Traditional Li textile techniques: spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering

    

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Inscribed in 2009 (4.COM) on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

© 2009 by Hainan Provincial Mass Art Center

The traditional Li textile techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering are employed by women of the Li ethnic group of Hainan Province, China, to make cotton, hemp and other fibres into clothing and other daily necessities. The techniques involved, including warp ikat, double-face embroidery, and single-face jacquard weaving, are passed down from mothers to daughters from early childhood through verbal instruction and personal demonstration. Li women design the textile patterns using only their imagination and knowledge of traditional styles. In the absence of a written language, these patterns record the history and legends of Li culture as well as aspects of worship, taboos, beliefs, traditions and folkways. The patterns also distinguish the five major spoken dialects of Hainan Island. The textiles form an indispensable part of important social and cultural occasions such as religious rituals and festivals, and in particular weddings, for which Li women design their own dresses. As carriers of Li culture, traditional Li textile techniques are an indispensable part of the cultural heritage of the Li ethnic group. However, in recent decades the numbers of women with the weaving and embroidery skills at their command has severely declined to the extent that traditional Li textile techniques are exposed to the risk of extinction and are in urgent need of protection.

Periodic reporting

Report on the status of an element inscribed on the list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding

A. Cover sheet

A.1.

State Party

Name of State Party

China

A.2.

Date of deposit of the instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession

This information is available online.

Date of deposit of the instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession

2004-12-02

A.3.

Element inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List that is the subject of this report

Name of element

Traditional Li textile techniques: spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering

Inscribed in

2009

Submitting State(s)

China

A.4.

Reporting period covered by this report

Please indicate the period covered by this report.

Reporting period covered by this report

01-10-2017 - 30-06-2021

A.5.

Other elements inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, if any

Please list all other elements from your country inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, together with the year of inscription; for multinational elements, please indicate the other States concerned.

Other elements inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, if any

Hezhen Yimakan storytelling (2011)

Meshrep (2010)

Qiang New Year festival (2009)

Traditional design and practices for building Chinese wooden arch bridges (2009)

Watertight-bulkhead technology of Chinese junks (2010)

Wooden movable-type printing of China (2010)

A.6.

Executive summary of the report

Please provide an executive summary of the report that will allow general readers to understand the current status of the element, any positive or negative impacts of inscription, the implementation of safeguarding measures during the reporting period and their possible update for the following years.

Executive summary of the report

The traditional Li textile techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering are employed by the women of Li ethnic group of Hainan Province, China, to make cotton, hemp and other natural fibers into clothing and other daily necessities. In their long-term practice of understanding and using plant fibers and dyes, the women of Li ethnic group have constantly improved the form and level of their skills, and gradually developed a complete set of techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering. All the products made accordingly, such as V-neck pullover, bed sheet, pencil skirt, headscarf, flowery hat and tapestry, are generally called Li textile. The element has been passed down through generations and contributed to the development of China’s traditional weaving techniques and cotton textile industry. It symbolizes the cultural identity of relevant communities.

With the collaboration of multiple actors, the viability of the element has been further improved after three reporting cycles. The goals described in the last report have been achieved:
The number of bearers has continued to grow; skills have been transmitted in a more balanced and comprehensive way; the young and middle-aged bearers have strengthened their willingness and enhanced their capacity of transmission and practice; the pressure of inter-generational transmission has been relieved;
The design, production and overall quality of Li textile products have been improved due to deepened understanding of the heritage by the bearers and practitioners and related research outcomes;
An increasing number of production and sales cooperatives and enterprises have provided sustainable livelihood, increased income of the communities and reduced poverty, thus ensuring inclusive economic and social progress there;
Relevant policies and plans have been gradually improved; trade organizations been strengthened, and the natural and cultural environment related to the element been effectively preserved.

In order to consolidate these achievements and better promote sustainable transmission and practices of the element, the safeguarding plan for the next four years (2022-2025) has been updated in this report, setting out the following goals:
To further expand the population of bearers and improve their transmission capacity;
To set up a sound safeguarding and development mechanism and strengthen the collaboration of multiple actors in the safeguarding efforts;
To revitalize traditional crafts and promote collective safeguarding in local areas to contribute to sustainable economic, social and environmental development; and
To carry out more research and promotional activities to increase the visibility of the element.

A.7.

Contact person for correspondence

Provide the name, address and other contact information of the person responsible for correspondence concerning the report.

Title (Ms/Mr, etc.)

Mr

Family name

Mo

Given name

Qingqiao

Institution/position

Hainan Mass Art Center (Center for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province) / Director

Address

No. 68, Guoxingdadao, Meilan District, Haikou City, Hainan Province, P. R. China, 570203

Telephone number

0086-898-65307778, 0086-13098989918

E-mail address

360890212@qq.com

Other relevant information

http://www.hnsfy.org (the website for Hainan Intangible Cultural Heritage)

B

Ms

B. Status of element inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List

Refer to the nomination file or to previous reports, if any, as the basis for reporting on the current status of the element, and report only on relevant changes since the date of inscription on the List or since the previous report. Nomination files, specific timetables and earlier reports, if any, are available at https://ich.unesco.org or from the Secretariat, upon request.

The State Party shall pay special attention to the role of gender and shall endeavour to ensure the widest possible participation of the communities, groups and, where applicable, individuals concerned as well as relevant non-governmental organizations during the process of preparing this report, and is asked to describe how it has done so in point D below.

B.1.

Social and cultural functions

Please explain the social and cultural functions and meanings of the element today, within and for its community, the characteristics of the bearers and practitioners, and any specific roles or categories of persons with special responsibilities towards the element, among others. Attention should be given to any relevant changes related to inscription criterion U.1 (‘the element constitutes intangible cultural heritage as defined in Article 2 of the Convention’).

Social and cultural functions

The rules, patterns, design and colors of Li textile bear the historical and cultural memories of the Li ethnic group through techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering by the bearers and practitioners of the element, and contain rich traditional knowledge of Li people’s production, life, folk beliefs and customs, skills, aesthetic value of art, ethics and education. The spinning and dyeing methods, use of color and pattern in embroidering and the rules for using the fabric have a clear line of succession while maintaining distinctive features across the five major dialect areas of the Li people, which is still used as a symbol to distinguish the dialect areas. As Li people of different dialects are learning from each other in the mastery and performance of specific skills along with further social and cultural development, as well as increased exchanges on safeguarding practices. Nowadays, the element is increasingly considered as the symbol of continuity and identity of the Li ethnic group as a whole. As the lower cost industrial fabrics are more used for daily necessity, the Li textile woven with those traditional techniques is no longer the only choice for daily clothing in the communities, but they are still indispensable on major rituals of life and ceremonial occasions where the Li people prefer to wear and use Li-textile clothes or articles.

The women of the Li ethnic group are the major bearers and practitioners. Female artisans who are proficient in relevant skills of the element take a central role in the transmission, practices and promotional activities. For other women practitioners, though they no longer take spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering as necessary skills for their daily lives, they’ve deeply understood the rich knowledge and collective memories contained in the element and the importance of the element in maintaining the ethnic identity as they are practicing the element by wearing and using traditional Li-textile clothes and articles. With more methods applied to the practice and transmission, such as including the teaching of the element into the school education system, men are also becoming the bearers of this heritage.

B.2.

Assessment of its viability and current risks

Please describe the current level of viability of the element, particularly the frequency and extent of its practice, the strength of traditional modes of transmission, the demographics of practitioners and audiences and its sustainability. Please also identify and describe the threats, if any, to the element's continued transmission and enactment and describe the severity and immediacy of such threats, giving particular attention to any strengthening or weakening of the element’s viability subsequent to inscription.

Assessment of its viability and current risks

The transmission and practice of the element is centered in Qiongzhong County, Baisha County, Changjiang County, Ledong County, Lingshui County, Baoting County, Dongfang City, Wuzhishan City and Sanya City (hereinafter referred to as the “six counties and three cities”) of Hainan Province, China, and extends to all the Li people-inhabited areas within the province. Through the efforts of three reporting cycles, communities, groups and individuals concerned are more active in safeguarding the element, which led to the enhanced viability of the element.

During this reporting period, by means of traditional apprenticeship, special skills training and formal education, the population of bearers has further expanded; their inter-generational transmission capacity has been enhanced, and the imbalance in the development of specific skills has been alleviated. The number of bearers has grown to nearly 20,000. More than 1,000 bearers fully master the whole set skills of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidery, and over 10,000 students have acquired knowledge and skills related to the element through formal education. The Li textile cooperatives, studios and a dozen of related enterprises established spontaneously by the bearers have promoted the safeguarding of the element in a productivity-oriented approach and created favorable conditions for the sustainable transmission of related knowledge and skills.

Despite the improved status of viability as mentioned above, the safeguarding measures for this reporting cycle could not fundamentally change the impact of globalization on the ecological and cultural environment of the heritage. The element is still facing the following threats:

First of all, due to industrial division of labor and wide use of industrial yarns, there is still a phenomenon of imbalance in the transmission and practice of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidery skills. There are more bearers of weaving and embroidering skills than those of manual spinning and plant dyeing ones.

Secondly, as the visibility of the heritage increases, more Li textile cooperatives, studios and productive enterprises have been set up, which have contributed to the stable frequency of the practice. However, they tend to place particular emphasis on the decorative function of Li textile. This, to some extent, has impacted the transmission of the ethnic knowledge implied in the traditional patterns and motifs of Li textile, and the safeguarding of cultural diversity within the Li ethnic group.

B.3.

Implementation of safeguarding measures

Please report on the safeguarding measures described in the nomination file, and previous report, if any. Describe how they have been implemented and how they have substantially contributed to the safeguarding of the element during the reporting period, taking note of external or internal constraints such as limited resources. Include, in particular, information on the measures taken to ensure the viability of the element by enabling the community to continue to practise and transmit it. Include the following detailed information concerning the implementation of the set of safeguarding measures or safeguarding plan:

B.3.a.

Objectives and results

Indicate what primary objective(s) were addressed and what concrete results were attained during the reporting period.

Objectives and results

During this reporting period, the following results have been attained:

The number of bearers has increased; the related techniques have been transmitted in a more balanced and comprehensive way, and the pressure of inter-generational transmission has been further eased. 113 representative bearers have been newly recognized at different levels, and the number of bearers has grown to nearly 20,000 in total. Among them, over 10,000 people are capable of using ancient waist loom for weaving, and more than 1,000 people master the whole set of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering techniques. A great many young men, as represented by Chen Daxu, a teacher of Hainan Vocational School for Nationalities, have joined the transmission and practice. Through teaching, training, communication, production and other forms of practice, young and middle-aged bearers have deepened their understanding of the heritage and enhanced willingness and capacity of transmission.

The number of Li textile production and sales cooperatives and enterprises has increased, contributing to the inclusive social and economic development. By the beginning of 2021, there have been 40 of such cooperatives and a dozen of such enterprises in Hainan Province, and the practice of the element has been strengthened both in frequency and scale. More jobs have been generated for the benefit of local communities, especially for women, and the bearers have been inspired to continuously develop the element to meet their contemporary needs.

Relevant policies and plans, such as The Measures for the Identification and Management of Representative Bearers of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Hainan Province, Incentive Measures for Model Representative ICH Bearers in Baoting County, and the Three-year Action Plan for the Safeguarding and Development of Traditional Li Textile Techniques: Spinning, Dyeing, Weaving and Embroidering (2021-2023), have been successively issued or revised, providing policy guarantee for the safeguarding of the element. The trade organizations have been strengthened. The Hainan Association for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage established in 2017 has played an active role in the safeguarding of the element.

Investigation, research and documentation have been continued; the planting scale and supply efficiency of raw materials needed for the making of the Li textile have been maintained. Various online and offline promotion and demonstration events have been organized to publicize and present the heritage and its safeguarding achievements. As a result, the significance of the element, as well as intangible cultural heritage as a whole, has been further respected and enhanced.

B.3.b.

Safeguarding activities

List the key activities that were carried out during this reporting period in order to achieve these expected results. Please describe the activities in detail and note their effectiveness or any problems encountered in implementing them.

Safeguarding activities

During this reporting period, communities, groups and individuals concerned have collaborated with the governments at all levels and other diverse actors to implement the following activities, apart from the routine endeavors in ensuring the scale and efficiency of raw material cultivation and supply, and building and maintaining facilities for transmission and practice:

1.The extent of transmission was further consolidated and expanded; the capacity-building of bearers and practitioners was further enhanced. Governments at all levels allocated annual funds to encourage transmission activities. 113 representative bearers were newly identified at different levels. Representative bearers at all levels actively engaged in the transmission activities, and the apprenticeship for transmission was steadily practiced within families, cooperatives and studios. Relevant communities held over 150 special training workshops on the topics of spindle spinning, pedal loom spinning, plant dyeing, string dyeing, weaving on waist and pedal looms, integrated loom weaving techniques and double-sided embroidery, with the attendance of more than 6,000 people. Hainan Tropical Ocean University and Hainan Vocational and Technical College jointly held three workshops, providing training of relevant knowledge and skills to more than 100 representative bearers. Secondary vocational schools in the six counties and three cities started to offer courses on the knowledge and skills related to the element, and more than 100 primary and secondary schools opened practical courses of the heritage, including all primary and secondary schools in Baisha County and Wuzhishan City.

