World Heritage Classification and Related Issues-A Case Study of the "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage"

In some international organizations and in many countries there have been obvious problems such as an unclear goal, ambiguous concepts, lack of theoretical framework and overlapping extensions in the classification of heritage, particularly in the classification of cultural heritage, and newly proposed typological classifications have even worsened the existing contradictions. This phenomenon shows that the science of heritage studies did not pay attention to its own theoretical framework and failed to build its methodology, bringing about much confusion in research, application and management of the heritages themselves. It is therefore necessary to re-categorize heritages according to their nature and functions, protection methods, management and exhibition requirements dictated by their different nature. In this paper, taking the authoritative "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage" as example, we analyze the classification issues currently prevailing in heritage circles, state four principles which heritage classification should follow and put forward preliminary thoughts for the classification of heritages. At the same time, by an analysis of currently popular classifications, such as "cultural landscape", we put forward new definitions of World Heritage categories, and the position it is proposed they take in the overall classification system.