[Yang Hong] Purpose, Method and Direction: Contemporary Communication Practice of Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection in China

Abstract: In contemporary China, the protection of intangible cultural heritage (hereinafter referred to as "intangible cultural heritage") has evolved from a single industry behavior to a social matter involving extensive participation in multiple fields.

First, the "intangible cultural heritage craze" continues to heat up, and the connotation and value of intangible cultural heritage are being increasingly widely conveyed in various mass communication practices, and the effect of communication promoting inheritance has emerged; second, the booming cultural consumer market and manufacturing, service industry and other industries The trend of "industrial culturalization" has provided a broad and multi-dimensional communication carrier and scene for intangible cultural heritage resources, opening up a new path for cultural communication between daily life and artistic appreciation; Third, social media has been upgraded from an interpersonal communication tool to a mainstream channel for cultural communication.

The "circle culture" based on online social networking has gradually become an alternative to traditional acquaintance society among young people.

Therefore, the popularization of intangible cultural heritage based on the online media environment.

Communication often covers a wider range.

Studying various communication practices and effects of intangible cultural heritage in contemporary China will help understand contemporary people's true perceptions and practical needs for intangible cultural heritage, and should serve as an important reference for establishing the direction of intangible cultural heritage protection.

Keywords: Intangible cultural heritage; dissemination; cultural consumption; online social networking 1.

Communication is an important link in achieving the purpose of intangible cultural heritage protection

The word "spread" is complex in meaning.

For example,"spread" as defined in anthropology refers to the spread of customs or customary practices from one society to another.

Then, this is a relatively pure interpersonal communication behavior, and the intergenerational inheritance and horizontal expansion of intangible cultural heritage based on people belong to this category.

The "communication" referred to in this article is more inclined to the modern and contemporary mass communication behavior achieved through media and technology, that is, the dissemination of information and knowledge related to intangible cultural heritage through various communication channels.

The UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage (hereinafter referred to as the "Convention") mentions in the preamble: "Considering the need to raise people, especially the younger generation,'s awareness of the importance of intangible cultural heritage and its protection" and "believing that intangible cultural heritage is an element in strengthening the relationship between people and exchanges and understanding between them, and its role is immeasurable." It can be said that the Convention defines the role of intangible cultural heritage as at least one of its roles as strengthening interpersonal relationships and promoting interpersonal communication and understanding, It also clarifies that the adoption of the Convention aims to raise people's awareness, especially young people, of intangible cultural heritage and its protection significance, at least one of the purposes).

Therefore, whether it is from the perspective of promoting intangible cultural heritage to better play the role of factors of interpersonal communication in the present and future, or from the perspective of improving people's understanding of intangible cultural heritage and its protection significance, it is closely related to communication practice.

Among the various measures mentioned in the Convention to ensure the vitality of intangible cultural heritage, the two measures of "publicity" and "promotion" are both subordinate to "communication" behaviors; the "informal education" in the measure of "inheritance" is a communication practice with cultural popularization and social education as the main forms; the measure of "revitalization" is also inseparable from the community and group reaching a shared understanding of the meaning and value of heritage, and from relevant communication behaviors that promote the formation of this consensus.

Therefore, communication is an important link in achieving the purpose of intangible cultural heritage protection.

The main methods of communication practice in my country's intangible cultural heritage protection

In contemporary China, intangible cultural heritage protection has evolved from a single industry behavior to a social matter involving extensive participation in multiple fields.

For example, media, education, tourism, physical commerce and e-commerce, performing arts, entertainment, manufacturing, service, other new business formats, etc.

The participation of all walks of life to varying degrees, directly or indirectly, has various impacts on the protection of intangible cultural heritage itself.

What is more certain is that it has increased the visibility and influence of intangible cultural heritage among the public and made the protection and utilization of intangible cultural heritage more and more social, which also makes this social and cultural undertaking more dynamic and sustainable.

1) The "intangible cultural heritage craze" continues to heat up.

The connotation and value of intangible cultural heritage have been widely conveyed in various mass communication practices, and the effect of communication in promoting inheritance has already appeared.

Awareness is the starting point for participating in protection, and recognition is the reason for participating in protection.

In news communication, film and television communication, online communication, exhibition and event communication, social education and popularization communication, the characteristics and value of intangible cultural heritage are gradually recognized and recognized by the public.