2.The Traditional Crafts Revitalization Plan was further implemented to boost inclusive social and economic development. In 2018, the element was included in the first batch of the National Revitalization Catalogue of Traditional Crafts. 11 community-based transmission and practice centers, 40 cooperatives spontaneously organized by the bearers and a dozen of enterprises, such as Hainan Jinxiuzhibei Industrial Co. Ltd., have greatly promoted production by hand with a view of the productivity-oriented safeguarding of the element, and created favorable conditions for the transmission of related knowledge and skills, ensuring that the communities, groups and individuals concerned could benefit directly from the production activities.

3.Promotional activities were organized for further respect for and enhancement of the element. At the festivals and events such as Cultural & Natural Heritage Day, Bo’ao Forum of Asia (BFA), International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Chengdu, China , 2020 Hainan World Cultural Week of Li Textile and 2021 Chinese ICH Fashion Show, online and offline demonstrations, competitions, communication and sales activities were organized to present the element and its safeguarding achievements. The attendance of the activities have reached more than 15 million. Multimedia platforms were also used to increase the visibility of the element. In 2019, the element was exhibited at UNESCO headquarters, receiving wide coverage (240 articles) by more than 100 media outlets including Europe Times, Chinese American Post, China News Service and people.cn, as well as numerous we-media. On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2020, a promotional video titled When Li Textile, the ICH element from Hainan, Meets Modern Life was broadcast on the “China Screen” in New York’s Times Square to present the charm of the element to local citizens and millions of tourists. In addition, short videos about the bearers uploaded on new social media platforms such as Tik Tok and Kwai received over 800 million views, making a positive impact among teenagers.

4.Investigation, research and documentation were advanced to support the transmission and development of the traditional techniques. A survey on the Li textile culture was conducted. Two representative bearers at the national level, Ms. Liu Xianglan and Ms. Fu Linzao were interviewed and recorded. A 22-episode micro documentary titled The Li People on the Textile was produced. More than 10 monographs and collections, including the Safeguarding Practice of Traditional Li Textile Techniques: Spinning, Dyeing and Weaving and Embroidering, Research on the Safeguarding and Transmission of Hainan Li Textile, Colorful Dress · Treasure of Textile, Research on Traditional Craftsmanship and Digitalized Safeguarding of Li Textile and Historical Analysis of Li Textile & Bearers’ Research Journal, and hundreds of academic papers were published.

B.3.c.

Participation of communities, groups or individuals in the safeguarding activities

Describe how communities, groups or, if appropriate, individuals as well as relevant non-governmental organizations have effectively participated, including in terms of gender roles, in the safeguarding measures. Describe the role of the implementing organization or body (name, background, etc.) and the human resources that were available for implementing safeguarding activities.

Participation of communities, groups or individuals in the safeguarding activities

The bearers, mainly Li women, such as Rong Yamei, Liu Xianglan, Fu Linzao, Fu Xiuying, Hu Chunfang, Huang Liqiong, among others, have consciously assumed the responsibility of practice, transmission and development of the traditional techniques. They have improved their skills and trained apprentices. They have operated cooperatives to encourage more bearers and practitioners to participate in the production for a better life. They have designed and produced new products to adapt to the needs of contemporary society, engaged in various promotional activities, joined related survey and recording activities, and provided suggestions for policy makers. The young generation of bearers, including male bearers, have also been increasingly involved in the transmission and practice of the element. Since 2018, 23 young and middle-aged bearers have been granted the title of the South China Sea Craftsmen by Hainan Provincial People’s Government for their excellent skills and gained financial support for their entrepreneurship. Under their influence, the community members have kept on wearing or using Li-textile clothes and articles on major folk or ceremonial occasions and planting the raw materials for the making of Li textile.

Hainan Tropical Ocean University, Hainan Vocational & Technical College, Hainan Normal University, Hainan University and other institutions have actively participated in the training of related knowledge and skills for the bearers. Hainan Ethnic Technical School, and secondary vocational schools in the six counties and three cities have started to offer formal educational courses about the element. Primary and secondary schools in the six counties and three cities have included the element into their universal educational curricula. Non-governmental organizations such as Hainan Ethnology Society, Hainan Arts & Crafts Association, Hainan Association for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and research institutes such as Hainan Institute of Ethnology have provided human resources, intellectual and financial support for investigation, research, documentation, promotion, demonstration and other safeguarding activities.

Hainan Museum, Hainan Minzu Museum and relevant communities have set up special exhibition halls for the element. Enterprises such as Hainan Hetian Tourism Co. Ltd., Hainan Jinxiuzhibei Industrial Co., Ltd. have also invested in the construction of Binglanggu Valley Li Textile Museum, Hainan Jinxiuzhibei Li Textile Museum, and Nanming Qidian Transmission and Practice Center of Li Textile Techniques.

B.3.d.

Timetable

Indicate in a timetable when each activity was implemented.

Timetable

Regular safeguarding activities include:
Allocating annual funds to encourage transmission and communication activities by representative bearers at different levels; offering training workshops of specific techniques annually in the six counties and three cities; daily training, product creation and technical research at traditional craftsmanship workstations in Baoting County and Dongfang City; building, operating and maintaining transmission and practice centers at relevant communities; offering training courses for representative bearers in universities and colleges; providing professional skills teaching at secondary vocational schools; opening practical courses at primary and secondary schools; proceeding with investigation, research and documentation; ensuring the planting scale and supply efficiency of the raw materials necessary for the transmission and practice of the element; organizing presentations, demonstrations and experiential activities on major folk festivals and celebrations of the Li ethnic group or during the Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Chengdu, China and China ICH Expo.

Other safeguarding activities include:
—Exhibitions were held at Bo’ao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, UNESCO Headquarters and EXCEL London Convention Centre in April 2018, September and November 2019 respectively;
—Hainan Li Textile Culture Show was held in Beijing Cultural Palace of Nationalities in September 2020;
—Hainan Li Textile Dragon-embroidered Quilt Art Show was held in Hainan Museum in November 2020;
—Hainan World Cultural Week -- Li Textile was held in Haikou, Hainan Province in November 2020;
—2021 China ICH Fashion Show (Hainan) was held in Sanya, Hainan Province in March 2021.
—Oriental Li Textile Costume Innovation Forum was held during Hainan World Leisure Tourism Expo in October 2017;
—The First Hainan Traditional Crafts Summit and academic exchanges marking the 10th anniversary of the inscription of Li traditional textile techniques: spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering on UNESCO’s Urgent Safeguarding List were held in December 2019;
—Symposium on the safeguarding of the traditional Li textile techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering was held in November 2020;
—From 2019 to 2020, Li textile symbols were collected and sorted out; the research results of Li textile totem program were published; resources related to the traditional techniques were collected; and
—The survey of Li textile culture was launched in May 2021.

B.3.e.

Budget expenditures

Provide the detailed amounts of the funds used for the implementation of each activity (if possible, in US dollars), identifying the funding source for each (governmental sources, in-kind community inputs, etc.).

Budget

According to incomplete statistics, the amounts of the funds used for the implementation of the safeguarding measures during the reporting period are indicated as follows:

Government inputs: 549,000 RMB worth of subsidy to representative bearers for their transmission and practice of the element; 2.08 million RMB for building, maintaining and operating traditional craftsmanship workstations and community-based transmission and practice centers; 2.95 million RMB for research and training targeted representative bearers by institutions of higher education; 3.553 million RMB for universal education on ICH at primary and secondary schools; 1.5 million RMB for raw material planting and 800,000 RMB for the interview and recording of two national-level representative bearers.

The inputs from communities, groups and individuals concerned include both capital and in-kind inputs for transmission and practice, training, and raw material planting by cooperatives at community level: about 1.2 million RMB from 7 cooperatives in Wuzhishan City; 1.26 million RMB from 10 cooperatives in Baoting County; 300,000 RMB from 4 cooperatives in Dongfang City; about 3.697 million RMB from 9 cooperatives in Baisha County; about 410,000 RMB from 2 cooperatives in Qiongzhong County; about 700,000 RMB from 3 cooperatives in Changjiang County; about 1.95 million RMB from 4 cooperatives in Ledong County and a total of 100,000 RMB from one cooperative in Sanya City and two cooperatives in Lingshui County.

In addition, Hainan Ethnology Society invested about 1.3 million RMB to carry out the survey of Li textile culture, as well as exhibitions, presentations and research activities. Hainan Hetian Tourism Co. Ltd. invested about 2 million RMB for transmission and demonstration activities in Hainan Binglanggu Valley Li- & Miao- Cultural Tourism Area.

B.3.f.

Overall effectiveness of the safeguarding activities

Provide an overall assessment of the effectiveness of the activities undertaken to achieve the expected results and of the efficiency of the use of funds for implementing the activities. Please indicate how the activities contributed to achieving the results and whether other activities could have contributed better to achieving the same results. Also indicate whether the same results could have been achieved with less funding, whether the human resources available were appropriate and whether communities, groups and individuals could have been better involved.

Overall effectiveness of the safeguarding activities

During this reporting period, various safeguarding activities have been carried out to ensure comprehensive transmission and development of the element. The channels of fund raising have been gradually broadened; the budget management and performance assessment of the invested funds have been improved and become more efficient. The main achievements are as follows:

The pressure of inter-generational transmission has been eased and the overall transmission develops in good direction. Representative bearers at all levels have played a fundamental role in the planning and implementation of safeguarding activities. They have not only improved their transmission and practice capability, but also encouraged the young generation, including male bearers and practitioners, to engage in the transmission, practice and dissemination of the element through transmission and practice centers, cooperatives, related enterprises, colleges and universities, as well as other educational platforms.

The planting scale and supply efficiency of raw materials necessary for the element have been maintained; the frequency of practice through folk activities has been raised, and the natural and cultural environment related to the element has been better preserved as a whole. At the same time, the element has been transmitted and developed through more production practices, which contributed to productive employment and decent work. As a result, the economic and social status of bearers, in particular Li women, have been improved, giving a boost to the inclusive economic and social development.

The public awareness of safeguarding the element has been enhanced in the communities concerned through promotional and educational programs. Teaching and training on particular skills, and educational activities in schools have become increasingly common. More multidisciplinary research findings have been achieved. The wide use of Internet has greatly improved the extent and frequency of transmission, demonstration and sales activities, which has ensured better results with fewer costs. Representative bearers, such as Liu Xianglan, Fu Linzao, Fu Xiuying and Huang Guiqiong, have used Internet to train their apprentices, present the element and sell products.

C

Zhu

C. Update of the safeguarding measures

C.1.

Updated safeguarding plan

Please provide an update of the safeguarding plan included in the nomination file or in the previous report. In particular provide detailed information as follows:

  1. a. What primary objective(s) will be addressed and what concrete results will be expected?
  2. b. What are the key activities to be carried out in order to achieve these expected results? Describe the activities in detail and in their best sequence, addressing their feasibility.
  3. c. How will the State(s) Party(ies) concerned support the implementation of the updated safeguarding plan?

Updated safeguarding plan

In the next four years, diverse actors with the communities at the core will continue their efforts in the transmission and development of the traditional techniques related to the element, with a view to achieving the following results as expected:

1.To further enlarge the population of bearers and practitioners and improving their capability of transmission. The number of the bearers and practitioners will grow continuously through traditional apprenticeship, special skills training and formal education. The traditional techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering will be transmitted in a more balanced and comprehensive way. The young generation, in particular, will be further mobilized to engage in the transmission and practice, and improve their knowledge, skills and design capability to further enhance the inter-generational transmission of the element.

2.To establish a sound safeguarding mechanism to strengthen collaboration among multi actors. Regulations on Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Hainan Province will be enacted. More institutions of higher education, research institutes, enterprises and other stakeholders will be encouraged to take part in safeguarding actions. A joint safeguarding mechanism will be set up for sharing resources and achievements, reinforcing complementary advantages and promoting division of labor and cooperation.

3.To further revitalize traditional crafts and promote region-wide holistic safeguarding efforts. Cooperatives, studios, traditional craftsmanship workstations and enterprises will be encouraged to improve product quality and expand production so as to ensure inclusive economic and social development at the community level. With full respect for the willing of the communities, groups and individuals concerned and based on sufficient consultation, cultural and ecological reserves will be developed with the focus on the safeguarding of the element. Raw material planting, safeguarding and relevant commercial activities will be managed and evaluated to avoid over commercialization, and fragmentation and de-contextualization of safeguarding actions.

4.To conduct more research and publish academic research findings and popular reading materials. Exhibitions, demonstrations and communication activities will be further leveraged to enhance the visibility of the element, as well as the public awareness of the importance of intangible cultural heritage, including the element.

The Chinese government will continuously support the overall implementation of the updated safeguarding measures while respecting the wishes of the communities, groups and individuals concerned. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance and relevant local governments will take joint efforts to maximize the participation of the communities, groups and individuals concerned in the whole safeguarding process to enhance the viability of the element and ensure inclusive economic and social development.

C.2.

Timetable for future actitivies

Provide a timetable for the updated safeguarding plan (within a time-frame of approximately four years).

