Latest news with #IntangibleCulturalHeritage
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Global Times: Fashion textile expert finds passion in decoding ancient silk legacy
Yang Jiyuan revives ancient Chinese silk art, blending tradition, innovation, and passion to preserve cultural heritage. Beijing, China, July 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With her short hair and bubbly personality, Yang Jiyuan is a bit of a pleasant mystery. She admittedly loves cats and toys packed in blind boxes in her daily life. But once she steps into the laboratory, a seeming alter ego emerges at work. She is a calm and meticulous protector of ancient silk textiles, having successfully replicated an ancient China's lightest silk garment, weighing only 49 grams, with days and nights of the piece that is called "plain unlined gauze gown," Yang's dedication to work has enabled her to recreate multiple long-lost garments. Yet these feats alone cannot fully capture her career passion. Yang told the Global Times that what she truly seeks is to uncover "the ancient wisdom and humanistic stories behind Chinese silk."'Prefer to stay grounded'Yang is an inheritor of China's Intangible Culture Heritage (ICH) yunjinbrocade, a traditional silk fabric rooted in Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) culture from Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province. Her expertise in silk textiles, however, extends far beyond just this brocade alone. Before entering the field of ancient silk textile conservation, Yang had already been a rising talent in the contemporary sector of the industry. At that time, she was in her early 30s, but had already had opportunities working with widely known haute couture designers like Laurence Xu, crafting "red-carpet" statement garment for celebrities for global shows such as the Cannes Film Festival and Milano Fashion Week in Europe. Seeing fabrics she crafted gracing stages overseas once thrilled Yang, but years of experiencing the vanity fair-like glitz and glamour in overseas fashion circles gradually left her weary, prompting her to ask "What am I truly pursuing?" "Under neon lights and constant jet leg, I grew increasingly aware of how so-called 'prestige' can feel superfluous," Yang noted, adding that she "preferred to stay grounded." Driven by such a thought, Yang returned to China and chose to enroll in a training program launched by the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) in 2013. From the glare of camera flashes to the glow of lab lamps, Yang's training journey transition was not always easy. She told the Global Times that, while dusk settled and fellow trainees departed one by one, only she and her closest colleague would still be hunched over the work table. "We often worked until midnight. If we got hungry, we'd use a little stove typically used for fabric dyeing to cook instant noodles," she said, adding that such experiences somehow intensified her passion for ancient silk textiles. Though the training experience was intense, it opened a new door to her career, allowing her to see and touch real garments unearthed from ancient sites such as the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-AD25) Mawangdui tomb and the Dingling Mausoleum dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In 2017, she was commissioned by the Hunan Museum to restore the one-and-only plain unlined gauze gown that is a national first-class relic. The piece has more than 2,000 years of history. Weighing a mere 49 grams, it could easily fit inside a matchbox when folded. The reproduction of such a delicate artifact inevitably brought pressure. "When we were collecting data on the relic," Yang recalled, "even speaking slightly louder could make it flutter from our breath." The greatest technical challenge in replicating this garment lay not in its cut or style, but in recreating its antique appearance and astonishing lightness. To match the original's weight, Yang and her team creatively put silkworms on a controlled "diet" to produce finer threads. After numerous tries, an accidental black tea spill on her table inspired her to use tea and color-fixing agents as the dyes for the garment's subtle earthy yellow color. "I still remember, my eyes were teary when delivered this replica successfully to the museum," said Yang. Wisdoms behind the silk With her proven expertise in replicating the national first-class gauze treasure, Yang was entrusted with an even more challenging task, to recreate a Western Han Dynasty (206BC-AD25) printed and painted floss silk-padded gauze robe, a piece that is even more challenging than the former. The robe consisted of seven gauze layers, each merely one-third the thickness of a tissue paper. Yet what astonished Yang most wasn't this intricate textile structure, but its densely intricate patterns revealed under a microscope. She told the Global Times that they were like an awe-inspiring testament to ancient artisans' restoring another piece of zhijin brocade (gold-woven silk fabric), she noticed variations in the sheen of its gold threads. Under a microscope, she uncovered ancient craftsmen's secret that they had mixed genuine gold threads with imitation ones to cut corners and lower fabric production costs. "I felt I could communicate with those ancient craftsmen through touching the piece," Yang noted. The more she handled ancient textiles, the better she understood the stories of ancient makers. She said that despite lacking advanced technology, ancient Chinese craftsmanship possessed astonishing wisdom, especially integrating diverse techniques. And this has also inspired Yang. She told the Global Times that she experimented on mixing silk and ceramics to make brooches. "The boundary-defying genius of old masters," she muses, "lives on in our hands."Song Jiabao also contributed to the story first appeared in Global Times: Company: Global TimesContact Person: Anna LiEmail: editor@ BeijingDisclaimer: This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies (including product offerings, regulatory plans and business plans) and may change without notice. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yomiuri Shimbun
4 days ago
- General
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Festivals Facing Crisis: How Should Traditions Be Passed on to Next Generation?
