Zhangzhou non-legacy drum umbrella
National intangible cultural heritage Gaoshan people’s hand-holding dance
Workers are making salted dates.
Shi Yaoming shows the process of spreading incense in making incense.
Celebrated drum umbrellas, skillful paper-cutting techniques, and dexterous puppet performances … Recently, the main venue of Fujian Intangible Cultural Heritage Day in 2023 and the launching ceremony of Zhangzhou Minnan Cultural Week were held in Zhangzhou. A number of intangible cultural relics from Zhangzhou and other parts of the province are here to learn from each other, showing a different charm of intangible cultural relics and attracting many citizens to watch.
Old craftsmanship is facing difficulties in inheritance.
"This craft has been passed on to me, and it is already the fourth generation." Shi Yunfeng, born in 1980s, runs a small shop named Jin Ruilan in the ancient city of Beijing Road. The shop area is small, the antique decoration style is quite attractive, and there are all kinds of incense sticks and incense burners on the shelves. This seemingly unremarkable shop is a century-old shop, and the secret of inheritance is the traditional hand-made fragrance making technique.
The mention of "incense" is often inseparable from temples and ancestral halls. China’s incense-making and incense-burning techniques can be traced back to ancient times. With the prosperity of sacrificial culture, incense-burning has also become a cultural symbol, which is recorded in many ancient books.
There are many folk beliefs and temples in southern Fujian, and the demand for incense is also very extensive. According to the Records of Zhangzhou City, during the Republic of China, there were incense shops in Zhangzhou City, such as Yaochuntang, Jinruilan, Xinhefa, Wanruxiang, XinYongsheng, Fulanting and Yuqingchun. Jin Ruilan was founded by Shi Weng in the Republic of China. In the early days of liberation, it was inherited by his son Shi Yangquan. Later, the third-generation inheritor Shi Yaoming boldly improved the technology and introduced new varieties. At its peak, it employed 150 people. The products were exported to Japan, Singapore and other places, and now it has spread to Shi Yunfeng.
Hold the incense bone, dip it in water, rub the incense core continuously, let the incense powder adhere to it, then soak it in water again, wrap it with the incense powder, and repeat the above process until the original bamboo stick becomes twice as thick and the incense powder is evenly covered, and then put the incense in the sun to dry and shape.
This process is no stranger to Shi Yunfeng. Since he can remember, the smell of incense has been growing with him, and then he successfully took over his father’s baton and continued to run Xiangzhuang.
"We have always insisted on making incense by hand, retaining the most authentic way of making incense and retaining its ancient taste." Shi Yunfeng told reporters that nowadays, most perfumery factories use the method of machine perfumery, which has brought a big impact on traditional handicraft skills. Although in 2020, their hand-made incense skills were recognized as the intangible cultural heritage of Zhangzhou, but now they are also facing operational difficulties.
How to better inherit non-legacy crafts? This is a difficult problem faced by many non-legacy craftsmen. With the development of economy and society, many old crafts have been gradually replaced by new technologies and new demands, losing the strong market demand, and the number of people engaged in this track has gradually decreased.
Seek flexibility and embark on a new track
"If you want to make old crafts last longer, you should put them on a new track." At the end of last year, the production skill of Zhangzhou Laojinzao (Yunxiao) was included in the ninth batch of Zhangzhou intangible cultural heritage list, which made the inheritor Tang Jinzhang very happy. He believes that with the blessing of this golden signboard, the old golden jujube in Yunxiao can be familiar to more people.
Although it is a new intangible heritage, the production technique of old jujube has been circulating for a long time. As early as the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, jujube seedlings crossed the ocean and entered Xiahe Township, Yunxiao County. Compared with the golden dates in other places, Xiahe Golden Dates are thin and tender, orange and golden, with good color and fragrance. Salted golden dates and sweet golden dates made from Xiahe Golden Dates are very popular, and they have been exported to Southeast Asian countries and regions such as Singapore in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.
Today, the number of jujube planted in Yunxiao Xiahe River is decreasing, and there is a lack of raw materials. This product and production technology have also gone downhill. The reason comes from the change of consumer groups’ taste of snack food, which makes jujube, a snack with ancient taste, gradually lose its market.
"If you want to occupy a place in the consumer market, you need to tap the characteristics of the product itself and take the road of innovation." Tang Jinzhang used the efficacy of jujube to anchor the track of healthy food and broaden the consumption market of jujube products.
In addition, he also made a fuss about the taste of the product. The traditional taste of jujube is too salty to be favored by today’s consumers, so he constantly changes his production skills and improves his taste. At the same time, he innovates eight kinds of products, such as jujube pills and jujube tea, pays attention to portability and prolongs the storage time, so that jujube products can embark on a new track of light food and healthy food.
"In the past, on holidays, every household here had to eat golden dates, and there was a saying,’ Eat golden dates and have a good year’. I hope that through continuous innovation of intangible skills, an industry will be formed. " Tang Jinxi said.
Nowadays, the salty dates in Yunxiao have appeared in all major scenic spots and train stations in Zhangzhou, which has become the first choice for tourists to accompany them. Tang Jinzhang said that he hopes that with the help of the government, the promotion of such local products will be intensified, and the popularity of landmark products will be further promoted, so that the intangible heritage will move to a bigger stage.
The government set up a stage to sing a play.
In the process of inheritance and protection, there must be non-legacy operas, and more importantly, the government should set up a stage.
"Our main job is to preserve the original Minnan culture, especially the non-legacy culture. This is our cultural blood." Zhou Kunhai, director of the Minnan Cultural and Ecological Protection Center, said that at present, there are 229 representative projects of intangible cultural heritage at or above the municipal level in Zhangzhou, of which 3 are included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. It is these rich and varied intangible cultural heritage projects that make up the unique Minnan culture. Therefore, in the in-depth excavation of the protection of intangible cultural heritage, the center adheres to the concept of "protection first, rescue first, rational utilization, inheritance and development" to promote the rejuvenation of intangible cultural heritage.
"By appearing in various activities held in Zhangzhou, the audience of puppet performances spread all over the world, which also promoted the demand for various cultural and creative products." Yue Siyi, deputy director of Zhangzhou Puppet Heritage and Protection Center, told reporters that in recent years, Zhangzhou has taken advantage of the situation to hold various types of cultural activities, and puppet performances have also been put on various stages with the help of activities, thus attracting more attention.
In addition to puppet shows, Zhangzhou embroidery, paper-cutting, Xiangju and other local non-legacy projects have also gained popularity through various cultural activities.
"In the past, Kunqu Opera may be performed in small theaters in the countryside, with a single audience. Now, through various municipal activities, many people who didn’t know it before have seen the changes and innovations of Kunqu Opera, especially in the past two years. Many young faces have been seen in the audience." Chen Chaohui, director of the Xiang Opera Heritage Protection Center, said.
In recent years, Zhangzhou’s intangible heritage has gradually entered the public’s perspective from the small circle, which is closely related to the promotion of Zhangzhou’s intangible heritage in recent years. In 2021, Zhangzhou established the Minnan Cultural Ecological Protection Center, and added the "Zhangzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center" to be responsible for the construction of Minnan Cultural (Zhangzhou) Ecological Protection Zone, the implementation of Zhangzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritance and Protection, and the organization of non-legacy publicity activities; And released "On Organizing the Implementation of the Master Plan of Minnan Cultural and Ecological Protection Zone" Zhangzhou City Construction Promotion Plan (2021-2025) "to promote the protection work by means of project, inventory and responsibility management. (Reporter Yang Lingyi correspondent Zheng Wendian Lin Wenqin text/map)
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