The recent Dragon Boat Festival holiday saw a plentiful supply of cultural and tourism products across the country, along with a vibrant array of folk activities. As the first Chinese traditional festival to be included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, the Dragon Boat Festival embodies the profound essence of outstanding Chinese traditional culture. Regions across the nation rolled out diverse traditional folk cultural activities like making sachets, wrapping zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), wearing Hanfu (traditional Chinese clothing), dragon boat races, paddleboarding, and kayaking. The rich and colorful festive atmosphere not only allowed people to experience the deep historical and cultural heritage but also breathed new life into traditional culture in this new era.
Recently, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at a symposium on cultural inheritance and development that Chinese culture has a long history and Chinese civilization is profound and extensive. Only through a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the history of Chinese civilization can we more effectively promote the creative transformation and innovative development of outstanding Chinese traditional culture, more vigorously advance the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and build a modern Chinese civilization. It's all about respecting our roots while looking to the future!
Traditional festivals embody the collective consciousness of the nation and depict the common foundation of culture. Throughout history, national festivals have been passed down through generations with vibrant and meaningful celebrations. Diverse recreational activities have become the "carriers" of traditional culture, and changes in people's lifestyles have injected even more new elements into these festivals. The various era-appropriate festive activities launched by regions, such as artistic performances, folk games, and distinctive tourism, develop through inheritance, allowing people to more truly experience the power of culture. For example, in Zigui County, Hubei Province, the hometown of Qu Yuan, the Dragon Boat Festival includes not only traditional rituals to commemorate Qu Yuan and dragon boat races, but also Guofeng (Chinese style) garden parties, lantern festivals, intangible cultural heritage alley Dragon Boat Festival custom experiences, and popular classic poetry, with activities like "reading poetry and poetry competitions," blending folk customs with contemporary trends in various forms. The Double Ninth Festival has become a symbol of the Chinese nation's tradition of respecting, honoring, and assisting the elderly. For instance, in the Jinnan region of Shanxi Province, people ascend to high places for a distant view, appreciating the mountains and rivers; in Kaifeng, Henan Province, people admire chrysanthemums and wear dogwood; in Wuchang, Hubei Province, people drink Double Ninth wine, using various folk customs to evoke cultural memories and cultivate cultural confidence. Today, these festival folk customs are deeply rooted in the hearts of the Chinese people, subtly influencing their way of thinking and behavior.
Dragon boat racing originated from ancient dragon totem sacrificial rituals. From the initial prayer for blessings to today's folk sports activities, its cultural connotations of unity, cooperation, and continuous self-improvement have been passed down in one continuous line. In 2021, dragon boat racing made its debut as a demonstration sport at the Tokyo Olympics. Compared with traditional dragon boat races, the carefully developed competitive dragon boats are more design-conscious and speed-oriented. This year, the dragon boat event will be featured as an official competition event at the Hangzhou Asian Games. According to He Yi, Secretary-General of the Chinese Dragon Boat Association, dragon boat racing activities are currently focusing on technological innovations that comply with the Olympic Games, development, and international exchange and promotion to showcase the spirit of solidarity and courageous competition to the world, further promoting the going global of Chinese traditional sports culture. It's awesome to see these ancient traditions getting a modern spin!
Intangible cultural heritage is a vivid testimony to the continuous inheritance of Chinese civilization. Only by developing through innovation and inheriting through development can we grasp the pulse of the times and lead the trend. For example, Nanjing porcelain carving, which has a history of more than 200 years, integrates the essence of painting, calligraphy, and seal carving. Yang's Nanjing porcelain carving, based on tradition, adopts Western oil painting techniques and draws on the creation techniques of Chinese painting's boneless method and Dunhuang mural halo dyeing method, developing from the traditional "line" carving as the mainstay to a creation method that "emphasizes both carving and painting, and wins with painting," giving Nanjing porcelain carving intangible heritage new vitality. In recent years, the level of protection and utilization of cultural heritage in my country has been continuously improved. Forty-three projects have been included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List and Register, ranking first in the world.
With the advent of the digital era, technology has become a new "carrier" for inheriting traditional culture. Digital technologies such as "cloud exhibitions" and immersive experiences are widely used, opening up new spaces for cultural inheritance and innovation. For example, in the intangible cultural heritage-themed metaverse virtual scenic spot, tourists can not only personally experience various eating, drinking, and playing projects with the theme of "intangible cultural heritage" offline, but also log in through their mobile phones or VR glasses without regional restrictions, listen to unique stories at any time, enjoy festive performances up close, and immerse themselves in traditional folk cultural activities. Taking the content value of outstanding traditional culture as the core, coupled with a variety of digital media technologies to create a real, all-round sensory atmosphere, can better convey the values and humanistic spirit of outstanding traditional culture.
Among the outstanding traditional cultural resources, there are still many precious historical and cultural heritages. As non-renewable resources, cultural heritages are difficult to preserve and protect, and it is not convenient to show them in physical form for a long time. The Palace Museum and the Dunhuang Research Institute have respectively established the "General Catalogue of Collections of the Palace Museum" database and the Digital Dunhuang Resource Library, using modern digital information technology to "revive" the cultural relics collected in museums, the heritage displayed on the vast land, and the words written in ancient books.
Chinese civilization was once a dazzling guiding star in world history, making outstanding contributions to human civilization. The reason why Chinese civilization has a long history of 5,000 years is that we have not abandoned tradition or severed our spiritual lifeline. Only by not forgetting our origins can we open up the future, adhere to integrity and innovation, and be good at developing and transforming in innovation. Chinese traditional culture will surely radiate even more dazzling brilliance in the new era.
