SIGNATURE WORK
CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2022

This paper explores the reconstruction of Chinese national identity through comparing how Mawangdui T-shape Silk Banner is portrayed in two contemporary TV shows launched by CCTV – The Nation‘s Greatest Treasures (国家宝藏) and If the National Treasures Could Talk (如果国宝会说话). Recent years have witnessed an implosion of interest in Chinese antiques. Increasing numbers of Chinese people visit the museums of antiques while various art forms resulting from new media and technology creatively interpret Chinese antiques to promote Chinese culture. This paper examines how the academic research of Mawangdui silk banner has been selectively used and misappropriated into the two TV shows. It also analyzes how the form and content of the two shows contribute to the reconstruction of the Chinese national identity. This paper argues, by creating a reimagined past, the two shows build cultural connections between the contemporary world and ancient and premodern history, which servers to legitimize the national project.