Speech By Mr. Sun Jiazheng, Minister of Culture May 25, 2006 Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning, it is a pleasure to meet friends from the press today. I’d like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the media for your long-time interest in and support to the protection of cultural heritage in China. Today I will brief you on the First “National Cultural Heritage Day” and China’s endeavors of protecting cultural heritage. In December 2005, the State Council issued the Circular on Strengthening the Protection of Cultural Heritage, and established the National Leading Taskforce on the Protection of Cultural Heritage, a team of 15 ministries and departments led by State Councilor Mdm. Chen Zhili, aiming to strengthen the administration of cultural heritage protection nationwide. According to the Circular, since 2006, the second Saturday of June of every year will be designated as China’s “National Cultural Heritage Day”. Henceforth, the coming date of June 10 will mark the very first Cultural Heritage Day of China. For this matter, the National Leading Taskforce on the Protection of Cultural Heritage convened many meetings to arrange the events surrounding this date, and the theme of this first National Cultural Heritage Day has been decided as “Protecting Our Cultural Heritage, Safeguard Our Spiritual Homeland”. As for the detailed arrangements of the occasion, you may refer to the background papers available here. Now I would like to give a brief overview of the protection of cultural heritage in China. China always attaches great importance to the protection of cultural heritage and the promotion of fine traditional cultures. Strenuous efforts have been made in this regard. Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, particularly after the reform and open-up policies, protection of cultural heritage has also entered a brand new era in China, producing many achievements as mainly in the following: (1) With a series of intensified legislative efforts, a fairly complete framework of laws and regulations on cultural heritage protection has been forged. In 1982, China issued the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics, which was revised in October 2002. The Implementation Regulations of this Law was then issued and enforced by the State Council. In the meantime, the Ministry of Culture also published some 30 regulatory documents and administration regulations in the form of Minister’s Orders. For the time being, the Law on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage has been listed on the legislative agenda of the National People’s Congress in 2007, and a number of sector and local protective regulations have been released by related departments and local governments. In addition, China has joined a number of international conventions concerning the protection of cultural heritage, including Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970) and Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003). (2) Local governments at all levels put much value on cultural heritage undertakings; and the working mechanism for the protection of cultural heritage has been improved gradually. In accordance with the planning of the central government, local governments at all levels have integrated cultural relics protection into their economic and social development plans and constantly upgraded the social status and overall levels of cultural heritage undertakings. As a result, expenditures on cultural relics protection have been substantially increased; the central government’s budget earmarked for cultural relics protection increased from 129 million yuan in 1994 to 534 million yuan in 2005. During the “Tenth Five Year Plan”, the total central input for cultural heritage protection has reached 1.736 billion yuan (excluding budget for some special projects). This is 1.006 billion yuan more than, and 138 percent over that in the “Ninth Five Year Plan”. During the same period, local input for cultural heritage protection amounted to 6.153 billion yuan, making the total number of national input 7.889 billion yuan. In 2003, China launched the “Project for the Protection of Ethnic and Folk Cultures in China”, adding more impetus to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. (3) Large-scale censuses for cultural heritage have been carried out, and effective results have been achieved in the rectification and documentation of cultural heritage resources across the nation. In terms of cultural relics census, a group of key projects such as the building of inventories for key state-level protection sites and first-class museum collections of cultural relics have been launched. The country’s cultural relics resources have been initially ascertained and information on the quantity, quality, distribution and protection situation of state-owned unmovable cultural relics and museum collections of moveable cultural relics have been basically acquired. In regard to intangible cultural heritage census, a standard-setting Working Handbook for Census has been compiled, and training for census personnel is carried out, paving the way for the nationwide census for intangible cultural heritage resources. (4) Fundamental work on the protection of cultural relics has been stepped up, and efficiency of administration on cultural relics affairs constantly improved. Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the State Council has designated 1271 cultural units in five groups as “Heritage Sites under State Protection”, and the sixth group, which is 1081 sites in total, has just been designated and reported for review to the State Council. With concern to the “National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage”, the first group of items, 518 in total, has been recommended for the State Council to review and publicize. Priorities have been given to projects for the restoration and protection of key state-level protection sites such as the Potala Palace in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, the Forbidden City in Beijing and a large number of other key state-level protection sites. As a result, key state-level protection sites have been basically lifted out of threats of serious damages. A protection and planning system for large-scale remains has been initially established. Visible progress has also been made