Intangible cultural heritage shines at CIIE
Shan Lina (left), an inheritor of pankou craftsmanship, an intangible cultural heritage of Shanghai, shows off her skills.
At a traditional-style "study room" inside the National Exhibition and Convention Center, where the third China International Import Expo is underway, Shan Lina, an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, is displaying the old Chinese craft of pankou (frog fasteners). With nimble fingers, ingenuity and innovation, she turns silk fabrics into colorful earrings, attracting many visitors.
The import expo features a creative cultural approach showcasing the unique splendor of China's diverse intangible cultural heritage gems.
The intangible cultural heritage "living room" with typical Jiangnan (regions in the south of the Yangtze River) style comprises five areas, highlight haipai (Shanghai-style) furniture techniques.
Designed by a team from Shanghai's Tongji University, it is decorated with exquisite handmade paper lanterns. A blend of tradition and modern is featured.
About 40 representative municipal or national-level intangible cultural heritage items with Shanghai elements are on display.
The 80 exhibits include representative works of traditional craftsmanship.
Pankou technique is turned into beautiful earrings.
"It offers a glimpse into China’s intangible cultural heritage, invites people to experience the fun of intangible cultural heritage and get close to traditional Chinese culture," said Qian Zhangfan, an expert with the Shanghai Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center.
The craftsmanship of Zhou Huchen brushes, Lao Feng Xiang gold and silver filagree, Lu'an inkpads, Gu-style embroidery, Jiading bamboo-carving, haipai purple-clay art, Ming-style furniture, glaze-firing, silk painting, waxed letter paper, bird cages, enamel clocks, calendar nianhua (New Year's pictures), Shanghai-style flower arrangement, bark paper making and Xuhang grass weaving are showcased.
Among them, the famous Lu'an inkpads of Jing'an District, are highly prized possessions for artists to make seals.
Invented by pharmacist Zhang Lu'an at the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), they are made of oil, cinnabar and processed mugwort grass. The inkpads quickly gained a reputation for reproducing bright colors that didn't fade, making them popular among painters and calligraphers like Zhang Daqian, Wu Hufan and He Tianjian.
Guxiu, or Gu-style embroidery, a local needlework style created by women in the Gu family in 1559, originated in the city's Songjiang District. It has been passed down and developed for more than four centuries, surviving turbulent times up to the modern day with its own unique artistic style.
In the long history of Chinese bamboo-carving, works by Jiading artists reflect the spiritual strength of the Chinese literati and make Jiading bamboo-carving an exclusive art form.
Jiading bamboo-carving can be traced back to over 500 years ago and bamboo-carving craftsmen in Jiading integrated multiple artistic forms, including calligraphy, painting, poetry, prose and painting, giving new life to bamboo.
Xuhang grass-weaving, which originated in Xuhang, a watertown in Jiading, dates back to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). With rich colors, it can be used to make items such as bags, slippers, cup mats and fruit trays.
The display area is decorated with beautiful paper lanterns.
Also on display is a treasure chest of traditional Chinese style: clay teapots shaped as Buddha hands, haipai art screens, bronze incense burners, lacquer ware, enamel clocks and silk carpets.
The design of the chest draws inspiration from carrying cases used by Chinese intellectuals in ancient times, featuring beautiful wood grain.
A silver pot features exquisite craftsmanship and is shaped into a Buddha's hand, bearing auspicious meaning.
An art screen features traditional bamboo-weaving patterns and light transmission effect.
A glaze-firing work draws inspiration from the magpie and the litchi, which are vividly shown. A furnace is shaped into the Shuanggong Bridge on the Jinshui River of Confucian Temple, displaying exquisite skills. A lacquerware vase is decorated with plane tree leaves, revealing the autumn landscape of Shanghai.
A stone-carving work shows the texture of tree bark, branches and trunk, a reflection of old times.
A silk carpet work blends traditional handmade knot and knitting techniques, displaying a peacock fanning out its tail in a splash of colors, bearing the auspicious meaning of flourishing development.
