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Self-Revolution： What is "decolonising the museum" in the Western context
ZHANG Anke
University of Leicester
Abstract As a radical approach， "decolonising" is being applied to diverse sectors， as well as to the museum sector. "Decolonising the museum" is an ongoing and evolving process that involves acknowledging and tackling the legacy of ethnography; critically revealing colonial roots and telling the hard truths of colonialism; proactively empowering source communities and including diverse voices and multiple perspectives; and responding to requests for repatriation actively and carefully. This essay is an attempt to clarify what "decolonising the museum" is in the Western context， gather together diverse attitudes and thoughts from museum practitioners， scholars， and pay specific attention to the repatriation of colonial-era collections.
Keywords decolonising the museum， repatriation of objects， equality and inclusion
Abstract As a radical approach， "decolonising" is being applied to diverse sectors， as well as to the museum sector. "Decolonising the museum" is an ongoing and evolving process that involves acknowledging and tackling the legacy of ethnography; critically revealing colonial roots and telling the hard truths of colonialism; proactively empowering source communities and including diverse voices and multiple perspectives; and responding to requests for repatriation actively and carefully. This essay is an attempt to clarify what "decolonising the museum" is in the Western context， gather together diverse attitudes and thoughts from museum practitioners， scholars， and pay specific attention to the repatriation of colonial-era collections.
Keywords decolonising the museum， repatriation of objects， equality and inclusion
0 Introduction
The term "decolonising" is not a new concept， but it is becoming increasingly visible in the public consciousness in recent times， due to the efforts of indigenous peoples and activists[1]. Although mainland China never turned into a colony of the British Empire， while Hong Kong did from 1841 to 1997， the result of the Opium War and the ghost of colonialism continue to exert influence on many affairs between the UK and China， not only politically， economically， but also culturally. In terms of decolonisation， it does not merely refer to the geographical independence of the colonised， but it also has something to do with the legacy of this long colonial history. Now we see it is happening throughout the world： the great wave of decolonising in some particular fields， like education， archaeology， and in this essay， museums， which are "almost always a by-product of colonialism or imperial conquest"[2]. This essay is an attempt to gather together different attitudes towards this movement and show the complexities when museums seek to understand and deal with colonial legacies， especially the problems of verifying provenance of some collections. It begins by defining the concept of "decolonising" with the intention to figure out the background and the root cause of this emerging approach within museums. It will then go on to look at the perspectives and practice from museum practitioners， scholars， media， and the relevant issues they have confronted and questioned as well as the consequent challenges. The third section is concerned with the questions surrounding the return of plundered artworks held in Western institutions， particularly focusing on Chinese heritage lost through military loot and illicit sales[3]. Following above examination， the essay will conclude with an applicable suggestion to serve to create a more social inclusive museum.
1 The Concept of "Decolonising"
What is "decolonising"？ We might begin by understanding the conceptualisation of the term "decolonisation" and the term "decoloniality"， and by shedding light on what "coloniality" has brought about.
To start with， "decolonisation" is a derivative word of "decolonise"， which firstly came into use in 1851. The definition of "decolonisation" is "the process in which a country that was previously a colony becomes politically independent" according to the Cambridge English Dictionary. In this sense， "decolonisation" here refers to the dismantlement of the colonial empires， and thus is political and historical to a large extent. While in academia， decolonial theories have been developed by scholars for example Frantz Fanon， [Aní][bal] Quijano， Walter D. Mignolo， Linda Tuhiwai Smith and so on. Here emerges the "epistemic （intellectual） decolonisation"; [Ramó][n] Grosfoguel describes it as "second decolonisation" while the term "decoloniality" instead is preferred by the members of the modernity/coloniality research project so as to indicate the distinction[4]. For them， the terminological advantage of "decoloniality" over "decolonisation" is double. On the one hand， "decoloniality" evolves from "decolonisation"， but pays more attention to the decolonisation of knowledge rather than merely of banishing the colonisers from the territory[5]; on the other hand， "decoloniality" obviously identifies the action or the process of revealing and undoing "the logic of coloniality"， which distinguishes from the various meanings associated with "post-coloniality"[4]. Having considered the subtle differences between "decolonisation" and "decoloniality"， it is time to look at the living legacies of European colonialism so as to better comprehend the significance of "epistemic decolonisation" in the contemporary world. Frantz Fanon， who is most famous for his "classic analysis of colonialism and decolonisation"， has pointed out in The Wretched of the Earth that：
Colonialism is not simply content to impose its rule upon the present and the future of a dominated country. Colonialism is not satisfied merely with holding a people in its grip and emptying the native’s brain of all form and content. By a kind of perverted logic， it turns to the past of the oppressed people， and distorts， disfigures and destroys it.[6]
In uncovering the underlying "perverse logic" of colonialism， it is evident that colonisation is not only a political， territorial administration， but also an epistemic domination "of souls， of minds， of spirits， of beings"[4]. Since Fanon’s expression of the epistemic colonisation， the idea that knowledge is colonised as well， and that thus we should think about how to decolonise the "knowledge and being" is widely acknowledged and communicated.