in the team-building for cultural heritage protection, scientific research on cultural relics, solicitation and collection of precious cultural relics, combat against pirate excavation, robbing, smuggling of cultural relics, as well as international cooperation and exchange in this field. (5) Museum construction and development have been boosted steadily. In December 2005, the Ministry of Culture issued Administration Methods on Museums, making specific stipulations on the function, nature, management and other matters related to museums. Up to date, a total of some 2300 museums have been set up nationwide, presenting nearly 10,000 displays and exhibitions and receiving about 150 million visitors from home and abroad annually. Large-scale museums such as Shanghai Museum, Capital Museum and China Science Museum have undergone rapid upgrading in infrastructure, research and display, management and operation, and service for the general public, thus reaching or approaching levels of advanced museums abroad. Since 2004, museums of all kinds and all levels across the nation have also followed the requirements of related documents from the Ministry of Culture and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to offer free entrance or preferential prices for such social groups as minors, receiving gratifying results. Nevertheless, we have the clear awareness that with the acceleration of economic globalization and modernization, China’s cultural ecology has undergone dramatic changes. The prospect for the protection of cultural heritage in China brooks no blind optimism, and a lot of work still needs to be done. On the one hand, we need to further strengthen the leading role of the government, which shall take more forceful measures to protect cultural heritage; on the other hand, there is a need for the entire society to raise awareness for cultural heritage protection, which should become a voluntary practice for each and every citizen. In this respect, we hope our media can contribute to this undertaking by helping to inform, mobilize and guide the general public towards the protection of cultural heritage. In today’s press conference we also have my colleagues Mr. Zhou Heping, Vice Minister of Culture and Mr. Shan Jixiang, Head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. Now, my colleagues and I would like to take up your questions. http://www.china.org.cn/e-news/news060525-1.htm ***************************** Protection of Cultural Heritage in China May 25, 2006 China enjoys a world-acclaimed ancient civilization. Over the sweep of history, Chinese people of all ethnic groups have jointly created valuable cultural heritage resources with such a multitude of types, diverse forms and rich contents that are exceptional in the world. China’s cultural heritage reflects unique spirits, values, ways of thinking and imagination and embodies vitality and creativity of the Chinese nation, thus being cherished as treasures of human civilization. Cultural heritage, in a unique role, has invisibly influenced the Chinese people’s ideas and concepts and made special and important contribution to the continuation and evolution of the Chinese civilization. The Chinese Government has always attached great importance to the protection of cultural heritage and drawn up a series of major policies and plans. In the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics, a protection guideline is prescribed featuring “emphasis on protection, rescue first, reasonable utilization and reinforced administration”. In December 2005, the State Council issued the Circular on Strengthening the Protection of Cultural Heritage, stipulating that people’s governments at all levels and relevant departments, with a strong sense of responsibility to the nation and history and from a perspective of safeguarding cultural safety of the nation, should fully recognize importance of protecting cultural heritage, further enhance their sense of responsibility and urgency and work hard to better protect cultural heritage. It is also stipulated in the Circular that the second Saturday of June is designated as the National Cultural Heritage Day since 2006. Cultural heritage resources in China China’s cultural heritage consists of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Tangible cultural heritage refers to cultural relics with historical, artistic and scientific values, including movable and unmovable cultural relics. 1. Movable cultural relics include ancient cultural remains, ancient tombs, ancient architectures, grotto temples, stone carvings, murals, and important remains and representative buildings in the history of modern China. There are nearly 400,000 registered sites of unmovable cultural relics in mainland China so far. Administration by levels is exercised on the protection of unmovable cultural relics in China. Important unmovable cultural relics are classified as sites under protection at county & municipal, provincial or state levels. In China, there are so far 2352 sites under the state-level protection, 9396 sites under the provincial-level protection and 58,300 sites under the county or municipal-level protection. Moreover, 103 cities are designated as “Historically and Culturally Famous City”. Since 1985 when China joined the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Cultural and Natural Heritage, 31 cultural and natural heritage sites in China have been inscribed in the World Heritage List, among which there are four natural heritage sites, four cultural & natural heritage sites, one cultural landscape and 22 cultural heritage sites. 