The Place of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the State Policy of China

Popova Anastasiia Senior Educator, Department of Chinese Language, Moscow City Pedagogical University 105064, Russia, g. Moscow, per. Malyi Kazennyi, 5-B, of. 507 anysta@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Fomenko Evgeniia Senior Educator, Department of Chinese Language, Moscow City Pedagogical University 127238, Russia, Moscow, Dmitrovskoe highway, 34, building 2, office 204 folaoshe@mail.ru

In accordance with the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage, "intangible cultural heritage" means customs, forms of representation and expression, knowledge and skills – as well as related tools, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces – recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their cultural heritage. heritage. Such intangible cultural heritage, passed down from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups depending on their environment, their interaction with nature and their history and forms in them a sense of identity and continuity, thereby promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity ^{[4, p. 5]}. Intangible cultural heritage is the totality of cultural successes achieved by the country and the people throughout its history, as well as objects and spaces associated with the forms of manifestation of traditional culture. It is also important that the intangible cultural heritage of a particular country, in turn, is an important component of the world cultural heritage.

Intangible cultural heritage (hereinafter referred to as ICH), as defined in the UNESCO Convention, manifests itself, in particular, in the following areas:

1) oral traditions and forms of expression, including language as a carrier of intangible cultural heritage;

2) performing arts;

3) customs, rituals, festivals;

4) knowledge and customs related to nature and the universe;

5) knowledge and skills related to traditional crafts ^{[4, p. 5-6]}.

However, it should be noted that the objects that countries can add to their lists of intangible cultural heritage may vary. This is due to the difference in national, historical, cultural characteristics and local specifics. Therefore, each country applies its own classification of NCH objects. At the same time, after the UN systematized approaches to this problem, and the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of ICH formulated general principles of policy in this area, the Government of the People's Republic of China adopted them as guidelines for the classification of Chinese intangible cultural heritage objects.

As postulated in Chapter 2, paragraph 2 of the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Intangible Cultural Heritage", intangible cultural heritage is various forms of representation and expression of traditional culture, as well as related objects and spaces transmitted by each nation from generation to generation and recognized by it as part of its cultural heritage, in particular:

1) traditional oral literature and the language that is its carrier;

2) traditional art, calligraphy, music, dance, drama, song-telling art, and circus;

3) traditional crafts, medicine and calendar;

4) traditional rituals, holidays and other folk customs;

5) traditional sports and entertainment;

6) other forms of intangible cultural heritage ^[21].

The relevant provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China "On the Protection of Cultural Monuments" apply to material values and spaces that are cultural monuments.

ClassificationIt is noteworthy that Chinese experts do not have a consensus on which categories should be allocated within the framework of this classification of monuments of the NKN.

For example, the president of the Chinese Academy of Arts and the director of the Chinese Center for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage Wang Wenzhang identifies 13 categories ^{[14, p. 70]}. Chen Lilong, a researcher from Sanming University (China), sees a promising classification of the intangible heritage of Yuan Li and Gu Jun, who distinguish folklore heritage, performing arts, traditional arts and crafts, traditional industrial knowledge. According to Chen Lilong, the proposed classification has such characteristics as full coverage, an equal level of each classification, a balanced amount of each type of heritage and uniform classification criteria ^{[6, p. 95]}. However, in the expert environment of China, the concept of Wang Wenzhang has the greatest weight, distinguishing the following types of NCS:

1) language;

2) literary folklore;

3) traditional music;

4) traditional dances;

5) traditional dramatic art;

6) song-telling art;

7) circus;

8) traditional martial arts, gymnastics and sports;

9) folk art and applied art;

10) traditional crafts and technologies;

11) traditional medicine and pharmaceuticals;

12) folk customs and traditions;

13) cultural spaces ^{[14, p. 70]}.

Government system of measures for the protection of intangible cultural heritage The government's security system of the ICH includes a number of documents and organizations that ensure its full functioning.

The work of this system is primarily determined by such an important document as the International Convention for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which was adopted at the 32nd UNESCO General Conference in October 2003. China joined this convention in 2004. In March 2005, the Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China published such documents as "Remarks on strengthening the protection of national Intangible Cultural Heritage" and "Temporary measures for the petition and evaluation of representative works of national Intangible Cultural Heritage", which officially initiated the creation of a list of representative works of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage throughout China.