Together they create an atmosphere where inheritors like Shan showcase their unique skills through the import expo.
Shan (center) teaches pankou techniques to expo visitors in a "living room" of intangible cultural heritage.
"We want to make the import expo a window to promote intangible cultural heritage," she told Shanghai Daily.
"Traditional ways of promoting the significance of intangible cultural heritage protection might make people bored, and we want to change stereotypes about intangible cultural heritages via such forms," said Qian.
The exhibition is jointly hosted by the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism and the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality.
Inheritors of intangible cultural heritages such as Cao Sugong ink-sticks, pankou, crochet and Jinshan farmers' paintings are displaying their craftsmanship at the scene, offering interactive intangible cultural heritage experiences to visitors.
Daily-life items
"Some intangible cultural heritages in China were once on the verge of extinction as they could not be understood by most people," said Qian.
"Many intangible cultural heritages may seem distant from our daily lives and are not commonly seen,” she added.
“In the display, we want to convey the message that intangible cultural heritage items can be turned into daily-life items and color our lives,” said Qian.
Xuhang grass-weaving slippers on display
Shanghai boasts more than 250 city-level intangible cultural heritage items and more than 400 at district level. There are 54 at national level.
“We bring items of two intangible cultural heritage categories, out of 10 in Shanghai, which are traditional craftsmanship and art, to the scene for display,” said Qian.
The situation for intangible cultural heritage protection and inheritance is improving, said Qian.
With efforts stepped up in the protection of traditional Chinese culture from authorities, demand also rises.
Many consumers turn to products made from traditional cultural heritages, and the position of inheritors is lifted.
They are given more opportunities to display themselves at various platforms, which also lifts their self-esteem, said Qian.
Pankou's history dates back several thousand years as the technique was found used on the clothing at the Changsha Mawangdui Han Dynasty Tomb, considered the best-protected ancient tomb in China, said inheritor Shan.
Cheongsam on display at the area
"It was used by Manchu and Mongolian ethnic minorities to buckle clothing as they were on horses for most of the time," she said.
"But they were widely used by the noble group as common people usually used items like ropes to fasten their clothing," she said.
In China's southern areas, people used jade and metal items to fix clothing until the Qing Dynasty government promoted the pankou culture there, Shan added.
In the 1920s and 1930s, many celebrities wore traditional Chinese clothing, leading to a boom of the development of pankou from craftsmen in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, said Shan.
"Pankou involves many procedures, and silk is a preferred material because chemical fiber will shrink in water or out of shape during ironing," said Shan.
"Silk has better performance in its stability," she added.
The technique is turned into works of many forms and functions, such as earrings, envelops and notebooks.
A papercutting work on display
"I help those not wearing Chinese-style clothing get closer to the craft via these artworks by expanding their uses," she said.
A huge painting made of pankou on display at the Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Shanghai took more than 10 years by her team to complete.
Shan has been making pankou for 22 years.
The Shanghainese was an actress in the 1980s and wore qipao in films and for performance.
"I had a lot of performances overseas and I found the buttons on qipao are not beautiful," she said. "I could not find beautiful ones, so I decided to develop it myself."
In 1998, she started learning pankou technique for more than two years.
"I don't learn it to make money, and I keep innovating, exploring, developing, researching and inheriting the old techniques out of love," she said. "In the past, it was just a button, but now I make it an art."
Traditional-style furniture on display
More than 10 years ago, few people were interested in the pankou technique because the market was sluggish, said Shan.
"In recent years, as efforts have been stepped up in protection and promotion, the market is warmed up, attracting many young people to join in the inheritance," she said.
"In the past, inheritors could not support themselves via the technique, but the situation is changing gradually," said Shan.
"Interest is the most important when I pick a disciple," she said. "You should love traditional crafts. And they should be patient as well.
"Traditional Chinese-style clothing is gaining popularity again and people are increasingly interested in our products," she added.
Earrings made with pankou technique by Shan
Pankou technique