2. Movable cultural relics refer to important artifacts, artworks, documents, manuscripts, publication materials and representative artifacts of different historical periods which are categorized into valuable cultural relics and common cultural relics. Valuable cultural relics are classified as first-class, second-class or third-class. So far, a total of some 20 million pieces or sets of movable cultural relics are collected in museums of mainland China. China’s achievements in the protection of cultural relics Since the founding of new China in 1949, especially since the policy of reform and opening up was launched, remarkable achievements have been scored in the protection of cultural relics in China. Since the Ninth Five-Year Plan was implemented, as the country’s economic power and comprehensive national strength has been substantially enhanced, China’s cultural relics undertaking has embraced a brand new era of development and new accomplishments have been achieved as follows: Legal system building has been constantly improved and a system of laws and regulations on cultural relics protection has been basically developed. In 1982, China issued the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics, the country’s first law in the field of cultural relics. The Law was revised in October 2002. Within the framework of the Law, the Ministry of Culture and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage have drawn up some 30 regulatory documents and administration regulations, and a number of local regulations have been released. In addition, China has joined the four international conventions concerning the protection of cultural heritage, including Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970). Local governments at all levels put much value on cultural heritage undertakings. In accordance with the planning of the central government, local governments at all levels have integrated cultural relics protection into their economic and social development plans and constantly upgraded social status and overall levels of cultural heritage undertakings. As a result, expenditures on cultural relics protection have been substantially increased; the special fund for cultural relics protection earmarked from the centrally controlled state revenue increased from 129 million yuan in 1994 to 534 million yuan in 2005. Since 2005, the Government of Beijing Municipality has invested 120 million yuan annually in the protection of cultural relics. Moreover, some provinces and cities have reinforced the building of administration authorities and law enforcement personnel involved with cultural heritage. Remarkable achievements have been scored in the surveying and inventory building of cultural relics resources in China. Key projects such as the building of inventories for key state-level protection sites and first-class museum collections of cultural relics have been launched. The country’s cultural relics resources have been initially ascertained and information on quantity, quality, distribution and protection of state-owned unmovable cultural relics and museum collections of moveable cultural relics have been basically acquired. Basic work on the protection of cultural relics has been further speeded up. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage has conducted surveys on basic conditions of the country’s protection organizations and museums. Priorities have been given to projects for the restoration and protection of key state-level protection sites such as the Potala Palace in Tibet and the Forbidden City in Beijing and a large number of other key state-level protection sites. As a result, key state-level protection sites have been basically lifted out of threats of serious accidents. A protection and planning system for large-scale remains has been initially established. The state has earmarked a special fund for the protection of large-scale remains, which has remarkably facilitated the establishment of regulations on and protection projects, facilities and display areas of large-scale remain sites. Protection facilities for the Emperor Qin’s Mausoleum Remains and the Daming Palace Remains in Shaanxi and Koguryo Remains in Jilin and Liaoning have taken shape, which have provided examples for large-scale rescue, protection and utilization of other large-scale remains. Construction of museums has been constantly speeded up. A total of some 2300 museums have been set up nationwide, which present nearly 10,000 displays and exhibitions and receive about 150 million visitors from home and abroad annually. The renovation and expansion project for the National Museum of China has been launched and a number of large-scale museums have been completed and open to public. Large-scale museums such as Shanghai Museum, Capital Museum and China Science Museum have undergone rapid upgrading in infrastructure, research and display, management and operation, and service for the general public, thus reaching or approaching levels of advanced museums abroad. Exchange and cooperation with other countries and regions in the field of cultural relics have maintained a good momentum. Some 60 exhibitions on cultural relics are organized abroad annually and active exchange and cooperation have been conducted in archeological survey and excavation, cultural relics protection, personnel training and academic intercourse. China has actively participated in and offered aids to the protection and restoration of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the Bogd Khan Palace in Mongolia, and successfully hosted the 28th World Heritage Conference and the 15th ICOMOS General Assembly. Local economic and cultural development has been increasingly benefited from endeavors for the protection of cultural heritage. In areas with rich cultural heritage resources such as Beijing, Xi’an, Chengde, Qufu, Pingyao and Lijiang, some of their heritage sites and museums have become world-famous tourist destinations—the Forbidden City, Dunhuang Research Institute and Emperor’s Qing’s Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, to name a few. More and more heritage sites and museums have been regarded by general public as ideal venues for knowledge learning, leisure and traveling. Challenges facing the protection of cultural heritage in China The protection of cultural heritage in China is now in a critical stage, facing the growing trend of urbanization and tremendous challenges and pressures posed by the construction of large-scale infrastructure projects. It is a significant challenge to guarantee the smooth construction of the country’s key large-scale infrastructure projects while putting cultural relics under good protection 1. The Chinese Government attaches vital importance to the protection of cultural heritage in the construction of infrastructures and demands that surveys by cultural heritage administrations be conducted before a construction project is launched and the project bypass verified unmovable cultural relics as possible as it can. If unmovable cultural relics are discovered in areas that an infrastructure project has to go through, cultural