A Brief Overview of the Development of Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection in China

Abstract

Intangible cultural heritage is the carrier of the civilization of human society and is a manifestation of cultural diversity in the world. The unique spiritual values, ways of thinking, imagination, and cultural awareness of the Chinese nation contained in China’s intangible cultural heritage are the basis for safeguarding China’s cultural identity and cultural sovereignty. Therefore, the strengthening of the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage in China not only suits the need for national development, but also is a necessary prerequisite for the dialogue of civilizations in the international community and the sustainable development of human society. This paper adopts a literature research method to briefly describe the development of intangible cultural heritage protection in China after its accession to the “Convention”. We sorted out four aspects, including the origin of the name of intangible cultural heritage in China, China’s initial efforts to protect the “intangible cultural heritage”, the effective measures taken by China to protect the intangible cultural heritage, and the list of representative items of intangible cultural heritage at the national level. The purpose of this paper is to understand the series of conservation measures established by China for the protection of intangible cultural heritage, as well as China’s contributions to the diversity, protection, continuation, and re-creation of of intangible cultural heritage culture.