From the very beginning, the Chinese Government has been consistently conducting NCH censuses in various provinces (municipalities of central subordination, autonomous regions), and the Ministry of Culture organizes experts to review and submit a report to the State Council for approval.

In December 2005, the State Council of the People's Republic of China issued a "Notification on strengthening the protection of cultural heritage", the corresponding notification of the State Council provides for 4 levels of protection of intangible cultural heritage: national, provincial, city and county.

A) National level: 5 lists of objects of national importance were compiled (2006, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2021 years). The "First List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage", published in 2006, included 518 objects of intangible cultural heritage, divided into 10 categories ^[17].

Table 1 of the Category of the "First List of national Intangible Cultural Heritage" (2006)In June 2021, the "Fifth List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage" was published, numbering 325 objects.

It covers 31 administrative-territorial units, including autonomous regions, cities of central subordination, as well as the Xinjiang Industrial and Construction Corps, Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative regions. Among them, the list includes 103 ICH facilities in 96 formerly poor counties at the national level, as well as a number of ICH facilities that serve people's livelihoods and benefit the people.

To date, the State Council has identified a total of 1,557 representative objects of the national level, including 167 objects of folk literature, 189 – traditional music, 144 – traditional dances, 171 – traditional drama, 145 – folk art, 109 – traditional sports, cultural entertainment and circus arts, 139 types of traditional visual arts art, 287 objects of folk art, 23 objects of traditional medicine, 183 objects in the category of folk customs ^[11].

B) At the provincial level, 31 lists are allocated according to the number of administrative-territorial units. However, they do not include Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. By 2022, each of the 31 administrative-territorial units has published from 4 to 7 of its own lists.

C) City level: 334 lists, including lists of intangible cultural heritage sites of the cities of Yangzhou, Xuzhou, Tianjin and Heze.

D) County level: 2,853 lists, including lists of intangible cultural heritage sites of the cities of Gaoyu and Kunshan, Hengnan County.

An important date in the history of the protection of intangible cultural heritage monuments was February 25, 2011, when the National People's Congress adopted the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Intangible Cultural Heritage" (hereinafter referred to as the "Law"), which entered into force on June 1, 2011 ^[21]. It is as a result of these actions that the "intangible cultural heritage" in the PRC has become a concept fully integrated into the modern official system of the state.

Article 33 of the "Law" postulates that the State encourages scientific and technical research related to intangible cultural heritage, research methods for the protection and preservation of intangible cultural heritage, encourages the recording of intangible cultural heritage, activities for the exhibition and publication of representative objects of intangible cultural heritage ^[21]. According to this, the PRC is taking active measures to identify, record and classify the objects of the ICH.

On December 11, 2021, the first working meeting of the National Committee on the Nomenclature of Intangible Cultural Heritage was held online. The main principle in his work was the concept of "establishing national, cooperation with international", which will take into account the already established national and international principles of working with intangible cultural heritage to create a complete terminological base in the field of national intangible cultural heritage and will lay the foundation for theoretical and practical studies of this aspect of culture in the PRC ^[19].

It is also important to add that Article 34 of the "Law" also states that educational institutions in China, the media are obliged to carry out educational and educational, popularization activities, inform the population of the country about the objects of the ICH, thus transferring knowledge to subsequent generations ^[21].

To do this, the following holidays and exhibitions are held in China:

A) Cultural and Natural Heritage Day

Natural heritage is natural objects, as well as natural places of interest that are of outstanding value from the point of view of aesthetics, science, conservation or natural beauty. Cultural heritage is a part of material and spiritual culture created by representatives of past generations, passed on to subsequent generations as something of material and spiritual value.

Cultural heritage is divided into tangible and intangible. The material heritage includes historical cities, streets, architectural structures, necropolises, monuments, frescoes, historical artifacts, art objects, documents, etc. The intangible cultural heritage, in turn, includes oral traditions, customs, holidays, traditional crafts and even cultural spaces.

As the process of globalization and social transformation develops, the conditions for the preservation of natural and cultural heritage are constantly deteriorating. In this regard, in 2006, the State Council of the People's Republic of China adopted a resolution according to which the 2nd Saturday of June is declared Cultural Heritage Day. By 2010, the foundations of the cultural heritage protection system had been formed in China, and by 2015 it has become an effective tool for preserving valuable cultural monuments.

