Retaining our roots

Xu Zhuchu, a master in puppet design and carving, is the general art supervisor and curator of the Zhuchu Puppet Gallery of Zhanghou, Fujian Province. The sixth-generation offspring from a family with a long tradition of puppet carving has been striving to revive the family art. Xu is happy that his son is following in his footsteps, but the 71-year-old is worried that few young people will join in because the job doesn’t pay well.

Zheng Yikun, 73, is a famous lacquer painter in Fuzhou. His craftwork “Plate with the design of goldfish” is so lifelike that even cats are reluctant to walk away from it. Although Zheng spent a lot of his earnings to train apprentices and improve the technique, many of his young followers left because the lacquering process is difficult to learn and the products do not sell well.

Ever since digital design prevailed a decade ago, arts and crafts has been phased out of the curricula of professional schools. Many who already had degrees from professional schools switched to newly emerging sections in the industry.

In addition to folk operas and traditional arts and crafts, several other sections of intangible cultural heritage are usually met with similar embarrassment.

Negligent management

When going deep to search for the reason, you’ll find local officials’ attitude toward cultural heritage protection to be financially-based. “People have to earn their bread. Can cultural heritage help to achieve that? We do not have enough money to protect the cultural relics here, let alone the intangible cultural heritage, which is invisible and untouchable,” a local official complained when interviewed by China Comment(Banyuetan), a biweekly Chinese magazine in China.

He’s not alone. It’s not unusual to hear the same theory of enthroning economic growth from local officials, though the central government has agreed that recognizing and protecting cultural heritage is of strategic importance to secure the country’s cultural identity.

But some local officials are keen on “ICH Development.” They see it as a shortcut to an economic boost. The less developed areas usually have rich ICH resources, which is likely to be considered as tourist highlights to boost local travel industries. Local folk performances and customs are being moved into “Custom Villages” which have been built to entertain visitors with shows full of local flavors. Folk songs, dances and rituals that used to be performed and practiced during particular festivals and occasions are now available every day. This way, local governments are not protecting the cultural heritage, but taking advantage of them through over-commercialization.