More than 1900 intangible cultural heritage projects in Shanghai face "fragmentation"

Shanghai-style cheongsam of some municipal intangible cultural heritage in Shanghai

Comics of some municipal intangible cultural heritage in Shanghai

Shanghai-style dough sculptures of some municipal intangible cultural heritage in Shanghai

Morning Post reporter Chu Jingwei Zou Juan

"With the acceleration of industrialization and the development of urban modernization, many traditional intangible cultural heritage have lost the ecological environment on which it relies.

It has become more difficult to inherit and protect, and the degree of fragmentation has increased." Zhang Liming, director of the office of the city's "Intangible Cultural Heritage" Center and research librarian, emphasized in an interview with reporters yesterday.

Intangible cultural heritage faces "fragmentation" phenomenon

Shanghai City currently has 49 national-level "intangible cultural heritage" projects, 157 city-level "intangible cultural heritage" projects, and nearly 300 district-level "intangible cultural heritage" projects.

Zhang Liming said,"Shanghai City's intangible cultural heritage mainly includes two aspects.

One is left over from the agricultural cultural era, such as Gu embroidery, bamboo carving, etc.; the other is the industrial and commercial civilization heritage formed during Shanghai's urban development, including traditional crafts and traditional art."

"Tian Shange lacks farmland, kitchen painting has no stove, farmer painting has no farmer, handmade cotton spinning has no cotton field...

The inheritance and protection of these 'intangible cultural heritage' projects must be restricted." Chen Qinjian, vice chairman of the China Folklore Society and professor at East China Normal University, said that for example, the Shanghai Port Wharf trumpets are not "sung", but "roared" by workers in the era of carrying them on their shoulders.

Now the dock work is completely mechanized.

This "intangible cultural heritage" project has been compiled into stage art and has also begun to be taught in primary and secondary schools, but it has actually become somewhat "mutated."

According to preliminary statistics, in addition to the declared "intangible cultural heritage" projects, Shanghai City also has more than 1900 items of incomplete or fragmented intangible cultural heritage.

"A large number of folk customs and habits in Shanghai are passed down in fragments or incomplete states; with the death of the elderly, the inheritance of some legends and skills is no longer complete; with the demolition and transformation of the city, some customs are also fragmented." During his investigation, Zhang Liming found that with the departure or death of the previous generation of elderly people, it was difficult to integrate the legend of Fahua Temple into a complete story; with the demolition and reconstruction of Longhua Town, the plum blossoms in Longhua Park were gone, and the custom of appreciating plum blossoms passed down here from generation to generation before liberation was also interrupted.

Change the "emphasis on declaration and light protection"

"How to survive" is a question that many inheritors of "intangible cultural heritage" projects are considering.

It can be said that "emphasizing declaration and neglecting protection" has always been a lingering topic in "intangible cultural heritage" protection.

Some units only value the social impact of the inclusion list, and do not implement protective measures.

Some "intangible cultural heritage" projects have empty shells and have no vitality of any era.

In the view of "intangible cultural heritage" review experts, in many cases, the main motivation for the "declaration craze" is commercial development or to put credit in the face of local governments and enterprises.

The reason why I declare at all costs is that once the application is successful and the list is selected, the benefits and reputation gained are far greater than the initial investment.

It is precisely because the enthusiasm for the development of "intangible cultural heritage" projects is too high that the protective attitude is cold.

Cai Fengming, a researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and director of the Cultural Office of the Institute of Literature, gave an example that there are aquatic "intangible cultural heritage" projects in the suburbs of Shanghai that were developed into tourism projects by local tourism companies.

However, they were "compressed" due to operational problems and their sustainability was worrying.

Professor Chen Qinjian said that some "intangible cultural heritage" are mixed with many so-called "contemporary elements", which adds to the snake and destroys the original ecology.

Baoshan blow moulding prints of some municipal intangible cultural heritage in Shanghai

Shanghai paper-cutting of some municipal intangible cultural heritage in Shanghai

Shanghai Shanghai Huangyang wood carvings of some municipal intangible cultural heritage

In terms of "intangible cultural heritage" inheritors, there are also a few projects where "inheritors do not inherit" or cannot inherit at all.

Zheng Tuyou, a professor at the Chinese Department of Fudan University, once participated in the assessment of intangible cultural heritage.

He found that some projects were not suitable for application, and some inheritors were even managers rather than masters of handicrafts.

For some projects, no substantive protection measures have been taken after application, which can be said to be "false." To this end, Zheng Tuyou said that "intangible cultural heritage" projects need to be reviewed and cleared in a timely manner, otherwise it will also harm the project itself.

Regarding the situation where the inheritor does not inherit and the "intangible cultural heritage" projects are not well protected, Professor Chen Qinjian said that the newly promulgated "Intangible Cultural Heritage Law of the People's Republic of China" this year stipulates that if the inheritor fails to perform the specified obligations without justifiable reasons, the cultural authorities may cancel the inheritor's qualification and re-identify the inheritor; for "intangible cultural heritage" projects that are poorly inherited and protected, there is a clear exit mechanism.

Zhang Liming, director of the Office of the "Intangible Cultural Heritage" Center of Shanghai City, also said that at present, the "Intangible Cultural Heritage" Protection Department of Shanghai City is also discussing and introducing corresponding measures to strengthen project management, assess management methods, and evaluate corresponding standards.

In accordance with the new Intangible Cultural Heritage Law, an exit mechanism for projects or inheritors will be introduced.