Literature Review on the Digital Museum in a Chinese Context

Parry (2007) claims that “it would be an exaggeration to suggest that the computer has been the cause of the recent ‘reimagining’, ‘rethinking’, ‘reshaping’ and ‘reframing’ of the museum” (p. 140). Technological innovation creates new possibilities for the development of the museum, and the digital museum as one of its products plays a key role in the preservation and communication of cultural heritage. However, research on the digital museum is lacking in China. Therefore, this article is an attempt to determine the extent to which factors influence the construction of digital museums. In order to answer the research question, a systematic review has been utilized in order to comb the available literature in the Chinese context. As a result, 1829 articles have been retrieved and 205 articles have been accessed, and finally, 41 studies have been selected and reviewed. The results indicate that the development of the digital museum is influenced by technology, human resources, and funding. Then, suggestions and implications are put forward for further research.