Festivals and traditional events that have been passed down through the generations for many years in various areas are now in danger of disappearing due to a shortage of participants caused by population decline. How should these traditions be passed on to the next generation? It is hoped that people in each regional area will figure out how to resolve the situation. The organizer for Soma Nomaoi, an annual traditional event in Fukushima Prefecture that was held in May, has abolished the requirement for female participants to be under 20 years old and unmarried, starting this year. Because the number of participants had been declining in recent years, the organizer reviewed the conditions for taking part in the event in an effort to secure participants. As a result, eight women aged 20 or older took part. In order to preserve the tradition, the organizer appears to have deemed it inevitable to change the way the festival is held in response to changing times. It is difficult to determine how far to relax restrictions on gender and age for events such as shrine rituals that have been traditionally carried out by men. Discussions have been held over the participation of women in the Gion Festival in Kyoto and the Mikurumayama Festival in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, both of which are included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Preservation organizations left the decision to local communities responsible for maintaining yama, hoko and other types of floats. As a result, the floats are divided into those on which women are allowed to ride and those that they are not. There are also festivals nationwide that have been suspended due to a shortage of participants or since the COVID-19 pandemic. It is hoped that local communities and preservation groups will respond flexibly according to regional circumstances, pondering what degree of importance to place on tradition. It may also be effective to allow people, such as those from other areas and tourists, to be involved in holding traditional events. Starting in fiscal 2023, the Fukuoka prefectural government has introduced a system to register in advance people both inside and outside the prefecture who wish to help with festivals and dispatch them to organizers struggling with staff shortages. If people learn about the areas through their participation in festivals and traditional events, that experience could help spread the areas' appeal and promote relocation to the areas, among other merits. The environment surrounding festivals and traditional events has been changing. These days, events that involve animals fighting each other or forcing them to suffer have been criticized as animal abuse. Such viewpoints also need to be considered when discussions are held on ways to preserve traditional events. Even though some events have been suspended, there are cases in which the momentum for their revival grows as circumstances and other factors change. In Sakaide, Kagawa Prefecture, Hojo Nenbutsu Odori, a traditional dance that has been designated as an intangible folk cultural property by the prefectural government, had been suspended after it was performed in 1994. However, it was revived in April after a hiatus of about 30 years. This was made possible because a preservation group restarted its activities on the occasion of the 1,200th anniversary of the establishment of a local shrine. Video footage and tools from that time, as well as records from when the traditional dance was given the cultural property designation, reportedly helped revive the dance. Even small festivals that are not designated as a cultural property are a legacy that has been inherited from predecessors. It is essential to work together with local governments and make efforts to keep records of such traditions. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 6, 2025)
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
State plans preservation of 10 monuments each yr
Patna: State art, culture and youth department has planned to ensure the maintenance and preservation of a minimum of 10 monuments in each financial year. This was decided in a departmental meeting held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of secretary Pranav Kumar. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The department is actively developing a detailed action plan for its execution. Focusing on specific historical and tourist sites, the department has decided to formulate a plan for the preservation and beautification of Sher Shah Suri Tomb and Ahilya Mandir in Darbhanga district. As per an official press release, the department also announced plans to organise a film festival in Mumbai to promote the state's new film policy, with an aim to attract filmmakers and encourage production within the state. Additionally, a proposal for the inclusion of the state's revered Chhath festival in Unesco's Intangible Cultural Heritage list will be sent. Secretary Kumar directed the officials to implement all proposals timely and pay special attention to the quality of each task. Patna: State art, culture and youth department has planned to ensure the maintenance and preservation of a minimum of 10 monuments in each financial year. This was decided in a departmental meeting held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of secretary Pranav Kumar. The department is actively developing a detailed action plan for its execution. Focusing on specific historical and tourist sites, the department has decided to formulate a plan for the preservation and beautification of Sher Shah Suri Tomb and Ahilya Mandir in Darbhanga district. As per an official press release, the department also announced plans to organise a film festival in Mumbai to promote the state's new film policy, with an aim to attract filmmakers and encourage production within the state. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Additionally, a proposal for the inclusion of the state's revered Chhath festival in Unesco's Intangible Cultural Heritage list will be sent. Secretary Kumar directed the officials to implement all proposals timely and pay special attention to the quality of each task.
