Local efforts cultivate greater appreciation of traditional crafts heritage

The innovation and development of culture have injected new vitality into Jinniu, a historical district in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

As a node on the ancient Silk Road, Jinniu district has rich cultural heritage. It is regarded as a root from which to grow Chengdu's charming Tianfu culture.

In response to the implementation of Chengdu's plan on developing Tianfu culture and building itself into a world-famous cultural city during the 14th Five Year Plan period (2021-25), Jinniu district has discovered and developed a series of local representative intangible cultural heritage items such as a type of Sichuan opera dubbed Sichuan Chedeng, a method of making Tianhui tofu and a technique of constructing a Chengdu kite.

The move aims to pass on these arts and crafts and to promote innovation through intangible cultural heritage, a local official said.

Sichuan Chedeng is a type of operatic art that prevails among the people. It features cultural elements of the local countryside and presents history through performances in the local dialect. An actor usually holds a pair of 15-centimeter-long bamboo clappers to accomplish this singing and dancing show. These features define the form of the art's performance including the stage appearance and platforms, and determine the singing and rhythm of this art.

Xia Manyun, an inheritor of Sichuan Chedeng, is a famous artist from Jinniu district. She used to perform this opera for dignitaries from home and abroad.

With years of practice and performing experience, Xia is honored as the "queen of Chedeng" in the industry. Born with a good voice and a strong sense of rhythm, taking up opera was the natural choice for Xia.

In addition to inheriting the performance form of Chedeng, Xia has developed new clapping forms and added more complementary elements of opera and dance to Chedeng, enriching the expression of this art.

Another representative intangible cultural heritage is the skill of making Tianhui tofu.

As a land of tofu, the township of Tianhui in Jinniu district is famous for its tender and delicious bean curd. Soybeans grown in Tianhui are of high quality and locals use a traditional stone-mill technique to make tofu, which contributes to the good taste.

Among seven families engaged in the tofu business, tofu from the He family is the most well-known.

He Yongsheng, inheritor of the He family's tofu business, has developed more than 150 tofu-based dishes which vary in their cooking methods, plate presentation and color and fragrance, winning recognition in Sichuan cuisine.

The development of techniques in terms of the visual, audio and taste experience has shown the passion of the Jinniu people for the traditional culture. While the technique of making Chengdu kites signals local people's enthusiasm for sports, local officials said.

Deng Jing, 49, is hailed as the "king of the kite in southwestern China".

The Jinniu native started to learn to make the kites at the age of 6. He made up his mind to take on the traditional kite-making business after graduating from junior middle school at 16 years old. However, Deng's family didn't support his decision initially. So, this young man made the excuse of watching fish and secretly practiced his kite-making skills at a little house near the fishpond.

Without a lamp in this house, Deng could only use candlelight and often stayed up late honing his skills.

Currently, a series of kites developed by Deng and themed on Chinese cultural elements such as Niannian youyu, or having abundance every year, have shown the pride of this dream chaser.

Rather than inherit the traditional technique, Deng pursues innovation. He acknowledges kite-making master Zuo Ming as his mentor.

The two spared no effort in innovating kites and came up with the idea of making a kite with nine dragon heads. In 1997, when Zuo passed away, Deng held back his sadness and dedicated himself to developing the nine-dragon-head kite throughout the year.

"The four kite-making skills of binding, pasting, painting and flying are the goals that I have to spend my life honing," Deng said.

After using more than 3,000 bamboo canes and practicing binding more than 10,000 times, the nine-dragon-head kite was finally produced. This won Deng high recognition in the industry.

Now Deng is the deputy secretary-general of the Sichuan Kite Association. He is entrusted with the mission to promote the culture of the Sichuan kites.

Over the past few years, he has organized several kite-themed activities. In 2019, the international kite festival organized by the SKA was held in Chengdu, which attracted more than 100,000 participants.

Deng said he hopes to make more people learn about kites through activities and thus pass on the kite culture.

To further inherit intangible cultural heritage, the Jinniu district authorities have increased efforts in talent cultivation and promoted the development of cultural and creative markets, experience bases and art museums centering on the intangible cultural heritage. It has also conducted intangible cultural heritage promotion in communities.

Jinniu district will continue to organize the International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Chengdu and other major cultural activities. It will also hold exhibitions of intangible cultural heritage to assist its innovation and thus inject vitality into the Jinniu culture, local officials said.