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Xinhua Finance and Economics, Beijing, May 15 (Reporter Wang Tao, Wang Yuanyuan) China's traditional industries are undergoing a transformation from production and processing to brand creation, and the key is to "give soul to China's brand". "China is the world's manufacturing factory, in the past we may have been to OEM for others, today we are thinking about why we can't create our own brand, and the key to brand creation is to give it cultural value and artistic aesthetics, which has to be transformed from China's tradition." Recently, when the Sino-French Year of Culture and Tourism was in full swing, Yang Lan, a well-known media person and chairman of Sunshine Media Group, was interviewed by Xinhua Financial Reporter to share her new gains in intangible cultural heritage inheritance and Chinese brand innovation and going overseas in recent years.
It is reported that the "New Things: Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Design Exhibition", jointly created by Sunshine Media Group and China National Brand Network, has been included in the framework of the 2024 Sino-French Year of Culture and Tourism by the Bureau of International Exchange and Cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and has become the official project of the Year of Culture and Tourism. The exhibition will be held from July 5 to July 20 at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in the west wing of the Louvre.
Intangible Cultural Heritage "Activation"
Intangible Cultural Heritage, abbreviated as "intangible cultural heritage", is the opposite of "tangible cultural heritage". In China, intangible cultural heritage refers to the various traditional cultural expressions that have been passed down from generation to generation by people of all ethnic groups and are regarded as part of their cultural heritage, as well as the objects and places associated with traditional cultural expressions.
According to public information, as of December 2023, a total of 730 elements are included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List (List), corresponding to 145 countries. Among them, China has been included in a total of 43 items, ranking first in the world in terms of the total.
Regarding the curatorial opportunity of the "New Everything: Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Design Exhibition", Yang Lan said, "This is not a sudden thing, it is not a whim." In recent years, Yang Lan has participated in the production of a number of programs related to intangible cultural heritage inheritance and renewal, such as "Legend of Ingenuity", "New Everything", "Chinese Rite Ceramics Season" and so on. From Fuchun refreshments to Jingdezhen ceramics to exploring Suzhou embroidery, her footprints are all over the country. In the inheritance of stitches and threads, she deeply realized "the breadth and profundity of China's intangible cultural heritage skills and the ingenuity of the craftsmanship".
Yang Lan believes that today's tradition was innovation back then. "Take ceramics as an example, more than 1,000 years ago, the Chinese could burn a high temperature of 1,300 degrees with ordinary firewood and brick kilns, which was absolutely black technology at that time, and Europeans could not figure out how ceramics could be burned enough." When experiencing Ruyun brocade weaving in Nanjing, Yang Lan also had a surprising discovery: China's brocade technology uses the world's leading ancient binary, and the local designer uses a small grid to draw the design draft, and after the painting, the manuscript is compiled in the way of knotting rope notes, and then the knotted rope is put on the second layer of the loom, and the upper layer weaver releases it to the lower loom little by little. "Neither weaver had ever seen what the original pattern looked like, but when they slowly released the knotted rope and braided it in a binary way, it was exactly the same." Yang Lan believes that this is the charm of ancient science and technology, and it is also a testimony of the spatial imagination of the ancients.
In the previously broadcast TV program "New Everything", Yang Lan, as the initiator, invited cultural friends and cutting-edge designers to walk into a number of national intangible cultural heritage skills: filigree inlay production skills, Jingdezhen handmade porcelain skills, Fuzhou reborn lacquerware decoration skills, tea making skills (Fuchun tea making skills), Suzhou embroidery, bamboo weaving (porcelain fetal bamboo weaving), Bai tie-dyeing skills, Chinese traditional wooden structure building construction skills, traditional rice paper production skills, jade carving (Beijing jade carving) and the traditional brewing technique of distilled liquor (Yanghe liquor brewing technique). With a young and fashionable way, a multi-dimensional perspective, and a rich and in-depth expression, the intangible cultural heritage culture not only "survives", but also "becomes popular".
"Not only did we learn these skills from these intangible cultural heritage inheritors, but at the same time, I brought a group of young contemporary designers to practice with me, and in the process of inheriting and telling the life stories of intangible cultural heritage inheritors, the new designers also had more inspiration and inspiration, and they created a number of cultural and contemporary product designs, which gave me a lot of confidence and showed that our traditional culture is very vibrant." Yang Lan said.
Chinese style out of the international style
In response to the current phenomenon of "national tide fever" and "national wind fever", Yang Lan believes that this is "the demand of young people for a sense of cultural belonging and identity at a certain stage of social and economic development". "Guochao" contains a wealth of cultural symbols, images and ideas, and nowadays Chinese traditional culture is getting more and more attention, the cultural genes rooted in the bones of Chinese people have been awakened, and buying products with traditional Chinese cultural elements has become an important way for many young people to express their emotions and highlight their personality.