The higher the value recognition of intangible cultural heritage, the more deeply rooted the protection of intangible cultural heritage will be, and only when the public has a correct understanding of intangible cultural heritage can they be guided to correctly participate in protection.

First, the concept of "communication is also protection" has been more recognized, and the effect of communication in promoting inheritance continues to emerge.

Media attention, reporting and promotion can effectively enhance the social status and cultural awareness of intangible cultural heritage project holders and intangible cultural heritage protection workers.

For example, the industry has reached a consensus that "inheritors are the core of intangible cultural heritage protection", and the term "inheritors" has also been widely recognized outside the industry and has gradually become a type of group that is concerned by society and supported by public opinion., and the process of forming this cognition is due to correct, effective, extensive and vivid dissemination.

More and more representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage projects and the craftsmanship they inherit are known to society.

Most practitioners in the intangible cultural heritage category have long been in a state of obscurity and "guarding the arts".

In recent years, with the expansion of communication channels and the increase of industry attention, more and more inheritors 'deeds and skills have been known to the public due to media reports.

For example, Wang Tianwen and Wang Haiyan, the inheritors of Hua County shadow puppets, used news and film and television media to promote craft stories, established self-media release studio dynamics, and conducted cross-border cooperation with contemporary entertainment forms such as animation and online games, and well-known brands such as luxury goods and cosmetics.

Cooperation will showcase Hua County shadow puppets in the contemporary public's vision and transform them into the trend culture that young people are keen on.

At the same time, there are significant differences in media exposure and social influence among inheritors.

Therefore, the current practice of intangible cultural heritage communication needs to take into account fairness, take advantage of the advantages of low threshold and low cost of online communication, and provide a promotion platform for more inheritors through industry and regional self-media, and then create a wider range of secondary communication.

Create opportunities and lead more opportunities for display and promotion to intangible cultural heritage projects and their representative inheritors that have not yet received attention.

Second, communication and promotion promote the public's interest inheritance behavior and form an organic complement with professional inheritance.

In the past, the foundation of inheritance for most intangible cultural heritage categories and projects was the teaching of skills needed for livelihood.

Inheritance occurred between generations of practitioners, and local credibility was established through "word of mouth","signboards" and "brand names".

This actually It also has obvious communication significance, and one of its intentions is to attract potential practitioners to learn skills and maintain intergenerational inheritance.

When such traditional occupations and the traditional "industry-residence" pattern formed by the local community gradually disappeared, although the value of the craft was still recognized by the local community, the attractiveness of the profession dominated by its economic value was irreparable.

At this time, sideline inheritance and interest inheritance should be encouraged to maintain the survival of such intangible cultural heritage projects.

During surveys in many places, the author saw that many intangible cultural heritage projects remaining in urban communities have entered the state of sideline inheritance and interest inheritance.

How to attract, gather and consolidate interested people in these intangible cultural heritage projects and obtain sufficient inheritance talent resources from them has become a core proposition.

Entry-style intangible cultural heritage experience courses, activities and other communication practices can provide talent reserves for sideline inheritance and interest inheritance, and communication and teaching can also be connected to each other.

In the past two years, in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, and Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, intangible cultural heritage courses, intangible cultural heritage experience classes, intangible cultural heritage experience bases, intangible cultural heritage experience activities, etc., which not only realizes the popularization and dissemination of intangible cultural heritage, but also effectively promotes the inheritance of interest, enriching the inheritance and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage in the present era.

It can be said that many intangible cultural heritage projects have shown unprecedented vitality due to the inheritance of interests and have become an important supplement to professional inheritance.

Third, some regions have gathered a group of public who continue to pay attention to and participate in practice through intangible cultural heritage display communication institutions, media and activities, gathering the power of social protection.

For example, some places have established intangible cultural heritage volunteer service systems with complete systems, stable teams, and continuous work, becoming an important force in participating in protection and assisting inheritance.

For example, Lucheng District, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province launched the "Intangible Cultural Heritage Creation Workshop" project in 2017, adopting two methods: community-oriented commission training and social recruitment.

So far, 416 special intangible cultural heritage volunteers have been cultivated.

According to field surveys, the formation process of this intangible cultural heritage volunteer service system is as follows: First, through the "Intangible Cultural Heritage Creation Workshop" experience base activities, the visibility and participation of regional intangible cultural heritage projects will be improved and widespread recognition by local community residents will be promoted.

