“Soft power”, also translated as “soft power” in Chinese, both belong to the same concept. This concept was first generalized by Joseph Nye, a famous American scholar and dean of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Norms and institutional capabilities are its important sources of strength. Those sources of soft power are becoming increasingly important in today’s international politics. This is a new concept of national competitiveness proposed in the context of the ever-increasing interdependence between countries. In the following discussion, Joseph Nye further sorted out “soft power”: “Military power and economic power are both tangible and dominant forces that can be used to induce others to change their positions. In international politics A country achieves what it wants to achieve, probably because other countries want to follow it, worship its values, learn from its example, and aspire to the level of prosperity and openness it has achieved. Others do what you want them to do, call it soft power. It emphasizes cooperating with people rather than forcing them to obey your will.” Here it is pointed out that the characteristics of soft power are that it is different from traditional coercive power, and its characteristics It lies in the appeal and cohesion of attracting cooperation. Regarding the source of soft power, Joseph Nye further pointed out: “Soft power arises a lot from our values. These values are expressed through our culture, the policies we practice at home, and the way we deal with international issues.” It is not difficult to see here. The important position of cultural resources as a source of soft power.
In recent years, the concept of soft power has been continuously recognized and developed in my country. Wang Huning once proposed that cultural communication always reflects a trend and can be spread across borders. Once a culture becomes the basic value or mainstream of other countries and the international community At the time of culture, the society that originated this culture will naturally have greater “soft power”, clearly emphasizing the importance of culture to a country’s soft power. He also talked about the conditions for soft power to exert its power: “soft power” is more dependent on the international recognition of a certain cultural value and on the international support of a certain system, so the country’s “soft power” is more dependent on international Cultural potential, that is, the general trend of the entire international culture and values. Whose “soft power” constitutes the potential energy most suitable for international “soft power” will be able to influence the agenda of international politics more powerfully. Therefore, from the strategic consideration of a country’s development of strength in the contemporary international political pattern, and from the perspective of “soft power”, it should be in the advancement of industrial civilization, in the development of science and technology, in the modernization of the political system, and in the development of its own culture. In terms of nationalization and localization of international culture, more efforts should be made in the aspect of national spirit and national international identity. The reason is: accepting a certain culture often leads to psychological and emotional yearning and rational recognition. Anything from this cultural circle has a certain influence; obviously, the wider a country’s culture spreads, the greater its potential “soft power” may be. In fact, it means that conforming to the trend is a prerequisite for giving full play to the advantages of soft power.
Wang Huning’s point of view emphasizes the importance of culture as an important source of “soft power” in the competition of national power, and intends to highlight the external attributes of “soft power”. However, there is another indispensable element of soft power: internal cohesion. From this point of view, “soft power” is not only an external advantage, but also a comprehensive manifestation of internal advantages. Internal power aggregation is the premise and basis for the formation of soft power, and external appeal is the form of soft power. and performance, not both.
In recent years, domestic scholars’ research on soft power has been increasing. “As soft power has increasingly become a core component of a country’s international status, placing the development of soft power at a strategic height has become a fundamental requirement for achieving the country’s overall goals. Incorporating the overall assessment of national strength and integrating its basic elements is becoming a focus of China’s strategic thinking.” Soft power has become an important part of national development strategies: in today’s era, culture has increasingly become the key to national cohesion and creativity. An important source, it has increasingly become an important factor in the competition of comprehensive national strength, and enriching spiritual and cultural life has increasingly become the ardent desire of our people. It is necessary to adhere to the direction of advanced socialist culture, create a new upsurge in socialist cultural construction, stimulate the cultural creativity of the entire nation, enhance the country’s cultural soft power, better protect the people’s basic cultural rights and interests, enrich social and cultural life, and enable the people The spirit is more high-spirited. From scholars to the government, everyone has realized that “soft power” should become the meaning of the healthy and sustainable development of society.