00303,00304,00305,00321,00322,00530

Timetable

Safeguarding activities in the time frame of 2022-2025 are planed as follows:

Regular activities:
To identify representative bearers at all levels and allocate funds to encourage transmission and practice;
To provide training workshops for bearers in colleges and universities inside and outside of Hainan Province, and use online training and other forms to expand the coverage of trainees;
To incorporate the element into secondary vocational and primary education;
To improve documentation and publish the oral history of the element by narration of national representative bearers;
To support academic research and exchanges and publish academic research findings by universities and research institutes;
To proceed with the construction of cultural and ecological reserves with the focus on the safeguarding of the element;
To support relevant communities in their efforts to consolidate and expand raw material planting and to build and maintain venues for transmission and demonstrations; to facilitate the development of community-based cooperatives and enterprises;
To carry out investigation and evaluation of the transmission activities, cultivation and production of raw materials, transmission bases, and demonstration bases of productivity-oriented safeguarding;
To hold promotional activities such as Hainan World Cultural Week -- Li Textile, and carry out exchanges and exhibitions at home and abroad.

Other activities: a province-wide special training workshop for the bearers of the element will be held in 2022; in the same year, Hainan Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Center will be set up with a special hall for demonstrating the traditional Li textile techniques; a forum on scientific safeguarding of the traditional Li textile techniques: spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering will be held in 2023; periodic investigation and evaluation of the implementation of safeguarding plan will be launched in 2024.

Communities, groups and individuals concerned will actively carry out various forms of transmission, exhibition and production practices, and continue to consolidate and expand the cultivation of raw materials.

C.3.

Budget for future activities

Provide the estimates of the funds required for implementing the updated safeguarding plan (if possible, in US dollars), identifying any available resources (governmental sources, in-kind community inputs, etc.).

Budget

The funds required for implementing the updated safeguarding measures for the period 2022-2025 are planned as follows:

Government inputs will include: 2 million RMB of subsidy for representative bearers to support their transmission and practice; 1.5 million RMB for community-level technical training; 2 million RMB for research and training of representative bearers by institutions of higher education; 2 million RMB for universal education themed on the element in secondary vocational schools and primary and secondary schools; one million RMB for maintenance and operation of traditional craftsmanship workstations; 2 million RMB for recording of representative bearers and digitalization of archives; one million RMB for research by universities and research institutes; 500,000 RMB for investigation and evaluation of the transmission activities of representative bearers, cultivation and production of raw materials, transmission bases, and demonstration bases of productivity-oriented safeguarding; one million RMB for Hainan World Cultural Week -- Li Textile, cross-regional textile cultural exchanges, forums, conferences and exhibitions.

Inputs from communities, groups and individuals concerned will include: about 11 million RMB worth of capital and in-kind inputs from 40 community-based cooperatives for transmission and practice, training, and cultivation of raw materials; about 110,000 RMB for planting of raw materials and dyestuff from one studio in Sanya City of Hainan Province.

In addition, Hainan Ethnology Society will put 2 million RMB into the research, publication and demonstration of the element. Hainan Hetian Tourism Co., Ltd. will invest about 3 million RMB to carry out transmission and demonstration activities in Hainan Binglanggu Li- & Miao- Cultural Tourism Area.

C.4.

Community participation

Please describe how communities, groups and individuals, as well as relevant non-governmental organizations have been involved, including in terms of gender roles, in updating the safeguarding plan, and how they will be involved in its implementation.

00045

Community participation

A working group has been set up jointly by Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Film & Sports and Hainan Mass Art Center (Center for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province) to collaborate the updating the safeguarding plan and elaboration of this report, during which communities, groups, individuals concerned and other actors have been closely involved.

Relevant communities, groups and individuals have provided related information about their participation in safeguarding activities to the working group, and analyzed the effectiveness of the safeguarding plan, the current viability and threats of the element during the three reporting cycles since its inscription, and put forward constructive suggestions and recommendations on the updating of the safeguarding plan. For example, representative bearers Ms. Rong Yamei and Ms. Fu Linzao have emphasized that more attention should be paid to traditional modes of transmission in the next period. Ms. Chen Dan has pointed out that the relationship between business development and skills transmission should be handled properly. Ms. Liu Xianglan has suggested that the operation and management competence of cooperative organizers be improved. Hainan Ethnology Society, Hainan Association of the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Hainan Arts and Crafts Association, Hainan University, Hainan Normal University and Hainan Tropical Ocean University have suggested that the plan adopt a long-term perspective and documentation be further strengthened, and more academic researches be carried out. After several rounds of consultation among multiple actors, the safeguarding plan of the element for the next cycle has been finalized based on the Three-year Action Plan for the Safeguarding and Development of the Traditional Li Textile Techniques: Spinning, Dyeing, Weaving and Embroidering (2021-2023).

To implement the updated safeguarding measures, relevant communities, groups and individuals will work together under the coordination of Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Film & Sports. They will take localized actions, carry out safeguarding and transmission practices, and promote communications and dialogues. Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Film & Sports will provide regular feedback on monitoring and safeguarding achievements, while the communities, groups and individuals concerned will participate in the discussions and jointly identify the annual implementation priorities.

C.5.

Institutional context

Please report on the institutional context for the local management and safeguarding of the element inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, including:

  1. a. the competent body(ies) involved in its management and/or safeguarding;
  2. b. the organization(s) of the community or group concerned with the element and its safeguarding.

2004-12-02

Institutional context

a. the competent body involved in its management and safeguarding:
Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Film & Sports
b. the organizations of the community or group related to the element and its safeguarding
Relevant transmission and practice centers, cooperatives, studios, enterprises, associations, museums, educational and research institutes, and competent bodies responsible for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage at different levels, as mentioned in this report.

D

Yanhui

D. Participation of communities in preparing this report

Describe the measures taken to ensure the widest possible participation of the communities, groups and, where applicable, individuals concerned as well as relevant non-governmental organizations during the process of preparing this report.

Participation of communities in preparing this report

During the process of preparing this report, the working group continued to adopt the mechanism of communication that is based on collected information and feedback from multiple actors, and elaborated the report in collaboration with relevant stakeholders. From June to November 2021, the working group collected information on the transmission and safeguarding activities of the element during this reporting period from relevant communities, groups and individuals, as well as their opinions and suggestions on the implementation of safeguarding measures, through instant messenger (IM) WeChat and QQ, and field visits and surveys. Interviews, discussions and webinars were carried out in order to ensure timely information sharing between the communities, groups and individuals, and the working group. The working group drafted the report based on the analysis of the collected information, data and suggestions, and solicited opinions from relevant communities, groups and individuals through on-line and face-to-face meetings, and finalized the report in the end.

E

Deputy Director
Division of International Organizations
Bureau of International Exchanges and Cooperation
Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China

E. Signature on behalf of the State Party

The report should be signed by an official empowered to do so on behalf of the State, and should include his or her name, title and the date of submission.

Name

Xie Jinying

Title

Director-General, Bureau of International Exchanges and Cooperation, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China

Date

15-12-2021

Signature

Upload signed version in PDF

Report on the status of an element inscribed on the list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding

A. Cover sheet

A.1.

State Party

Name of State Party

China

A.2.

Date of deposit of the instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession

This information is available online.

Date of deposit of the instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession

2004-12-02

A.3.

Element inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List that is the subject of this report

Name of element

Traditional Li textile techniques: spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering

Inscribed in

2009

A.4.

Reporting period covered by this report

Please indicate the period covered by this report.

Reporting period covered by this report

01-01-2016 - 31-12-2017

A.5.

Other elements inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, if any

Please list all other elements from your country inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, together with the year of inscription; for multinational elements, please indicate the other States concerned.

Other elements inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, if any

Hezhen Yimakan storytelling (2011)

Meshrep (2010)

Qiang New Year festival (2009)

Traditional design and practices for building Chinese wooden arch bridges (2009)

Watertight-bulkhead technology of Chinese junks (2010)

Wooden movable-type printing of China (2010)

A.6.

Executive summary of the report

Please provide an executive summary of the report that will allow general readers to understand the current status of the element, any positive or negative impacts of inscription, the implementation of safeguarding measures during the reporting period and their possible update for the following years.

Executive summary of the report

The traditional Li textile techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering are employed by the women of Li ethnic group of Hainan Province, China, to make cotton, hemp and other natural fibers into clothing and other daily necessities. In their long history of understanding and utilizing plant fibers and dyes, the women of Li ethnic group gradually formed a whole system of Li textile techniques. The system consists of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering, and boasts the warp ikat and double-face embroidery. These techniques pass down from mothers to daughters through generations. All the products made accordingly, such as dragon quilt, V-neck pullover, bed sheet, pencil skirt, headscarf, flowery hat and tapestry, are generally called Li textile. As carriers of Li culture, traditional Li textile techniques are an indispensable part of the cultural heritage of the Li ethnic group. However, in recent decades the numbers of women with the weaving and embroidery skills at their command has severely declined to the extent that traditional Li textile techniques are exposed to the risk of extinction.
In October 2009, the element was inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List. After the first reporting period of safeguarding efforts, the stakeholders have fulfilled all the safeguarding measures they committed in the nomination files and eased the endangered status of this element. During the second reporting period of safeguarding efforts, the stakeholders continued to consolidate their achievements in the earlier period, and proactively sought new modes of safeguarding. More and more Li people come to realize that these traditional techniques by women not only satisfy the daily life needs, but also have great value in the consciousness and development of the Li ethnic culture. The bearers and practitioners of the element are more actively participating in the safeguarding and transmission activities. Both the numbers of participants and the frequency of safeguarding activities are showing an upward trend. In particular, the efforts and achievements in intergenerational transmission and market demand-powered technique advancement provide strong guarantee for the viability of the element. The safeguarding and transmission platforms have greatly increased and diversified with the help of related communities and governments at all levels. More and more Chinese people come to know this precious intangible cultural heritage of the Li ethnic group.

A.7.

Contact person for correspondence

Provide the name, address and other contact information of the person responsible for correspondence concerning the report.

Title (Ms/Mr, etc.)

Mr

Family name

MO

Given name

Qingqiao

Institution/position

Center for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province, China / Director

Address

68 Guoxingdadao, Meilan District, Haikou City, Hainan Province, China, 570203

Telephone number

0086-898-65307778 0086-13098989918

E-mail address

360890212@qq.com

Other relevant information

http://www.hnsfy.org/ (the website for Hainan Intangible Cultural Heritage)

B

Ms

B. Status of element inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List

Refer to the nomination file or to previous reports, if any, as the basis for reporting on the current status of the element, and report only on relevant changes since the date of inscription on the List or since the previous report. Nomination files, specific timetables and earlier reports, if any, are available at https://ich.unesco.org or from the Secretariat, upon request.

The State Party shall pay special attention to the role of gender and shall endeavour to ensure the widest possible participation of the communities, groups and, where applicable, individuals concerned as well as relevant non-governmental organizations during the process of preparing this report, and is asked to describe how it has done so in point D below.

B.1.

Social and cultural functions

Please explain the social and cultural functions and meanings of the element today, within and for its community, the characteristics of the bearers and practitioners, and any specific roles or categories of persons with special responsibilities towards the element, among others. Attention should be given to any relevant changes related to inscription criterion U.1 (‘the element constitutes intangible cultural heritage as defined in Article 2 of the Convention’).

Social and cultural functions

The women of the Li ethnic group are the major bearers and practitioners of the element. As their essential skills for the traditional society, they learn the techniques involved in the element from their mothers and also acquire the related knowledge and skills through verbal instruction and body demonstration of elder women during the gatherings of those practicing the techniques. The teaching and practicing of the techniques will last to their senility.
Caused by accelerated modernization, cheap assembly-line products has gradually replaced the daily necessity of Li textile and patterns. But the Li textile is still indispensable due to its role of cultural recognition in major ceremonial occasions such as religious events, festivals, weddings and funerals. Especially after the two reporting periods of safeguarding efforts, the Li people’s overall awareness of safeguarding and transmitting their traditional cultural heritage has been increasing.
The female bearers commanding the techniques involved in the element have not only gained economic benefits from practicing the element, but also obtained respect of their community. Therefore, they are enthusiastic about transmitting and revitalizing the element for its improved viability. The general public of the Li ethnic group, especially the younger generation, no longer take these traditional techniques as women’s essential skills for daily life. They have realized that this traditional technique system, with females as its major practitioners, embodies profound knowledge, group memory and ethnic identity. For example, the patterns of Li textile demonstrate Li culture, such as beliefs, taboos, customs, folkways, local history and legends. These patterns are not only of high aesthetic value, but also act as an important symbol for distinguishing different branches inside the ethnic group, namely, Ha, Qi, Meifu, Run and Sai. The popularization of this cultural consciousness among the Li people has further strengthened the role of the element in boosting cultural exchanges within the communities of the Li ethnic group, and maintaining ethnic identity.

B.2.

Assessment of its viability and current risks

Please describe the current level of viability of the element, particularly the frequency and extent of its practice, the strength of traditional modes of transmission, the demographics of practitioners and audiences and its sustainability. Please also identify and describe the threats, if any, to the element's continued transmission and enactment and describe the severity and immediacy of such threats, giving particular attention to any strengthening or weakening of the element’s viability subsequent to inscription.