A large number of enthusiasts walked from "off the stage" to "on the stage" to join the volunteer team; Then, give full play to the operating power of third-party organizations, and the third party will manage the network of intangible cultural heritage volunteers on a daily basis, and carry out various volunteer services such as teaching intangible cultural heritage experience courses in accordance with the principles of proximity, interest, and benefit; Third, the government plays a supporting and guiding role, issues primary and intermediate volunteer certificates through assessment, improves the hierarchical management model of volunteers, and promotes the voluntary service system to enter a healthy development state.

The situation in which the volunteer team continues to conserve the supply of manpower for intangible cultural heritage protection has gradually taken shape.

2) The booming cultural consumer market and the trend of "industrial culturalization" in various industries such as manufacturing and service industries have provided broad and diverse communication carriers and scenarios for intangible cultural heritage resources, opening up a new path between daily life and artistic appreciation.

Contemporary, the cultural communication function of cultural consumption and consumption of goods and services has already emerged.

David Hesmondev proposed in "Cultural Industries" third edition):"The importance of cultural industries in modern society depends on three related factors: the ability of cultural industries to create and circulate products that affect our knowledge, understanding and experience), the role of cultural industries as managers of creative and knowledge systems, and the role of cultural industries as a mechanism for promoting economic, social and cultural change." It can be seen that a large amount of knowledge and concepts are transmitted through cultural products in the contemporary era, and some have even become the center of relevant knowledge and creativity, which can affect the direction of the economy, society and culture itself.

Therefore, whether it is physical cultural consumption, online cultural consumption, or the cultural elements attached to the consumption of goods and services, it more or less carries the functions of cultural communication and exchange.

For example, in recent years, a type of cultural consumption that has had a strong response from society-Cultural Creation of the Forbidden City, has directly promoted the Forbidden City to become a "Internet celebrity Internet celebrity IP", and a large number of related cultural symbols have appeared in life and online scenes.

It can be said that from a small number of "cultural souvenirs" and "cultural derivatives" that are supplied and demand to "daily consumer goods" whose sales volume and coverage are constantly expanding, and in which cultural added value is an indispensable position, culture has a larger application scenario.

Consumers are also keen to pay for "cultural added value".

Although this cultural communication attached to consumption has the characteristics of symbolization, superficial, and fragmentation, it also has the advantages of high visibility, wide coverage, and strong dissemination, and is a cultural carrier that cannot be abandoned.

For example,"China Style","Hanfu Fever" and "National Tide Fever" all reflect the trend of contemporary people's cognitive identification and active closeness to Chinese traditional culture.

Behind this is that people have found the connotation, beauty, and personality they pursue in the wisdom of the ancients, traditional crafts, and national aesthetics...

Consumers express their attitude towards life and cultural identity through cultural consumption, so what they need to do is to find more cultural expressions in products, services and various consumption scenarios.

Create opportunities for more nutritious cultural resources to have close contact with the public, so that the value of culture can be continuously discovered and applied.

Intangible cultural heritage with human inheritance and creation as the core and with profound cultural connotations and emotional memories is a resource treasure house of cultural products and services.

Cultural consumption can promote the simultaneous appearance of cultural value and economic value of intangible cultural heritage; if intangible cultural heritage and other excellent traditional Chinese culture can become the regular cultural consumption content of contemporary people, it will not only reach a higher level of cultural consumption, but also reach a higher level of intangible cultural heritage protection, inheritance and development.

III) Social media has been upgraded from interpersonal communication tools to mainstream channels of cultural communication, and the "circle culture" based on network social interaction has gradually become an alternative form of traditional acquaintance society among young people.

Therefore, the popularization of intangible cultural heritage based on network media environment often covers a wider area.

Communication scholars Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define "social media" as a set of web applications built on the technology and ideology of Web 2.0 that allow users to create and communicate their own content.

Social media is not only an Internet-based interpersonal communication tool, but has already expanded into a source and diffusion platform for mass content, from the attitude expression of individual users to the interactive communication among users, to the policy source of public opinion and social events, and has the attributes of information and knowledge dissemination media and economic, social and cultural representation carriers.

Therefore, intangible cultural heritage protection should make full use of the cultural communication function of social media to form an "Internet + intangible cultural heritage protection" model linked online and offline.

The huge coverage and participation of social media, the fast, convenient and high-frequency interactions between information sources and users, and between users, as well as the different types of "online" and "offline" virtual communities brought about by this effective interaction.

The characteristics and functions of these social media are very consistent with the popularization needs of intangible cultural heritage in the contemporary era.

