Heritage In China Research Articles

Research on intangible cultural heritage resource description and knowledge fusion based on linked data

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to contribute to the digital development and utilization of China’s intangible cultural heritage resources, research on the theft of intangible cultural heritage resources and knowledge integration based on linked data is proposed to promote the standardized description of intangible cultural heritage knowledge and realize the digital dissemination and development of intangible cultural heritage.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, firstly, the knowledge organization theory and semantic Web technology are used to describe the intangible cultural heritage digital resource objects in metadata specifications. Secondly, the ontology theory and technical methods are used to build a conceptual model of the intangible cultural resources field and determine the concept sets and hierarchical relationships in this field. Finally, the semantic Web technology is used to establish semantic associations between intangible cultural heritage resource knowledge.FindingsThe study findings indicate that the knowledge organization of intangible cultural heritage resources constructed in this study provides a solution for the digital development of intangible cultural heritage in China. It also provides semantic retrieval with better knowledge granularity and helps to visualize the knowledge content of intangible cultural heritage.Originality/valueThis study summarizes and provides significant theoretical and practical value for the digital development of intangible cultural heritage and the resource description and knowledge fusion of intangible cultural heritage can help to discover the semantic relationship of intangible cultural heritage in multiple dimensions and levels.

The Present Situation and Countermeasures of the Protection and Inheritance of Urban Historical and Cultural Heritage in China

China has a long history and rich cultural heritage, but the urbanization process poses an inevitable threat to the urban historical and cultural heritage. Protection and inheritance of urban historical and cultural heritage has become an urgent problem to be solved. This study aims to explore the current situation of the protection and inheritance of Chinese urban historical and cultural heritage in Xian as an example, and put forward corresponding countermeasures and measures. First, introduce the urban development history of Xian, in order to better understand the value and importance of its historical and cultural heritage. Subsequently, through the detailed analysis of the protection of the historical and cultural heritage of Xian in Xi an, the current existing problems and challenges are revealed. On this basis, a series of improvement strategies are proposed, including strengthening laws and regulations, strengthening cooperation and stakeholder participation, implementation of sustainable tourism management, promotion of education and public awareness, and application of innovative technologies in heritage protection. Through further research on the current status of urban historical and cultural heritage in Xian, this paper aims to provide experience and inspiration for the protection and inheritance of urban historical and cultural heritage in China. Only through effective protection and inheritance, we can integrate Chinas historical and cultural heritage into the development of modern cities, and add unique charm to the city, while retaining precious historical memories and leaving precious wealth for future generations.

Innovation on Cultural and Creative Product–Designing Traditional Chinese Poetry into Product

The cultural and creative (CAC) industries have experienced rapid growth in recent years, and "Culture" plays a critical role in design. Traditional Chinese poetry is an intangible cultural heritage in China's civilisation. Therefore, designing "Traditional Chinese Poetry" into products will be a CAC product design trend. This study investigates how to transform Traditional Chinese Poetry elements into CAC products with an innovative design model. Through the design practice, participants have successfully designed CAC products based on ancient poetry elements. Moreover, there still needs to be more research on the cultural product design of the intangible traditional culture in China.

Negotiating Routes and/or Roots: Heritagisation of nanyin in China and Singapore, 1970s to 2010s

Originated in southern China, nanyin (南音) is regarded as ‘the sound of motherland’ (乡音) performed and loved by the Hokkien dialect speakers in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and diasporic populations living in Southeast Asia. Having thrived in transnational spaces, nanyin is now celebrated as a shared heritage in China and Southeast Asian countries, such as Singapore. This paper explores the process of heritage‐making, that is, the ways in which the art form and cultural practice of nanyin have been re‐shaped and re‐appropriated by the diasporic communities and the native place to articulate different understandings of the Chinese identity in their distinct nation‐state frameworks. In this ambivalent entanglement, China has re‐appropriated the diasporic history of nanyin to gain international recognition and build soft power through United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. In Singapore, the Siong Leng Music Association has actively engaged in the heritage‐making of nanyin, leading to the creation of a unique Singapore brand that speaks to hybridity and cosmopolitanism, in the same way as the re‐construction of their Chinese identity. Examining the two processes of heritagisation of nanyin along the China‐Singapore ‘heritage corridors’, the paper argues that the two ends are connected in important ways but always seek to maintain distance to articulate their own cultural representations at international stages. Thus, nanyin through a comparative perspective enables a critical examination of issues of centre versus periphery, authenticity, and hybridity in the Sinophone world.

