Authenticity and Sustainable Conservation in Asia

For decades, the conservation of cultural heritage has been dominated by the Western approach that mainly focuses on physical authenticity. This approach has been practiced and recognised through various Charters. However, recently in Asia this tangible authenticity approach has been challenged to be complicated, for example, in Japan and China, the method of dismantling and assembling is used for wooden buildings that introducing new elements yet gradually loss of its original materials. This challenge has been applied in the Nara Document that acknowledges the cultural context, and the intangible cultural heritage, and followed by the Hoi An Protocols and the INTACH Charter. It is argued that the intangible cultural heritage is the living authenticity and an important element in conservation as tangible and intangible cultural heritage are interdependent. This paper aims to demonstrate that conserving the living heritage is important for reasons, such as authenticity and sustainable conservation