[Aní][bal] Quijano further introduces the concept of "coloniality of power"， which continues to exist to this day in the form of social discriminations and hierarchical orders in spite of the fact that the formal （political） colonialism has been destroyed. He concludes the essay with the assertion that "epistemological decolonisation"， as "decoloniality"， is required to "clear the way" for a genuinely "intercultural communication" and for an exchange of "experiences and meanings"， which is the foundation of "another rationality".[7]
Expanding upon the concept of "coloniality of power"， Walter D. Mignolo focuses on the "unity" of the "colonial matrix of power" that was "created， consolidated， augmented， and controlled by Western imperialism" in the making of the modern/colonial world since the 16th century， of which there are two sides： the evident "rhetoric of modernity" and the darker "logic of coloniality"; that is to say， without coloniality， there is no modernity[5]. What’s more， standing on the foundation of racial classification and patriarchal relations， that specific structure （i.e. "colonial matrix of power"）， according to Mignolo， manages and controls four interrelated spheres， namely economy， authority， gender and sexuality， knowledge and subjectivity， in which it operates and produces many a hierarchic order， for example， a military hierarchy， a spiritual hierarchy， an epistemic hierarchy， an aesthetic hierarchy and so on[5]. However， keep in mind that it is at the "epistemological level that the rhetoric of modernity" gains prevalence[4]. For that reason， "epistemic decolonisation" is absolutely necessary， important and imperative. Apart from the task of recognising and destroying the logic of coloniality， "decoloniality"， synonymous with decolonial thinking and decolonial doing， as Mignolo claims， also means the task of contributing to the global futures in which "many worlds will coexist"[5]. Taken together， it shows that both the term "decolonisation" and the term "decoloniality" take on the layer of meaning of epistemic disobedience. With the purpose of signifying the continuing process of delinking from the colonial power structure that functions in the "bureaucratic， cultural， linguistic and psychological" spheres[8]， the term "decolonising" is preferred and used more frequently in the essay.
2 Decolonial Thinking
ZHANG Anke
University of Leicester
Abstract As a radical approach， "decolonising" is being applied to diverse sectors， as well as to the museum sector. "Decolonising the museum" is an ongoing and evolving process that involves acknowledging and tackling the legacy of ethnography; critically revealing colonial roots and telling the hard truths of colonialism; proactively empowering source communities and including diverse voices and multiple perspectives; and responding to requests for repatriation actively and carefully. This essay is an attempt to clarify what "decolonising the museum" is in the Western context， gather together diverse attitudes and thoughts from museum practitioners， scholars， and pay specific attention to the repatriation of colonial-era collections.
Keywords decolonising the museum， repatriation of objects， equality and inclusion
Abstract As a radical approach， "decolonising" is being applied to diverse sectors， as well as to the museum sector. "Decolonising the museum" is an ongoing and evolving process that involves acknowledging and tackling the legacy of ethnography; critically revealing colonial roots and telling the hard truths of colonialism; proactively empowering source communities and including diverse voices and multiple perspectives; and responding to requests for repatriation actively and carefully. This essay is an attempt to clarify what "decolonising the museum" is in the Western context， gather together diverse attitudes and thoughts from museum practitioners， scholars， and pay specific attention to the repatriation of colonial-era collections.
Keywords decolonising the museum， repatriation of objects， equality and inclusion
0 Introduction
The term "decolonising" is not a new concept， but it is becoming increasingly visible in the public consciousness in recent times， due to the efforts of indigenous peoples and activists[1]. Although mainland China never turned into a colony of the British Empire， while Hong Kong did from 1841 to 1997， the result of the Opium War and the ghost of colonialism continue to exert influence on many affairs between the UK and China， not only politically， economically， but also culturally. In terms of decolonisation， it does not merely refer to the geographical independence of the colonised， but it also has something to do with the legacy of this long colonial history. Now we see it is happening throughout the world： the great wave of decolonising in some particular fields， like education， archaeology， and in this essay， museums， which are "almost always a by-product of colonialism or imperial conquest"[2]. This essay is an attempt to gather together different attitudes towards this movement and show the complexities when museums seek to understand and deal with colonial legacies， especially the problems of verifying provenance of some collections. It begins by defining the concept of "decolonising" with the intention to figure out the background and the root cause of this emerging approach within museums. It will then go on to look at the perspectives and practice from museum practitioners， scholars， media， and the relevant issues they have confronted and questioned as well as the consequent challenges. The third section is concerned with the questions surrounding the return of plundered artworks held in Western institutions， particularly focusing on Chinese heritage lost through military loot and illicit sales[3]. Following above examination， the essay will conclude with an applicable suggestion to serve to create a more social inclusive museum.
