Inheritors of the Yellow River: the relationship of heritage making practices to cultural self-confidence in China

Through active involvement in UNESCO’s ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage) programme, China has developed its own framework to support traditional making practices. To examine the ‘characteristics’ of heritage crafts preservation in China, we undertook empirical research in the Yellow River basin. Ou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of anthropology and ethnology Vol. 5; no. 1; pp. 1 - 22
Main Authors Zhang, Wanlin, Walker, Stuart, Evans, Martyn, Bennett, Julia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Singapore Springer Singapore 28.04.2021
Springer Nature B.V
SpringerOpen
Subjects
Anthropology
Confidence
Cultural awareness
Cultural heritage
Cultural self-confidence
Design and cultural heritage
Ethnography
Experts
Handicrafts
Heritage making practices
Inheritor
Intangible cultural heritage
Preservation
Qualitative research
Social Anthropology
Social Sciences
Structural Anthropology
Yellow River
China
Yellow River
Inheritor
Intangible cultural heritage
Design and cultural heritage
Heritage making practices
Cultural self-confidence
Yellow River
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Summary:Through active involvement in UNESCO’s ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage) programme, China has developed its own framework to support traditional making practices. To examine the ‘characteristics’ of heritage crafts preservation in China, we undertook empirical research in the Yellow River basin. Our research involved in-depth observations and key informant interviews with a range of highly accomplished craftspeople who have inherited their particular expertise from their family and have been officially designated ICH Inheritors. Through our qualitative research with inheritors, a businessperson and a government official, we identified various support mechanisms employed by the Chinese government that aim to protect traditional culture while also recognising outstanding individuals. We also found that ICH Inheritors play an important role in raising cultural awareness and enhancing cultural confidence through their creative activities and making practices, craft businesses and transfer of expertise. Based on the findings, potential areas where designers may collaborate with inheritors were identified.
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ISSN:2366-1003
2366-1003
DOI:10.1186/s41257-021-00045-6