Analysis of fire risk and fire prevention of architectural heritage: A case study of mount wutai in China

As precious historical and cultural heritages in China, ancient architecture belongs to non-renewable resources. However, in recent years, fires in ancient buildings occurred from time to time, causing irreparable losses to Chinas precious historical and cultural heritage. In order to explore the existing problems of fire safety in ancient buildings and better prevent fire accidents, this paper starts with an introduction of the structural characteristics of ancient buildings in China, and then, on the premise of combining the characteristics of geographical culture, architectural structure, and materials of Wutai Mountain temple group, the paper also analyzes the fire risk of ancient buildings. According to the practical work experience in fire protection of Mount Wutai, feasible and reasonable fire protection measures of ancient buildings are put forward, including the enhancement of fire resistance of building materials, the related equipment and system, and the safety management, so as to minimize the fire risk and fire loss and achieve the purpose of protecting gorgeous ancient building civilization.

Research on the Evaluation of the Effect of Tourism Revitalization of Intangible Cultural Heritage in China in the Context of New Media

Abstract In this paper, a tourism revitalization model of intangible cultural heritage is constructed, and firstly, feature factors are extracted and multivariate features are combined using methods such as kernel density estimation to provide support for reliable prediction. Then decompose the MLP network structure, i.e. multilayer perceptron, and use Sigmoid function as the activation function. The importance of the feature factors is calculated using the random forest algorithm, and the collected tourism data are mined for the relationship between intangible cultural heritage and tourism revitalization to obtain the residual mean square of out-of-bag data. Finally, the coupling coordination degree is used to derive the development of ICH and tourism revitalization. The experimental results showed that 78% of the tourists were moderately to highly involved in the interactive participation of ICH, and only 22% were not interested in it. Therefore, the combination of ICH tourism and new media may become a new way of communication, allowing more general public to have the opportunity to approach and know ICH tourism.

Oil painting within the framework of art education to support local ethnic cultures and preserve cultural heritage in China

The purpose is to compare the development of innovative thinking in two groups of students who learn the intangible cultural heritage of the ancient ethnic group and master oil painting techniques in two formats: distantly and visiting the Miao settlement in the deep southeast of Guizhou. In addition to the traditional learning of oil painting techniques, the students learnt folklore and the cultural heritage of ethnic minorities as a part of the art curriculum. For practice, the control group (96 students) visited the villages of Miao in Guizhou, and the experimental group (96 students) gained experience and knowledge about the Miao ethnic minority distantly, through videos and e-discussions. At the end of the training, the students presented their final oil paintings on the life of the Miao. They have been assessed by teachers and art critics to identify innovative thinking among students as a driving force of creativity. The control group showed higher results on parameters such as Integrity (454 points) and Flexibility (287 points). The high-end result of the control group proved that innovative thinking is best developed by immersing students in the real world of the Miao and allowing them to experiment and feel their works.

Chinese‐Tibetan Bilingual Knowledge Organization in the Cultural Heritage Domain: A Practice for Traditional Tibetan Festivals

ABSTRACTThe trend of multilingualism in the web environment has put new demands on the digitization of cultural heritage. However, minority languages in cultural heritage have received little attention in China. This study selects traditional Tibetan festivals, a representative minority cultural heritage in China. Based on constructing a Chinese‐Tibetan bilingual ontology, the cultural and tourism data of Tibet are linked. By further constructing a knowledge graph, a Chinese‐Tibetan Bilingual Tibetan cultural service platform with traditional Tibetan festivals as the core is established.

When the whole-nation system meets cultural heritage in China

ABSTRACT In this article, we explore how China mobilised its unique whole-nation system (juguo tizhi) to become a global cultural power, focusing on the encounter between Chinese and global heritage discourses. This article is based on field ethnography of three World Heritage sites in Hangzhou, China: The West Lake Cultural Landscape, the Grand Canal of China, and the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City. The juguo tizhi is a hierarchical system mobilised to achieve national goals. In the process of China’s ‘successful’ inscribing of cultural heritage sites based on juguo tizhi, we suggest that Chinese heritage discourses are compromised, and grassroots discourses are overshadowed. The juguo tizhi reinforces statist narratives more than it protects Chinese culture, which, we argue, is linked to the tensions between cultural and national nationalism. Furthermore, we suggest that China is now moving beyond the compromising Chinese heritage discourse phase to align with global heritage discourse, and has begun to present the Chinese discourse internationally, where the juguo tizhi is mobilised. It will be noteworthy to observe how this occurrence will affect China and the global heritage landscape in the future.

