People visit China Grand Canal Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Hall in Cangzhou, north China's Hebei Province, Aug. 2, 2024. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)
BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- In recent years, China's high-caliber intangible cultural heritage has gone viral overseas and captivated foreign audiences.
The spectrum of China's intangible cultural heritage is vast, featuring categories such as folk literature, traditional music, traditional dance, traditional drama, folk art forms, and folk customs. To date, China has 43 items on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List, ranking first globally.
Experts suggest that China should fully unleash the social enthusiasm for intangible cultural heritage to go global in a move intended to enhance the international community's understanding of China's intangible cultural heritage and contribute to telling China's stories well.
-- Fostering cultural exchange and mutual appreciation
From savoring intangible cultural heritage foods like Goubuli stuffed steamed buns, ear-hole fried cake, and 18th Street fried dough twists to experiencing traditional crafts such as lacquer fans and fragrant sachets … over 50 children's art groups from around the world recently gathered in Tianjin for the 2024 Tianjin International Children's Art Festival, where they enjoyed a memorable experience of Chinese culture.
Sofia, a member of the Romanian children's choir, made a fragrant sachet and said that China's intangible cultural heritage is vibrant and diverse, and there are so many wonderful things here.
China's intangible cultural heritage, with its profound artistic value and distinctive cultural significance, has become a significant bridge for many foreigners to engage with and comprehend Chinese culture. At the same time, the country's intangible cultural heritage is going global in various forms, such as traditional folk customs and cultural creative products, telling China's stories of intangible cultural heritage to the world.
In recent years, China has established dedicated institutions for the overseas dissemination of intangible cultural heritage and hosted the World Inheritors Conference of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Beijing to build a stage for global exchange and mutual appreciation of intangible cultural heritage, said Luo Haiyan, deputy director of the Literature and Culture Research Institute of the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences.
In May, the Wuqiang woodblock New Year painting from Hebei Province, the Hengshui interior painting, and the paper-cutting of Yuxian County were showcased in Cairo, leaving Egyptian audiences in awe.
The underlying logic of the successful going global of China's intangible cultural heritage lies in the curiosity and appreciation of overseas audiences for Eastern aesthetics, said Guo Peng, deputy director of the Public Opinion Research Institute of the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences.
According to Tuo Yanzheng, an associate professor at Nankai University's College of Tourism and Service Management, the types of intangible cultural heritage favored in the international market typically share the following characteristics: first, they possess a strong visual impact and expressiveness, such as Peking Opera, face-changing in Sichuan Opera, shadow puppetry, and traditional dance; second, they feature distinct Chinese cultural elements with profound cultural significance and high artistic value, like ceramics, silk, and paper-cutting; third, they resonate with the values of foreign audiences; fourth, some forms of intangible cultural heritage are linked to physical health and mental well-being, including martial arts, traditional Chinese massage, etc.
Geng Han, director of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Center at the Feng Jicai Institute of Literature and Art of Tianjin University, said that the going global of intangible cultural heritage can help China convey the shared cultural values of humanity to the world and allow the international community to appreciate the expressions of "truth, goodness, and beauty" that are intrinsic to Chinese civilization.
-- Telling China's stories well
According to the 14th five-year plan for protecting intangible cultural heritage released in 2021, efforts should be made to enhance the international communication of intangible cultural heritage and make full use of these resources to tell China's stories well.
This calls for fully unleashing the enthusiasm and potential of society to engage in the going global of intangible cultural heritage, Luo said.
Meanwhile, broadening the international perspective of practitioners in intangible cultural heritage is equally important.
China can partner with foreign cultural institutions and tourism organizations to co-develop and organize events that promote intangible cultural heritage, Geng said, adding that this effort would bring international students and experts to China for in-depth study and research in intangible cultural heritage, thus enhancing its global exposure and recognition.
Moreover, some industry experts believe that intangible cultural heritage should adapt to new media for communication to create a global sharing platform. This would allow for a more comprehensive and multidimensional presentation of traditional Chinese culture, customs, and daily life, so as to better attract the attention of foreign audiences.
We can revitalize the inheritance and communication of intangible cultural heritage through means like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and online exhibitions, making it more accessible for international audiences to connect with and experience, said Guo.
The Tianjin Digital Art Museum has taken steps in this direction by hosting an exhibition titled "Discover Dunhuang - A Thematic Special Exhibition of Dunhuang Art".
This exhibition features interactive touch displays, 3D holographic projections, and light and shadow effects. As the time scroll slowly unfolds, patterns and murals begin to reveal themselves. Empowered by digital technology, visitors are transported through time and space, immersing themselves in the enchanting charm of Dunhuang.
A visitor from St. Petersburg, Russia, left a note on the message wall of the Dunhuang exhibition, saying that this is their first-time learning about Dunhuang through digital art, and they definitely want to visit there in the near future. (Edited by Yang Yifan with Xinhua Silk Road, yangyifan@xinhua.org)
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