Since 2007, Zhengzhou (a city in Henan Province) hasdeclared 149 intangible cultural heritages. However, more than half of thoseinheritors are facing big challenges.

When they still hold their ground, being worrriedabout tomorrow’s life, there are numerous places having taken advantage ofintangible cultural heritage to develop industries  in many places those heritages even to belive name cards.

What should we do for not just sighing for thoseintangible cultural heritage?

【SIGH】Constructionwaste occupies the most precious red mud.

Known as“clay figurine Zhao”, the master Zhao Enminis facing one of the biggest problems that there is no red mud which is the rawmaterial for making sculptures. As the inheritor of intangible culturalheritage in Zhengzhou, he is prominent and repeatedly wins the awards in thedomestic competitions. Besides, his work“chess fan” was praised by China’s  then prime minister Wen Jiabao.

Meanwhile, he is the winner of UNESCO outstandingcraft badge.

After 20-year endeavour, Zhao Enmin learns thetechnique of plastic empty which is the method of Qin Terra Cotta Warriors--themiddle is empty and the head is alive to ensure sculptures could show differentexpressions in the different ways of seeing.                        

And this technique has strictly high requirementsfor on raw materials that they must be the quality red mud with big stickinessand strong plasticity.

At first, he found suitable red mud in Gongyi.However, around 2008, he had no way to get red mud anymore since factories werebuilt on this area.

Eventually, he found a better red mud in Xinzheng byasking around。

“I collect more than one hundred kinds of materials.There is no better than this. ”

Because the red mud was too sticky and has no way tobrick, it was regarded as the waste by local villagers. However, the result wasjust the opposite at Zhao Enmin here. Each bag of red mud was enough for histechnical use for half a year.

Fear to face the previous experience, Zhao Enminfound provincial officers, hoping to reserve the land as raw materials of artsand crafts. And the local government also verbally promised to protect.

Last year,however, when he went to get some mud one day, he found so large a piece of theground was filled with construction waste.

Afterwards, he knew that the local tempted toconstruct buildings so the developers emptied construction waste here. Peopleof the center for intangible cultural heritage in the province and the cityarmed with government documents. Construction waste, however, had already beenpiled dozens of meters high. The clean red mud ground that could besufficiently used for hundreds of years contaminated and eternally lost itsvalue.

【CURRENT SITUATION】More than half of the inheritors get into a dilemma

In fact, most of the inheritors in Zhengzhou are ina hole for inheriting the heritages. Some lose raw materials, and some areneedy.

Zhao Litao, the director of the center forintangible cultural heritage in Zhengzhou, said that since 2007, Zhengzhougovernment announced four batches of national intangible protection lists, atotal of 149 items. Now more than half of the inheritors are facing a varietyof trouble.

He says, for example, a perfume workshops named GengFawang in Xinzheng is well-known for the local special soil conditions and theancestral traditional technology. Their products of perfume are frequently usedin temples ‘major activities or indoors.

  However,because of the high cost, they cannot match with industrial ones. Moreimportantly, their village now is slated for demolition. Geng Fawang, in hisseventies now, is still working in his small yard.

He tried to change the place, but the perfume cameto be different. He tears every time when he sees Zhao Litao. What he worriesabout is this technique might be lost after he left. Although his son could dothis,  the young people is not willingto, because the benefit of making products of perfume is far less than the wagegains.

 Zhao says,similarly, Huang Jianjun who does paper-cutting in High-tech District cuttingout a set of “Four Great Cclassical Novels of China” with the method ofmaking  comics which are still unfinished.

【USE FOR REFFERENCE】Arranging the manpower to protect intangiblecultural heritages and offer inheritors subsidies

In the investigation, Zhao found that there weremuch more things we need to learn，in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, governments take out specialfunds yearly to subsidize the inheritors and meet their bare needs. At the sametime, they arrange enough manpower for the protection of the intangiblecultural heritage.

In addition to the subsidies, the most important isto make the industry of the intangible cultural heritage developed andindustrialize to the extreme. “Now we spare no efforts and almost declaresuccessfully, but leave them running their own course. ”Zhao said, in fact, theprotection of the intangible cultural heritage also could bring more economicand social benefits.

    TakingHangzhou as an example, the local assembles inheritors in the park and sets upmaster studios. Outsiders can see the working process when they travel orinvestigate and they will buy products. Thus, it soon becomes the local artcenter and the business card.

Zhao Enmin deeply agree with such practice. In hisview, this is an era void of handcraft. We all know that these things are goodand important. But why not give artists a living security? If an inheritorcannot make a living on this technique, there will be inevitably no successorsin the future.

Zhao Enmin said, Beijing’s method for inheritance isvery good. The government paid inheritors and gave extra allowance for whotrain apprentices. In addition, each district had two or three intangiblecultural heritage sites which not only became a cultural propaganda spot, but atourist attraction. Thus, on the one hand, they could deal with the succeedingproblems. On the other hand, they could earn a living. Furthermore, outsiderscould directly feel the local culture.

【FUTURE】Taking advantage of the market forces，exploiting and utilizing intangiblecultural heritage items

In recent years, Zhengzhou gradually attach greatimportance to rescuing intangible cultural heritage. However, due to theimperfect system, it lacks relevant legal safeguard.

 Since 2005,the state has sequentially introduced “Interim Measures for the protection andmanagement of state-level non-material cultural heritage、“People's Republic of China Law onIntangible Cultural Heritage“and so on. On account of not issuing detailedrules for the implementation, in some places, regulations were difficult to becarried out.

 Zhao Litaosaid, to truly protect, the government needs to boost investment and insertintangible cultural heritage into the local fiscal budget. In the meantime, itshould actively explore a new mechanism to mobilize the whole society toparticipate in the protection, setting up special protection funds forintangible cultural heritage and zealously encouraging individuals and socialgroups to subsidize.

Surely, what is more important is to enliven theprotection mechanism and take advantage of market forces to make the reasonabledevelopment and utilization of the intangible cultural heritage projects. Forone thing, to strengthen the fusion of the immaterial culture and the culturaltourism, and progressively form a complete research and development,production, marketing industry chain. For another, to build a platform toexpand exchanges.

Taking Geng Fawang Perfume Workshops as an example,their perfume are not worthless. Someone who sold Jun porcelains (a kind ofporcelain most be produced in Henan Province) created a technique named as“Xiangdao”, making the perfume like water flowing slowly and plugging in Gunn’sperfume which was purely Chinese traditional medicine handmade. While, the roombecame refreshing so that the prices of Jun porcelain also rose several timesimmediately. Nevertheless, Geng Fawang in Xinzheng village certainly would notcome up with such a method to advertise.

Time：2015-10-10   

Source：Henan Business Daily