Study on the Development Path of Lingbi Shadow Theater in the Age of Self-media

As an intangible cultural heritage of Anhui Province, how to better inheritance and development is an important issue that Lingbi shadow theatre is facing now. This project mainly explores how Lingbi shadow theatre can make use of the fast and convenient self-media platform to reach the public in the age of self-media. Through the field investigation method, literature reading method and other research methods, we study the artistic characteristics and cultural connotation of Lingbi Shadow Opera, and analyse the dilemmas and reasons it is facing nowadays. According to the communication methods and advantages of self media, combining with the current development situation of Lingbi shadow theatre and the humanities of Lingbi County, we discuss how to combine Lingbi shadow theatre with self media to give full play to its cultural value, economic value, social value and so on. It is proposed to combine traditional media, new media and self-media, everyone can be a non-heritage communicator, and develop cultural and creative products, in order to expand the audience of Lingbi shadow theatre and achieve the common development of self-media and Lingbi shadow theatre. This study is based on the national policy of protecting intangible cultural heritage, the inheritance and development of Lingbi shadow puppet theatre, not to cater to the public to destroy its own cultural characteristics, and to strengthen the supervision of its output culture while using self media. In conclusion, through the results of this study, new vitality is injected into Lingbi shadow theatre, and it is hoped to provide some references and lessons for the inheritance and development of other intangible cultural heritages in China.

Spatial pattern and influencing factors of land border cultural heritage in China

This paper provides an analysis of China’s land border cultural heritage, aiming to offer guidance for its protection and development. The study compiled a comprehensive database of heritage sites and analyzed their mathematical characteristics based on quantity, type, and quality. The spatial pattern of the cultural heritage was described using kernel density analysis, spatial variability, and spatial correlation, while the driving mechanism was measured based on Geo-Detector model. The findings revealed that the land border areas of China have a total of 1227 cultural heritage, comprising two main types and 18 subtypes. National cultural heritage accounted for 22.74%, with ancient city ruins being the largest type of cultural heritage. The Southwest and Northeast regions of China exhibited high-high clusters and low-low clusters, respectively. Moreover, the study identified history of administrative succession, evolution of historical and cultural, altitude, distance from the city, population density, minority population ratio, urbanization process, and per capita GDP as significant factors impacting the spatial pattern of land border cultural heritage in China. Based on these findings, the study suggests that the government should invest more in border cultural heritage, improve transportation infrastructure in border areas, ensure dynamic inheritance and protection of cultural heritage, and promote the joint development of different types of cultural heritage. The research results will provide data support and decision-making reference for the sustainable development of cultural heritage in land border areas, and can provide a new perspective for the management of cultural heritage in similar areas.

现代东巴画的发展现状研究

As an important intangible cultural heritage in China, the Dongba painting of the Naxi ethnic group holds an irreplaceable important position and artistic value. Overall, there is a lack of comprehensive analysis of the current development status of modern Dongba painting, and research on modern Dongba painting from an artistic perspective is also relatively lacking in existing research. This study investigates the modern Dongba painting in the northwest region of Yunnan, describes its development stage and current situation, points out the problems of relatively lagging theoretical research, the impact of economic development and cultural integration on Dongba painting art, and the shortage of young artists engaged in modern Dongba painting creation. Corresponding suggestions are proposed: government agencies assist in promoting the development of modern Dongba painting, and develop excellent modern Dongba painting products through multiple channels, and optimize the combination of modern Dongba painting and university education to cultivate more Dongba painting talents.

