Di Opera in Anshun has a history that is over 600 years old; it was also one of the first practices to be included in the national list of intangible cultural heritage.	Traditional hand embroidery from Suzhou.	An image of Zhangzhou at New Year.

LAST May, the city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province hosted the First International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage and a special UNESCO conference on the same topic. This was the first time that UNESCO had discussed the detailed rules of drafting international conventions in China. Li Weili, Assistant Director-General for Culture and the representative for UNESCO’s Director-General, spoke at the conference about China’s rich intangible cultural heritage and its attempts to actively protect and promote these living, yet endangered treasures.

Past Predicaments

Despite the current active efforts to protect traditional cultural practices in China, the term “intangible cultural heritage” was virtually unheard of just three years ago.

In China today, with a rapidly developing economy, the pursuit of the modern is quickly replacing old traditions and ways of life. Fast food, Western pop music, the Internet, Nike sneakers, the NBA, the World Cup and Western blockbusters dominate the lives of today’s youth. With the acceleration of urbanization, traditional practices associated with rural ways of life are increasingly regarded as backward and archaic.

Not only has economic development transformed current social practices, but it has also permeated perceptions of traditional culture in China. Western musical instruments, such as the keyboard and piano, are introduced into local operas, while traditional dramas and other types of performance art are quickly disappearing. Estimates show that there were more than 380 types of Chinese opera in the 1960s; today the figure is half that number. “There are only a few people who can sing these operas and the audience is quick disappearing too,” says Tian Qing, director of China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Research and Protection Center.

Another example of fading traditional practices is the diminishing popularity of Beijing’s famous lacquerware. A hundred years ago, these craft objects were among the most valuable tributes to the imperial family. Today, these objects fetch far lower prices due to a lack of market demand. As one senior craftsman recalls, the ancient craft requires the application of over 100 different layers of natural paint to the piece before it is air-dried and carved, a process that used to last nearly one full year. “Today,” he says, “this process is rushed and often it is completed within only a few weeks.”

The Burgeoning Protection Movement

“The attitude of the Chinese government towards preserving cultural heritage has reached a vital turning point,” says Mounir Bouchenaki, former UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture. Bouchenaki has worked in the UN for over 20 years, and is a frequent visitor to China. Together with Chinese experts, Bouchenaki has launched several cultural heritage protection cooperation projects in Beijing, Xinjiang and Xi’an. “Today, I can see China’s great dedication to working towards cultural heritage protection,” he said.

Since the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, China has actively participated in negotiations, and has signed a large number of treaties. It is now the sixth treaty-signing country in the world. In the last three years, the Chinese government has not only launched numerous campaigns to protect cultural heritage, but it has also set up a national protection list to save cultural practices from extinction. “The Chengdu conference has given us an opportunity to publicize these protection campaigns and we will work hard to ensure that they win public support,” says Sun Jiazheng, Minister of Culture, during the First International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The city of Chengdu, located in western China, is famous for its rich and diverse culture. It is home to the giant panda and the mysterious ancient Sanxingdui and Jinsha sites. However, perhaps one of the most unique local traditions is the legendary Sichuan Opera, where performers literally change their faces during the performance to assume different roles.

During the Intangible Cultural Heritage Festival, the city of Chengdu held various large-scale folk exhibitions and built a 133-hectare theme park to display over 1,000 intangible cultural heritage practices from all over the world. Ninety of these practices have been included in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

“The activities during the festival represent only one aspect of the work of promoting the protection of intangible cultural heritage,” a staff member of the organizing committee said. “Before the festival kicked off, we held a ‘heritage search’ among local citizens in hopes of educating the public about their roles in the protection of intangible cultural heritage,” explained the staff member. These activities all met with much enthusiasm from the public.

“Today China is going through a major transformation,” Bouchenaki says. “The Chinese people will not be satisfied with living in another modern city dominated by skyscrapers,” he continues, “they are very interested in keeping their roots.”

Rediscovering “Primordial Vocal Art”

Three years ago, the sister-and-brother team of Li Huaixiu and Li Huaifu, failed to qualify for the finals of the Young Singers Competition due to their lack of formal musical training. However, last year, using the primordial style of folk singing, they won the gold prize for “Primordial Vocal Art” at the same competition. The Li siblings regard themselves as the lucky benefactors of China’s decision to protect intangible cultural heritage.

When speaking of the competition, you can still sense Li Huaixiu’s excitement. “We are thrilled that the ‘primordial vocal art’ can be recognized,” he said. “Finally, traditional singing methods can be judged on equal footing with more established singing techniques such as the bel canto.”

The Li siblings’ lives have also changed dramatically as a result of this competition. “Before, we could have never dreamed of visiting and performing in different cities,” Li Huaixiu told us.

Their hometown has also benefited from their success. “Apart from installing telephones and TVs, the government has also paved the roads in the village,” Li Huaifu said.

Despite these material improvements, what the siblings are most grateful for is that traditional folk music is finally regarded as an important art form. “Folk music is getting more and more attention from both the media and the government,” Li Huaixiu says. “Our success in the Young Singer Competition is just the beginning.”

“Every time I’m home, there are always kids that ask me to teach them folk songs,” she tells us.

Continued Challenges

However, most cultural conservationists are not optimistic about rescuing certain cultural practices from extinction.

Yang Li, deputy director of the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Music and Dance, is passionate about the art of Kasidawen Dance. Kasidawen Dance is performed in battle armor, and it is associated with the Tibetan and Qiang ethnic groups in Sichuan. This art form has its roots in the sacrificial dance performed during hunting and fighting, but it has slowly transformed into a ceremonial performance. During the dance, dancers don special armors. “Today, there are only three armors left in this area,” Yang says. “Most of the armors have been sold at a low price and what’s even more regretful is that the youth now often leave the village for work or to do business, so the new generation is unwilling to learn this art form,” Yang continued. Today, Kasidawen is predominantly practiced amongst seniors, but most are becoming too old to dance.

Changes in ways of life present a major challenge in the effort to preserve intangible cultural heritage. For example, the traditional Kasidawen Dance also calls for the use of tiger skins. However, since tiger hunting is now forbidden in this area, a significant part of the dance tradition has withered away. Yang tells us that the villagers have completely forgotten this part of the performance. “Luckily I documented this practice 20 years ago,” Yang says, “otherwise it would have been totally lost.”

After 20 years of research with his colleagues in the field, Yang has written a book on the Kasidawen Dance. “We have received 310,000 yuan from various government agencies for this project,” Yang explained. “However, we are still short of funding.” Lack of funding means that many young researchers are reluctant to pursue research in this field due to concerns about being able to support their families on a limited salary. Like many other cultural conservationists, Yang feels grim and helpless about the prospects of preserving intangible cultural heritage. “Funding remains limited,” Yang points out, “and we understand that too many heritages require protection.”

Intangible Cultural Heritage:

Li Huaixiu and Li Huaifu, the brother and sister team who won first prize in the Young Singers Competition. Intangible cultural heritage is defined as the practices, representations, and expressions, as well as the knowledge and skills that community, groups and, in some cases, individuals, recognize as a part of their cultural heritage. Intangible cultural heritage is handed down from generation to generation and is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature, and their historical conditions of existence. It is manifested in the following domains: Oral traditions and expressions, including language which is conceived of as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage; performing art; social practices, rituals and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, and traditional craftsmanship.