Vanishing Memory and Identity: Tomb Caretakers and Their Descendants at the Imperial Tombs of the Qing Dynasty in China

This paper examines how community engagement plays a significant role in reshaping memory and identity related to heritage in China. It aims to explain how indigenous communities can become facilitators of sustainable preservation through their everyday practices as heritage keepers. It also examines the role of grassroots communities in the longterm protection from loss of their heritage. The UNESCO World Heritage site of the Imperial Tombs of the Qing dynasty and their “caretakers” in China is used as a reference to trace the evolution of the connection between the tombs and their keepers from the seventeenth century to the present. The case study will demonstrate the practices and patterns of their inherited memory and identity, which are currently neglected. The main findings of this research are based on fieldwork visits, historical documentation, observation, and focus-group interviews