Evaluation of Ecosystem Service Value of Homegarden in Chengdu Plain and Relevant Protection Strategy

The Homegarden (HG) in Chengdu Plain is an important agricultural heritage in China, and is viewed as a sustainable land use pattern. HGs are damaged continuously under the backdrop of urbanization and land use changes, thus influencing ecosystem services and residents’ welfare. This study investigates the distribution characteristics of HGs in Chengdu and their ecosystem service value and proposes HG protection strategies on this basis. Results demonstrate that (1) there are 71,892 HGs in Chengdu, covering an area of 558.70 km2. The average density is 9.94 HGs/km2. (2) The total ecosystem service value of HGs is about USD 30562.70 million/year. Among them, the material product, regulating services, biodiversity maintenance value, and cultural services account for 15.46%, 37.90%, 14.19%, and 32.45%, respectively. (3) The number, area, and ecosystem service value of HGs in Chengdu decreased by 11.45%, 20.89%, and 6.92% in the last ten years, respectively. (4) The area of the extremely important protection zone of HGs accounts for 21.14%. We suggest giving priority attention to these areas. Protection strategies of HGs include, among others, formulating HG protection plans, keeping traditional features, maintaining biodiversity, and increasing the economic income of residents.

The Predicament of Suzhou Embroidery: Implications of Intangible Cultural Heritage in China

Suxiu, “Suzhou embroidery,” is one of the major styles of traditional Chinese embroidery. In 2006, Suxiu was listed as the National Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of China. Although the official media highlight the glory of Suxiu and its cultural significance as ICH, the industry has encountered great difficulties and challenges for the last 20 years. This paper explores the predicament of Suxiu and the far-reaching impacts of the China’s ICH policies on the embroidery industry. It argues that the state policies fail to provide community members with equal participatory opportunities in the heritage industry. Instead, it creates intragroup hierarchy and classification, favoring certain members while excluding others. More specifically, it examines local embroiderers’ different attitudes and reactions toward the ICH system, thus illustrating how the top-down policies affect the sociocultural process of recognition. It aims to offer a critical reflection on how China’s industrialization and ICH policies have transformed the nation’s handicraft industry.

THE ARTISTIC WORLD OF I. S. SHMELEV’S WORKS AS VIEWED BY LITERARY CRITICS IN CHINA

The aim of the study is to determine the value of the artistic heritage of I. S. Shmelev in the eyes of Chinese critics in the process of creating spiritual realism as part of the literature of the Russian emigration. The article presents analysis of the current state of the study of I. S. Shmelev’s heritage in China. The authors identify possible directions of research on this writer among Chinese literary scholars. The scientifi c novelty of the work is due to the fact that studying of I. S. Shmelev’s works in the context of Christian traditions still remains on the periphery of the interests of researchers, and is practically not represented from the standpoint of Chinese literary scholars in terms of spiritual realism. For the fi rst time, a scientifi c rationale is given and a research development is carried out on the state of the study of the writer’s heritage at the moment in China. As a result, it is proved that the interest in research on Shmelev and his work is gradually changing in China.

Embroidery Crafts Intellectual Property Protection

Suzhou embroidery enjoys the reputation of domestic embroidery and is included in one of the important catalogs of intangible cultural heritage in China. In recent years, the definition and protection dilemma of intellectual property rights of domestic embroidery handicrafts has always existed. This paper borrows the Suzhou traditional embroidery handicraft ' Huaqing Yufei Tu ', which is judicially identified as the original author's right of adaptation, as the epitome of case analysis, and seeks to clarify the intellectual property laws and regulations for the protection of embroidery, legal sharing of manuscript copyright, professional knowledge empowerment of industry lawyers, and standardization of infringement identification. Suggestions are made to enhance the self-awareness of embroiderers to identify infringement, reduce the risk of infringement in the embroidery market, and help the embroidery industry develop in a good situation.

Character-Defining Elements Comparison and Heritage Regeneration for the Former Command Posts of the Jinan Campaign—A Case of Chinese Rural Revolutionary Heritage

Rural revolutionary heritage in China represents a distinctive form of vernacular heritage. It holds significance not only for its connection to historical events and prominent figures, but also encapsulates the distinctive features of vernacular architecture. Since 2020, the present authors have conducted a survey of the rural revolutionary heritage in Jinan. The findings indicate that common challenges in this context are the issues of overprotection and low utilization efficiency. The two former command posts of the Jinan Campaign are representative of rural revolutionary heritage. The Yinjiadian command post building received the designation of revolutionary heritage earlier than the one located in Tangjiagou Village. However, it has undergone inappropriate repairs and alterations over time, which have compromised its original integrity. The Tangjiagou command post was granted heritage status towards the end of 2020, but despite retaining its vernacular architectural structure, material, and form, it has not been effectively conserved and utilized. In the present study, the history, characteristics, and current situation of the two command posts of the Jinan Campaign were explored using various methods such as historical data collection and analysis, field investigations, oral interviews, GIS analysis, and comparative research. The aim of the study was to determine regeneration strategies for the two command posts of the Jinan Campaign by identifying and comparing their character-defining elements. A comparative investigation of the two command posts in the Jinan Campaign was conducted and based on their different heritage characteristics and preservation status, regeneration strategies were proposed. Additionally, a systematic regeneration strategy for rural revolutionary heritage was explored, considering the unique challenges and opportunities associated with preserving and revitalizing these historic sites. Such measures promote the activation and survival of China’s rural revolutionary heritage while providing valuable reference for its protection and research.

