Effective Protection and Rational Utilization of World Cultural Heritage.

China has lived for 5, years, and the ancient villages scattered all over the country are the witness of the social and historical development of China, the crystallization of China's farming civilization, and the "living fossils" engraved with the light of human wisdom.

China's villages are all over 9.6 million square kilometers, which are the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, the smoke from the vast grassland, the fishing villages in the eastern islands, the people in the mountains in the northwest, the caves in the loess plateau, the wooden houses in the dense forests in the northeast, and the stockade in the southwest ... all kinds of charming.

However, with the development of industrial civilization and the modern evolution of human production and lifestyle, many historical blocks, ancient towns and ancient villages are facing the fate of being ignored or even destroyed.

What position do these disappearing historical remains occupy in China's culture, what is their present situation, and how should people protect and utilize them now? With these questions and concerns, Chinese and foreign experts recently gathered in Xitang to discuss the protection of ancient villages.

Among the more than 5 experts and scholars who came to participate in the forum, Feng Jicai, a famous writer and painter, is called "Watcher of Folk Culture". There is Ruan Yisan, director of the National Cultural City Research Center and professor of Tongji University, who is famous for "cursing" and is called "the guardian of protecting the ancient city" by the media; There are also two leading figures in Japanese folklore from afar: Yasuo Fukuda, a professor at Kanagawa University in Japan, and Dr. Sugeno, an associate professor at Tokyo University in Japan.

In addition, representatives from typical ancient villages at home and abroad, such as Wuyuan in Jiangxi, Yuci in Shanxi and Hue in Vietnam, were all present, which brought more voices to the forum. Let's try to find a good way to continue these traditional cultures with the wisdom of experts.

Manifesto

On the morning of April 27th, the silvery moonlight just receded, and the awakening ancient town Xitang was full of vitality. The sound of birds, oars, bicycles, and the swaying sound of the breeze blowing willows could not be heard ... just like the true colors of "a thousand-year-old town living".

At this time, Feng Jicai and Shen Guoqiang, Party Secretary of xitang town, appeared on the terrace on the second floor of "Ming and Qing Food Generation" early, and participated in the recording of cctv-4's program. The theme was "Protection of Ancient Villages".

Feng Jicai, who came to Xitang for the second time, is still the same, with unruly hair and impassioned speech. In recent years, he has been busy trying to save folk culture, and has traveled a lot. This year, he has focused on the protection of ancient villages. He firmly believes that in the process of folk cultural heritage and rescue, ancient villages are the "bottom of the box" of folk culture, so since March 25, he has visited ancient villages in seven or eight provinces in China. He said: "Time is pressing. We don't even know how many ancient villages are now. How can we protect them? Therefore, this meeting is held here, hoping to concentrate on all parties to explore the way out of ancient villages in the future. "

"Ancient villages are the wealth left by the 5,-year farming civilization of the Chinese nation to future generations. I don't want our future generations to see only sickles and hoes in museums, which would be extremely sad." This is his biggest worry.

On more than one occasion, Feng Jicai used "coming late" to describe his feelings about Xitang. He also told a detail he came across when he first came to Xitang: "I went to Xitang for the first time last year, and the mayor accompanied me to walk along the shore. It was a little cold when I walked. I saw an old lady picking up a stick from a window and closing the window, and at the same time taking a pot of flowers out of the window. I noticed that a butterfly fell on the flowerpot at that time. The old lady picked up the flowerpot and shook it gently, and the butterfly flew away. Xitang even preserved the poetry of life, and this harmony moved me. "

Feng Jicai thinks that Xitang's experience is an ecological protection way, which continues the original state of local people's life, is people-oriented, and can be used as a model for other places to learn. When talking about why Xitang was chosen as the venue of the forum, he said that apart from the successful protection of Xitang, he was also moved by the concept of the local government.

"At that time, I was particularly impressed by two sentences from the leader of xitang town, one was' It is the government's responsibility to protect ancient villages', and the other was' When there is a conflict between economic GDP and cultural protection, we should keep the roots.' A grass-roots leader can have such foresight and cultural responsibility, which makes me see hope.

With this hope, Feng Jicai brought the forum to Xitang and issued the Xitang Declaration, which called for the protection of ancient villages. He said: "We must hurry up, otherwise, many ancient villages may lose it before we know it."

opinion theory

The presence of a group of heavyweight experts, scholars and officials undoubtedly added a lot of color to this forum, and their fierce collision of views at the venue sparked a wonderful spark.

