More than fifty officials, experts, scholars and artists from China and U.S. took part in an in-depth discussion on the digital preservation and presentation of the world's cultural heritage, at a Sino-US forum on culture held in Beijing on December 8.

"Digital techniques give researchers access to information that would have been unreachable in the past," said Li Wenru, vice curator of the Palace Museum. One can examine a vivid image of an ancient painting that is thousands of miles away and zoom in on details that would be undetectable using a magnifying glass. A connoisseur can judge from a digital image whether the material is paper or silk; what kind of restoration has been carried out, in which dynasty it was painted, and whether it is authentic or not.

Digitization combined with the Internet is changing museum promotion in an unprecedented manner and at an unprecedented speed. It allows museums to massively extend their reach and maximize their core value. "In short, you can appreciate art at the click of a mouse instead of actually traveling to the museum," said Li.

But digitization is a double-edged sword for cultural heritage preservation, Li said. Over-professional presentation and the trend towards emphasizing the entertainment value of content can transform and devalue our cultural heritage and the cultural value of museums. The challenge is to preserve the valid, scientific and authentic face of cultural artifacts in digital form, to make history and culture more user-friendly and available to the public, without turning them into Hollywood-style exotic and alien forms.

Lu Pintian, editor-in-chief of Art Observation called for a sober approach to the issue. On the one hand, digital techniques can fill the world with vigor and color. On the other hand, they put weaker cultures under pressure from cultural unilateralism and further undermine their chances of survival.

According to Li Mei, a researcher with the Music Institute of the China Art Academy, there are about 7,000 hours of recordings of Chinese folk music and sound collected from 31 provinces and more than forty ethnic minorities in her academy. The ongoing digital salvation program of endangered audio and video will ensure preservation of video, audio, photos, ancient books and documents for future generations. "The aim is to preserve our intangible cultural heritage forever." Li added. But Mike Casey, director of the Indiana University Archives of Traditional Music, pointed out that the huge quantity, deteriorating quality, and lack of renewal of audio archives are three problems that need to be addressed.

On bilateral cooperation, Wang Wenzhang, dean of the China Art Academy said he hoped both sides would further Sino-US exchanges on science, technology and culture and explore the valuable heritage of Chinese traditional culture.

Bruce Cole, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), said that digital technology has the potential to transform the study of humanities.

Minister of Culture Cai Wu said digital technology would bring about great changes in cultural creation, communication, research and preservation. It is a new trend in human culture, he said, adding that Sino-US cultural cooperation could advance to a new stage, with efforts from both sides.

Sponsored by China's Ministry of Culture and the US National Endowment for the Humanities, organized by the China Art Academy, the Sino-US Forum on Culture is a public and academic dialogue in the field of cultural cooperation in which China and U.S. discuss the development of art and culture in a diversified contemporary context and enhance mutual understanding and cooperation in the arts, culture and humanities. It was initiated last June during the visit of a delegation from the US President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

The US National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), established in 1965, is an independent grant-giving agency of the US government, dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.

(China.org.cn by Li Shen, December 12, 2008)