Conservation of Cultural Heritage from A Hermeneutic Perspective

Abstract

The deconstruction and critical reflection of modernism have given rise to post-processual archaeology and new museology in the field of cultural heritage, thereby generating new hermeneutic demands for conservation theory that cannot be adequately addressed by existing frameworks. Drawing on the ontological perspective of philosophical hermeneutics as developed by Hans-Georg Gadamer, this paper examines the theoretical foundations of cultural heritage conservation and argues that cultural heritage, as a distinctive object possessing both aesthetic and historical dimensions, participates in and is unified by three interrelated processes: the disclosure of truth in artistic experience, the unfolding of effective history (Wirkungsgeschichte) under the fusion of horizons (Horizontverschmelzung), and the continuous development of tradition rooted in language. From an ontological-hermeneutic standpoint, conservation methodology is required to achieve three fundamental shifts: engaging in localized expression that respects the embeddedness of heritage in specific cultural contexts, cultivating critical reflexivity that enables conservators to examine their own situatedness, and integrating multi-layered pre-understandings that acknowledge the plurality of legitimate interpretations. This study seeks to supplement conservation theory with a hermeneutic dimension and to promote its theoretical deepening.