On October 23-24，the “New Era, New Discipline, New Mission: International Academic Forum on Intangible Cultural Heritage,” organized by the Tianjin Federation of Social Science, Tianjin Municipal Education Commission, and Tianjin University Feng Jicai Institute of Literature and Art (Feng Jicai Institute), was held at Tianjin University.
This is the first academic forum in China with a focus on “Intangible Cultural Heritage”. On the occasion of the forum’s opening, the first academic website themed “Intangible Cultural Heritage”, was also launched.
At the opening ceremony of the forum, Mr. Feng Jicai mentioned that “Intangible Cultural Heritage” is a new and academically vibrant discipline rising in the field of humanities in the 21st century. However, this discipline does not yet have a complete and mature knowledge and theoretical system. From ontology, cognition, value and ethics at an academic level, the protection strategy, method and technology of intangible cultural heritage at a practical level, and the talent cultivation at an educational level, to a series of issues related to the inheritance and spreading of intangible cultural heritage, all require further exploration and in-depth research by the academic community. Without a rigorous and strong knowledge and theoretical system of intangible cultural heritage, it is difficult to achieve the systematic protection.
Mr. Feng Jicai said: “In particular, given the dynamic nature of intangible cultural heritage, it is susceptible to negative variations. This is the challenge faced by the related work and also the pressure on the discipline.” Mr. Feng Jicai thinks that intangible cultural heritage should be responsible for reality, and this responsibility needs to be shared by the whole academic community.
Talking about the purpose of holding this international academic forum on intangible cultural heritage and launching the website, Mr. Feng Jicai said: “Building a new discipline is not something that can be achieved overnight, or even in one or two generations. It requires long-term and persistent scientific research, a large amount of investment from academic forces, a variety of insights and opinions, active speculation, discussion, and exchange, as well as the establishment of relevant mechanisms.” He stated that one forum is far from enough. In the future, there will be more forums to continuously discuss crucial issues about this discipline. In addition, the newly launched website will serve as a platform for international exchanges to promote the development of intangible cultural heritage.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Professor Xia Zehan, director of the East Asia Regional Representative Office of the UNESCO, expressed in a video speech at the opening ceremony of the forum that in such a memorable year, the establishment of intangible cultural heritage science in China has opened up a new field of academic research. It contributes to a better understanding of the value and significance of intangible cultural heritage, and is helpful to discover, handle, and solve problems in its protection work, which holds great significance for the protection of intangible cultural heritage. He hoped that new perspectives and new thinking on intangible cultural heritage can be generated through this forum to enhance the sustainable development of intangible cultural heritage protection.
Xiang Yunju, vice Chairman of the China Literature and Art Critics Association, stated that intangible cultural heritage is not limited to any specific country but rather an international discipline. He said, “This forum is the first international symposium on intangible cultural heritage, opening the academic door for international cooperation and exchange in this field. It holds a landmark significance that deserves to be recorded in the academic history.”
The forum is also the Session of Cultural Inheritance and Development of the Annual Meeting (2023) of Tianjin Intelligentsia of Social Science. Within two days, more than 40 distinguished scholars from China, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and France in the field of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Folklore, Folk Arts, and other fields related to intangible cultural heritage protection gathered together on this forum. Focusing on both academic and disciplinary system of intangible cultural heritage, a heated discussion has been conducted offline and online around various topics, such as the theory of knowledge, technology and methods, case studies of protection and academic practices, protection history and academic history, and disciplinary construction and educational research in the field of intangible cultural heritage. The Forum also held symposia on “The Trend of Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection and Intangible Cultural Heritage Research” and “China’s Project of Saving the Folk Cultural Legacy and the High-end Dialogue of Intangible Cultural Heritage Discipline Construction”. The two-day forum attracted hundreds of teachers and students from universities across China to attend the event, while thousands of people participated online.
By Wu Hanyan
Editor: Sun Xiaofang
