The term 文物/wén wù is defined in the modern Chinese language dictionary (教育部國語推行委員會 2021) as all objects of value that attest to the history and development of human society, such as buildings, everyday utensils, and works of art.
The earliest occurrence of 文物 can be found in the historical work Zuo Zhuan (左丘明, 公元前770-476年), written during the Warring States period. At that time, the term mainly referred to objects and instruments associated with ritual and musical functions (礼乐/lǐ yuè). During the Tang dynasty, the meaning of 文物 gradually broadened beyond ritual and funerary objects. Writers of the time, such as Du Mu and Yan Shigu, were already using the term to refer to the historical remains of earlier dynasties, an approach more akin to the modern meaning of the word (顏师古, 618-907).
In the early twentieth century, the meaning of 文物 continued to evolve: in 1930, the nationalist government enacted the Antiquities Preservation Act (古物保存法), officially broadening the concept of 文物 to include all archaeological and historical remains. In 1935, the publication of the Brief Survey of the Cultural Remains of the Ancient Capital (旧都文物略) further expanded the concept of文物 with the inclusion of ancient buildings and cultural sites. That same year, the Beiping Cultural Relics Restoration Committee (北平文物整理委员会) was founded to undertake systematic work to research and protect the文物 (李晓东 2005).
Since 1949, the term文物 has become a legal concept in the People’s Republic of China. It now encompasses a wide range of cultural property and relics, from historical monuments to objects of heritage interest (李晓东 2005).
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