Assessment of its viability and current risks

Compared with the previous reporting period, the viability of this element has improved. The transmission of the element is practiced in all the communities of the Li ethnic group in Hainan Province. Urbanization enables more children and young people to study and work in cities, gradually shifting the transmission practice of the element from within the family to the public space. For example, there are a growing number of training centers in communities, schools and teaching platforms. From 2016 to 2017, the relevant communities held lots of training activities, including more than 70 training classes at or above the county level as well as hundreds of transmission and practicing activities at different levels, attended by as many as 150,000 person-times. Among the participants of the activities, about 80% are young and middle-aged Li women under the age of 55. More than 8,000 students from over 50 primary and secondary schools learnt the basic knowledge of Li textile techniques and back-strap loom techniques in various in-class activities, and over 400 students from 2 provincial-level and 3 municipal/county-level vocational schools were trained in the techniques through vocational education. The activities above have greatly promoted the intergenerational transmission of the element.
With the world’s increased attention to the element and the impact of globalization, the Li textile products have been transformed from the daily necessities of the Li people into cultural products. The economic benefits and the need to improve practitioners’ living standards are attracting more Li women to spontaneously establish Li textile cooperatives or studios, where they can engage in the transmission and exchanges of the techniques and the production of Li textile products. They also purchase Li textile products from female practitioners in the surrounding villages for wholesaling and retailing. Many Li women’s social status has been elevated from housewife to full-time worker of the Li textile products.
The current threats to the element have been elaborated in the previous periodic report. As mentioned above, although the safeguarding measures during 2016-2017 have alleviated the endangered status of the element, they cannot offset the changes of the ecological and cultural environment of the element under the impacts of accelerating urbanization, changing lifestyles and occupations of the Li People. In particular, the profitability-driven production of Li textile goods makes most practitioners focus only on their output and ignore the transmission and practice of Li textile techniques. This production mode, while benefiting the communities, is exacerbating the unbalanced development of the techniques of the element. So, the safeguarding plan needs to be adjusted to create a mode which can better accommodate the people’s needs and better address the threats to the viability of the element.

B.3.

Implementation of safeguarding measures

Please report on the safeguarding measures described in the nomination file, and previous report, if any. Describe how they have been implemented and how they have substantially contributed to the safeguarding of the element during the reporting period, taking note of external or internal constraints such as limited resources. Include, in particular, information on the measures taken to ensure the viability of the element by enabling the community to continue to practise and transmit it. Include the following detailed information concerning the implementation of the set of safeguarding measures or safeguarding plan:

B.3.a.

Objectives and results

Indicate what primary objective(s) were addressed and what concrete results were attained during the reporting period.

Objectives and results

Since 2016, we have consolidated the achievements in the previous reporting period, and continued to use the effective safeguarding measures for the transmission and dissemination of the element. New modes more responsive to social changes and people’s needs have also been explored so that the traditional knowledge and techniques of the element can be transmitted more effectively. Through the safeguarding efforts, the following objectives have been reached:
1. Continuing to consolidate the effective safeguarding measures in the previous period, including: continuing the financial support program and the assessment system to provide more effective support for bearers, increasing the number of training and practicing platforms and transmission activities to stimulate the vitality of the traditional mode of transmission, offering more curricula in educational institutions at various levels to promote the young generation's cognition of the element so as to ease the difficulty of intergenerational transmission, holding annual promoting activities of various kinds to expand the scope of practice and awareness, maintaining the dedicated plantation bases to ensure the supply of traditional raw materials, and carrying out in-depth cooperation with research institutes, with the financial support and legal guarantee from the governments at all levels, to record and store the information related to this element with diversified methods.
The implementation of these safeguarding measures has not only improved the ecological and cultural environment for the element’s transmission among the communities, which have not only boosted the bearers and practitioners’ enthusiasm in safeguarding and transmitting the element, but also drove all the people of the Li ethnic group to treasure their own culture which includes the element. At present, a traditional transmission system of certain scale has been formed, which includes both the platforms represented by the training and practicing centers at all levels with the Li women as the major participants, and the formal educational institutions aimed to provide related extracurricular courses for students in primary and secondary schools and related technique training programs for students in vocational schools.
2. Exploring new modes following social trend and people’s needs, including:
(1) Balancing market needs with technique transmission - supporting the cooperatives, studios and e-commerce platforms spontaneously organized by the bearers and practitioners in the form of production-logistics-sales union, and deepening the bearers and practitioners’ cognition and knowledge of the element in terms of academic and jurisprudential interpretations and ethics, under the guidance and support of the Ministry of Culture and the cultural departments at all levels in China, through various forms of seminars and teaching programs, so that the people of the Li communities would fully aware of the multi-level cultural functions and social significance of the element while benefiting from it.
(2) Improving ecological protection with technique transmission - adjusting the scale of raw material planting by reducing the area of raw material plantation bases from 525 mu in various cities and counties to 148 mu in Dongfang City, while fully meeting the demands for the training and practicing centers at city and county levels, to avoid the waste of labor and physical resources.
(3) Establishing a mechanism for the collaboration between Li communities and social institutions - practicing and improving the multiple-actor coordination mechanism led by bearers, assisted by institutions and supported by government, in the process of implementing the programs such as the rescuing recording of the element demonstrated by Rong Yamei, a national level representative bearer of the element, the creation of an exclusive digitized cultural data management system for the element, and the national training program for Li textile pattern designers, with the aid of IT institutes, academic research institutes and educational institutions.

B.3.b.

Safeguarding activities

List the key activities that were carried out during this reporting period in order to achieve these expected results. Please describe the activities in detail and note their effectiveness or any problems encountered in implementing them.

Safeguarding activities

During 2016-2017, in addition to the routine work, the following safeguarding activities have also been launched:
-Strengthening complete transmission of the element
About 50 sessions of training courses targeting the Li women living in rural areas were held in various cities and counties, attended by as many as 3,000 trainees. In addition to major training programs focusing on back strap loom techniques, more attention has been paid to the training programs dedicated to each of the Li textile techniques, namely, spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering, enabling the attendees to acquire more complete understanding of all the techniques, for example, the double-face embroidery training in Baisha Li Autonomous County, the training on double cloth weaving and pre-weaving warping in Wuzhishan City, the training of spinning, plant dyeing and techniques to the region in some cities and counties such as Baoting, Ledong and Dongfang. Besides, the training activities aimed to rescue and publicize card weaving, the ancient Li technique newly discovered in recent years, have also been carried out in Wuzhishan City.
-Raising bearers and practitioners’ cultural consciousness
Relevant communities, with the support of government departments at all levels, carried out diversified activities to encourage the bearers to take the initiative to enrich their knowledge and broaden their horizon, and encourage the attendees of the training programs to lead the local efforts in the transmission of the element. Currently,there is a phenomenon that is “transmission in one area can be boosted by training one person”. For example, the representative bearer training course in Hainan in November 2016 was attended by 101 bearers. More than 50 officials from the cultural departments and agencies at various levels attended the training on the 2003 Convention and related laws and regulations in May 2017. 3 training sessions about the general knowledge of Li textile techniques, with the objectives of strengthening foundation, enhancing knowledge and widening horizon for the transmission and practice of the element, were held, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education of China, by Hainan Tropical Ocean University in April, May and September 2017.
-Strengthening productivity-oriented preservation to enhance the viability of Li textile techniques
Supporting relevant communities to directly engage in the Li textile business including the production and sale so that they can improve their living conditions and gain cultural benefits. During 2016-2017, to meet market demand, production-logistics-sales cooperatives spontaneously organized by Li women continued to increase, among which, 4 new cooperatives locate in Baisha and 3 in Qiongzhong County.
-Deepening cultural transmission in teaching platforms at various levels
The relevant communities continued to cultivate interest and train basic skills of all kinds of students:
(1) The number of teaching platforms offering curricula about the element continued to increase. At present, 52 primary and secondary schools in 9 ethnic cities and counties in Hainan Province are offering Li textile practice courses, with the participation of more than 6,000 primary and secondary students.
(2) Departments of Li textile techniques have been set up in some vocational technical schools, offering Li textile-centered courses, creating a platform for the intergenerational transmission of the element and enhancing the appeal of Li textile to the young people.
(3) Some pilot training programs have been established in colleges and universities. For example, “National Li Textile Design Training Program” supported by China National Arts Fund was held in Hainan Normal University, in which 90% of the trainees learning from the 6 representative bearers such as Rong Yamei, have masters’ degree or above.
-Diversifying efforts in expanding transmission and practice
(1) Regular Li textile techniques-themed exhibitions in festival celebrations - On Mar. 28, 2017, a thousand Li weavers challenged the Guinness World Records in Dongfang City,, and more than 1,000 bearers attended the event, of whom 322 challenged the Guinness World Records successfully. Thus, Dongfang City won the Guinness World Records for “most people weaving cloth simultaneously”.
(2) Domestic safeguarding and dissemination - In May 2016, Li textile products attracted much attention in ICIF 2016 Shenzhen and the sales volume of Li textile products such as scarf reached over 30,000 RMB. In June 2016, 5 new-generation bearers of the element participated in the competition and exhibition of the 6th International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Chengdu, China, in which Wang Guihua and Fu Lirong won the title of Star of New-Generation Craftsman, and Huang Huiqiong and Zhang Chaoying Star of New-Generation Handicraftsman, and Ji Mingya Star of New-Generation Bearers. In 2016, the 7th Hainan Li Textile Weaving Competition (Student Group) witnessed a increasing number of male contestants (namely 74 male contestants).
(3) Diversified international exchanges and cooperation - Liu Xianglan and many other representative bearers of the element performed the traditional Li textile techniques in Hainan Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition 2016 in Malta and the cultural exchange activities in Mongolia in 2017, which was widely acclaimed by the local people.
-Promoting database building for the element
In 2017, the phase I objectives of shooting the oral history, teaching video, practice video and summary video of the national-level representative bearer Rong Yamei and the pilot program of building a digital management system for the element, both supported by the Ministry of Culture, have been fulfilled. Meanwhile, the data recording and database management are in line with the relevant standards. This has also helped to promote the digital management of other elements (http://www.hnsfy.org/).
-Avoiding waste while providing sufficient raw materials
The scale of the raw material plantation bases built by the government during the period from 2010 to 2015 has been adjusted from 525 mu in 9 cities and counties to 148 mu in Dongfang City, including 50 mu sea island cotton, 50 mu ramie, 40 mu anil, 5 mu turmeric, 1 mu peristrophe floribunda, 1 mu basella alba and 1 mu sappanwood, which can meet the demands of the Li women in the surrounding cities and counties for their training and practicing of the techniques, so as to avoid the waste of labor and resources.

B.3.c.

Participation of communities, groups or individuals in the safeguarding activities

Describe how communities, groups or, if appropriate, individuals as well as relevant non-governmental organizations have effectively participated, including in terms of gender roles, in the safeguarding measures. Describe the role of the implementing organization or body (name, background, etc.) and the human resources that were available for implementing safeguarding activities.

Participation of communities, groups or individuals in the safeguarding activities

After two reporting periods of safeguarding, the scope of practice of this element has been expanded to all the Li communities in Hainan Province from 5 cities and counties indicated in the nomination file. In this process, the active participation of communities, groups, individuals and relevant non-governmental organizations has effectively promoted the implementation of the safeguarding measures.
-Active practice and transmission by bearers
Besides the non-profit activities such as dissemination, demonstration, teaching and training of the element, the national and provincial bearers represented by Rong Yamei, Liu Xianglan, Fu Linzao, Fu Xiuying, Huang Liqiong and Liu Xiaozhen also carry out many training and exchange activities in 16 communities concerned and engage themselves in managing production and sales, which has attracted a large number of women to join the weaving team. At present, the total number of women in Hainan Province engaged in Li textile weaving remains above 10,000 and is still increasing, and the number of people mastering at least one of the concrete techniques is nearly 14,000. In addition, the number of cooperatives with women as the major practitioners continues to grow, such as Jinchai Li Textile Cooperative in Qiongzhong County (36 members), Shengpo Li Textile Cooperative (38 members), and Shitong Li Textile Cooperative (47 members). The current number of relevant cooperatives has totaled over 40. These cooperatives spontaneously established by the Li people are not only effectively promoting the safeguarding and transmission of the element, but also exhibiting and selling the finished products produced by them, leading to better social benefits and increased income of the members, and creating a new possibility for peasants to overcome poverty and achieve prosperity.
-Intergenerational transmission effectively promoted by practice platforms co-built by educational and academic organizations
The primary and secondary schools, vocational schools, universities and research institutes in Li ethnic cities and counties have carried out a series of transmission and education activities at different levels.
(1) Primary and secondary education - More than 10 primary and secondary schools began to offer curricula related to the element, in which, Baisha witness an increase of 7 schools in the past two years, with the total number of related schools reaching 16, cultivating more than 1,000 students.
(2) Vocational education - Departments of Li textile techniques were set up in some vocational technical schools such as Hainan Minzu Technical School, Sanya Advanced Technical School and Secondary Vocational Technical School of Baisha Li Autonomous County, which have trained hundreds of new practitioners with specialized techniques and cultural knowledge, forming a new driving force for the transmission.
(3) Higher education and research institutes - Hainan Institute of Ethnology, Hainan Museum, Hainan Minzu Museum and other academic institutions are actively engaged in the publicity, demonstration and training activities while carrying out the relevant academic researches. For example, Hainan Tropical Ocean University, as one of the institutions involved in the research and training program of ICH bearers supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education of China, has completed 3 sessions of training on Li textile techniques, lasting 1 month, attended by 150 practitioners.

B.3.d.

Timetable and budget

Indicate in a timetable when each activity was implemented and the funds that were used for its implementation, identifying the source of funding for each (governmental sources, in-kind community inputs, etc.).