Feng Jicai: The heritage of ancient villages is bigger than the Great Wall of Wan Li

"I always think that ancient villages are the largest cultural heritage in China, bigger than the Great Wall of Wan Li." Feng Jicai explained his point of view like this: "In terms of scale, China has 5, to 7, years of agricultural civilization, 56 ethnic groups, 9.6 million square kilometers, about 1,6 counties and 19, towns. According to one town and 1 administrative villages, we have about 2, administrative villages. But not all villages are ancient villages. I originally estimated that there were about 3, to 5, ancient villages in China. But then I heard that there are six or seven hundred ancient villages in southeastern Guizhou alone. Therefore, we should have a number in our hearts, and the number of our ancient villages is at least 1,. "

he believes that ancient villages should meet the following criteria: a long history, rich material and intangible historical and cultural remains, basically retaining the original village system and distinctive local characteristics. "The village is a container of history and culture, and it is a combination of material and intangible cultural heritage. Its architecture, its unique planning of the relationship between man and nature are its material heritage, and there are many intangible cultural heritages such as folk customs. "

regarding folklore, he added: "the folklore I mentioned includes the folklore of people's production and life, the folklore of commerce and trade, the folklore of weddings and funerals, the folklore of daily life and diet, the folklore of festivals, the folklore of beliefs, and oral cultures like myths, stories, proverbs and ballads. Folk arts and crafts carried by artists such as folk drama, folk art, folk music and folk dance are the intangible cultural heritage of this village. "

why do you want to protect it? Feng Jicai replied: "Our ancient village has its research value, academic value, witness value, historical and cultural value, aesthetic value and appreciation value, but its ultimate value is its spiritual value. The ultimate goal of inheriting our cultural heritage is to inherit the unique culture of our nation, that is, to inherit our national identity and national genes. "

He thinks that there is a problem with our cultural heritage, that is, since the reform and opening up, we have been faced with the homogeneous culture of globalization, which has turned our culture into the same. At the same time, it is a commercial culture, which can be used as a selling point, and abandoned or even destroyed as a selling point. "This is the cultural crisis of our generation and the dereliction of duty of our generation of intellectuals."

"Our intangible cultural heritage was made last year, but since there is no law to protect intangible cultural heritage at present, we can only make it whatever it is." But what makes him feel gratified is that the relevant parties are stepping up the formulation of relevant laws.

Ruan Yisan: The village is the last "pure land"

The name "Ruan Yisan" is no stranger to people who care about the protection of China's heritage. As an architect, he initiated the protection movement of Pingyao ancient city from the early 198s, and his most familiar masterpiece is the protection of zhouzhuang town.

With his efforts, in 198s, Beijing, Xi 'an, Kaifeng, Yangzhou, Luoyang and other cities were successively listed as national historical and cultural cities. Pingyao, Shanxi, Zhouzhuang, Jiangsu and Lijiang, Yunnan also entered the ranks of world cultural heritage in the 199s. In the 21st century, Ruan Yisan has continuously urged Tongli, Nanxun, Wuzhen, Xitang and other ancient towns to embark on the road of "maintaining the original flavor and expanding the cultural connotation", leaving an amazing "water town" for China.

Ruan Yisan believes that the upsurge of urban construction since 198s has devastated many traditional historical areas. Many old cities have lost their original features while "changing their old looks".

He said: "The foundation of a national culture and the inheritance of a spiritual civilization need carriers. And what we call intangible things, folk culture things, depend on the existence of buildings and other material carriers. So those valuable material and intangible remains should be protected. For example, it is necessary to protect the construction of Jiangnan water town: it is its soul because of the characteristics of water becoming a city, water becoming a street, building a house by water and building a town next to water. "

When talking about the concept of "urban memory", Ruan Yisan cited the example of "Shanghai Jewish Protected Area", which is the witness of the friendship between the people of China and the Jewish people, and is now the 12th historic district in Shanghai.

"During World War II, German fascists brutally slaughtered Jews. While many countries refused to accept Jewish refugees who fled in various directions, the people of China who were ravaged by Japanese imperialism also accepted more than 3, Jews in a friendly way. When Blumenthal, a former Treasury Secretary in Carter's administration, revisited his old place 6 years later, he burst into tears and said to his daughter,' Remember, without Shanghai, there would be no family, and without China, there would be no way for us Jews to live.' Why? It is because this block reflects the loving heart of the great people of China and is a milestone in harmonious coexistence with the people of the world. This block is an important city memory, remembering the friendship of a generation, which is beyond the reach of language. On the contrary, if the carrier carrying historical information dies, the history and culture loaded on it will inevitably be diluted or die.

He scoffed at the idea of equating tourism with protection: "We usually think that protection is used to develop tourism and engage in economic development, and protection is equivalent to making money." He believes that protection should not revolve around commercial interests, because behind commercial interests must be destruction. "Protection is not for political achievements, not for developing tourism, but for preserving the excellent cultural heritage of our motherland, the essence of national architecture, and a harmonious environment in which people get along with nature. And these are the norms for us to create new towns and new buildings in the future. "

Qingdao Taizhi: Protecting the Living Culture

Qingdao Taizhi, the general representative of UNESCO in the Asia-Pacific region, was invited to attend the forum. In his speech, he said that the ancient village is a precious tangible witness to the development of a specific culture and history, reflecting the evolution of people's cultural, philosophical and aesthetic values. Compared with archaeological sites and ruins, these historical heritage communities are living heritage.