heritage administrations must decide to protect them in their original sites or conduct rescue excavation for the convenience of the project construction. Over the past decade, Chinese archeological professionals have conducted successful rescue excavations involved with the construction of a number of large or medium-scale infrastructure projects, including the Xiaolangdi Reservoir over the Yellow River, the Three Gorges Dam over the Yangtze River, the transmission of natural gas from west to east China, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and the double-tracking railway between Langzhou and Baoji. During the construction of the Three Gorges Dam project, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage mobilized some sixty institutes, organizations and universities specialized in the field of archeological studies, restoration of ancient architectures and cultural heritage protection to conduct rescue investigations, surveys, excavations and conservations. As a result, 1087 sites of unmovable cultural relics were discovered in the inundated area. Before the water storage project was launched, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage organized large-scale excavations in the inundated area, achieving a number of significant archeological discoveries and unearthing a multitude of samples and exquisite artifacts with high research values. Rescue and protection of cultural heritage involved with the project of water diversion from south to north China will be a key priority in the protection of cultural relics in China in years to come. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage has already mobilized professionals throughout the country to conduct surveys and protection prior to the construction. Along the middle and east routes of the project which go through seven provinces and municipalities under the administration of the central government, a total of 710 heritage sites are involved in the project’s first-phase construction. After repeated coordinations with water conservancy departments, most important unmovable cultural relics have been bypassed in the planning of the project and proper measures have been adopted to better protect ground cultural relics. On the basis of comprehensive surveys of underground cultural relics, archeological excavation will be conducted in planned scales. It is planned to excavate an area of nearly 1.7 million square meters, with an estimated expenditure of 1 billion yuan. 2. To improve people’s living quality while protecting historical cities in the accelerated process of urbanization is an issue that the Chinese Government determines to properly deal with. The Chinese Government has continued to reinforce the protection of cultural relics in the process of urbanization and has taken a series of measures to establish protective areas, buffer zones or controlled belts in the neighborhood of significant historical buildings, sites and monuments. As a result, initial achievements have been made in protecting cultural heritage itself and its surroundings. In addition, major explorations have been conducted in the following three aspects: A) Improve the legal system concerning the protection of cultural relics and their surroundings, continue to strengthen the law enforcement and further speed up theoretical studies so as to make sure that legal means and theoretical studies will play a bigger role in the protection of cultural relics. Meanwhile, more efforts need to be made in working out national standards and technical specifications concerning the protection of cultural relics and their surroundings. B) Speed up the compilation of plans for the protection of cultural relics so that they can be given proper protection under the guidance of protection plans. Meanwhile, more efforts should be made in facilitating protection plans to be integrated into overall urban development plans, urban system plans and economic and social development plans, and in working out measures to implement protection plans on the dimension of country administration. Those efforts aim to achieve effective, scientific, reasonable and well-planned coordination between cultural relics protection and local economic and social development, thus realizing integral protection of values of cultural relics. C) Try our utmost to guarantee the implementation of significant protection projects such as large-scale remains in cities, complete a number of model projects for the protection of key heritage sites, gradually develop a good natural, cultural and ecological environment for the protection of cultural relics, achieve harmonious and sustainable development of local communities and natural environment and upgrade living standards of local people. http://www.china.org.cn/e-news/news060525-2.htm ********************************* Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage in China May 25, 2006 I. Background of China’s protection of intangible cultural heritage China is a unified multi-ethnic country with time-honored history and splendid ancient civilization which has endowed the Chinese nation with extremely rich cultural heritage. This rich and colorful cultural heritage is the crystallization of the wisdom and civilization of the Chinese people, the fundamental component of Chinese culture, the bond of affections between all ethnic groups, the foundation of national unity, the important bridge to transmit and inherit Chinese civilization and also the reflection of our aspiring national spirit. Cultural heritage includes tangible cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage. As early as in the 1950s, China began to establish the protection system of cultural heritage. At present, a relatively complete protection system of tangible cultural heritage has already been formed. In recent years, great efforts have been made by the Chinese government in protecting the intangible cultural heritage. In 2004, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Finance issued information to formally kick off the implementation of the “National Project for the Protection of Folk and Ethnic Cultures”. The scope of intangible cultural heritage covers: poems, fairy tales, epics, stories, legends and proverbs that have been spread orally among people for a long time; folk performing arts like traditional