Cultural heritage is the material carrier of specific values, inheriting the past, influencing the present, and paving the way for the future. Because cultural heritage embodies a value judgment that transcends time and space, it can not only promote internal unity and centripetal force, but also exert its appeal in the process of external communication. It has been continuously developed into an important value judgment standard in the process of international exchanges. Therefore, it has natural soft power attributes. In this regard, heritage protection has important practical significance for the promotion and enhancement of a country’s soft power.
“Because heritage condenses the historical, natural environment, and spiritual connection with its region, society and ethnic group, it can represent both the inheritance of a social norm and the legitimacy of a political and ideological continuation. In the West The country not only regards cultural heritage as the ‘cultural identity’ of a community, an ethnic group, and a country, but also politically as a ‘national identity’ and ‘national identity’. Heritage objectively witnesses the identity of a group and a country. The development of history maintains the survival and development of specific groups. It is mentioned in UNESCO’s “Nairobi Recommendations” (1976): Historic areas are an integral part of the daily environment of human beings everywhere, they represent the vivid testimony of the past, provide Diversification of society corresponds to the diversification of the background of life required, and on the basis of the above, they acquire their own value and their humanity; Wealth provides the surest witness… Given the dangers of conformity and impersonality, these vivid witnesses of the past are vital for man and for those peoples who find in them the epitome of their way of life and one of their essential characteristics Yes. The historical area here is part of the heritage, which has a direct material witness to the identity of the community that shaped it. European scholars have pointed out that heritage is the most effective tool for cultivating the national identity of the inhabitants, and heritage is proven The concept of the nation-state and an essential element of nationalism characterized by a state-building ideology, a nation is an abstraction produced by inheritance, but a nation-state needs a national heritage to maintain its existence, so it is also The existence of national heritage needs to be taken as an important part of the policy. Internal cohesion is one of the important components of soft power. Therefore, heritage can promote the strengthening of internal cohesion by giving play to the role of national identity, thereby enhancing the international exchange of nation-states. This is a manifestation of its role.
The realization of heritage value is not only reflected in the spiritual and cultural level, but also a beneficial supplement to the sustainable and healthy development of society and economy. Careful care of various heritages is to achieve sustainable and coordinated development. one of the basic conditions.
It is wise to evaluate our cultural heritage in its entirety as a legacy handed down to us by our ancestors, while recognizing that it is our responsibility to pass it on to future generations intact. In fact, if a country recognizes that (heritage) is a factor in its history and identity, then it is best to use its heritage to manage and build peaceful relations with other groups and continue to advance future development. But heritage is not limited to meaning and value, it is an important indicator of development.
While realizing the cultural and spiritual value of heritage, the role of heritage in promoting the healthy development of society and economy also needs to be paid attention to. The heritage industry is an important part of the cultural industry. On the one hand, heritage resources promote the development of tourism and bring vitality to the economic development of the heritage site; on the other hand, they can also provide an inexhaustible source for the innovation and development of the contemporary cultural industry. The sustainable requirements of scientific heritage protection and rational use are the first, that is to say, the purpose of “protection” is to preserve the material basis for rational use. On this basis, related industries relying on heritage must implement sustainable development strategies. As the primary condition of its operation, this is bound to set an example for the sustainable development of the whole society, so as to guide the society to embark on the road of comprehensive and healthy development.
The effective protection and rational use of cultural heritage can lead to bright prospects for social development. The development prospects of a society are also an important aspect of the external image of the entire social group. the society they aspire to. Legacy can paint a hopeful future for a society, which can be an important aspect of its role in enhancing the nation’s soft power.
