Chinese digital nationalism is having a moment. One display is a growing nationwide public interest in cultural heritage, a trend that is particularly pronounced among young Chinese. They express their enthusiasm in the romantic consumption of heritage products, such as traditional Hanfu 汉服 fashion exemplified by the traditional skirt known as mamianqun 马面裙 as well as cheongsam (the popular early 20th century women’s dress style also known as qipao). According to Alibaba’s digital marketing platform, in January 2024, sales of mamianqun were up by nearly 25 percent and cheongsam by over 31 percent.[1]
The state’s active promotion of Chinese culture, coupled with the growing prevalence of digital platforms as effective channels for disseminating patriotic sentiments, has boosted the popularity of cultural heritage on social media. These initiatives have encouraged Chinese youth to take an active role in studying, disseminating, and consuming cultural heritage in the digital era.
Echoing this digital nationalism is China’s embrace of the global trend towards repatriation of cultural relics. Towards the end of August 2023, a three-part mini-series entitled ‘Escape from the British Museum’ 逃出大英博物馆 captured the attention of Chinese audiences on Douyin, Chinese TikTok. Created by two young content creators known as Pancake Fruit Boy 煎饼果仔 and Summer Sister 夏天妹妹, the series tells a story in which a Chinese jade teapot magically transforms into a girl and escapes from the British Museum.[2] Eager to return to China and reunite with her friends—other cultural relics held in Chinese museums—the teapot girl encounters a young Chinese journalist on the streets of London, who helps her return home. After reading a stack of tearful letters from other relics held in the British Museum to their long-lost Chinese counterparts, the jade teapot decides to return to the British Museum. The series concludes with the message: ‘We Chinese don’t go around stealing chickens and dogs. But one day, we will return home with honour and dignity. May our nation and our homes be forever safe and peaceful.’
According to The Guardian, ‘Escape from the British Museum’ garnered 370 million views by September 21, 2023, 16 days after the release of its final episode.[3] Through deliberate linguistic techniques, including quotations from ancient Chinese poetry and romantic representations of traditional Chinese culture such as Hanfu, the series deeply resonated with young people’s proactive, if selective, engagement with Chinese history and cultural heritage. At the same time conveying a soft yet politically potent message about the significance of cultural heritage to national identity. Despite criticisms of its plot, characters, and filming quality, the series sparked discussions across China’s society about the repatriation of cultural relics.
These elements Chinese official media have hailed the series for showcasing the younger generation’s concern for China’s cultural heritage. China News for instance, lauded the series as ‘a creative and profound work, imbued with a strong sense of patriotism’ and concluded with a hopeful call that ‘may more lost cultural relics find their way back home’.[4]
Girls in Hanfu Dress (photo credit: Ma Xiaochun)
‘They will return home with honour and dignity’
Over the past decades, the Chinese government has endeavoured to trace Chinese cultural relics that were stolen and smuggled out of China during the officially termed ‘century of humiliation’ (1839-1945). China has successfully repatriated lost cultural artefacts, such as the bronze animal heads looted by British and French troops from the Yuanmingyuan (The Old Summer Palace) during the Second Opium War in 1860, through diplomatic negotiations, international law enforcement, negotiations, donations, and commercial buybacks. However, distinguishing between stolen cultural relics and items that were legally acquired and exported is difficult and many of repatriation efforts encounter legal obstacles. Despite international regulations advocating for the return of illicit cultural properties, such as the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, the prospect of repatriation for Chinese relics in foreign countries faces significant challenges. According to UNESCO reports, an estimated 1.6 million cultural antiquities from China are scattered across 200 museums in 47 countries,[5] with approximately 23,000 objects held in the British Museum.[6]
In contrast to the more usual global rhetoric on the repatriation of cultural heritage, including human remains, which can involve truth-telling and reconciliation and reckoning with colonial histories, the extensive discussion sparked by ‘Escape from the British Museum’ predominantly revolves around nationalist sentiments. The story of China’s century of humiliation is reflected in the displacement of these cultural relics. Now that China has risen again under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), there is a strong belief that these objects should be returned in a dignified manner. Thus, echoing with the state-promoted ‘Cultural Awareness and Self-Confidence’ campaigns, the patriotic narrative of the series encourages a strong sense of responsibility for the China’s future and traditional culture.
Bottom-up patriotism
Not so long ago, efforts to instil patriotism were predominantly led by government propaganda, including national cultural policies, messages disseminated via official media channels, and patriotic education within school curriculums. This top-down patriotic education has been in place since 1990s, following ‘The outline for the implementation of the education of the patriotism’ 爱国主义教育实施纲要 issued by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in 1994.[7]
With ‘Escape from the British Museum’ and the digital embrace of other traditional cultural elements, the Chinese citizenry, especially the youth, is transitioning from passive acceptance to proactive engagement with China’s heritage. This is particularly the case among the online younger generation, who are more susceptible to patriotism drawing from the rapid expansion of digital platforms and nationwide heritage education.
The proliferation of digital platforms has catalysed the digitalisation of the collections and published materials of museums and other heritage institutions in alignment with national cultural and economic policies. These official and public digital platforms offer the public fresh opportunities to delve into the cultural and historical legacies of China, including via online events, without needing to travel.
Bottom-up initiatives further facilitate the uptake of nation-building narratives. This robust digital nationalism underscores a deepening interconnection between cultural heritage and a collective memory of the glorious pasts, reinforcing a sense of national pride and spirit among Chinese youth. Appealing for the return of traditional relics also effectively reinforces the significance of cultural heritage and encourages romantic consumption of the past in line with the state’s promotion of national heritage.
As a result, ‘Escape from the British Museum’ emerges as a potent tool for fostering bottom-up patriotism among Chinese youth. While not directly orchestrated by the state, the short video aligned with the state agenda through their emphasis on the illustrious nature of history and cultural relics. Moreover, narratives created by individuals through digital media could potentially encourage Chinese youth to identify more closely in their everyday lives with the central themes of Chinese identity and its connection with the country’s past that is central to the government’s own cultural policies.
Notes
[1] Alimama, ‘Alimama trend report Vol 03’ 阿里妈妈经营指南Vol 03, Alimama.com, 22 January 2024, online at: https://www.alimama.com/index.htm#!/marketing-insight/article-detail?id=65aa0fb3058bcb0fc6297f10&pkey=insight&skey=ai
[2] Pancake Fruit Boy (@煎饼果仔), ‘Episode 1: Escape from the British Museum, Episode 1’ 第1集:《逃出大英博物馆》第一集, Douyin, 30 August 2023, online at: https://www.douyin.com/search/逃离大英博物馆?modal_id=7272961291529030912&type=general
[3] Amy Hawkins, ‘Viral series about Chinese teapot escaping from British Museum to become film’, The Guardian, 21 September 2023, online at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/20/viral-douyin-series-chinese-teapot-escaping-british-museum-film
[4] Shiyao Wang, ‘The series ‘Escape from the British Museum’ has concluded, but the journey of the cultural relics returning home has just begun’《逃出大英博物馆》剧终，但文物“瑰葭路”刚开始, China News, 6 September 2023, online at: https://www.chinanews.com.cn/cul/2023/09-06/10073007.shtml
[5] UNESCO, ‘The Fight against the Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Objects: the 1970 Convention: Past and Future, information kit’, UNESDOC digital library, 2013, online at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000227215_eng
[6] The British Museum, ‘Collection: China’, Britishmuseum.org, online at: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/china
[7] The State Council of the People’s Republic of China, ‘Gazette of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China’, Gov.cn, 20 September 1994, online at: https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/shuju/1994/gwyb199420.pdf