music, dance, drama, quyi, acrobatics, puppet show, shadow play, etc.; folk practices like rituals, festivals, sports, competitions, production related and life related customs; folk traditional knowledge and practices related to nature and the universe; traditional handcraft skills; and cultural space related to the above-mentioned expressions. The CPC and the government attach great importance to the protection of cultural heritage. All concerned departments and institutions have also done a lot of work and have made remarkable achievement. China is now making efforts in gradually establishing a relatively complete protection system. However, with the acceleration of globalization and modernization, dramatic changes have taken place in China’s cultural ecology: intangible cultural heritage is confronted with great challenges and a lot of orally and behaviorally transmitted cultural heritage disappear one after another; a great deal of traditional craftsmanship is on the verge of extinction; a large number of precious objects and materials of historical and cultural values are destroyed, deserted or lost in foreign countries; arbitrary misuse and excessive exploitation of intangible cultural heritage occur from time to time. Therefore, the protection of intangible cultural heritage brooks no delay. II. Progress on the protection of the intangible cultural heritage In the protection work of intangible cultural heritage, the Chinese government follows the guiding principle of “protection as priority, rescue as primacy, rational utilization, and inheritance for development”, persisting in maintaining the authenticity and comprehensiveness of intangible cultural heritage and properly handle the relationship between protection and utilization. We should realize the rational utilization under the precondition of efficient protection, and prevent the misunderstanding, distortion and misuse of intangible cultural heritage. On the basis of scientific acknowledgement, efficient measures have been adopted so as to make intangible cultural heritage get recognition, respect and promotion in the society. In the meantime, the government also pursues the working principle of “government leadership, social participation, clarification of duty & responsibility, combination of forces, as well as long-term planning, implementation by steps, integrating priorities with entirety, and emphasis on effect and efficiency”, and strive to, with the efforts from all walks of life in China, take gradual steps to establish a full-fledged system of Chinese characteristics on the protection of intangible cultural heritage so that precious and endangered intangible cultural heritage of great historical, cultural and scientific values can be effectively protected, promoted and carried forward. Recent years have witnessed a long standing development of the protection work of intangible cultural heritage, mainly reflected as follows: 1. Legislation Since 1998, the Ministry of Culture and Committee of Education, Science, Culture, Health and Sports of National People’s Congress have been actively engaged in the research and survey of domestic and foreign legislations and on this basis organized the drafting of Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Folk and Ethnic Traditional Culture (Draft), and referred it to the National People’s Congress in August 2002. In August 2004, China officially joined the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage after ratification of the Standing Committee of National People’s Congress. In light of our commitment to the international conventions, the draft law has been renamed as Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage. At present, a legislative leadership panel composed of personnel from the National People’s Congress, Department of Publicity of the CPC Central Committee and Ministry of Culture has been established to further work on the draft law. At present, statutes on the protection of folk and ethnic traditional culture were also promulgated one after another by Yunnan, Guizhou, Fujian provinces, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Xiangxi county of Hunan province, Enshi county of Hubei province, Suzhou city of Jiangsu provice, etc.. 2. Working mechanism In the year 2003, the leadership panel of the project of protecting folk and ethnic culture with the members from the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Finance, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and some other related departments set up the expert committee composed of experts from various fields. Besides, the leadership panel offices and research center were also set up respectively under the Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Art Research Institute. In 2005, the Inter-ministerial Joint Committee on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage was founded. The joint committee is composed of the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of education, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Construction, the State Bureau of Tourism, the Bureau of Religious Affairs and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. In 2006, in order to implement the Circular on Strengthening the Protection of Cultural Heritage issued by the State Council, on the basis of the nine departments, the general office of the State Council took the lead to include the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Land Resources, the General Administration of Customs, the State Administration of Forestry, Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, and some other departments into the joint committee and formed a national leadership panel of cultural heritage protection composed of 15 departments, which has strengthened the coordination and cooperation among different departments. At present, all the related protection work of intangible cultural heritage is under steady development. 