Folk culture seeks inheritors

During the Shanghai Ethnic Folk Customs and Cultures exposition, most visitors are from the older generation. The lack of interest by younger participants is causing concerns for the older folks. They wonder if younger people aren't interested in learning about cultural legacies, who will?

During the Shanghai Ethnic Folk Customs and Cultures exposition, most visitors are from the older generation.(File photo)

At the folk skill show room, young artist Yao Yijia is crafting a picture using wheat stems. She said the number of young people who possess this skill is shrinking rapidly.

Yao Yijia, Jie Xiu Arts And Crafts Studio, said, "I think we can make the traditional arts more modern and fashionable. We can combine both tradition and our own experience. Art has no boundary."

A museum staff member said many young people nowadays lack patience and have lost interest in learning folk traditions. This is the main reason we lack people to inherit the cultural skills of our ancestors.

In order to gain more interest among the young, the museum has been cooperating closely with local schools to sponsor events to promote these cultural skills.

Chen Jian, Museum of Ehtnic Folk Custom Culture "I'm thinking how to blend tradition with contemporary themes in order to peak the interests of the young generation."

In order to gain more interest among the young, the museum has been cooperating closely with local schools to sponsor events to promote these cultural skills. The museum is also inviting younger artists to perform and inspire the younger generation to learn. Visitors can even make their own works of art.