Timetable and budget

During 2016-2017, the implementation of safeguarding measures and activities related to this element (for details, see B3b and B3c), used a total amount of 9 million RMB funding from the governments at all levels, and the details by year are as follows:
In 2016, a total of 4.5 million RMB was invested by Hainan Province into various safeguarding measures related to the element, including the following 3 major aspects. Firstly, the safeguarding efforts in 9 Li ethnic cities and counties in Hainan Province include 1.18 million RMB for exhibition and transmission, 900,000 RMB for outreach activities on campuses, 360,000 RMB for management and operation of training centers, 450,000 RMB for purchasing Li textile objects. Secondly, 600,000 RMB for the raw material plantation base in Dongfang City. Thirdly, 110,000 RMB for dissemination and documentation, including shooting the digital documentaries by the Center for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province, 140,000 RMB for exhibitions, 250,000 RMB for competitions, 200,000 RMB for procurement of Li textile objects, and 310,000 RMB for comprehensive costs of supervision, conferences, exchanges organized by the Department of Culture, Radio, Television, Publication and Sports of Hainan Province. In addition, the central government has earmarked 800,000 RMB into a special fund, in which 400,000 RMB for building database for the element and 400,000 RMB for rescuing recording of Rong Yamei, a representative bearer of the element.
In 2017, the provincial government of Hainan made further investment of 3.7 million RMB to carry out safeguarding activities in 9 relevant communities, including 900,000 RMB for exhibition and training programs, 900,000 RMB for campus outreach activities, 360,000 RMB for management and operation of training centers, 200,000 RMB for building 2 new exhibition and training centers targeting tourists, 500,000 RMB for raw material plantation base; and various dissemination and archiving activities – 290,000 RMB for the Exhibition of Li Textile Techniques held by the Center for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province on the Intangible Cultural Heritage Day, 110,000 RMB for photo exhibitions on campuses, 100,000 RMB for participation in national exhibitions, 200,000 RMB for procurement of Li textile items and 140,000 RMB for the comprehensive costs of supervision, conferences, exchanges organized by the Department of Culture, Radio, Television, Publication and Sports of Hainan Province.
It is worth mentioned that the relevant business organizations and individuals have also actively promoted the implementation of safeguarding measures by raising funds to support the element. For example, Hetian Tourism Co., Ltd., as the second-batch National Level Demonstration Base of Intangible Cultural Heritage for Productivity-Oriented Preservation, invested more than 1.7 million RMB to build Sailong’ao Li Costume Studio, over 3.4 million RMB to build Li Textile Studio, and nearly 2 million RMB to organize full-time and part-time training programs of Li textile techniques.

B.3.e.

Overall effectiveness of the safeguarding activities

Provide an overall assessment of the effectiveness of the activities undertaken to achieve the expected results and of the efficiency of the use of funds for implementing the activities. Please indicate how the activities contributed to achieving the results and whether other activities could have contributed better to achieving the same results. Also indicate whether the same results could have been achieved with less funding, whether the human resources available were appropriate and whether communities, groups and individuals could have been better involved.

Overall effectiveness of the safeguarding activities

The results achieved by the safeguarding measures from 2010 to 2015 have been consolidated in 2016-2017, and the current status is as follows:
Firstly, the transmission system works well. The representative bearers at all levels, due to their excellent ability of practice and transmission of the element, have gained wide recognition from relevant communities and won good reputation, enabling them to play extremely important roles in every aspect of the safeguarding efforts. Together with tens of thousands of Li women who are practicing the Li textile techniques and thousands of students from primary and secondary schools as well as vocational schools who are learning the Li textile techniques, they have formed a colossal, organic and well-run transmission system on the platform of training and practicing centers at different levels and various schools. In order to ensure the smooth operation of this system, the transmission activities of more than 30 national and provincial representative bearers and the majority of representative bearers at country and city levels continue to receive varying amounts of subsidies from the government.
Secondly, the productivity-oriented safeguarding promotes the sustainable development of the element. Many Li women regained the Li textile techniques that are at the risk of extinction. Besides meeting their own needs, Li women produced more Li textile products for the market. The subsequent economic benefits have not only greatly improved the living standards of many Li families, but also contributed to saving government funding at all levels. The implementation of productivity-oriented safeguarding has not only promoted the continuous production of Li textile, but also enhanced the cultural consciousness and confidence of the Li people in inheriting and developing their ethnic culture.
Thirdly, the diversified channels of knowledge and information dissemination have broadened the scope of practice and awareness. In addition to various kinds of presentations on media and in conference, the number of both public and private exhibition halls showcasing the element is on the rise in the relevant cities and counties, forming an increasingly mature publicity and exhibition mode and a regular work mechanism. The rescuing recording of the national representative bearers of intangible cultural heritages has been completed in line with relevant standards and guided by experts. More and more academic institutions and experts are conducting extensive and in-depth academic studies from the perspective of humanities and technologies. The aforesaid activities and the safeguarding practices of the communities, groups and individuals have effectively complemented the overall safeguarding efforts.
Finally, while safeguarding measures are funded by the government, the number of activities funded by the private sector is also on the rise, such as private museums, community-built training centers and cooperatives. These acts not only reflect the communities’ increased awareness of safeguarding their ethnic culture, but also inject new vitality into the safeguarding measures of the element.

C

Zhang

C. Update of the safeguarding measures

C.1.

Updated safeguarding plan

Please provide an update of the safeguarding plan included in the nomination file or in the previous report. In particular provide detailed information as follows:

  1. a. What primary objective(s) will be addressed and what concrete results will be expected?
  2. b. What are the key activities to be carried out in order to achieve these expected results? Describe the activities in detail and in their best sequence, addressing their feasibility.
  3. c. How will the State(s) Party(ies) concerned support the implementation of the updated safeguarding plan?

Updated safeguarding plan

In order to better consolidate the existing results and deepen the safeguarding efforts in the future, the safeguarding measures are updated as follows:
a. Main objectives and expected results
1. Continuing to increase the number of representative bearers and carry out various forms of training activities, so as to enable the bearers to master a full set of the techniques, and continuing to promote education on the general knowledge and specialized techniques of the element so as to maintain the continuous growth of the number of practitioners;
2. Focusing on the technical and theoretical training of the young and middle-aged bearers, and striving to improve their capability of transmission so as to enhance the sustainable development of the element;
3. Improving the design, craftsmanship and overall quality of Li textile products, encouraging the establishment of more production-marketing cooperatives or companies, and helping to boost the promotion, exhibition and sales of their products;
4. Enhancing the efforts in setting up the related discipline and theoretical and technical researches, and conducting a wide range of international and domestic activities for dissemination and exchanges;
5. Continuing to formulate and improve the laws, regulations, policies and plans for safeguarding the element, strengthen the management and corporate governance of the relevant organizations, and pay attention to the holistic safeguarding measures.
b. Major activities to achieve expected results
1. Stimulating the younger generation’s enthusiasm in practicing the element, cultivating a group of bearers with the mastery of all the relevant techniques and craftsmanship, continuing to provide support for transmission activities such as apprenticeship programs, continuing to impart the general knowledge of the element to the students in primary and secondary schools and train more young practitioners in vocational schools, and continuing the efforts for improving the construction of transmission villages, transmission bases, teaching bases, demonstration bases for productivity-oriented safeguarding and raw material plantation bases;
2. Improving the overall quality and market competitiveness of Li textile products. Encouraging the bearers to cultivate branded products with personal characteristics by utilizing the traditional Li techniques while considering the needs of tourism, supporting the participation of organizations, such as higher education institutions and enterprises, in the cooperation to upgrade Li textile techniques on the platform of traditional crafts workshops, and holding a variety of expositions and exhibitions on traditional crafts to build platforms for the demonstration and marketing of the Li textile products;
3. Encouraging universities, research institutes and enterprises to set up research bases and key laboratories for the in-depth studies on Li textile techniques and designs, strengthening the discovery, recording and archiving of Li textile techniques - speeding up rescuing recording and improving digital management, encouraging the publication of research findings and practices, such as monographs, translations and photo albums, continuing to carry out and participate in various exhibitions, especially the use of new media for broader dissemination, and organizing bearers and representatives from the relevant enterprises and organizations to carry out domestic and international exchanges and trainings as well as the researches and cooperation on the techniques;
4. Promulgating laws and regulations on ICH safeguarding in Hainan Province, formulating the plan for revitalizing the traditional crafts, updating related policies to guide and support the sustainable development of the element.
c. State Party's support for implementation of updated safeguarding plan
1. Strengthening macro-guidance and overall coordination: the relevant government agencies at all levels putting ICH safeguarding, including Li textile techniques, into the overall planning of local economic and social development, integrating various resources and carrying out extensive training on Li techniques in the Li ethnic areas, encouraging them to be engaged in the production of traditional crafts, such as Li textile;
2. Implementing supporting policies: using the existing funding channels to appropriately support the acts which can benefit the development of excellent ethnic traditional culture, improve the living standards of the Li people and promote the sound development of the Li textile techniques, organizing training, teaching, publicity and demonstration activities at higher levels, conducting the collection, archiving and researches of relevant information and documents, continuing to subsidize the transmission activities of representative bearers at all levels, integrating the demonstration of traditional crafts and the building of training infrastructure into local development plan.
3. Encouraging social participation: encouraging all the social participants to set up enterprises, build platforms for exhibitions, training and services, organize trainings, seminars, exchanges and cooperation activities, encouraging financial institutions to develop financial products and services that fit the element, and strengthening the support, such as investment, financing and services, for the relevant enterprises.
d. Updated implementation timetable, budgets and inputs
The tentative work plan and the corresponding budgets and inputs for the period from 2018 to 2021 are as follows:
1. Carrying out annual training and practicing activities at provincial, municipal and county levels – 800,000 RMB from the provincial government and 1 million RMB from relevant cities and counties;
2. Annual programs to support national and provincial representative bearers, including subsidies for transmission and dissemination activities – 300,000 RMB from the provincial government and 300,000 RMB from relevant cities and counties;
3. Annual element-related teaching activities in primary and secondary schools and vocational schools – 900,000 RMB from the provincial government and 900,000 RMB from relevant cities and counties;
4. Annual seminars, studies and trainings participated by the bearers organized by universities - jointly funded by the cultural and educational authorities, and the relevant enterprises and institutions may be subsidized by cultural departments;
5. Supporting transmission villages, transmission bases, teaching bases, demonstration bases for productivity-oriented safeguarding and raw material plantation bases – 800,000 RMB from the provincial government, 500,000 RMB from relevant cities and counties, encouraging the villages without any training and practicing center dedicated to Li textile techniques to use their existing cultural centers to train and practice Li textile techniques;
6. Annual dissemination activities, including competitions, exhibitions, promotion activities and trade fairs related to the techniques and products of Li textile - 300,000 RMB, encouraging new media to carry out a wide range of dissemination activities to expand the audience;
7. Organizing researches, censuses, conferences and exchanges related to the element – 200,000 RMB, encouraging academic institutions to carry out researches and publish the findings, continuing the recordings and archiving of all the related information and documents, and promoting timely digitization of the archived files;
8. Building traditional crafts workshops in 2018 – 200,000 RMB subsidy from the provincial government;
9. Promulgating laws and regulations on the safeguarding of ICH in Hainan and formulating the plan for the rejuvenation of traditional crafts in Hainan Province and the related policies from 2018 to 2021 – 200,000 RMB;
10. Enhancing the management of relevant organizations, such as production organizations, distribution organizations and industry association, and the quality management of related products, and formulating corresponding grading standards, to boost sustainable development of productivity-oriented safeguarding;
11. Building provincial experimental zones for cultural and ecological protection in Hainan Province based on the coexistence of man and nature continuously manifested by the element, to explore new modes of safeguarding.

C.2.

Community participation

Please describe how communities, groups and individuals, as well as relevant non-governmental organizations have been involved, including in terms of gender roles, in updating the safeguarding plan, and how they will be involved in its implementation.

00045

Community participation

In the past few years, the relevant communities and groups, especially the representative bearers at various levels and numerous practitioners, have played an important role in improving the endangered status of the element and implementing the safeguarding measures stated in the nomination file. At the same time, the bearers are full of hope for the future development.
Firstly, the safeguarding authority of the element effectively implemented the current community participation mechanism which had been proven to be effective, to formulate the updated plan for the third reporting period. The relevant people were organized to conduct surveys in the relevant communities, reach out to townships and villages through meetings and interviews, solicit the opinions on the updated safeguarding plan from relevant community managers, representative bearers and cooperative organizers, such as major problems in the current safeguarding efforts and the corresponding suggestions - for example, using the existing cultural centers in rural areas to carry out training and practicing activities so as to facilitate the local women’s efforts in the training of Li textile techniques, reducing the scale of raw material plantation bases on the basis of meeting the needs of training and practicing activities in relevant cities, counties and townships, given the fact that an increasing number of practitioners are planting or purchasing the raw materials themselves, to avoid the waste of funding, land and related human resources, and designing and creating more forms of art works and pragmatic products to meet the needs of the modern society so as to better promote the Li ethnic culture and the development of Li textile techniques.
Secondly, the Center for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province organized the representative bearers, scholars from universities and experts from research institutes to assess the performance in commitment fulfilment in the previous years and analyze the opinions solicited, and make the updated plan in a pragmatic manner to address the problems encountered in the current safeguarding efforts - for example, raising the cultural and artistic accomplishments of the young and middle-aged bearers through high-level formal education so as to raise the possibility of intergenerational transmission and sustainable development of the element.
Thirdly, the relevant communities and cultural departments jointly worked together in the past safeguarding efforts to conduct 3 assessments of the representative bearers at or above the provincial level - carrying out annual performance assessment and self-evaluation on the programs with more than 1 million RMB funding from the central and provincial governments since 2013, providing facts and figures for the upgraded safeguarding plan.
In summary, this upgraded plan has been approved by all stakeholders, especially the Li communities and the Li women as the main practitioners of the element, who believe that the implementation of this upgraded plan will bring the safeguarding efforts of Li textile techniques to a new height, and vow to redouble their efforts in this cause with higher enthusiasm and make more contribution to the transmission of the Li culture.