Qingdao Taizhi believes that in the process of rapid economic development, social transformation and globalization, the traditional lifestyle and value system are facing severe challenges. At the same time, traditional buildings and streets are constantly being replaced by modern buildings. Therefore, protecting the intangible cultural elements of the historical heritage community is as important as protecting its material form. In the efforts to protect this kind of heritage, it is very important to raise the awareness of local communities to protect the heritage and promote their participation.

He said that China is a country with a long history and civilization and rich cultural heritage resources. With the rapid economic development in China, more and more attention is being paid to the protection of cultural heritage. Pingyao Ancient City, Old Town of Lijiang and Xidi and Hongcun, ancient villages in southern Anhui, have been selected into the UNESCO World Heritage List. At the same time, he hoped that the China government, non-governmental organizations and local communities could all participate in the work of heritage protection.

Tashan Stone

At the International Summit Forum on "Protection of Ancient Chinese Villages" (Xitang), the speeches made by representatives from Xitang, Zhejiang, Wuyuan, Yuci, Shanxi and Hue, Vietnam also provided a good reference for the protection of other ancient villages.

Wuyuan, Jiangxi-the continuation of the context

Wuyuan's village is known as "the most beautiful village in China". Feng Jicai is also full of praise for Wuyuan. "The color is so beautiful! Blue bricks, gray tiles, white walls, green bamboo forests, golden cauliflower, blue Shan Ye and red glow are just like a painting. "

Wuyuan county government has determined different protection methods according to the actual situation of each village. Including scenic spots, museums, zoning protection and primitive ecology.

Because Huizhou architecture in Wuyuan is all over the countryside, and the Nuo dance, Huizhou opera, tea ceremony and other cultures with unique local characteristics are colorful, the government funded the general survey, registration and filing of ancient buildings scattered in the countryside, and on this basis, formulated a protective plan. At the same time, it established the "Leading Group for the Construction and Management of Historical and Cultural Villages (Ancient Villages) in Wuyuan County" and formulated a detailed approval process for rural housing construction to curb.

in order to enhance the vitality of ancient villages, the county has also set up a "Wuyuan Culture Research Association", which consists of nine branches, including tea culture, folk culture, ancient architecture culture, Huizhou merchants culture, folk art culture and folk stories, and is responsible for the protective excavation and arrangement of folk culture in the county.

This year, four folk arts, including Wuyuan Nuo Dance, Wuyuan Hui Opera, Wuyuan Huizhou Three Sculptures and Wuyuan Sheyan Making Skills, were selected as national intangible cultural heritage.

Hougou Ancient Village in Yuci, Shanxi Province-Folk House Museum

Hougou Ancient Village has formed a complete folk culture system with simple farming culture, exquisite architectural culture, traditional belief culture and flexible ecological culture. In particular, the exquisite and unique ancient stage, Jade Emperor Hall and guanyin temple can be called "living fossils" of northern folk culture.

Hougou ancient village adapts to local conditions, takes advantage of local conditions, and chooses auspicious times to live in, emphasizing harmonious "pastoral landscape" and "farming and reading culture". In 25, on the basis of careful argumentation, the local government carried out rescue consolidation and restoration and development of Hougou ancient village. At the same time, a working group was set up to carry out investigation, excavation, arrangement and guidance around the natural form of villagers' production and life, reappearing the ancient folk art, unique food culture and special regional festivals in the ancient village, and establishing a farming folk museum.

in the process of rescuing and protecting the ancient village, the main line of "simplicity is not crude, folk customs are not vulgar" runs through all the time. In the process of restoration and protection, we try our best to show its simple and exquisite architecture, long-standing and quaint customs, heavy and traditional folk customs, so that "pastoral scenery, simple folk customs and ancient village style" emerge suddenly.

hue, Vietnam-the harmony between the old and the new

hue is the capital of Chenghua, located in the middle of Vietnam. The Neolithic and Metal Age relics found in Hue can be traced back to 1 BC, when they were influenced by the archaeological culture in the south and the bronze age culture in the north. Therefore, since ancient times, it has become a crossroads of unique culture, and it has also laid the urban tone of diverse styles and lifestyles.

One of the characteristics of Hue is that all unique art forms in history have been absorbed and utilized by Hue culture. Another important feature is the coexistence and mutual integration of court culture and popular culture.

Hue is a city, but it still preserves many traditions formed in history. Therefore, Hue not only plays the role of a diverse city and a historical city, but is actually a museum in itself, where there are many tangible and intangible cultural relics.