World Heritage as discourse: knowledge, discipline and dissonance in Fujian Tulou sites

The study examines the official discourse of World Heritage Fujian Tulou in China, and compares it with the authorised heritage discourse defined by Smith. I find that although, textually, the former is antithetical to the latter by emphasising the harmony between human habitat and nature, in practice it is as hegemonic as the Western authorised heritage discourse. The Chinese harmony discourse tends to provide a single narrative for the site’s value and privileges expert knowledge over local voices, while it empowers government by ignoring local residents’ capability within heritage conservation. Moreover, the harmony discourse frames, articulates and constitutes non-heritage practices such as public health and moral norms, to legitimise the governmental power. As a result, the harmony discourse, supposedly aiming at maintaining a harmonious society, has created profound dissonance among the inhabitants.