3. Related documents In keeping with the spirit of the 16th CPC Party Congress on “supporting the protection of important cultural heritage and fine folk arts” and to perform China’s obligations after its accession into the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Finance issued in collaboration the Circular on the Implementation of the Project of Protecting China’s Ethnic and Folk Culture. On March 31st 2005, the General Office of the State Council promulgated the Recommendations on Intensifying the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage in China, a directive in furthering the protection of intangible cultural heritage in China. On December 23, 2005, the State Council promulgated the Circular on Strengthening the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage, proposing that, since 2006, the second Saturday of every June will be designated as the National Cultural Heritage Day in China, which has provided a strong guarantee for the intensification of cultural heritage protection. 4. The application and identification work of the first group of national masterpieces of intangible cultural heritage In the spirit of the Recommendations on Intensifying the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage in China, which pointed out the necessity to develop an inventory system of intangible heritage masterpieces on state, provincial, municipal and county levels according to examination and assessment criteria and scientific identification, in order to rescue and protect valuable national cultural heritage, to promote the best of ethnic and traditional cultures and substantiate the socialist advanced culture, the Ministry of Culture began to organize the application, assessment, publication and investigation work of the first group of items on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List. With strong support from the members of the Inter-ministerial Joint Committee on the protection of the intangible cultural heritage, the local governments and the related departments as well a lot of experts and scholars, the first group of 518 items has been finally determined into the list of recommended candidature out of 1315 items applied by the 31 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities and related departments of the central government. After the investigation and approval by the Inter-ministerial Joint Committee on the protection of the intangible cultural heritage, the list of recommended candidature is now ready for submission to the State Council. 5. National exhibition on the achievement of the intangible cultural heritage protection and special evening gala and events From February 12 to March 16, 2006, the Ministry of Culture, the National Commission of Reform and Development, the Ministry of Education, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Construction, the State Administration of Tourism, the Bureau of Religious Affairs and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage co-held the “Exhibition on the Achievements of Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection in China” in the National Museum, and in the meantime, presented a special evening gala of the Exhibition in the Ethnic Cultural Palace. All these efforts have extensively materialized the guidelines and policies of the Chinese government in protecting intangible cultural heritage and comprehensively presented the achievements made by the Chinese government and all social circles in the work of protecting the intangible cultural heritage. The state and CPC leaders like Mr. Li Changchun, Mr. Liu Yunshan and Mdm. Chen Zhili, leaders from relevant departments, as well as some representatives and members of the two sessions (NPC and CPPPCC) visited the exhibition. The exhibition and performing gala received great attention and acclamation from various social circles. According to incomplete statistics, the number of visitors to the exhibition exceeded 350,000. 6. General investigation In order to obtain full knowledge of the types, number, distribution, living environment, current situation of protection and existing problems related to the intangible cultural heritage of different regions and ethnicities, the Ministry of Culture especially issued the Circular on the General Census of Intangible Cultural Heritage, requiring the local governments to follow the guidance of the Handbook on the Census of China’s Ethnic and Folk Culture Protection and conduct the general census on the basis of existing investigation results and their local situations. The Ministry of Culture entrusted the research and protection center of the China Art Research Institute to arrange the national training workshop of general census for twice. At present, the general census work is under steady development across the country. 7. A series of activities about the National Cultural Heritage Day According to the Circular of the State Council, the Ministry of Culture and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, on the basis of the opinions solicited from relevant departments, promulgated the action plan for the 2006 Cultural Heritage Day as follows: a. A grand cultural heritage exhibition and performance evening gala show themed as Protecting Our Cultural Heritage, Safeguard Our Spiritual Homeland; b. A special exhibition about the National Cultural Heritage Day, exhibitions on the precious ancient Chinese documents and their protection, exhibitions on the precious cultural heritage of the ethnic minorities, exhibitions on the protection of China’s traditional medicine, exhibitions on the excellence of China’s ethnic costumes and some themed exhibition about the cultural heritage protection; c. Lectures about the protection of cultural heritage, knowledge popularization and academic exchange activities like the special forum on the protection and development of Chinese local dramas; d. On the cultural heritage day, it is planned that conditionally-suitable public cultural facilities such as cultural heritage units, museums and memorials shall be open to the public for free. 8. The establishment of archive data base In light of the guideline of the State Council that is “to use a variety of means such as text, sound recording, video recording and digital multimedia to make an authentic, systematic and comprehensive record of intangible cultural heritage, and establish archives and databases”, database and website of national level intangible cultural heritage are now being set up. 9. Intensification of the theoretical study on intangible cultural heritage In order to promote the theoretical building about the protection of the intangible cultural heritage, further clarify the related definition about the intangible cultural heritage, study on the means and ways of protecting intangible cultural heritage and intensify the research, identification, preservation and dissemination of the intangible cultural heritage, the Ministry of Culture organized several occasions for various cultural units, scientific and research institutions, high educational institutions and schools as well as experts and scholars to discuss over some important theories about and practical problems faced by intangible cultural heritage. 