Korea Herald
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
At heart of K-music, pansori aims to strike global chord
Performance marking 60th anniversary of pansori's designation as National Intangible Cultural Heritage to be held later this month Marking the 60th anniversary of pansori's designation as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage this year, 12 Intangible Cultural Heritage holders in pansori will come together to deliver a performance of pansori, a form of narrative singing of epic stories and folklore. The Korea Heritage Service and the Korea Heritage Agency are jointly organizing a performance titled "Deukeumjiseol," which translates as "the art of gaining the true sound and knowing how to tell it," June 26-28 and July 3-4 at the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Training Center in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. Admission is free and registration can be made through Naver starting Thursday at 9 a.m. The five-day event is part of a cultural program aimed at recognizing the holders of National Intangible Cultural Heritage in pansori and promoting the country's cultural heritage by making it more accessible for the public. It will also be a rare chance for the public to see five stories of pansori: "Chunhyangga," a love tale between the daughter of a courtesan and the son of a magistrate; "Heungbuga," a tale of humor and family; "Sugungga," a story about a sea turtle that tricks a rabbit to get its liver to cure the sea king; "Simcheongga," a tale of filial piety; and "Jeokbyeokga," which is an epic from China's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms." While pansori is often regarded as difficult to approach, Korea's first million-selling author, Kim Hong-shin, who will host the upcoming performance, underscored that pansori has become an essential element of Korean culture and music. "The performance will be a great opportunity to convey the sound of our country's traditional tune and the beauty behind it. I hope many people will join us in sharing this joyful experience," he said during Wednesday's press conference at the Korea House in central Seoul. Kim Hye-Jeong, president of the Pansori Society, struck a similar chord, noting that pansori's unique charm connects the audience and singer to the story. Pansori master Kim Il-Koo, who was recognized as the National Intangible Cultural Heritage holder of "Jeokbyeokga" in 2020, expressed hopes that pansori would reach a wider audience through the performance. "Performing abroad and receiving enthusiastic applause makes me proud, especially when a foreign audience says 'bravo' after seeing my performance. I hope more people in and outside the country will show support and interest in pansori."
South China Morning Post
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Intangible cultural heritage and Hong Kong examples as city celebrates inaugural ICH month
If you live in or are visiting Hong Kong, you may have watched the Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade from the fishing village's stilt houses last week, or mastered the art of making cha kwo (steamed sticky rice dumpling). You may be heading to Sha Tin later this month to learn a paper-crafting technique, or make temple offerings at the Che Kung Festival. A plethora of such cultural experiences is being widely showcased at the moment – more than usual – because June is the inaugural Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Month. In addition to tours in six characteristic districts – Yau Tsim Mong, Tsuen Wan, Tai Po, Sha Tin, Eastern, and the Islands – there are carnivals, exhibitions, seminars and workshops being held across the city. Appreciating a culture's heritage through its historic sites and monuments, buildings, and material artefacts – such as clothing, jewellery, weapons, art and sculpture – is a familiar practice. Such tangible heritage has long been presented in museums, recognised, shared and even returned to its rightful communities. Cantonese opera is listed on the Representative List of the ICH of Hong Kong under performing arts. Photo: AFP Intangible cultural heritage (ICH), on the other hand, comprises non-physical intellectual wealth, such as folklore, customs, beliefs, traditions, knowledge and language. ICH received less recognition until recent decades, despite its crucial role as a mainspring of cultural diversity, and a guarantor of sustainable development.
