China`s intangible Cultural Heritage

In my previous post about maple resin dyeing technique I mentioned China National Intangible Cultural Heritage List. But what is intangible cultural heritage? Well, roughly it covers the oral traditions, languages, performing arts, social practices, rituals, and traditional craftsmanship associated with a particular social group, generally passed down orally. In this article I will give you an overview of what is Intangible Cultural Heritage and what elements are included in the List of China`s Intangible Cultural Heritage.  

The UNESCO Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Intangible cultural heritage was promoted by UNESCO as a counterpart to the World Heritage that focuses mainly on tangible aspects of culture, and aims at safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. According to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the intangible cultural heritage is defined as 

“the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage”.  

 Among many others, the following elements are inscribed on the List of China

Chinese shadow puppetry

Wooden movable-type printing

Art of Chinese seal engraving

Regong arts

Etc.

 

Xi`An Shadow Puppets

China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List

The early 1950’s, when the Chinese government started investigating the minority cultural heritages in China and taking measures to protect and nurture a large number of traditional arts and crafts industry, are considered the beginning of the heritage protection in China.

In 2006, 2008 and 2011 the state council of China announced three batches of national level intangible cultural heritage list, a total of 1,219 inscribed in it (YE Peng, ZHOU Yao-lin. The Development and Trends Of China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative List).

Among the fine arts and crafts list we can find:

Tibetan Thangka

Kite-Making Techniques

Xiangdong Nuo mask

Tie-Dyeing Techniques of Bai Ethnic Group

Paper cuts

And many others

Chinese Zodiac Papercut

On this blog we will mainly introduce arts and crafts from the UNESCO List and the China National List. Making it known to the public, showing our support and appreciation we hope to contribute somehow to keep alive intangible cultural heritage.

Don`t miss the next post to find out more about fascinating techniques and unique crafts!

For further information about the Intangible Heritage Lists visit the UNESCO site.