Comparative study on the similarity between ancient white bricks and the self-developed imitative white bricks

Many architectural heritages in China are built with ancient white bricks (AWB), which behave very differently from traditional blue and red bricks. Indeed, AWB buildings have undergone centuries of historical changes and weathering with time, and require urgent repair. Since replacing ancient bricks with imitative bricks when restoring heritage buildings has become a consensus, it is necessary to develop imitative white bricks (IWB) similar to AWB in many respects to be used for restoring ancient buildings. Therefore, this paper develops a novel IWB and analyses its similarity with the AWB by means of X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, mercury intrusion test, scanning electron microscopy, and ultrasonic pulse velocity. The results reveal that the self-developed IWB is highly similar to AWB in mineral and chemical composition, micro-morphology, internal appearance, apparent densities, water absorption rate, saturation coefficient, porosity, and these bricks are concentrated in micropores with similar radii. Besides, the durability is somewhat similar in terms of salt crystallization and resistance to freeze-thaw cycles. The IWB and AWB are classified as susceptible to salt crystallization, while good resistance to these white bricks' freeze-thaw cycles. The ultrasonic pulse velocity of the self-developed IWB along the height direction is close to the ultrasonic pulse velocity along other AWB directions. Besides, ultrasonic pulse velocity along the height direction is linearly correlated to the compressive strength of and the IWB and AWB, which has important reference significance for evaluating the mechanical properties of architectural heritages by ultrasonic non-destructive testing technology. These results can provide theoretical and technical support for the in-situ repair of damaged AWB and are significant for restoring and conserving brick masonry architectural heritages.

Spatial and temporal changes in microclimate affect disease distribution in two ancient tombs of Southern Tang Dynasty

Two tombs of the Southern Tang Dynasty (Qinling Tomb and Shunling Tomb), the most important cultural heritages in China, were built for emperors 1000 years ago and decorated with murals and stone sculptures. After their excavation in the 1950s, it was found that drastic fluctuations in the environment within the tombs had caused multiple diseases, such as salt efflorescence, powdering, and biodeterioration, which led to irreversible damage to the murals. This research comprised long-term (yearly) environmental monitoring and short-term (monthly) investigation into the distribution of salt crystallization and microbial growth within the two tombs. The objective was to unveil the relationship between the temporal and spatial distributions of the mural diseases and environmental characteristics while proposing a promising environmental regulation strategy for relic conservation. The results showed a gradual reduction in temperature fluctuation from the entrance to the back chamber and a distinct vertical stratification in relative humidity. The relative humidity in the upper areas of the tombs reached 100% during summer, while it averaged around 40–50% in the lower areas during winter. Consequently, significant condensation was observed on the ceiling in summer, whereas salt crystallization occurred on the murals in the lower space in winter. The distribution of these diseases was influenced by the airflow exchange between the interior and exterior. Furthermore, the structural disparities between the two tombs contributed to higher relative humidity and greater microorganism coverage in the Shunling Tomb compared to the Qinling Tomb. From the abovementioned findings, we suggest that microclimate control is essential for mitigating mural deterioration and should be paid more attention in the future.

Study on the architecture space-social network characteristics based on social network analysis: A case study of Anshun Tunpu settlement

With economic development and urbanization on the rise, the economic construction affects the spatial form, regional culture and social structure of the rural heritage in China. Accordingly, this study chooses Tunpu settlements with multiple immigrant histories and special cultural backgrounds, which are located in Guizhou Province, Southwest China, as the research object. A comprehensive study was conducted of the architectural, spiritual, and clan networks of Tunpu settlements, using methods such as social network analysis and correlation analysis. The results indicate that although the traditional spatial form has been affected by urban expansion, the traditional social cohesion has not disappeared. The current trend in the spatial development of Tunpu settlements is influenced by several factors, including its geographical location, social environment, and ethnic culture.