“WHAT IS CIVILIZATION?” asked Kenneth Clark 50 years ago in the BBC series on the subject. “I don’t know, and I can’t define it in abstract terms, yet. But I think I can recognize it when I see it, and I’m looking at it now.” And he turned to gesture behind him, at the soaring Gothic towers and flying buttresses of Notre Dame（巴黎圣母院）.

It seems inhuman to care more about a building than about people. That the sight of Notre Dame going up in flames has attracted so much more attention than floods in southern Africa which killed over 1,000 arouses understandable feelings of guilt. Yet the widespread, intense grief at the sight of the cathedral’s collapsing tower is in fact profoundly human—and in a particularly 21st-century way.

It is not just the economy that is global today, it is culture too. People wander the world in search not just of jobs and security but also of beauty and history. Familiarity breeds affection. A building on whose sunny steps you have rested, in front of which you have taken a photo with your loved one, becomes a warm part of your memories and thus of yourself. That helps explain why China is in mourning—WeChat, young China’s principal means of talking to itself, has been throbbing with the story, and Xi Jinping, the country’s president, sent a message of condolence to Emmanuel Macron, his French counterpart—while India was largely indifferent. Tourism from India to the West is a trickle(细流) compared with the flood from China.

This visual age has endowed beauty with new power, and social media have turned great works of art into superstars. Only a few, though, have achieved this status. Just as there is only ever a handful of world-famous actors, so the pantheon（万神殿）of globally recognizable cultural symbols is tiny: the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s David, the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid—and Notre Dame. Disaster, too, is visual. In the 24 hours after the fire started videos on social media of the burning cathedral were viewed nearly a quarter of a billion times.

Yet the emotions the sight aroused were less about the building itself than about what losing it might mean. Notre Dame is an expression of humanity at its collective best. Nobody could look up into that ceiling without wondering at the genius of the thousands of anonymous craftsmen who, over a century and a half, realized a vision so grand in its structural ambition and so delicate in its   detail. Its survival through 850 years of political turbulence—through war, revolution and Nazi occupation—binds the present to the past.

The fire also binds people to each other. The outpouring of emotion it has brought forth is proof that, despite the dark forces of division now abroad, we are all in it together. When nationalism is a rising threat, shared sadness makes borders suddenly irrelevant. When politics is polarized, a love of culture has the power to unite. When extremism divides Muslim from Christian and religious people from atheists, those of all faiths and none are mourning together. An building built for the glory of God also represents the unity of the human spirit.

And it will be rebuilt. The morning after the fire, the many Parisians who went to the cathedral to mourn its destruction found comfort instead. Although the spire is gone, the towers are still standing and it seems likely that the whole building can be reconstructed. The effort to rebuild it, like the fire, will bring people together. Within 24 hours, €600m ($677m) had been raised from businesses and rich people, and a rash of crowd funding campaigns started. A high-resolution laser scan of the building, carried out recently, should help.

It will never be the same, but that is as it should be. As Victor Hugo wrote in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, a three-volume love-letter to the cathedral: “Great buildings, like great mountains, are the work of centuries. Art is often transformed as it is being made…Time is the architect, the nation is the builder.”

When mentioning China, what comes to mind? As a country with a history of more than 5000 years, China is rich in civilization and culture. What best represents China?

Confucius (551BC-479 BC)

Confucius was a teacher and philosopher from the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. The philosophy of Confucius stresses individual morality including kindness, fairness, politeness, and sincerity. Confucius' principles have a broad basis in common Chinese tradition and belief.

Dragon

A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with winding or crawling characters. The dragon symbol is frequently used on ancient Chinese emperor's items including chairs or costumes. It is considered a representation of power.

Peking Opera

Peking Opera is considered the essence of China. As the larger form of Chinese opera, it has many "firsts" in Chinese dramas: the abundance of talents, the number of artists, opera groups and audience.

The Great Wall

There is an old saying that goes. "He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man." The Great Wall, one of the greatest wonders of the world, is a destination one must see when visiting China.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

Developed in China, TCM has a tradition dating back to more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, cupping, massage, exercise (Qigong), and dietary therapy.

How does a place become a World Heritage Site? It takes a lot of people to decide.

(1) If a country wants one of its places to be on the World Heritage List, it has to ask UNESCO. The place must be important and special. UNESCO put the Great Wall on the list in 1987 because it said, it was a great part of Chinese culture and beautifully made to go with the land. When a country asks, it must also make a plan for taking care of the place.

(2) The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO talks about different places and decides whether to put them on the list. The committee meets every June. Many experts help the committee to decide.

(3) After a new place goes on the list, UNESCO gives money to help keep it looking good. If a place is in serious danger, it may be put on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger. UNESCO gives special care and help to those places.

(4) Countries have to give UNESCO regular reports about places on the list. If UNESCO thinks a country isn’t taking good enough care of a place, the site will be taken off the list.