Background

Challenges and plans for China's ICH protection

(china.org.cn)
Updated: 2010-08-18 16:05

China is an ancient civilization of more than 5000 years of history. The rich and diversified intangible cultural heritage of China embodies the values, aesthetics and emotional memories of the Chinese nation.

It demonstrates the cultural identity and boundless creativity of the Chinese people, crystallizes the deep emotional connections of different ethnic groups and their common underlying spirit. It can provide strong impetus for China's future development and innovation.

However, protection of ICH in China also faces many challenges. As is common with many countries of the world, with the drastic change of economy and society rendered by the globalization and modernization trend, contemporary cultural ecology is being changed dramatically.

Many countries are also facing the fact that the very social basis for intangible cultural heritage is dwindling, legacies relying on person-to-person and oral transmission are losing their foothold, and many traditional techniques and skills are going extinct.

Apart from that, some localities have no scientific sense of protection, they have given a lot of emphasis on the nomination of heritage items on official inventories, on the capitalization of such heritage for economic returns, but they haven't given equal emphasis on protection and management, many protection measures are not implemented, and some even over-exploited the heritage towards destructive directions. This is detrimental to the original purpose of protecting intangible cultural heritage.

To protect intangible cultural heritage in a scientific way has become an imperative mission of our times. In view of such challenges and difficulties, we will take the "scientific protection" of intangible cultural heritage as our primal task.

More powerful measures will be taken for the protection of ICH, and more publicity efforts will be made to further increase the public awareness for the protection of intangible cultural heritage, particularly among the younger generation, and we will enable our people to take part in as well as share the benefit of well protected ICH legacies.

On the basis of previous achievements, under the guideline of "protection first, timely rescue, rational utilization and good transmission", and in the principle of "government guidance with social participation, synergy of work with clear responsibility division, visionary planning targeted towards effective results, and step-by-step implementation with emphasis on both individual programs and overall progress", our future mechanism of protection will be centered on ICH items and transmitters and seek to be both scientific and efficient, and specific measures will include the following:

1. More legislative measures. In view of the richness, uniqueness and diversity of intangible cultural heritage, legislative regulation is the fundamental guarantee for the protection of intangible cultural heritage.

On the basis of the State Council Administrative Department's Recommendations on the Strengthening of the Protection of China's Intangible Cultural Heritage (March 2005), the State Council Circular on the Strengthening of Protection for Cultural Heritage (December 2005), the Ministry of Culture Circular on the Project of Protecting Traditional and Folk Culture, Provisional Measures on the Protection and Administration of National Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Provisional Measures on the Identification and Administration of Representative Transmitters of National Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Culture will make in-depth research and work together closely with other departments to facilitate the drafting of the Law on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

2. More scientific measures for a protective environment. There will be thorough studies on the ten different categories of intangible cultural heritage in China. Guiding principles for their protection and promotion will be worked out, together with supervision and exit mechanism.

Items and institutions which fail to protect intangible cultural heritage will have their names taken off the existing lists after warning.

3. More publicity efforts to increase public awareness and participation. Major platforms such as the Cultural Heritage Day, traditional cultural festivals, Chengdu International Intangible Cultural Heritage and Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Western China, will be better used to tap into the potentials of communities, social groups, schools and research institutes as well as volunteers.

4. More respect for the nature of transmission of intangible cultural heritage and more scientific approaches to fulfill the important function of ICH in contemporary society.

To safeguard intangible cultural heritage is not to linger in history, nor to live in the past. While seeking to safeguard our intangible cultural heritage, we also wish to enhance our people's cultural identity and creativity, to encourage more innovative spirit in the building of a harmonious society and a better world.

It comes from the people and shall be part of the people's lives. It has far-reaching impact on both today and the future. It is the obligation and responsibility of every citizen. It is hoped that the media will also give more support to this cause and exert more influence in the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.