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Abstract Memory studies with their unique temporal and spatial attributes, cultural tension and social concern, have become a focus of international humanities and social sciences studies in the twenty-first century. From collected memory to collective memory, the foundation and development of cultural memory theory reveals records the evolution of memory studies. During this process, the social foundation, constructiveness and inheritance of memory are constantly clarified and strengthened. Based on the theoretical thinking of collective memory and social memory, cultural memory has gradually become the focus of memory researches with its abundant cultural representation, historical consciousness and social function. However, domestic studies of cultural memory show a relative lack in the development of local theories, place-based practice and social phenomenon analysis. We suggest more efforts be made in interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary cooperation and academic platform construction in domestic cultural memory studies and deeper examination and demonstration should be made of existing research and important thoughts. Focusing on the theory of cultural memory founded by the German scholars, Jan Assmann and Aleida Assmann, this paper traces the development of western memory research, and combines it with the status quo of cultural memory research in China in the past twenty years, and reviews the domestic interdisciplinary studies from three perspectives, i.e., cultural inscription, space and function of cultural memory. Firstly, cultural memory is represented in various forms of cultural images and forms, of which text and ritual are two major forms of memory. Poetry, novels, folk legends and other literary works belong to the textual representation of cultural memory; traditional festivals, customs, local ceremonies and folk dances are ritual forms; television, news and other media also contribute to memory inscriptions with their vivid techniques; international cultural heritage practice focuses on the preservation and inheritance of memory in different places; new media, We media and other forms of memory are expanding the boundary of cultural memory inscriptions. Secondly, memory is cultivated and generated in specific time and space. With its capacity of containing and evoking individual and collective memory, place is also the bearer of cultural writing and reconstruction. The field of memory not only includes the physical space that can be touched and sensed, but is also rooted in the invisible space of cultural tradition and past. In the process of urbanization, urban public space, villages, ancestral halls, museums and other places have become the specific research objects of memory field. Thirdly, the concretion of identity in cultural memory can contribute to the historical inheritance in temporal dimension and also can generate collective constraints in social dimension. The traces of historical transformations, cultural introspection of nostalgia and consumption, and traumatic memory research all reveal the social concern and cultural integration trend of contemporary memory research. This study suggests that in the space of memory meaning generation, cultural memory may be functioned as the starting point for the related essential issues or as a constructive force in the study process, or as specific cultural symbols at the end point, and the study on cultural memory is an interpretative process of development, generation and deconstruction of meaning. The research trend of interdisciplinary interaction and the emergence of current social problems gradually expand the research field of cultural memory in China. Future research may extend beyond specific cultural symbols and spaces, examining a broader range of research themes, employing a broader range of research methods and deepening the memory theoretical studies cultivated by the traditional Chinese culture. Particularly, the functions of education, individual’s subjective well-being and community integration should be paid more attention to, and the combination of both qualitative and quantitative research methods is also preferred in these research topics.
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