1 The Concept of "Decolonising"
What is "decolonising"？ We might begin by understanding the conceptualisation of the term "decolonisation" and the term "decoloniality"， and by shedding light on what "coloniality" has brought about.
To start with， "decolonisation" is a derivative word of "decolonise"， which firstly came into use in 1851. The definition of "decolonisation" is "the process in which a country that was previously a colony becomes politically independent" according to the Cambridge English Dictionary. In this sense， "decolonisation" here refers to the dismantlement of the colonial empires， and thus is political and historical to a large extent. While in academia， decolonial theories have been developed by scholars for example Frantz Fanon， [Aní][bal] Quijano， Walter D. Mignolo， Linda Tuhiwai Smith and so on. Here emerges the "epistemic （intellectual） decolonisation"; [Ramó][n] Grosfoguel describes it as "second decolonisation" while the term "decoloniality" instead is preferred by the members of the modernity/coloniality research project so as to indicate the distinction[4]. For them， the terminological advantage of "decoloniality" over "decolonisation" is double. On the one hand， "decoloniality" evolves from "decolonisation"， but pays more attention to the decolonisation of knowledge rather than merely of banishing the colonisers from the territory[5]; on the other hand， "decoloniality" obviously identifies the action or the process of revealing and undoing "the logic of coloniality"， which distinguishes from the various meanings associated with "post-coloniality"[4]. Having considered the subtle differences between "decolonisation" and "decoloniality"， it is time to look at the living legacies of European colonialism so as to better comprehend the significance of "epistemic decolonisation" in the contemporary world. Frantz Fanon， who is most famous for his "classic analysis of colonialism and decolonisation"， has pointed out in The Wretched of the Earth that：
Colonialism is not simply content to impose its rule upon the present and the future of a dominated country. Colonialism is not satisfied merely with holding a people in its grip and emptying the native’s brain of all form and content. By a kind of perverted logic， it turns to the past of the oppressed people， and distorts， disfigures and destroys it.[6]
In uncovering the underlying "perverse logic" of colonialism， it is evident that colonisation is not only a political， territorial administration， but also an epistemic domination "of souls， of minds， of spirits， of beings"[4]. Since Fanon’s expression of the epistemic colonisation， the idea that knowledge is colonised as well， and that thus we should think about how to decolonise the "knowledge and being" is widely acknowledged and communicated.
[Aní][bal] Quijano further introduces the concept of "coloniality of power"， which continues to exist to this day in the form of social discriminations and hierarchical orders in spite of the fact that the formal （political） colonialism has been destroyed. He concludes the essay with the assertion that "epistemological decolonisation"， as "decoloniality"， is required to "clear the way" for a genuinely "intercultural communication" and for an exchange of "experiences and meanings"， which is the foundation of "another rationality".[7]
Expanding upon the concept of "coloniality of power"， Walter D. Mignolo focuses on the "unity" of the "colonial matrix of power" that was "created， consolidated， augmented， and controlled by Western imperialism" in the making of the modern/colonial world since the 16th century， of which there are two sides： the evident "rhetoric of modernity" and the darker "logic of coloniality"; that is to say， without coloniality， there is no modernity[5]. What’s more， standing on the foundation of racial classification and patriarchal relations， that specific structure （i.e. "colonial matrix of power"）， according to Mignolo， manages and controls four interrelated spheres， namely economy， authority， gender and sexuality， knowledge and subjectivity， in which it operates and produces many a hierarchic order， for example， a military hierarchy， a spiritual hierarchy， an epistemic hierarchy， an aesthetic hierarchy and so on[5]. However， keep in mind that it is at the "epistemological level that the rhetoric of modernity" gains prevalence[4]. For that reason， "epistemic decolonisation" is absolutely necessary， important and imperative. Apart from the task of recognising and destroying the logic of coloniality， "decoloniality"， synonymous with decolonial thinking and decolonial doing， as Mignolo claims， also means the task of contributing to the global futures in which "many worlds will coexist"[5]. Taken together， it shows that both the term "decolonisation" and the term "decoloniality" take on the layer of meaning of epistemic disobedience. With the purpose of signifying the continuing process of delinking from the colonial power structure that functions in the "bureaucratic， cultural， linguistic and psychological" spheres[8]， the term "decolonising" is preferred and used more frequently in the essay.
2 Decolonial Thinking