In September 2016, the State Council of China supported the proposal of the Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Construction to rename Cultural Heritage Day to Cultural and Natural Heritage Day starting in 2017.

B) Exhibitions of the intangible cultural Heritage of China, which are an important national event in the field of ICH. In the period from October 2010 to August 2022, 7 similar exhibitions were organized, the venue of exhibitions is traditionally Shandong Province.

C) Annual specialized thematic exhibitions, timed to coincide with the Day of Cultural and Natural Heritage ("The Day"), sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China. They are organized by the Chinese Academy of Arts, the Chinese Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage. In 2021, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China held a whole series of propaganda, advertising and exhibition events dedicated to the NPC, on the theme "Intangible heritage of the people for the people". It includes more than 4,100 online and offline events in various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China ^[18].

In July 2022, a video exhibition of intangible cultural heritage "Walking in the Clouds" and "Festival of Purchases of Intangible Cultural Heritage" were held in Beijing, dedicated to the Day of Cultural and Natural Heritage. As part of the celebration, more than 6,200 events promoting and demonstrating the intangible cultural heritage of China were organized throughout the country ^[15]. These events are aimed at promoting digital transformation in the field of meeting the needs of the public in understanding the importance and uniqueness of the ICH, their comprehensive study, teaching conservation and sharing of ICH resources in the PRC.

Thanks to the integration of online and offline, this year's events will combine exhibition and marketing, present China's achievements in preserving and promoting intangible cultural heritage and bring them closer to the daily lives of people, especially young people, said Minister of Culture and Tourism Hu Heping ^[3].

D) Specialized organizations

Of the most important organizations for the protection of ICH should be called the Ministry of culture and tourism of China (), the inter-Ministerial joint meeting for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (), Chinese centre for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (), Chinese Association for the protection of intangible cultural heritage ().

In March 2022 The first national-level Museum of Intangible Cultural Heritage in China has opened in Beijing. The exhibition presents 1300 works of art ^[1].

Guidelines for the protection of intangible cultural heritage monumentsOn August 13, 2021, the State Council of the People's Republic of China published a document entitled "Remarks on further strengthening the protection of intangible cultural heritage".

It formulated the motto of the organization of work on the protection of monuments of the NKN: "Protection is a priority, salvation is the main thing. Use rationally, transfer and develop" ^[20]. Such work in the People's Republic of China is carried out systematically, it includes leadership from the government, public participation, a clear distribution of responsibilities, pooling efforts. The most important principles are long-term planning, phased implementation, a combination of private and general, and a focus on practical results.

Below we list some measures that may be applicable to the protection of intangible cultural heritage.

1. Raising awareness of the national intangible cultural heritage

The preservation of the monuments of the NKN is the most important condition for maintaining the national cultural and spiritual tradition, the basis of the existence of a nation. The disappearance of knowledge about traditional culture means the disintegration of the nation. The rescue, protection, inheritance and development of ICH is an important and urgent problem facing China in the period of globalization and social transformations, since ICH objects can no longer be reproduced after disappearance. China recognizes that it has lost many cultural values. For example, the most complete information about the ancient city of Loulan, which existed from 176 BC and suddenly disappeared in 630 AD, as well as the most complete collection of objects related to it, is now outside China, in the British Museum ^[13], the earliest New Year's splint pictures from the prov. Hunan – in Japanese and German private collections. Therefore, the Government of the People's Republic of China believes that it is necessary to carry out information and explanatory work among the population about the importance of the ICH. In particular, already in 2008, with the support of the state, 10 collections (in 300 volumes) on national and folklore literature and art were published, their total volume is about 500 million hieroglyphs. Thanks to these works, it was possible to save and preserve the unique monuments of the NKN ^[5].

2. Research work

Intangible cultural heritage is always influenced by such factors as historical conditions, economic situation, lifestyle, social ideology, features of a particular era, etc., which requires painstaking research work, the creation of a specialized and nomenclature base. An interdisciplinary scientific approach should be applied here. For example, the researcher Lin He conducted a comparative study of one of the sections of the "Chu Stanzas" of the Zhou poet Qu Yuan (, 340-278 BC) called "Nine Songs" and the folklore of the Yuanting region (prov. Hunan). The monograph he wrote on this topic proves that Qu Yuan used local shamanic chants in his "Nine Songs", and substantiates the conclusion that the "Nine Songs" have a cult character. The results of his research have been recognized both in China and abroad, and some scientists even see them as the key to understanding the "Chu stanzas" ^[16].