First, intangible cultural heritage protection agencies can publish various types of information at low cost through social media platforms, collect effective information such as measure suggestions, work clues, and user feedback while publishing, and attract various social forces and professionals to participate in protection practice; Second, offline protection practices can be upgraded, the implementation of protection measures can be refined, and the element resources of protection practices can become mobile; Third, the entire chain of intangible cultural heritage protection and utilization has been established, and it has developed towards a scientific, efficient and universally beneficial model in which various social entities participate and collaborate in multiple links.

The advantages of "Internet + intangible cultural heritage protection" continue to emerge.

At this stage, methods such as "protecting institutional self-media + offline practical activities" and "activity electronic posters + institutional self-media QR codes + offline practical activities" have been widely used.

Participation in various offline practical activities such as intangible cultural heritage displays, performances, experiences, and teaching continues to expand, from within the industry and enthusiasts to a wider public, from accidental and random participation to inclusive and continuous participation.

Cultivate a broad and stable interest community for various intangible cultural heritage projects.

Social media expert Ajelet Nov believes that the most prominent feature of social media in the future will be unsolicited information.

In the future, the right information will be delivered to the right people at the right time, saving us a lot of time and energy.

The basis for this accurate communication includes algorithm applications based on big data, as well as the "circle culture" that has emerged in the Internet era.

If the traditional "acquaintance society" refers to people connected through personal relationships to form a network of relationships, then the Internet-based "circle" breaks the limitations of geographical location, social relations, etc., and mainly focuses on contemporary people.

A group formed by interests, hobbies, etc., usually uses social media as the connection center, and the interpersonal rules and behavioral habits formed within it constitute a unique "circle culture." Traditional forms of interpersonal relationships and communication methods have been greatly influenced by mobile Internet and online social networking.

Especially among young people, a certain share of interpersonal social networking has been replaced by "circle culture".In particular, the "circles" closely related to cultural concepts and artistic aesthetics have become the substantive carrier of cultural communication and exchange.

Obtaining important reference for the direction of intangible cultural heritage protection from communication practice

Culture has a public nature.

When we protect and revitalize a certain culture, we actually want to enhance its public nature in contemporary times.

1) In communication practice, we can understand the whole society's perceptions and needs for intangible cultural heritage

Chen Tong, director of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said in the article "Adhere to the People's Position and Protect Intangible Cultural Heritage":"Intangible cultural heritage is the heritage of the people, and the people are the biggest stakeholder in heritage." Intangible cultural heritage is different from cultural relics.

The core of protection is to allow it to continue to perform social functions.

From ancient times to the future, it will continue to exist as a tool of human communication, a method to reconcile conflicts, subtle behavioral rules, and a living symbol of social accumulation and development.

Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to and study the contemporary public's understanding and actual needs of intangible cultural heritage, especially intangible cultural heritage projects in the community where they are located and closely related to their lives, and use this as an important reference to formulate and implement intangible cultural heritage protection measures.

It is found from various practical cases of intangible cultural heritage communication that cases based on the participation motivation of the communication objects and based on the understanding and feedback of ordinary individuals can often achieve communication results that exceed expectations.

For example, the combined application of intangible cultural heritage popularization and gamified design.

In the 2019 Spring Festival New Year painting series activities, WeChat Mini games launched the online jigsaw puzzle game "New Year paintings return to the Spring Festival." On the first day of the New Year, the number of people searching for the game reached 150,000.

The participation mechanism formed by gameplay, plots, etc., and the atmosphere elements composed of art, music, etc.

create a virtual space for users to experience.

The abundant fun directly enhances public participation and helps the communication content achieve excellent communication results.

In the rapidly evolving information age, what attitude should we adopt to keep pace with the development of the times? As of December 2018, the number of Internet users in my country has reached 829 million, and the age structure is dominated by young and middle-aged groups.

However, it continues to penetrate into the middle-aged and elderly groups, and Internet hotspots and topics are becoming increasingly representative of society.

It can be said that the Internet has become the core channel for obtaining information and knowledge, and formal education and social education are constantly strengthening their integrated development with the Internet.

Therefore, the Internet will gradually establish its central position in the dissemination of intangible cultural heritage.

Intangible cultural heritage displays and performances in various physical spaces must simultaneously implement online live broadcasts and virtual experiences.