C.3.

Institutional context

Please report on the institutional context for the local management and safeguarding of the element inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, including:

  1. a. the competent body(ies) involved in its management and/or safeguarding;
  2. b. the organization(s) of the community or group concerned with the element and its safeguarding.

2004-12-02

Institutional context

a. the competent bodies involved in its management and safeguarding
Division of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Department of Culture, Radio, Television, Publication and Sports of Hainan Province
9 cultural and sports centers at city and county levels, including Baisha, Wuzhishan, Dongfang, Ledong, Baoting, and so on
Center for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province: responsible for safeguarding and consultancy in all the relevant provincial programs
9 centers for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage at city and county levels, including Baisha, Wuzhishan, Dongfang, Ledong, Baoting, and so on
b. the organizations of the community or group related to the element and its safeguarding
11 villages for the transmission of Li textile techniques, including Fanxiang Village, Tongshi Township, Wuzhishan City; Xifang Village, Donghe Township, Dongfang City; Fandao Village, Shiyun Township, Qiongzhong County
Hainan Ethnology Society
Hainan Institute of Ethnology
Hainan Museum
Hainan Minzu Museum
Hainan Mass Art Center
Hainan Association for Intangible Cultural Heritage Studies
Jinxiuzhibei Co. Ltd.
Hetian Tourism Co., Ltd. (Binglanggu)
Hainan Cultural Relics Import and Export Administration
Hainan Arts and Crafts Association

D

Kaige

D. Participation of communities in preparing this report

Describe the measures taken to ensure the widest possible participation of the communities, groups and, where applicable, individuals concerned as well as relevant non-governmental organizations during the process of preparing this report.

Participation of communities in preparing this report

To complete the report, a bottom-up information collection system, a timely feedback mechanism, and a multi-actor cooperation writing mode have been established among stakeholders, and a wide range of surveys and opinion solicitation have been carried out among the communities, groups, individuals and relevant non-governmental organizations in the related areas, and all-around information about the element has been collected as an important support of this report.
Firstly, the great number of practitioners of the element in relevant communities, especially the representative bearers at all levels who are engaged in the transmission, practicing and training of the Li textile techniques of the element, are the main contributors to the report as well as the important participants in the preparation of the report. They have been playing the most important role in improving the endangered status of the element and implementing the safeguarding measures stated in the nomination file. Therefore, they have the biggest say in the current status of the element and the demands for its development. Their opinions and suggestions on the specific topics such as construction of facilities, transmission, training and production-marketing cooperation, constituting the main contents of the report.
Secondly, scholars in educational institutions and experts in academic institutions gave valuable comments and suggestions on safeguarding the element from the perspectives of general education, formal education, academic research, scientific safeguarding and macro-development, especially the accurate qualitative analysis of the current overall status, constituting an integral part of this report.
Finally, the Center for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province, as the organizer of the report drafting, organized the practitioners such as Liu Xianglan and Fu Xiuying, and scholars and experts such as Zhang Yiping, professor of Hainan Normal University, and senior artists and craftsmen from Hainan Institute of Ethnology, to sort out all the collected opinions and suggestions and propose a draft report. Through the workshops, repeated discussions on the draft report, especially the qualitative conclusions and the feasibility analysis of the upgraded plan, were carried out before the report was submitted to the competent authority for approval. Thus, the official text of the report came into being.

E. Signature on behalf of the State Party

The report should be signed by an official empowered to do so on behalf of the State, and should include his or her name, title and the date of submission.

Name

XIE Jinying

Title

Director General, Bureau of International Exchange and Cooperation, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, People's Republic of China

Date

11-12-2020

Signature

Upload signed version in PDF

Report on the status of an element inscribed on the list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding

Cover sheet

State Party

Name of State Party

China

Date of deposit of the instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession

This information is available online.

Date of deposit of the instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession

02-12-2004

Element inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List that is the subject of this report

Name of element

Traditional Li textile techniques: spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering

Inscribed in

2009

Reporting period covered by this report

Please indicate the period covered by this report.

Reporting period covered by this report

01-2010 - 12-2015

Other elements inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, if any

Please list all other elements from your country inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, together with the year of inscription; for multinational elements, please indicate the other States concerned.

Other elements inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, if any

Hezhen Yimakan storytelling (2011)

Meshrep (2010)

Qiang New Year festival (2009)

Traditional design and practices for building Chinese wooden arch bridges (2009)

Watertight-bulkhead technology of Chinese junks (2010)

Wooden movable-type printing of China (2010)

Executive summary of the report

Please provide an executive summary of the report that will allow general readers to understand the current status of the element, any positive or negative impacts of inscription, the implementation of safeguarding measures during the reporting period and their possible update for the following years.

Executive summary of the report

The traditional Li textile techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering are employed by women of the Li ethnic group of Hainan Province, China, to make cotton, hemp and other fibers into clothing and other daily necessities. The techniques involved, including warp ikat, double-face embroidery, and single-face jacquard weaving, are passed down by mothers to daughters from early childhood through verbal instruction and personal demonstration. Li women design the textile patterns using only their imagination and knowledge of traditional styles. In the absence of a written language, these patterns record the history and legends of Li culture as well as worship rituals, taboos, beliefs, traditions and folkways. The patterns can be identified and distinguished according to the five major Li spoken dialects in Hainan. The textiles form an indispensable part of important social and cultural occasions such as religious rituals and festivals, and in particular weddings, for which Li women design their own dresses. As carriers of Li culture, traditional Li textile techniques are an indispensable part of the cultural heritage of the Li ethnic group. However, in recent decades the number of women with the weaving and embroidery skills at their command has severely declined to the extent that traditional Li textile techniques are exposed to the risk of extinction. 
In October 2009, the element was inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List. The inscription of the element on one hand makes the Li people realize the significance of such a technique of women in their daily life to the entire ethnic group; on the other hand, it shows the general public in China the precious intangible cultural heritage of the Li ethnic group. With the joint efforts of the communities and governments at different levels, the relevant stakeholders have fulfilled their promise of taking safeguarding measures in the nomination files one by one in the past six years, including: the establishment of the platforms for a diversity of activities focusing on the safeguarding and transmission of techniques; the creation of a financial aid plan for representative bearers; the establishment of production base for the raw materials needed; the founding of related non-governmental research institutions and several museums; the creation of an exclusive cultural data digital management system for the element; and the publication of different normative documents to provide sufficient institutional support for the safeguarding of the element.
As for the effect of these measures, the Li people have been aware of the necessity for maintaining the viability and safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage. They have realized that the traditional technique of women not only satisfies their need in daily life but also shows significant value for the cultural cognition and development of their ethnic group. Under the influence of such cultural consciousness, the representatives of traditional bearers and practitioners in the areas of five major spoken dialects, namely Ha, Qi, Meifu, Run, and Sai, have been actively participating in different events focusing on the safeguarding and transmission of the element, which provides an effective guarantee for improving its viability. Currently, the number of those participating in the transmission of the element has increased from less than 1,000 at the time of nomination to over 11,400. Among them, the number of women of the Li ethnic group who master warp ikat technique integrating knitting, dyeing, and weaving has increased from less than 200 to more than 2,000, and the number of Li women who master double-face embroidery technique has increased from 5 to over 50. With the increasing number of bearers and practitioners and continuous transmission activities, the endangered situation of the element is improved to a certain extent. 

Contact person for correspondence

Provide the name, address and other contact information of the person responsible for correspondence concerning the report.

Title (Ms/Mr, etc.)

Mr

Family name

Mo

Given name

Qingqiao

Institution/position

Center for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province, China / Director

Address

68 Guoxingdadao, Meilan District, Haikou City, Hainan Province, China, 570203

Telephone number

+86-898-65307778 +86-13098989918

Fax number

E-mail address

360890212@qq.com

Other relevant information

www.hiich.org (the website for Hainan Intangible Cultural Heritage)

B. Status of element inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List

Refer to the nomination file or to previous reports, if any, as the basis for reporting on the current status of the element, and report only on relevant changes since the date of inscription on the List or since the previous report. Nomination files, specific timetables and earlier reports, if any, are available at https://ich.unesco.org or from the Secretariat, upon request.

The State Party shall pay special attention to the role of gender and shall endeavour to ensure the widest possible participation of the communities, groups and, where applicable, individuals concerned as well as relevant non-governmental organizations during the process of preparing this report, and is asked to describe how it has done so in point D below.

B.1.

Social and cultural functions

Please explain the social and cultural functions and meanings of the element today, within and for its community, the characteristics of the bearers and practitioners, and any specific roles or categories of persons with special responsibilities towards the element, among others. Attention should be given to any relevant changes related to inscription criterion U.1 (‘the element constitutes intangible cultural heritage as defined in Article 2 of the Convention’).

Social and cultural functions

 Women of the Li ethnic group are the major bearers and practitioners of the element. They learn the techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering from their mothers and acquire the related knowledge and skills through verbal instruction and physical demonstration of elder women during the gatherings of those practicing the techniques from their early childhood. The teaching and practicing of the technique last into old age. For the Li women, the techniques of the element are essential skills for their traditional society, because they should design and make their own dresses for weddings, the clothing for their families after marriage, and the funerary objects for their death. With the change of styles of production and life in recent years, the Li people no longer consider the textile techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering as the basic requirement for women in terms of skills for daily life, resulting in the decline of women persisting in learning and practicing the traditional technique. Nevertheless, the situation of the endangered techniques does not change the identity of Li women as the major bearers and practitioners of the element.
People of the five major spoken dialects of the Li ethnic group are distinguished from each other in the mastery and presentation of the specific techniques of the element, so they maintain a diversity of characteristics, especially in the methods for spinning and dyeing, the combination modes of color and pattern for embroidering, and the rules for using the textile. However, such difference in the long-term practice of the Li people does not affect the overall culture feature shared by the whole ethnic group. Meanwhile, it has become an important symbol for distinguishing different branches inside the Li people. There are more than ten kinds of Li textiles named after the compact areas of the subgroups inside the Li people, including Baohuai textile, Meifu textile, Zhigong textile, Qi textile, and so on, which clearly reflected the interaction and connection of different branches inside the Li ethnic group in the process of the transmission of the element.
Generally speaking, the folk experience of the specific procedures, production methods, and choice of material for the element embodies rich internal knowledge. Such internal knowledge of the ethnic group presents the recognition of its people to the nature and the historical memory of them to social changes in an aesthetic way, which makes the element an important symbol for maintaining the identity of the Li ethnic group. 

B.2.

Assessment of its viability and current risks

Please describe the current level of viability of the element, particularly the frequency and extent of its practice, the strength of traditional modes of transmission, the demographics of practitioners and audiences and its sustainability. Please also identify and describe the threats, if any, to the element's continued transmission and enactment and describe the severity and immediacy of such threats, giving particular attention to any strengthening or weakening of the element’s viability subsequent to inscription.

Assessment of its viability and current risks

The population of the Li ethnic group in Hainan Province is 1,277,359 (according to the Sixth National Population Census of China in 2010), accounting for 93.9% of the total population of the Li ethnic group in China. With the deepening of the efforts to safeguard intangible cultural heritage, especially the collaboration and efforts of relevant stakeholders after the inscription, the viability of the element has been greatly improved compared to that of six years ago. The current range of the distribution has expanded from nine counties previously to all compact areas of the Li ethnic group in Hainan Province. During the period, the traditional way for passing down the techniques among women within the communities has gradually recovered its vitality. Apart from the transmission within the family from generation to generation, training and practicing centers have been set up in communities of the Li ethnic group to rebuild the platform for exchanging, teaching, and practicing of the techniques. In the past six years, a total of 296 activities for teaching and practicing the techniques have been organized with 31,582 participants, which greatly increased opportunities for the Li women to participate in the practice and transmission. Meanwhile, the younger generation has more access to the traditional technique through formal and informal curricular. In addition, the achievements of bearers from related communities are demonstrated in the form of textile techniques competitions during the traditional festivals of the Li ethnic group and the statutory Cultural Heritage Day, which not only arouses the cultural consciousness of the Li people but also attracts the attention of people from all over the country to the element. People in Hainan Province are very active in the annual Li Textile Techniques Competition and related folk activities.
At present, the element is still facing the following three threats:
(1) Dramatic change has taken place in the life style of the Li people. As a result, traditional costumes are wore and used only during such important ceremonial occasions as weddings, funerals, and festivals. Although the change doesn’t influence the social function of the element as the cultural symbol of the Li ethnic group, it seriously affects the practical position of the techniques in the daily life of the Li people. The number of the Li women who can persist in learning and practicing traditional textile techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering is decreasing in contemporary times. Even though relevant stakeholders have made great efforts to safeguard the element in the past six years, the number of female bearers still accounts for less than 20% of the total female of the Li ethnic group.
(2) The imbalance of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering techniques in the process of transmission and practice is noticeable. At present, only 1% of the total bearers master the whole set of techniques covering spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering. In traditional society, such raw materials as the dyes and threads needed by the element come from the natural environment where the Li people have lived for generations. The production process is comparatively complicated. With the changes to the ecological environment in modern times, it becomes very difficult to obtain these materials directly from the living environment of the Li people. Besides, it takes a long time and great effort to make them. Therefore, the number of people voluntarily extracting dyes, spinning threads, and practicing warp ikat techniques is decreasing and the techniques of spinning and warp ikat are landed in a predicament. After the inscription, the passing down of the two techniques has mainly relied on the support of governments at different levels to provide raw materials and funds. Different from the situation for warp ikat, more people are engaged in the passing down of weaving techniques in the transmission and practice because the hand spinning thread is gradually replaced by industrial yarn of lower cost with the development of science and technology as well as machine manufacture. Generally, for the representative bearers actively participating in the teaching and practicing of the element, about 65% of them master the weaving technique with original back-strap loom used, 20% master the dyeing technique, 15% master the embroidering technique, and only 10% master the spinning technique. Therefore, the element is still endangered for the imbalance of the passing down of different techniques.
(3) Traditionally, the Li women earn for their family with their spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering techniques. Hence the major representative bearers created the mode of production and transmission characterized by the trinity of company-workshops-household to promote the passing down and training of the techniques with the sales of Li textile products. Indeed, the mode aroused the enthusiasm of a large number of women to participate in the practice and transmission. However, the sales-oriented production influenced by commercialization and homogenization of consumption can hardly support the passing down of the traditional patterns, designs and the national knowledge system they represent and is likely to cause the separation of the practicing from tradition. Besides, the promotion of the mode exacerbates the imbalance of the development of specific techniques of the element to a certain extent. 

