On November 29, 2022, "Traditional Chinese Tea-Making Techniques and Related Customs" was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, successfully triggering the topic of cultural inheritance, and the construction of intangible cultural heritage theory and discipline system has entered a new stage. Recently, Wang Fuzhou, vice president of the China Academy of Arts and director of the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center, was interviewed by People's Weekly.
The application of Chinese tea art has successfully triggered the topic of cultural inheritance
The construction of disciplines has made intangible cultural heritage blossom
"Tea is a drink, from the Shennongs." The "Classic of Tea" written by Lu Yu in the Tang Dynasty records that Chinese tea, as a drink, originated in the Shennong era five or six thousand years ago, and has ignited the thousand-year history of Chinese tea culture since then.
On November 29, 2022, "Traditional Chinese Tea-Making Techniques and Related Customs" was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (hereinafter referred to as "Intangible Cultural Heritage"), bringing 43 items in China to the Intangible Cultural Heritage List, ranking first in the world in terms of total intangible cultural heritage items.
General Secretary Xi Jinping recently issued important instructions on the protection of intangible cultural heritage, which should do a solid job in the systematic protection of intangible cultural heritage, better meet the growing spiritual and cultural needs of the people, and promote cultural self-confidence and self-improvement.
How to "protect relics" more solidly? Wang Fuzhou, vice president of the China Academy of Arts and director of the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center, has been exploring the road of intangible cultural heritage from "action protection" to "discipline construction", for 10 years.
"Tea culture originated in China and is popular in the world, and this selection is well deserved." Wang Fuzhou said that the successful application is the recognition of China's tea culture by the international community, and after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, standing at a new historical starting point, the construction of the intangible cultural heritage discipline construction system has entered a new stage, and the construction of the intangible cultural heritage system has been launched in an all-round way.
Years of exploration from "application for protection" to "discipline construction": through logical argumentation, fact combing and policy support
In September 2022, at night in Bacheng Town, Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province, the elegant sound of the guqin flowed between the cornices and the lattice windows, and the gentle singing voice of the Kunqu opera actors rose in harmony, and the two intangible cultural heritage items of guqin and Kunqu opera jointly interpreted ancient Chinese culture.
With a history of more than 600 years, Kunqu opera was listed by UNESCO as one of the first "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" in May 2001.
Wang Scroll of the Cultural Industry Research Institute of Peking University told this reporter that Mr. Bai Xianyong, a professor of blog literature at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, began to promote the youth version of the Kunqu opera "Peony Pavilion" 18 years ago, and he took actors to university campuses to perform and give lectures... The premiere of the youth version of "Peony Pavilion" 18 years ago was once called "making the Kunqu opera audience 30 years old".
The protection of intangible cultural heritage has always faced three main questions: 1. Who is the inheritor? This is a matter for the inheritors to identify. 2. How to pass it on? It's a matter of how it's passed on. 3. What to inherit? It's a matter of legacy content. In the final analysis, it points to the core of the protection of intangible cultural heritage: the construction of the disciplinary system.
Since 2005, the government and all sectors of society have tried various protection paths on the road of intangible cultural heritage protection in the past 20 years, and 43 intangible cultural heritage items have been selected, indicating that the practical performance is very remarkable. "From the confirmation of the application of intangible cultural heritage items to the documentation, research, preservation, protection, inheritance and revitalization, the content of the practice is very comprehensive." Wang Fuzhou believes that the theoretical construction of intangible cultural heritage in academia has lagged behind practical exploration for a long time, making the construction of intangible cultural heritage disciplines separate from higher education.
More and more people realize that intangible cultural heritage is not only an objectified existence, but also has the function of endowment of cultural resources, which not only needs to be protected, but also needs to build autonomy.
"It is necessary to build an intangible cultural heritage discipline system based on academic thinking." Wang Fuzhou believes that this construction covers three aspects: first, we should rely on "things" to explore the context, reshape the intellectual tradition of Chinese history, sort out and analyze such as earth and stone, pottery, jade, etc., and reflect the original appearance of traditional culture; Second, use "people" to find the literary heart, refer to it and fill in the existing system; Finally, it relies on the cultural system to supplement and improve.
In August 2021, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Further Strengthening the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which proposed to integrate intangible cultural heritage into the national education system.
Under the promotion of the China Center for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage, attempts to enter the higher education system of intangible cultural heritage have been gradually unfolded: in 2006, some universities and colleges established postgraduate majors in intangible cultural heritage under the disciplines of folklore, fine arts, and art, and in 2021, the Ministry of Education listed "intangible cultural heritage protection" in the catalogue of undergraduate majors of ordinary colleges and universities.
Wang Fuzhou said that the construction of "new liberal arts" and "interdisciplinary" national higher education and the construction of the three major systems of Chinese philosophy and social sciences have become more and more urgent, and the construction of interdisciplinary disciplines with intangible cultural heritage as the core is an important aspect to meet this demand.
The construction of intangible cultural heritage has entered a new stage: the construction of interdisciplinary disciplines around "cultural heritage studies"
In early 2022, the teaching team led by Wang Fuzhou launched teaching exploration with Chinese University and other partner universities, popularized the concept of "morphology", and strived to achieve full coverage of intangible cultural heritage-related categories within three years, and submit qualified answer sheets to the national degree authorities. In the conversation with reporters, Wang Fuzhou was full of confidence.