Intangible cultural heritage social education and cultural consumption will be more closely connected with online services and online marketing; social participation in the protection and utilization of intangible cultural heritage will also use the Internet as the main platform for matching and collaboration of resource elements, and online links will account for an increasing proportion in the management of protection measures and the utilization of intangible cultural heritage resources.

The practice of intangible cultural heritage-related communication can not only increase the visibility and influence of intangible cultural heritage in contemporary times, but also obtain direct feedback from the public in real time through highly interactive and dynamic communication media, and obtain effective information from clicks, likes, comments, and online exchanges., from which to analyze and confirm the public's awareness, individual expectations, and practical needs of the overall and each category of intangible cultural heritage protection.

2) Based on the perspective of communication, what ways can we expand public participation in intangible cultural heritage protection?

First, we must encourage the general attention and participation of the public through shaping and disseminating the overall image of intangible cultural heritage protection.

The "Cultural and Natural Heritage Day" on the second Saturday of June every year since 2006 was originally the "Cultural Heritage Day"), traditional festivals such as the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival are rich and diverse in various places.

Popular communication activities such as intangible cultural heritage practices and exhibitions and performances are held simultaneously; various media such as news, film and television, and the Internet publish, broadcast and push various intangible cultural heritage related content with the themes of intangible cultural heritage projects, inheritors and protectors; Intangible cultural heritage museums, intangible cultural heritage experience centers and other exhibition places, intangible cultural heritage training centers, inheritance bases, and productive protection bases continue to play the role of intangible cultural heritage dissemination in the form of permanent institutions; China's intangible cultural heritage logos The visibility of online and offline continues to increase, and intangible cultural heritage protection agencies at all levels and various intangible cultural heritage inheritance entities disseminate regional and special intangible cultural heritage knowledge and information through self-media.

On this basis, the communication image of intangible cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage protection in contemporary China has gradually taken shape.

What kind of overall image of intangible cultural heritage protection is more conducive to public participation? The author believes that intangible cultural heritage protection should be further shaped into an open, collaborative and dynamic social and cultural undertaking to convey the message that everyone can participate and that participation can achieve personal value and universal benefits.

Based on this, the threshold for determining intangible cultural heritage protection behavior should be lowered.

Based on the concept of "everyone is a cultural inheritor", it is determined that continuous attention, participation in practice, and sharing and promotion are all behaviors of participating in intangible cultural heritage protection, giving more recognition to the public; Give full play to the subjective initiative of the people, encourage various participation methods such as social subsidies, counterpart support, and volunteer services, and establish a more flexible social participation mechanism.

Second, give full play to the contemporary value of intangible cultural heritage and promote cultural popularization and collaborative innovation.

If intangible cultural heritage is to become a strategic resource for national talent training, it is necessary to popularize it on a larger scale and at a deeper level, and formulate, improve and implement various intangible cultural heritage protection measures based on the practical needs of the public.

For example, organize and open more attractive and sustainable social education activities, projects and venues on intangible cultural heritage topics for teenagers and young people.

For example, we can jointly implement the "Light up Intangible Cultural Heritage" youth training plan with education authorities, so that intangible cultural heritage resources can become a "treasure chest" and "tool kit" for contemporary college students to innovate and start businesses, respond to the innovation process of culture, science and technology, and society, and enable intangible cultural heritage Inheritors, folk artists, local cultural experts, etc.

have become "creative partners" for young people.

It is necessary to promote extensive cooperation between the cultural industry, tourism industry, education industry, etc.

and intangible cultural heritage inheritance, protection, and research institutions, design, package, and operate intangible cultural heritage experience projects in the form of culture, tourism, and educational consumer goods, and promote the cultural dissemination of intangible cultural heritage resources.

and collaborative innovation.

Combined with the geographical spread of different types of intangible cultural heritage projects, we will start the construction of intangible cultural heritage experience sites and promotion of intangible cultural heritage experience activities in various categories and special categories.

For example, opening opera experience centers in areas with good inheritance of local opera, and opening handicrafts experience centers in commercial complexes, historical districts and tourist attractions, and carrying out teaching and experience activities on traditional festivals and local customs in urban streets and rural towns.

It should be emphasized that the normalization of intangible cultural heritage experience activities should not rely entirely on the government or public welfare, but should develop in the direction of the design, development and social operation of experience products, making them a popular product in the cultural tourism market.

(This article was published in "Cultural Heritage", No.

6, 2019.

The annotations are omitted.

See the original issue for details)