Before I went to the intangible cultural heritage gala, I did not have much knowledge about how the ancient traditions that have survived in today’s modern society. I read several depressing news reports about the intangible cultural heritages that had been forgotten or abandoned. The gala was my first time having a face-to-face discussion with the practitioners who had hands-on experience in passing on the traditions to the younger generation.
Perhaps most surprising to me was that it takes days or even years to learn a handicraft, but massive companies can produce clothes and paintings at an incredible pace every day.This may explain why the hand-made pieces are much more expensive than I have first thought.
Performers of Shandong Qinshu came from the same place that I was born. When I heard them sing in the local dialect, it aroused mixed feelings. When I was still a little boy, I used to listen to the radio, desperately waiting for Pingshu -- a story-telling program -- and Xiangsheng -- a funny dialogue performed by two or more people also known as cross talk. Today, I am sure a majority of people would rather surf the Internet or party instead of listening to the radio or watching ancient operas.
People complain, but most find it is a profitable business. A young man in his 20s now earns 3,000 yuan a month working as a brick-sculpting worker. He comes from Gansu, a northwest China region that is not as developed as provinces in the coastal areas. His salary is much higher than his peers living in the town. He seems to have enough confidence about his future.
By Xu Xinlei
As part of the Q&A sessions with the masters and their students during the live show of the Chinese intangible cultural heritage (ICH), most masters said they are teaching “few” or “quite a few” apprentices their skill.
The gala was my first time having a face-to-face discussion with the practitioners who had hands-on experience in passing on the traditions to the younger generation.
