Can a Copy Deliver an Authentic Experience? An Interdisciplinary Approach to Fieldwork Conducted in Southeast China

The aim of this presentation is to examine concepts of imitation and authenticity in an interdisciplinary approach. Firstly, conclusions from one-month field studies conducted in Shenzhen and Huizhou on a collection of miniatures and replicas will be presented. Among them the infamous copy of the Austrian city of Hallstatt (哈尔施塔特). Secondly, an anthropological and philosophical framework will be adjusted to introduce Western ideas of authenticity and compare them with the Chinese views.

Theme parks featuring replicas were built across China in the 1980s and 1990s. Their foundation wasrelated to the governmental cultural policy, that aimed at shaping national identity through the tourist experience. One of the most famous parks is Window of the world (世界之窗), which displays the world's most popular monuments. It also features different kinds of cultural events, which Boorstin would labelas pseudo-events. Next to a replica of an African village an Afro-American stands in a traditional costume waiting for tourists to take pictures, and in another corner of the park, a celebration of a German beer festival is being held. Everyone seems to accept the inauthentic conditions of these events, because it seems that the sight still delivers a kind of authentic experience for the Chinese visitors.

At the beginning of the 21st century, many Chinese architects applied elements of Western architecture to the Chinese buildings. A very radical outcome of this tendency was the construction of a copy of the Austrian city Hallstatt. Not only the marketplace was replicated, but a compound with alpine style housing was built around the village. Interviews revealed that many visitors regarded Western material culture as more sophisticated, thus attractive to imitate. Authenticity as a value did not appear in overthirty interviews. The key value was purely utilitarian –delivering a feeling of being in Europe based on imaginary representations of how European culture functions.

One might conclude that Western philosophy identifies authenticity as a notion related to truth (Heidegger), undisputed origin and genuine experience (Adorno). Chinese perspectives seems to be rather pragmatic–as long as a site works as an attraction fitting imaginary expectations, it is valid. The main argument is related to an observation that the validity of authenticity is related not only to the personal attitude and sensitivity, but also to socially and culturally shaped views.

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