It’s Not Our History; It’s How We Present It

Visiting archeological and historical sites in China is a humbling, strange experience. As an American, you’re used to having ancient societies exhaustively explained through placards and signs, and houses, temples, tombs reconstructed and recreated,  in a “this is what life would have been like” spirit.

In China, with few exceptions, there is little explanation and no recreation.  You visit famous historical houses and palaces and wander through them bewildered, as they are almost entirely empty of furniture or of explanation. Who lived there? How did they live? What did they eat? What kind of furniture did they have? What kind of people were they? What did they wear? We had no idea. The soldiers at Xi’an stand as they have been dug up, with a few in glass cases. It’s a monumental and massive sight, but there’s not much explanation unless you’ve already researched the Qin Dynasty and the emperor who united China and commissioned these soldiers to guard his tomb. (Luckily, we knew this history already and had made the ten-hour train trip especially to see the soldiers.)  At Banpo, an ancient dig site, there was no explanation of who these people were, what this lost civilization was. “A girl died here,” our guide helpfully explained as we looked at a grave.There was a small museum with some tools these ancient people used, but not much else.

And it’s not the language barrier. We both knew enough Chinese to know that. It’s the culture–it’s the way in which a civilization views the past, the things it values and the things it wants explained. It’s mysteries and reshaping and reevaluating, politics and money and interest. And it’s fascinating how much it reveals. The only museum in China that offered extensive information and displays, in English as well as Chinese, was the Military Museum  in Beijing. There was a reason. As foreigners, we didn’t even have to pay to enter the museum. With explicitly political exhibits and propaganda galore, it was clear all the explanation was done in order to reshape the past, to offer a “right” version of history to counteract any “wrong” version we may have heard. (The museum is new-ish, but the fact that we were pretty much the only people there also added to the creepy factor.)

All this is preface (long preface, sorry) to my own explanation of why I’m obsessed with this book. From TNR’s review:

…Gere’s stimulating study repeatedly reminds us is that archeology can be not only a recovery of the past, not only a reflection of the present, but also a projection about our own culture and its ideals. ”There is no escaping the fact,” as she concludes, “that we read the human past to understand the present, and then interpret it in the light of the future that we fear or desire.”

Our archeology, our recovery of the past, says so much about our cultures.  This book sounds like a fascinating exploration of that idea.

Plus, the TNR review has “minotaur” in the title. I mean, how can I resist a book with “minotaur” in the title? My nerdy former self rises up in want, in need, to purchase.