10. Active application for UNESCO Proclamation of “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” Since the launching of the application work of the oral and intangible heritage masterpieces of humanity by the UNESCO in 2000, China’s Kunqu art, Guqin art, Uygur Muqam art of Xinjiang Autonomous Region and the Mongolian ethnic Long Song have been proclaimed as “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO since 2001. With the great importance attached by the CPC and the central government, under the common effort of the whole society, China will gradually establish a full-fledged system of protecting intangible cultural heritage with Chinese characteristics so as to make contributions to the transmission of the Chinese civilization, the construction of the socialist advanced culture with Chinese characteristics and the overall building of the well-off society. http://www.china.org.cn/e-news/news060525-3.htm **************************** Action Plan of the 2006 National Cultural Heritage Day May 25, 2006 I. Mission According to the State Council Circular on Strengthening the Protection of Cultural Heritage (SC [2005] 42), since 2006, the second Saturday of June of every year will be designated as China’s “National Cultural Heritage Day”. During this occasion, a series of publicity and exhibition campaigns will be organized, so as to spread the knowledge for the protection of cultural heritage, enhance the general public’s knowledge about the importance of the protection of cultural heritage, increase the general social awareness for the protection of cultural heritage, and to create a favorable environment where every citizen is encouraged to participate in the protection of cultural heritage. II. Theme Protecting Our Cultural Heritage, Safeguard Our Spiritual Homeland III. Events 1. Large-scale events and exhibitions (1) May 26, “Guardians of Civilization --- Exhibition of Precious Collection of China’s Ancient Documents and Their Protection” (Sponsor: Ministry of Culture, Presenter: National Library of China) (2) June 5, Special Exhibition on Cultural Heritage (Sponsors: Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage; Presenters: National Museum of China, China Information Inquiry Center for Cultural Relics) (3) June 8, “Mountain Flowers” Prize Awarding Ceremony for China’s Folk Arts and Culture, Henan Hall, the Grand Hall of the People (Sponsored and Presented by: China Association of Folk Artists and Literati) (4) June 9, Grand Gala Performance “Protecting Our Cultural Heritage, Safeguard Our Spiritual Homeland” (Sponsors: Ministry of Culture, State Administration of Cultural Heritage; Presenter: China Arts Research Institute) (5) June 10, Exhibition on Precious Cultural Relics of Ethnic Minority Groups (Sponsor: National Commission on Ethnic Affairs, Presenter: China Central Academy of Ethnicities) (6) June 10, Exhibition on the Protection of Traditional Chinese Medicines and Therapies (Sponsor: Bureau for the Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicines and Therapies, Presenter: China Traditional Medicine Research Institute) (7) June 10, Grand Exhibition of “Selected Artifacts of Chinese Ethnic Costumes and Decorations” (Sponsor: Museum of Ethnic Costumes and Decorations, Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology) (8) June 10, special-themed exhibitions in all major museums in Beijing and across the nation (Coordinator: State Administration of Cultural Heritage) 2. Law Enforcement Inspections During the “National Cultural Heritage Day”, in the spirit of the State Council Circular, law enforcement inspections on the protection situation of cultural heritage will be made nationwide (Coordinator: State Administration of Cultural Heritage) 3. Lectures and Forums (1) During the “National Cultural Heritage Day”, historical and cultural lectures oriented to ministerial-level officials will be held with the theme of “Protecting Intangible Cultural Heritage”. (Sponsors: Working Committee for the Central Government Departments, Ministry of Culture, China Academy of Social Sciences; Presenter: National Library of China) (2) During the “National Cultural Heritage Day”, lectures will be held on the protection of cultural heritage. (Sponsor: State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Presenter: Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage) (3) Forums on the Protection and Development of Chinese Local Opera (Sponsor: Ministry of Culture, Presenter: China Arts Research Institute) (4) Forums on the Research and Protection of China’s Ethnic Costumes and Decorations (Sponsor: Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology, Presenter: Museum of Ethnic Costumes and Decorations, Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology) 4. Inquiry Services During the “National Cultural Heritage Day”, a variety of inquiry services will be held on topics related to the protection of cultural heritage. (Coordinators: Ministry of Culture, State Administration of Cultural Heritage) 5. Other Initiatives On June 10, heritage sites, museums, memorials, etc. under all levels of protection across the nation, if equipped with adequate resources, should open to the public free of charge in accordance with their respective situations. All levels of administrations on culture and cultural relics should stipulate preparatory schemes for the free entrance and publicize the scheme to the public in advance. (Coordinator: Ministry of Culture, State Administration of Cultural Heritage) http://www.china.org.cn/e-news/news060525-4.htm ****************************** Background and Latest Development of the UNESCO Proclamation of ‘Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity’ May 25, 2006 I. Background With economic development and social changes, particularly the increasing trend of economic globalization, accelerated urbanization, tremendous expansion of modern communication network and advancement of information technology, as