3. Creating favorable conditions for the preservation, transfer and development of ICH

Intangible cultural heritage cannot be protected as artifacts of material heritage, on the contrary, the protection of intangible cultural heritage should be developed on the basis of the principles of "transfer" and "inheritance" ^{[12, p. 38]}. In the People's Republic of China, there is a special term "representative heirs", denoting a person who owns a craft or art, representing the ICH. Representative heirs also include students of such a craft or art.

The term "representative heirs of the intangible cultural heritage" first appeared in the "Notification of the recommendation of Representative Heirs of the national Intangible Cultural Heritage", published in 2007 ^[7]. It postulates that all regions and departments should, in accordance with the spirit and requirements of the State Council for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage, conscientiously carry out work on the principles of "protection is considered the most important, salvation is paramount; rationally use, bequeath and develop". It is also required to encourage and support national projects of intangible cultural heritage. Heirs-representatives, in turn, should conduct educational activities and cope as fully as possible with the protection of intangible cultural heritage ^[7].

In 2008, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China issued "Temporary measures to manage the search for successors of representatives of various areas of the national intangible cultural heritage". This document defined the conditions under which the selection of the "heirs" of the ICH should be carried out at the state level, their rights and obligations were fixed ^[10].

In 2012, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China jointly issued "Measures to manage the use of targeted funding for the protection of the national intangible cultural Heritage", which declared the need to establish special funds for the preservation of the ICH ^{[2, p. 101]}. Funds from these funds are directed to support "representative heirs" of various crafts and arts. The funds can also be used for work on the protection of ICH facilities, including planning and drafting security projects, searches, research of ICH, scientific publications, training and creation of databases.

In 2019, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China published a "Regulation on the procedure for determining and managing Representative Heirs of Intangible Cultural Heritage of National Significance." According to this provision, the determination of representative heirs will be carried out every five years and will include a number of procedures, including a re-examination of their dossiers and a public assessment ^[9].

As of December 2021, there are a total of 3,062 representative heirs of the NCH in the PRC. Persons included in the list of representative heirs receive subsidies from the state in the amount of 20 thousand yuan annually ^[8].

Thanks to these measures, the "heirs" of various types of NCS received the support of the government and society, the work on the transfer of experience was streamlined and intensified. This system of support for the "representative heirs" of the National Research Institute has become an important institutional guarantee for the protection and transfer of experience in various aspects of the intangible cultural heritage of the PRC.

4. Intangible cultural heritage and the fight against poverty

The increase in the level of national cultural consciousness and its relationship with the need to protect the national cultural heritage are reflected in state policy. Having a nationwide character, cultural self-awareness does not bypass the poorest regions of China.

In 2018, the Office of the State Council for Combating Poverty and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China jointly issued a "Notification on support for the creation of Intangible Cultural Heritage Artels to combat poverty and promote employment", in which the government officially focused on combating poverty simultaneously with supporting projects for the protection of intangible cultural heritage.

As a result of the measures taken, progress has been made in China not only in the protection of intangible cultural heritage, but also in strengthening cultural awareness, spreading knowledge about the objects of the ICH, developing traditional crafts, studying and popularizing traditional spiritual culture,

Summarizing the above, it is worth noting that all objects of historical, scientific and artistic value belong to the category of intangible cultural heritage requiring study and preservation. First of all, it concerns folklore, folk music, dancing, performing arts, crafts, rituals, calendar holidays, folk beliefs and ideas about the world, traditional types of gymnastics and martial arts, traditional medicine, as well as traditions related to the economic activities of the peoples inhabiting the territory of the People's Republic of China: methods of agriculture, fishing, animal husbandry, trade, auxiliary crafts.

Having analyzed the measures taken in the People's Republic of China to protect the NKN, they are distinguished by thoroughness and methodicality on the part of state policy. In its approach to the protection of intangible cultural heritage, the PRC is guided by three main principles: comprehensiveness, representativeness and objectivity. To this end, measures are being actively taken to strengthen cultural awareness and cultural self-awareness of the population, this work is characterized by integrity, originality and great potential. This experience should be adopted by all world powers in order to preserve and transmit their national cultural heritage to future generations.