B.3.

Implementation of safeguarding measures

Please report on the safeguarding measures described in the nomination file, and previous report, if any. Describe how they have been implemented and how they have substantially contributed to the safeguarding of the element during the reporting period, taking note of external or internal constraints such as limited resources. Include, in particular, information on the measures taken to ensure the viability of the element by enabling the community to continue to practise and transmit it. Include the following detailed information concerning the implementation of the set of safeguarding measures or safeguarding plan:

B.3.a.

Objectives and results

Indicate what primary objective(s) were addressed and what concrete results were attained during the reporting period.

Objectives and results

 In order to fulfill the commitment in the nomination files to effectively passing down the specific techniques and traditional knowledge covered by the element and alleviate the predicament of the transmission, the following results were attained from 2010 to 2015:
(1) Support the tradition bearers: the financial support program for representative bearers was created to improve their living situation on one hand and to arouse the enthusiasm of the Li people to participate in practice and transmission on the other hand. Meanwhile, the assessment system for representative bearers was established to supervise them in performing their duty on passing down the culture.
(2) Revitalize traditional modes of transmission: while encouraging the intergenerational transmission among women within the family, training and practicing centers have been set up in the Li compact areas on the basis of the existing transmission mechanisms to build the platform for more convenient teaching and practicing of the techniques in communities. Meanwhile, courses on traditional spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering techniques are provided by representative bearers on a regular basis to provide training for women who are interested.
(3) Ease the difficulty in intergenerational transmission: under the collaboration between the representative bearers and the communities, educational departments compiled textbooks on the history of transmission, skills, and knowledge, etc. of the element to complement related currifula in elementary schools and middle schools in different counties and cities of Hainan Province. This move creates opportunities for younger generation of the Li people to acquire and practice the element. Currently, the number of those participating in practice and transmission is over ten thousand. Some young males of the Li group also participated in the learning and teaching activities in the past years and they have gained the warm welcome of the female practitioners.
(4) Expand the scope of practice and recognition: activities to popularize the related knowledge and techniques are organized in related counties and municipalities every year, which greatly improved the recognition of the importance of the element by Li people.
(5) Ease the problem in raw material supply: bases for planting the specific raw material were established which effectively eased the problem in raw material supply for the traditional spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering techniques and to a certain extent alleviated the imbalanced development of different techniques.
(6) Provide legal guarantee: normative documents related to the element have been stipulated gradually to provide legal guarantee for its safeguarding and transmission.
(7) Establish diversified archive storage modes: a diversity of modes, including text, object, audio, and video, etc. have been applied to the data collection and storage of materials related to the element. Besides, exclusive multimedia databases and related websites for the archive of the element have been established.

B.3.b.

Safeguarding activities

List the key activities that were carried out during this reporting period in order to achieve these expected results. Please describe the activities in detail and note their effectiveness or any problems encountered in implementing them.

Safeguarding activities

  During the reporting period (2010-2015), the following key activities were carried out:
—Support representative bearers and name the villages for transmission.
(1) The number of representative bearers identified, who master the techniques of the element and fulfil actively the responsibility for transmission, was increased to 233 through the implementation of financial support programs and assessment systems for them.
(2) City and county level training and practicing centers of the Li textile techniques were established in Baisha, Dongfang, Wuzhishan, etc. for the frequent practice of the element. Meanwhile, 16 villages, including Xifang Village in Donghe Town of Dongfang City, Fandao Village in Shiyun Town of Qiongzhong City, etc were appointed as the Village for the Transmission of Li Textile Techniques. Village level training centers were established accordingly to provide the venue for teaching and practicing the techniques of the element.
(3) Courses on the techniques were provided in these training centers by representative bearers on a regular basis for Li women interested in the element. To a certain extent, the regular organization of these activities recovered the traditional modes of transmission focusing on the gathering of women inside the communities for exchange and teaching of the techniques and aroused the interest of Li women in practicing. Nevertheless, the practice and transmission by Li women inside the communities was mainly for economic benefits, so the need of customers was considered first in the production and it became very difficult to restore the traditional free creation, which is not conductive to the transmission of traditional patterns and designs.
—Include the transmission of the cultural aspects of the element into the education system.
(1) Under the collaboration between representative bearers and the communities, educational departments compiled the textbook Traditional Li Textile Techniques of Spinning, Dyeing, Weaving and Embroidering (2013)on the history of transmission, skills and knowledge, etc. for training teachers of the Li textile techniques in related cities and counties to fully support relevant courses set up gradually in 39 schools including Guoxing Middle School of Haikou City and Minzu Middle School of Sanya City, etc.
(2) Teaching bases of Li textile were established in four schools including Hainan Minzu Technical School and Guoxing Middle School. Departments of Li textile techniques were set up in three vocational technical schools including Hainan Minzu Technical School and Sanya Advanced Technical School and hundreds of students capable of practicing the techniques were cultivated through vocational education. In addition, Li Textile Scholarship (2014) was launched to encourage excellent students in both morality and learning who are willing to learn Li textile culture and spread it actively and the teachers directly engaged in the teaching of Li textile techniques.
(3) In the six years from 2010 to 2015, the transmission activities of the element cooperated with a diversity of educational practices, effectively providing opportunities for the young generation of the Li ethnic group to learn this intangible cultural heritage. Currently, over ten thousand people are actively participating in the practice and transmission.
—Build the plantation base of raw materials needed for the practice and transmission of the element.
Raw materials production bases of 35 hectares were built in related cities and counties for planting ramie, turmeric, and Sea Island Cotton, etc. The raw materials harvested have been used in the teaching of the techniques. However, the scale of the plantation of raw materials still cannot offset the change of the ecological environment in modern times. There are also restrictions of the production cost, raw material extraction and pattern of use. Therefore, the efforts couldn't effectively prevent the choice of industrial materials by Li women in practicing the techniques, and sometimes might result in the waste of plant materials.
—Expand the practice and transmission in various ways, especially in improving the visibility of the element and the recognition of its importance by the public, and good results have been achieved.
(1) Annual popularization activities have been organized in succession in such cities and counties with large population of the Li ethnic group as Baisha, Dongfang, and Wuzhishan. The actually transmission range of the element has already expanded to all gathering areas of the Li ethnic group in Hainan Province. To be specific, a diversity of annual activities are organized on the third day of the third lunar month, an important festival of the Li ethnic group and the Cultural Heritage Day of the Chinese government, including the demonstration and performance of the techniques by representative bearers, the Li textile competition for one thousand people which has been held for six sessions, etc.
(2) Thematic exhibitions have been launched in relevant organizations like Hainan Museum of Ethnic Groups to show the raw materials, tools, textile products, and related knowledge. Meanwhile, through participation in exhibition activities at home and abroad like the First National Exhibition on the Safeguarding of Intangible Culture Heritage in China, Malaysia Weaving Competition, etc., the transmission and promotion of the knowledge and techniques of the element in the world have been enhanced.
(3) Such non-governmental research institutions as Hainan Chuanshi Li Textile Techniques Research Institute, Xindada Li Textile Research Studio, etc. have been founded. They carried out close cooperation with academic institutions like Hainan Institute of Nationality Studies, non-governmental organizations like Hainan Mass Culture Association and Hainan Association of Ethnology, and scholars from related institute of higher education like Hainan Normal University, for comprehensive and in-depth research into different aspects of the element. The achievements of these researches have already been published one after the other.
──Provide institutional guarantee for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage by laws and regulations.
Governments at all levels in Hainan Province have enacted series of laws and regulations to provide institutional guarantee for safeguarding the element, including Regulation on the Identification and Management of Representative Bearers of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province, Regulation on the Evaluation of Provincial Level Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage Elements in Hainan Province, Interim Measures on the Identification and Management of Village for Transmission of Intangible Cultural Heritage Element in Hainan Province, Interim Measures on Supporting Bearers of Traditional Li Textile Techniques of Spinning, Dyeing, Weaving and Embroidering, Regulation on the Management of Special Funds for Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province, and Rules on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage released by such counties as Baoting and Baisha. Coordination of relevant stakeholders is still needed for the effective implementation of those laws and regulations in the specific work.
──Establish the digital archive of the element and promote the database construction.
Comprehensive collection and processing of the related information of the element and its representative bearers, including the physical assets of the traditional patterns and designs, were completed through the close collaboration with scholars, academic institutions, and non-governmental organizations. In the process, a diversity of methods like text, recording, photography and filming, was adopted. The completed video material lasts for 453 hours. On this basis, the multi-media database and website (www.hiich.org) of the element have been established. Since the Li women tend to use the textile works they made as their funerary objects according to their custom, it is very difficult to collect such physical objects, especially those with a comparatively long history.  

B.3.c.

Participation of communities, groups or individuals in the safeguarding activities

Describe how communities, groups or, if appropriate, individuals as well as relevant non-governmental organizations have effectively participated, including in terms of gender roles, in the safeguarding measures. Describe the role of the implementing organization or body (name, background, etc.) and the human resources that were available for implementing safeguarding activities.

Participation of communities, groups or individuals in the safeguarding activities

As a vital method to express the cultural cognition of the Li ethnic group in an aesthetic way, the element plays a significant role in the continuation of Li ethnic culture. This is not only reflected on the traditional knowledge embodied in the specific technique but also shown in the folk experience and social norms followed in practicing the element. Both should be completed in the cultural space for transmitting the element. Therefore, it also provides the basis for the participation of communities, groups, individuals, and related non-governmental organizations in implementing the safeguarding measures of the element.
—The practice of bearers, the appointment of villages for transmission and the building of training centers are complementary to each other.
The frequency of the practice of the element was greatly improved with the help of the centers for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage at county, city and provincial levels in Hainan and related village committees. Taking the training centers for example, 223 representative bearers, including national representative bearers Rong Yamei, Liu Xianglan, and Fu Linzao, have actively participated in the training activities which have attracted over 31,582 participants in communities in the past six years. The high frequency of training activities also helped to expand the scope of transmission of the element from five cities and counties previously to all gathering places of the Li ethnic group.
—Platforms for the transmission of the element from generation to generation were constructed jointly by educational institutions and academic organizations.
(1) Departments of Li textile techniques were set up in three vocational technical schools including Hainan Minzu Technical School and Sanya Advanced Technical School and hundreds of students capable of the techniques were cultivated through vocational education; the textbook Traditional Li Textile Techniques of Spinning, Dyeing, Weaving and Embroidering (2013) was compiled and published, and relevant practical courses have been set up in 39 middle and primary schools.
(2) Training courses for teachers were implemented jointly by such institutes of higher education as Hainan University, research institutions as Hainan Institute of Ethnology, and academic organizations as Hainan Ethnology Society. Meanwhile, a series of research practice were carried out, like regular field research, international seminar participated by 45 scholars from home and abroad, and collection and processing of all related information of the element. All these institutions and organizations provide academic support for the transmission and development of the element as well as the implementation of the safeguarding measures. Among them, Hainan Ethnology Society founded in 1990 was most active. It has not only carried out comparatively in-depth investigation into the element but also collaborated with Hainan Institute of Ethnology and Hainan Minzu Museum in the nomination and safeguarding of the element at different levels.
—Commercial organizations actively explore the possibilities of productivity-oriented safeguarding efforts.
A number of commercial organizations in Hainan Province have participated in the safeguarding of the element. Jinxiuzhibei Co. Ltd. (www.chinalijin.com)is a typical example. As a company focusing on the transmission, exploration, development, and production of traditional Li textile handicrafts, it not only trained over 400 female workers to become professionals mastering the techniques of weaving and embroidering, but also invested to establish bases for Li textile techniques training, production, and R&D in Wuzhishan, Qiongzhong, and Dongfang, which made great contribution to the sustainable development of the element. Together with Wuzhishan Li Textile Training Center and Xindada Li Textile Research Center, the company was named by Hainan provincial government as Provincial Level Demonstration Base of Li Textile Techniques for Productivity-oriented Preservation.    

B.3.d.

Timetable and budget

Indicate in a timetable when each activity was implemented and the funds that were used for its implementation, identifying the source of funding for each (governmental sources, in-kind community inputs, etc.).