well as the fast growth of tourist industry, a large number of traditional and folk cultures is facing different degrees of damage, some even facing extinction. Compared to tangible heritage, intangible heritage is encountered with even more severe challenges. In October 1998, the 155th Executive Board Meeting of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization adopted the Regulations Relating to the Proclamation of “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”, which formally put forward the definition of “Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”, whose forms include language, literature, music, dance, games, mythology, rituals, customs, handicrafts, architecture and other arts. The purpose of this program is to ensure better visibility of the intangible cultural heritage and awareness of its significance among all nations, so as to better facilitate the protection of intangible heritage on a global scale. According to the procedure of the program, proclamations are made every two years (proposal on even years, proclamation on odd years), every country is invited to propose one item each time, but multi-national and joint proposals are free from such limitation. In 2000, the UNESCO formally launched the project of Proclamation of “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”, mobilizing all nations to prepare for proposals; in 2001, the first group of masterpieces, 19 in total, were proclaimed; in 2003, the second group of 28 masterpieces were proclaimed and on November 25, 2005, 43 masterpieces were proclaimed as the third group. All together there have been 90 items proclaimed as masterpieces. II. Latest Development On November 3, 2003, the Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was endorsed on the 32nd General Assembly of the UNESCO. The Convention, 9 chapters and 40 articles in total, include: General Provisions, Organs of the Convention, Safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage at the national level, Safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage at the international level, International cooperation and assistance, Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, Reports, Transitional clause, and Final clauses. According to Article 34 of the Convention, this Convention shall enter into force three months after the date of the deposit of the thirtieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. On January 20, 2006, upon the receipt of the thirtieth instrument by the Director-General of UNESCO, the Convention has entered into force since April 20 of this year. Up to the end of April 2006, 47 countries have formally ratified this Convention. The effectuation of the Convention also marked the termination of the project of Proclamation of “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”, consequently, the UNESCO will set up two new lists according to the clauses of the Convention, i.e., “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” and “List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding”. The three groups of Items already proclaimed as “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” will automatically be incorporated in the “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”. From June 27 to 29, 2006, the UNESCO will convene a general assembly of State Parties, which will elect an intergovernmental committee of 18 nations on intangible cultural heritage. The major mandate of the Committee will be the stipulation of criteria and related working regulations on the “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” and “List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding”. China has been engaged in the entire negotiation process of this Convention. The Convention was reviewed by the 11th Session of the 10th National People’s Congress Standing Committee and ratified on August 28, 2004, making China the sixth nation to join this Convention. III. China’s Participation in the Proclamation Project China, with its long-standing history and diversity of ethnic groups, is endowed with an abundance of intangible cultural heritage. Like many other countries in the world, China is also facing the challenge of how to effectively protect intangible cultural heritage while fostering its economy. Since the first group of Masterpieces was proclaimed in 2001, there has been an unprecedented surge of protective efforts for intangible cultural heritage around the world, and China is no exception. For instance, the Kunqu Opera, proclaimed in 2001 by UNESCO on the Masterpieces List, was blessed with wide coverage by the media across the country and heated response from the public, which in turn kindled the enthusiasm of all levels of the government and civil society for the protection of intangible cultural heritage in general. The Ministry of Culture of China, as the overseeing authority for the cultural sector as well as one of the co-representative agencies of UNESCO National Commission, has always been responsible for China’s communication and cooperation with UNESCO in cultural affairs. As the chief coordinator for the Proclamation Project, the Ministry has headed the proposal work for all the three groups of Masterpieces. During the proposal process, in view of the overall situation of intangible cultural heritage of China, we have used scientific assessment methods and taken a priority-based perspective in selecting the most representative and culturally and historically most valuable items to be the candidate items for the Proclamation. Thanks to the joint efforts of many sides, China has successfully participated in the Proclamation of “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”. The art of Kunqu Opera, the art of Guqin musical instrument and art of the Xinjiang Uygur Muqam has been proclaimed as Masterpieces respectively in 2001, 2003 and 2005. The Mongolian Long Song folk music, as a joint proposal with Mongolia, was also proclaimed as one of the third group of Masterpieces. As one of the few countries to have items on every Proclamation list, China has now a sum of 4 items among the total 90 Masterpieces from around the world. http://www.china.org.cn/e-news/news060525-5.htm
with kind regards,
Matthias Arnold (Art-Eastasia list)
http://www.chinaresource.org http://www.fluktor.de
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