1. Cultural heritage is a reliable way for others to understand local culture.
Heritage-based exchanges between different social groups increase awareness of each other’s civilizations, enrich the lives of each other’s peoples and inspire mutual respect and understanding. “Assume that in order to explain the thoughts and feelings of an era, we should examine race in addition to the environment; suppose that in order to understand the works of art of an era, in addition to the central tendencies at that time, we should study the special stage of the evolution of that art and the special feelings of the artist; Then not only the major changes and general changes of human fantasy can be found from our laws, but also the differences of various national schools, the constant changes of various styles, and the characteristics of each master’s work can be found out.” This is the theory put forward by Danner in the process of discussing the production of works of art. Similarly, we can accept this truth: the heritage of a specific social group, as the carrier of its history and culture, can be used as a medium for the outside world to understand its social and historical ideas. Because heritage is also produced and passed down under specific social and historical conditions, it condenses the multi-faceted historical accumulation of social groups. As a foreign cultural other, if you want to gain a deep understanding of the society, you can use heritage as a tool. Not an important path. German scholar Leidhou realized through the research on Chinese writing system, bronze ware, terracotta warriors and horses, and building components: under the severe situation of global population pressure, the ability and ability developed by the Chinese in the process of using the modular system for thousands of years are different from those of the Chinese people. Social morality will prove its worth again in the future: to meet the needs of the vast majority of the population, who are accustomed to use as little natural resources as possible in a tight social structure and maximize human ingenuity and effort to satisfy the survival of as many people as possible. Not to mention the credibility of its conclusions, at least it illustrates the following problem: mutual understanding between members of different cultures, through the exchange of each other’s heritage is a reliable way; because everyone accepts the view that seeing is believing, Knowledge derived from the belief that the information conveyed by the living heritage is authentic and reliable is desirable.
Therefore, the dissemination of a country’s heritage resources in the international community can not only promote its communication with the outside world, but also an effective way to disseminate its social concepts to the outside world, and it is also the best way for people from foreign cultures to deeply understand its concepts. The source of the power of persuasion.
2. Cultural heritage protection is an effective way to fight for the right to speak in international affairs
Dealing with the right to speak in international affairs is an important aspect of a country’s comprehensive national strength. Supported by soft power centered on cultural identity. The discourse power in international affairs overemphasizes the role of hard power, which often leads to hegemonic tendencies. Although it can dominate for a while, it will inevitably lose its morality. It is by no means a long-term solution. enough for a lesson. In this regard, mastering the right to speak in international affairs is a long-term accumulation process. For a developing developing country, obtaining direct economic and political discourse rights is not only unrealistic, but also definitely not the best choice for sustainable development, because it is not only easy to cause suspicion in the outside world and direct conflict in reality, but also It is also not conducive to the development and improvement of soft power; in this case, the cultivation of soft power with culture as the main axis can become a wise strategic choice, because exchanges in the cultural field are realized under peaceful conditions and will not lead to direct real conflict of interest. The right to speak in this process needs to give full play to their cultural accumulation resources, and heritage, as the concentrated embodiment of social and historical development, plays a crucial role in this process. Therefore, its protection and dissemination have increasingly become an important platform for the competition of discourse rights between countries in a peaceful environment. This can be seen in the formulation of various statutes and systems of international heritage protection organizations.
The cause of world heritage protection arose in the 1930s. Looking at the international heritage protection documents before 1990, none of them could be formulated according to the needs of Asian countries and regions for heritage protection. After that, the protection concept and protection standards proposed in accordance with the special requirements of China’s heritage resource protection have been widely accepted and recognized in the international heritage protection cause, which undoubtedly opened up a broad path for the spread of Chinese culture and Chinese civilization in the world. . Undoubtedly, with the wide spread of Chinese culture around the world, the advantages of our traditional culture are bound to lay a solid moral foundation for mastering the right to speak in international affairs.
All in all, as an important soft power resource, cultural heritage can not only promote the improvement of a country’s internal cohesion, but also continuously enhance its own appeal in foreign exchanges, thereby enhancing the promotion and strengthening of soft power in many aspects. Therefore, doing a good job in heritage protection has important practical significance for the construction and development of national soft power.
Cultural heritage is an important resource that can be used in the construction of national soft power. It has special innate advantages in the current international environment, and its role in international exchanges is constantly improving. The role of heritage and soft power have similar laws. Therefore, respecting the laws of heritage and doing a good job in heritage protection and rational use of heritage resources should be a strategic choice for soft power construction, and it is also a strategic platform for soft power construction to be implemented.
