protects local rights, which are affirmed in Article 42 of the Basic Law.

Together, these two cases show how heritage can mediate broader concerns with identity, citizenship, and historical justice. Moreover, they demonstrate how law is becoming a key instrument in shaping China’s commemorative vision and articulating shared memory in both domestic and global contexts. This research builds on the discussions of the former working group Using Normative Knowledge from the Past in Professor Duve’s department.