"After 40 years of reform and opening up, the mainland's productive forces have developed by leaps and bounds, and people's living standards have been greatly improved, so people's demand for spirituality and culture has increased greatly, in other words, we need to have a sense of cultural belonging." Yang Lan said frankly.
Yang Lan believes that the rise of the "national tide" is undoubtedly a rare opportunity for Chinese enterprises and brands to transform and upgrade. For Chinese brands going overseas, Yang Lan expounded his views.
"A brand without culture can't go far, and a design without aesthetics can't really win people's hearts. China is undergoing a transformation from manufacturing to creation, from speed to quality, from product to brand, this era has also given us unparalleled opportunities, we need to give Chinese brands a soul, and this soul must be connected with the deep culture and sincere emotions of the nation. Yang Lan said: "I think that if Chinese brands want to gain more bargaining space, I am afraid that they rely not only on raw materials and labor, but also on the value of culture, or to tell the story of China well, storytelling is not only for communication, storytelling can be transformed into value and profit." ”
In recent years, China's brand building has achieved outstanding results, the pace of "going out" has been accelerating, a number of Chinese brands are well-known all over the world, and 67 Chinese brands have been selected in the list of the world's top 500 brands recently released by the international authoritative brand value evaluation agency, ranking second in the world. Yang Lan believes that as Chinese brands move towards high-quality development and let more Chinese brands go overseas, it is necessary to tell the story of Chinese brands, do a good job in international communication, and work together to promote more Chinese brands to shine on the international stage.
There is a new wave of Sino-French exchanges
As for why the venue of this "New Everything: Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Design Exhibition" was set in Paris, France, Yang Lan shared the deep reasons behind it.
First of all, it is due to the long history of Sino-French handicraft exchanges. The chinoiserie of the 14th-18th centuries influenced the decorative arts and lifestyle of France. In the West, Chinoiserie is a proper noun that refers to a European artistic trend influenced by Chinese and Far Eastern cultures, and was first derived from the French word Chinois, which means "related to China". Chinese porcelain, embroidery, lacquer art and other intangible cultural heritage skills have had a profound impact on French art and lifestyle.
Due to the scarcity of these goods from the East in the French market at that time, "Made in China" became a luxury in France, most of which went into the hands of the court and nobility, and swept Europe from France. For a time, the chinoiserie became a symbol of wealth, status and taste in the upper class of Europe, and was the vane of fashion at that time.
"At that time, French society was proud to borrow the Chinese way of life, for example, Louis XIV built a ceramic palace at the Palace of Versailles, and he felt that it was very tasteful to be able to put porcelain tiles on the house, while European women at that time, especially some aristocrats, wore Chinese silk as a symbol of top luxury and trend." Yang Lan explained.
In addition, 2024 is a particularly important year for cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and France. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, as well as the Year of Culture and Tourism between China and France.
It is reported that the "New Things: Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Design Exhibition" held at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris from July 5 to 20 is included in the framework of the 2024 Sino-French Year of Culture and Tourism. Yang Lan hopes that the exhibition can be used as an important project in the field of intangible cultural heritage design and handicrafts to participate in this year's Sino-French Year of Culture and Tourism.
According to Yang Lan, in order to better show the philosophical culture of using the five elements of China and reflect the spatial nature of intangible cultural heritage production, this exhibition will be divided into five theme spaces: water, metal, wood, earth and fire. These five elements not only represent the changes in the natural world, but also contain the infinite interaction between human beings and the environment, life and the universe. Through the organic integration of digital media interactive technology, AI intelligent technology and modern art, we will create an immersive, interactive and creative exhibition experience, allowing the audience to understand the essence of the Five Elements philosophy and experience the beauty of the integration of intangible cultural heritage handicrafts and contemporary design.
In addition, many well-known domestic brands were invited to participate in this exhibition. "In addition to the participation of China's top brands in various industries, there are also some well-known cultural tourism attractions and production areas, who can go to sea together and promote their local products and brands with cultural characteristics overseas, which is expected to attract more French and European tourists to China for cultural tourism." Yang Lan said.
It is worth noting that the "New Everything: Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Design Exhibition" will be held on the eve of the Paris Olympic Games in France, and every move in Paris will also attract attention, which also means that the "New Everything: Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Design Exhibition" will not only attract French mainstream social groups including well-known figures and institutions in the fields of French politics, business, culture, art, media, etc., but also attract people from all over the world to participate in and watch the Olympic Games in France. To express China's thousand-year-old splendid culture and the most avant-garde contemporary art design to the world.
Editor: Luo Hao
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