Photo Caption: Seoul, South Korea - January 12, 2017. The Samsung flag flies outside the company headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
People News - In recent years, every time South Korea successfully registers a cultural heritage item, a wave of uproar ripples through China. Most recently, South Korea succeeded in having its soy sauce culture recognized as intangible heritage. However, when this news reached inside the Great Firewall, online commentary turned bitter: “Once again, Korea has ‘stolen’ our heritage,” “The roots of soy sauce culture are in China,” “A nation of thieves can’t change its nature,” and “It’s painful and disheartening... like a thorn piercing the heart.”
This is far from the first time such reactions have surfaced among Chinese ultranationalists, often referred to as "pinkies" (粉红). Back in January 2021, a Chinese online article raged, “Korea is stealing our armor again.” The piece accused Korea of “preparing to steal” elements originating from Chinese culture, such as armor, wuxia (martial arts literature), Chinese knots, Hanfu (traditional Chinese attire), and sachets. It even listed cultural elements Korea had supposedly already “stolen” and successfully registered as heritage: the Lantern Festival (said to align with China’s river lanterns and Lantern Festival), the Dano Festival (linked to China’s Dragon Boat Festival), the Donguibogam (connected to Chinese traditional medicine), traditional Korean martial arts (allegedly derived from Chinese martial arts), tug-of-war (claimed to have originated in ancient China), hemp weaving (traced to China thousands of years ago), Confucian academies (“Wasn’t Confucius a Chinese sage?”), and court music (“Isn’t that based on ancient Chinese bronze bells from the Warring States period?”). It further accused Korea of “madly and addictively snatching Chinese culture,” also citing movable type printing, wooden architecture, and even the sheng (a Chinese reed instrument).
Unfortunately for these critics, their indignation rarely goes beyond venting online. After all, UNESCO confers the “intangible cultural heritage” designation only after rigorous review. If Korea were truly “stealing” or “snatching” cultural heritage, wouldn’t this make UNESCO complicit in aiding and abetting cultural theft? Despite China's fervent accusations, why hasn’t any official taken the matter up with UNESCO? Instead, they seem preoccupied submitting their own heritage applications to the same organization.
Perhaps realizing their lack of a solid case, Chinese state media published an article in 2019 titled, “Korea Successfully Registers Cultural Heritage Again; Chinese Should Be Happy!” This article acknowledged that “Korea’s heritage registrations can hardly be called theft, let alone robbery.” It pointed out, for example, that Korea’s “Gangneung Danoje Festival” differs significantly from China’s Dragon Boat Festival customs, such as eating zongzi and racing dragon boats, and bears no connection to Qu Yuan. Similarly, Korea’s Donguibogam registration pertains only to that specific book and does not “claim Li Shizhen as their own.” The article dismissed rumors about Korea attempting to register Chinese characters, calligraphy, or feng shui as baseless fabrications perpetuated by some media outlets and netizens.
Nevertheless, these rumors reflect a deeper issue: many Chinese people have a limited understanding of their own traditional culture. Regarding heritage projects, public data shows that by July 2024, China had 59 UNESCO World Heritage sites, 40 of which are cultural. Yet these “cultural” sites are often scenic areas or landmarks that Chinese people must pay to visit, making them inaccessible to those without the means. Even when visited, they are frequently experienced only superficially or in a rushed, touristy manner.
Compared to China, Korea's cultural heritage applications often present far richer details and deeper cultural significance. For example, in the process of registering its soy sauce culture as intangible cultural heritage, Korea reportedly made significant efforts, meticulously collecting and documenting every aspect of the craft. This included the production process, the stories of its inheritance, and the styles of tools used. These efforts reflect a tradition that wasn’t simply copied from China but was locally adapted and refined over time, gradually evolving into a uniquely Korean style through the combined efforts of artisans and official institutions.
Even Chinese articles behind the Great Firewall have acknowledged this. However, they often attempt to defend the Chinese government, arguing that “China’s cultural heritage is vast… there are countless items waiting in line to be submitted, and soy sauce culture just hasn’t been prioritized yet.” But does this explanation hold water? China already boasts the highest number of UNESCO-recognized heritage items in the world, and its long-standing traditional culture, with a claimed 5,000-year history, is supposedly unmatched. Yet many enduring cultural elements—such as the Four Great Inventions, Daoist medicine (e.g., traditional Chinese medicine), Confucian academies, traditional musical instruments, and festivals—seem to rarely make it to the “priority list” for heritage applications. Isn’t it strange? Doesn’t this reveal that the Chinese government has little interest in encouraging its citizens to delve into the finer details of their own traditional culture?
No wonder that, alongside lambasting Korea, voices within Chinese media lament, “Our country is not doing well enough,” or call for prioritizing “those endangered, distinct cultural heritages,” and “actively promoting cultural dissemination.”
The problem is that many ultranationalists, or pinkies, fail to realize that the Chinese government is fundamentally unwilling to “actively promote” traditional culture. Why? Because if elements reflecting China’s traditional Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist culture were universally recognized as world heritage, then the instigators of the Cultural Revolution—the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its leaders—would be irrevocably condemned as historical criminals.
The book Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party reveals that “The Cultural Revolution was indeed a revolution against Chinese culture itself.” During the campaign to “Destroy the Four Olds,” temples, Daoist monasteries, Buddhist statues, and famous cultural landmarks were immediately targeted for destruction as symbols of “feudal, capitalist, and revisionist” culture. Countless rare books, paintings, and cultural relics cherished by intellectuals were burned or pulped. Even “landmarks of natural and historical significance” were smashed and obliterated amidst this frenzied purge.
It’s no surprise that today, most of China’s UNESCO-recognized heritage consists of natural landscapes and monumental sites—giant landmarks that couldn’t be entirely destroyed with hammers, axes, or fire during the Cultural Revolution. Such choices also conveniently obscure the CCP’s history of destruction. The CCP’s determined cover-up is driven by its refusal to acknowledge its crimes. More importantly, the Party has never believed it was wrong. From the moment it seized power through conspiracy and violence, it has operated beyond the bounds of morality and law.
In traditional Chinese culture, “The emperor is not always right.” Confucianism emphasizes that “The people are most important, the state comes second, and the ruler is the least important.” Scholar-officials could serve as advisors to emperors, evaluating their performance based on Confucian principles. These ideas are utterly incompatible with the CCP’s dictatorship. As Nine Commentaries notes, the CCP knows that if judged by traditional cultural standards, its actions would be deemed monstrous and treasonous. As long as traditional culture exists, the people cannot be fully indoctrinated into believing in the CCP’s “greatness, glory, and correctness.” Traditional culture also underscores concepts of “divine will,” “heavenly mandate,” and “moral retribution,” values that run counter to the CCP’s atheistic foundation and its reliance on violence to maintain power. For the Party, promoting traditional culture would only highlight its own contradictions and crimes.
If all elements of Chinese traditional culture were systematically registered as world heritage, the profound spiritual and ethical wisdom of this 5,000-year-old civilization would gradually come to light. Once Chinese people rediscover the beauty and moral depth of their heritage, they might begin to see through the CCP’s façade, revealing its true face of corruption and malevolence. For the CCP, becoming a universally condemned historical villain and being relegated to the dustbin of history is its greatest fear. In this context, Korea has merely seized on this Achilles’ heel, forcing the CCP into an embarrassing corner. With its initial failure to preserve traditional culture, the CCP has no grounds to accuse others of betrayal. If anything, it is the CCP that has truly turned its back on its own roots, making it the most unworthy heir of Chinese civilization.
(Published by People News)
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