"遗产"与"历史"都具有鲜明的时间属性,都与人类的过去、现在和未来相关联。当遗产不再被视为一种现成之物,而被理解为一种与人们对过去的表述和回忆相关的动态过程时,遗产就为理解历史提供了新的可能。一方面历史(过去的事件和行为)是遗产表述的基本内容,是遗产存在和延续的基本框架,也是人们理解、认知遗产的前提和基础;另一方面,今天的遗产运动作为在当下表述过去的一种新实践类型,既是对过去历史记忆的选择与重构,又具有"制造历史"的内在特征。
"Heritage" and "History", with their distinct time properties, are associated with the past, present and future of human beings. When perceived as a dynamic process related to historical representa- tion and memory instead of as a ready-made thing, heritage would provide new possibilities in interpreting history. On the one hand, as the basic content embodied in heritages, history (past events and behaviors) provides the framework in which heritage has existed and developed, and supplies the premise and basis for the understanding and knowing of heritages. On the other hand, as a new practice of representing the past, the current heritage movement is not only a process of choosing and reconstructing the historical memory, but also a process of "making history".