"Although intangible cultural heritage has been influenced by related disciplines such as anthropology and folklore from the beginning, it has not concealed its own essential attributes." Wang Fuzhou believes that intangible cultural heritage is not only a relatively independent discipline, but also a highly professional and comprehensive interdisciplinary discipline. From the perspective of the nature of the discipline, as an important component of cultural heritage, the concept and definition of intangible cultural heritage involve all aspects of cultural phenomena.
From the perspective of "grand heritage", he summarized the attributes of intangible cultural heritage into three aspects: clear internal form: as a part corresponding to tangible cultural heritage, intangible cultural heritage should be studied its historical origin and essential attributes; Outstanding cross-cutting characteristics: intangible cultural heritage not only contains the characteristics of interdisciplinary integration and intersectionality, but also integrates with other disciplines; Necessary basic theories: including discipline history, discipline research methods and other systems.
In terms of disciplinary orientation, the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage issued by the United Nations in 2003 gives a broader framework for cultural heritage. Wang Fuzhou believes that consideration should be given to directly upgrading "cultural heritage" to an independent category and sorting out the complete heritage system.
What is the most difficult part in the construction of intangible cultural heritage? Wang Fuzhou said that intangible cultural heritage should have its own unique education method and should be built around "cultural heritage studies".
"A complete system based on 'morphology', including the preservation of liveness, ideology and spatial productivity, has been constructed." Wang Fuzhou believes that the advantage of this system lies in the interweaving and integration of intangible, material and natural forms of cultural heritage through the most core ontological characteristics of "cultural heritage", and the ontology is based on the ontology to connect the material system and the intangible system. The application of morphological research methods in the field of intangible cultural heritage will surely reshape the academic ecology of the heritage field, and eventually form a situation of constructing a discipline group around "cultural heritage studies".
The key is to cultivate talents in intangible cultural heritage disciplines: coordinate the degree discipline system and promote the preparation of teaching materials
The essence of intangible cultural heritage lies in people, and the key to the construction of intangible cultural heritage disciplines also lies in people, how to make the construction of intangible cultural heritage disciplines "live" and take root in the hearts of young people?
Printing the face pattern of Peking Opera on the watch, interpreting the cultural relics of the Forbidden City into the current cultural and creative image, attracting thousands of young people to watch shadow puppets on the live broadcast platform, and holding a cup of warm winter tea around the outdoor stove... With the popularity of short video platforms and outdoor activities, intangible cultural heritage culture is rejuvenating.
What does the uniqueness of ICH mean in its teaching methods? At present, how are the relevant teaching materials for intangible cultural heritage planned?
"The China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center has made effective explorations in coordinating the degree discipline system, building a talent training ecology, building a strategic cooperation framework, and promoting the preparation of teaching materials." Wang Fuzhou summarized the reporter from three aspects.
First, build an alliance and basic framework for cultivating talents in intangible cultural heritage. Innovate the basic concept of interdisciplinary construction of intangible cultural heritage, and build a comprehensive, characteristic and active intangible cultural heritage discipline talent training ecology. At present, the professional direction framework of "Double Cong Six Categories and Sixteen Branches" has been formed, the textbook preparation project has been started, and a teaching plan for differentiated development has been formulated. On the basis of the existing "Introduction to Intangible Cultural Heritage", "Morphology of Cultural Heritage" and "Morphology of Intangible Cultural Heritage", the concept of morphology will be implemented into teaching practice, and it is planned to publish a series of 16 textbooks by 2025. Among them, "Cultural Heritage Morphology" and "Intangible Cultural Heritage Morphology" have been included in the series of alternative textbooks for master's and doctoral education in national colleges and universities.
Second, build a practical platform for the construction and cultivation of intangible cultural heritage. Giving full play to the academic advantages of the China Academy of Arts, the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage was established in its graduate school, combining the historical accumulation of the School and the exploration of the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center, focusing on the development of the "basic theory of intangible cultural heritage" and the discipline system of "cultural space", deepening the five directions in the "traditional art category", promoting the leap and intersection of intangible cultural heritage on the basis of traditional disciplines, and providing guidance and demonstration for further promoting ideas and developing cooperation.
Third, select an early pilot project to promote the comprehensive development of the construction of intangible cultural heritage disciplines. Through the signing of the Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement on the Training of High-level Talents in Intangible Cultural Heritage with relevant universities, in 2022, the Center for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China signed agreements with Minzu University of China and the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and reached cooperation intentions with Beijing Normal University, Beijing Sport University and Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts.
"Brew a cup of warm tea at the New Year's bell and enjoy the self-confidence and self-improvement brought to us by the thousand-year-old tea art." Wang Fuzhou believes that the success of China's tea art application marks that China's experience in the protection of intangible cultural heritage has once again been approved by the State party, and also reminds everyone to re-examine intangible cultural heritage and think about creating a new situation in the construction of intangible cultural heritage disciplines.
Author: People's Weekly Qu Yiping
![It has swept the world for more than 400 years, what is behind it?[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)