A Case Study of Difficult Heritage in China

Yuning Teng

In China (as in many nations), the exploration of difficult heritage is a relatively recent development. While modern Chinese historiography shows that the country was never fully colonized by the European powers, concepts developed for the analysis of colonialism and fascism can nonetheless be useful when dealing with historically important architectural remains and memorial structures found in China’s public spaces. These monuments often serve as poignant reminders of China’s ‘humiliating past’, meaning its 19th century invasion by the European powers and its subjection to Western hegemony and associated inhumane ideologies.

To explore this field of tension, this study focuses on the Ketteler Monument in Beijing. Initially dedicated by the Chinese court following the signing of the Boxer Protocol in 1901, it commemorates the murdered German ambassador Clemens von Ketteler (1853-1900), and was erected in response to diplomatic pressure from Germany. Instead of being demolished after Germany’s loss of power in China (due to its defeat in World War I), the monument was relocated to a public park and underwent two name changes. This change of location, along with the erasure of its original context and its renaming, invested it with new symbolic meaning. This transformation retains negative elements of historical memory while also promoting nationalism in post-imperial China. This case also highlights the intricate relationship that existed between China and Germany in the early 20th century.