Creative minds strive to keep tradition alive

Creative products featuring traditional crafts and modern fashion were shown recently at a cultural fair in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, bringing a feast of intangible cultural heritage.

Skateboards and clothes carrying a cartoon image called Lion King-Xing, which is inspired by lion dancing in Foshan, Guangdong province, were showcased at the 15th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair in mid-May.

"Lion dancing is listed among national-level intangible cultural heritage. However, many young people know little about it," Liu Yonghui, a staff member of a company engaged in lion culture communication in Foshan, told Xinhua News Agency.

"We hope to develop products with the combination of fashion and traditional culture," Liu said.

Another intangible cultural heritage item, the oilpaper umbrella was on display.

Bi Liufu, an inheritor of the craft, said that in Luzhou, Sichuan province, he used to be the only person who mastered the craft. But now there are 20 people in the business.

"The oilpaper umbrella not only has ornamental value, but also has high utility, thus attracting more people to the trade," Bi said.

Bi said he sells the umbrellas via an online shop. He can sell about 100 such umbrellas with a sales volume of 20,000 yuan ($2,890) every day.

But not all craftsmen are optimistic about inheriting and developing an intangible cultural heritage.

Dang Aihong, general manager of a shadow puppetry culture company in Shaanxi province, was pessimistic about the cultural inheritance. Dang has followed his father-in-law to learn the technique for years.

"In the past decade, there were more than 1,000 shops engaged in making shadow puppetry in Shaanxi province. But nowadays the number has declined to about 30," Dang said.

Though ordinary people are familiar with a shadow show, few of them are keen on it, he said. He added that the market demand tends to dry up sometimes.

Dang said his company earns about 1 million yuan per year. "The revenue is hard to meet the high expense of rent and staff pay."

There are 24 steps to make a shadow puppet, including leather making, design drafts, carving and painting.

Dang said he has taught students over the past few years but few of them stick to it. "Because of the low income, they turned from puppetry to other jobs."

Deng Juhua, 68, an inheritor of embroidery, expressed the same concerns.

The embroidery skill is complicated and few people want to learn it, Deng said.

It generally takes about eight months to complete a work by hand. While using a machine, the time is reduced to a few seconds, she said.

"Despite the difference in quality of embroideries made by machines and hand, those churned out by machines occupy the major market share because of their low prices," she said.

To date, the State Council has published four groups of 1,372 representative items of intangible cultural heritage. The national cultural watchdog has appointed more than 3,000 inheritors.

"Innovation is an impetus to keep the traditional culture alive," said Li Rongqi, a research fellow at the Chinese National Academy of Arts. She added that it includes innovation in intangible cultural heritage itself and creative products.

"But the innovation of intangible cultural heritage should preserve the cultural essence rather than overdevelopment for chasing profits," Li said.

liangkaiyan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/30/2019 page17)