Timetable and budget

There are two patterns for safeguarding the element. One is the organization of activities on a regular basis, while the other is the organization of non-scheduled activities according to the actual situation and the need for safeguarding each year. The detailed timetable and budgets are shown as follows:
—For regularly organized activities
(1) According to the financial support program and assessment system for representative bearers of the element at different levels, funds between 5,000 to 10,000 RMB were provided for each representative bear to support his or her work and life when fulfilling the responsibility for the transmission of the element every year. The source of funding comes from the government and the amount is 244, 400 RMB in total.
(2) Training courses on spinning, dyeing, weaving, embroidering were organized annually. In the past six years, a total of 45 sessions of training class were organized. The central government invested 1,350,000 RMB and the provincial government invested 1,440,000 RMB.
(3) Training centers at city, county, and village levels were established respectively and villages for transmission were appointed. Corresponding communities provided existing houses as the venues needed for such safeguarding activities, while the government provided the funds for relevant construction and operation. In the past six years, the central government invested 3,400,000 RMB, the provincial government invested 5,720,000 RMB, and the non-government organizations raised 5,380,000 RMB.
(4) Since 2013, training for teachers, vocational teaching for young people, and practical courses for teenagers relevant to the passing down of the element have been set up in educational system at all levels. Trainers for these trainings and courses were mainly from related schools and the government is the major source of funding. In the past three years, the central government invested 1,200,000 RMB and the provincial government invested 4,200,000 RMB.
(5) Plantation bases of raw materials for the element were built in relevant cities and counties. According to prior commitment, raw materials production bases of about 35 hectares for planting ramie, turmeric, and Sea Island Cotton have been built in Wuzhishan City, Baisha County, Baoting County, and Dongfang City since 2011. For this effort, the central government invested 1,500,000 RMB, the provincial government invested 4,200,000 RMB, and non-government organizations and communities raised 230,000 RMB.
(6) Li Textile Competition has been organized in the whole province every June and exhibitions of physical assets and techniques of the element have been held in museums at all levels. The government invested in total 11,110,000 RMB for the organization and implementation of these activities by professionals from the Leadership Group for Safeguarding Traditional Li Textile Techniques of Spinning, Dyeing, Weaving and Embroidering in Hainan Province (the Vice Governor in charge of related work served as the head of the group), centers for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, and local museums.
(7) Joint research and academic study were carried out in cooperation with academic institutions and non-governmental organizations. To support these activities, the government invested 1,740,000 RMB and the society raised 570,000 RMB. As the competent body for the element, the Center for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province implemented the coordination work. Relevant achievements of these research and study will be published gradually.
(8) Since 2013, archive and database for the traditional Li textile techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering have been established. For collecting the physical assets of the element, the central government invested 1,250,000 RMB, the provincial government invested 3,480,000 RMB, and non-governmental organizations raised 1,380,000 RMB. For the specialized network platform and digital management project, the central government invested 400,000 RMB and the provincial government invested 870,000 RMB.
—For non-scheduled safeguarding activities
In 2010, the documentary Li Textile was shot in 8 cities and counties (February, 2010); exhibition during Hainan Week of Shanghai World Expo (August, 2010); the Leadership Group for Safeguarding Traditional Li Textile Techniques of Spinning, Dyeing, Weaving and Embroidering in Hainan Province was founded (August, 2010).
In 2011, preparations for the compilation of the book Li Textile Techniques (May, 2011); draft plan for collection of physical assets of Li textile and the Notice on Investigating into the Plantation of Raw Materials and Dyeing Materials for Li Textile Techniques (September, 2011).
In 2012, joint investigation together with Prof. Xu Yiyi from Nanjing University, a research partner of the element (August to November, 2012). For this, the central government invested 400,000 RMB and the provincial government invested 350,000 RMB.
In 2013, the cooperation project Research Report on Li Textile Techniques in China between the Provincial Department of Culture and Nanjing University was launched (February, 2013); representative bearers participated in the activity on Li Ethnic Group Custom Textile Technique held in Sanya Betelnut River (May, 2013); the international seminar on Li Textile techniques (October, 2013); publication of Traditional Li Textile Techniques of Spinning, Dyeing, Weaving and Embroidering (school-based textbook), practical courses to bring Li Textile techniques into schools, and pilot project on the digitalization of the element (November, 2013). The central government invested 1,600,000 RMB and the provincial government invested 3,610,000 RMB.
In 2014, the Li Textile Scholarship with 7,400 Yuan provided by Shangri-La Hotel, Haikou was set up (April, 2014); online Q&A activity on intangible cultural heritage knowledge (June, 2014); experience sharing conference on plantation of raw materials for Li Textile techniques in Hainan (September, 2014); participation in the 3rd Intangible Cultural Heritage Exposition (October, 2014); the collection of Li textile handicrafts, with the result of over 1,200 physical assets of Li textile by December 2015 (November, 2014 to December, 2015); skills demonstration by representative bearers as Fu Xiuying and Hu Chunfang at Hainan Intangible Cultural Heritage Exposition (November, 2014). The central government invested 1,250,000 RMB and the provincial government invested 3,480,000 RMB.
In 2015, compilation of the Book on Li Textile Techniques continued and pictures for this monograph completed (March, 2015). For this work, the central government invested 900,000 RMB and the provincial government invested 318,000 RMB. A thematic exhibition of the element Clothing and Bedding was organized in Hainan Minzu Museum (June, 2015); suggestions on six local standard on costumes of the Li ethnic group were collected for the participation in making national standards for classification of costumes of different ethnic groups (November, 2015); training for bearers of Li textile techniques was carried out (December, 2015). The central government invested 900,000 RMB and the provincial government invested 1,068,000 RMB. 

B.3.e

Overall effectiveness of the safeguarding activities

Provide an overall assessment of the effectiveness of the activities undertaken to achieve the expected results and of the efficiency of the use of funds for implementing the activities. Please indicate how the activities contributed to achieving the results and whether other activities could have contributed better to achieving the same results. Also indicate whether the same results could have been achieved with less funding, whether the human resources available were appropriate and whether communities, groups and individuals could have been better involved.

Overall effectiveness of the safeguarding activities

Through the regular and non-scheduled safeguarding activities, the commitments to taking a series of safeguarding measures in the 2009 nomination file have been effectively fulfilled during the period from 2010 to 2015. The fulfillment of the commitments comes from the close cooperation among governments at all levels, related communities and non-government organizations. Although the contribution of these parties varies in terms of the implementation of specific safeguarding measures, the effort of any one of them is indispensable for the overall safeguarding of the element.
First of all, the control of governments at all levels on making plans and providing finance and policy guarantee ensures the safeguarding and sustainable development of the element.
Secondly, the active participation of all related communities is of vital importance. It can be found in the practice for safeguarding the element that many activities in close relation to communities have achieved good results under the support of the government in policy, regulations, and finance. For example, the appointment of village for transmission and the establishment of training centers at different levels highlighted the leading role of bearers in the practice of the element in villages. The number of representative bearers of the element at all levels has increased to 218. Leading by these representative bearers, over 11,000 people have mastered over two techniques of the element via either the traditional methods for passing down or the method to promote production with sales. For another example, the base for practice and transmission constructed the platform to combine school education and intangible cultural heritage and made the element more attractive to the younger generation. At present, over 2,200 young professionals have been trained. Their participation in the transmission activities not only complements to the passing down of the techniques from generation to generation but also breaks the limitation on gender in traditional society to enable both male and female get involved in the transmission and development of the element.
Furthermore, the role of non-governmental organizations composed mainly of academic institutions should not be underestimated. Their in-depth study provides academic support for the passing down of the element and reduces the cost for some specific safeguarding activities. For example, during the investigation and research activity organized in collaboration with the School of Agriculture in Hainan University, the problem of supply cost for raw material plantation bases in different places was found and corrected in time. The area for plantation bases has been reduced from 35 hectares to 18.5 hectares (10 hectares in Dongfang City and 8.5 hectares in Baoting County) since 2013. The move avoids further waste of money while ensuring the raw material supply for the surrounding cities and counties.
Admittedly, the investment of funds and human resources by different parties was not balanced in the process of the safeguarding. Governments at different levels houldered the burden of investment. The investment of the central government and local government account for 40% and 49% of the total investment respectively. By contrast, the funds raised by communities and non-governmental organizations account for a relatively small part. However, communities, some non-governmental organizations, and local cultural authorities provide more support on human resources. In general, the common efforts in the past six years enhanced the viability of the element to a certain extent, yet its endangered situation has not been fundamentally changed for the reasons elaborated in section B2. 

B.4. Community participation

Please describe how communities, groups and individuals, as well as relevant non-governmental organizations have been involved, including in terms of gender roles, in updating the safeguarding plan, and how they will be involved in its implementation.

Community participation

The safeguarding of the element is based on the joint efforts of communities, groups and individuals as well as relevant non-governmental organizations. Their participation in safeguarding the element is reflected at three aspects: the first is to improve the transmission mechanism of the element; the second is to fully collect, record relevant information of the element through different channels for documentation; the third is to enhance the visibility of the element. It is worth mentioning that the communities, bearers, and relevant non-governmental organizations have their specific emphasis on participating activities from these three aspects.
Representative bearers at different levels undertake more important responsibilities in the improvement of transmission mechanism. (1) After inscription of the element on the Urgent Safeguarding List in 2009, representative bearers, including national representative bearers Rong Yamei, Liu Xianglan, and Fu Lingzao, have actively participated in activities focusing on passing down related knowledge and practical skills. Different methods have been adopted, such as starting apprenticeship, instructing at traditional courses, and communicating during gathering of females, which effectively aroused the interests of women of the Li ethnic group to participate in the practice of the techniques. By the end of 2015, a total of 296 activities on teaching the techniques have been organized by 223 representative bearers at different levels. Besides, they have made a useful attempt for the productivity-oriented preservation of the element and adopted the mode to promote production with sales. Under this mode, women of the Li ethnic group were organized to produce and sell Li textile handicrafts to gain a certain economic benefits. (2) As for the related communities, the 9 centers for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (the previous cultural centers) of cities or counties, including Wuzhishan, Dongfang, Ledong, Baoting, and Baisha, and village committees of villages and towns in the gathering area of the Li ethnic group have organized the local people to establish 9 city or county level training centers and 16 village level training centers to provide the venue for recovery of traditional mode of transmission within the communities and organization of training activities in villages. (3) 39 primary and middle schools and vocational schools in Hainan Province have actively participated in the activities to bring intangible cultural heritage into schools. It not only provided help in training of teachers but also created diversified practical courses for the acquisition of the techniques of the element by teenagers. To a certain extent, the move bridged the generation gap in the process of transmission.
Such non-governmental organizations as institutes of higher education and academic institutions are more active in confirmation, filing, and researching of the element with the communities and groups as providers of information. Under the coordination of the Center for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province and ICH centers at city and county levels, institutes of higher education like Hainan Normal University, research institutions like Xindada Li Textile Research Center, and non-governmental organizations like Hainan Association of Ethnology have implemented comprehensive and in-depth investigation, confirmation, and filing research on the element via such methods as joint research, academic seminar, etc. The text, physical assets, video, and audio materials collected have been used in the construction of specialized database and network platform.
Bearers and non-governmental organizations have played an equally important role in the efforts to enhance the visibility of the element. The visibility of the element at home and abroad has been enhanced through the launching of thematic exhibitions in Hainan Minzu Museum, Hainan Museum, and related non-governmental organizations, the demonstration of the techniques and recounting of related knowledge by representative bearers during these exhibitions, and extensive media coverage on them.
In general, close coordination has been established among communities, groups and individuals as well as relevant non-governmental organizations in safeguarding the element. The three parties have reached consensus that they will further improve and deepen the safeguarding work under the support of governments at all levels to let more people recognize the great significance of the element.  

B.5. Institutional context

Please report on the institutional context for the local management and safeguarding of the element inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, including:

  1. the competent body(ies) involved in its management and/or safeguarding;
  2. the organization(s) of the community or group concerned with the element and its safeguarding.

Institutional context

a. the competent body(ies) involved in its management and/or safeguarding:
Division of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Department of Culture, Radio, Television, Publication and Sports of Hainan Province
Center for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province

b. the organization(s) of the community or group concerned with the element and its safeguarding:
9 centers for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (the previous Cultural Center) at city and county levels, including Baisha, Wuzhishan, Dongfang, Ledong, Baoting, and so on.
Jinxiuzhibei Co. Ltd.
Hainan Ethnology Society
Hainan Institute of Ethnology
Hainan Minzu Museum
Hainan Mass Art Center
Hainan Association for Intangible Cultural Heritage Studies 

B.6. Participation of communities in preparing this report

Describe the measures taken to ensure the widest possible participation of the communities, groups and, where applicable, individuals concerned as well as relevant non-governmental organizations during the process of preparation of this report.

Participation of communities in preparing this report

In order to complete the report on the status of the element, a bottom-up information collection system, a timely feedback mechanism, and a multi-actor cooperation writing mode have been established among relevant parties.
Firstly, representative bearers like Rong Yamei, Liu Xianglan, and Fu Linzao were included in the team for drafting the report. They discussed the procedure for drafting and methods of presentation together with relevant experts from Hainan Ethnology Society, Center for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hainan Province, and other non-governmental organizations and academic institutions. Meanwhile, the Form to Investigate the Implementation of Safeguarding Measures for Li Textile Techniques was worked out and the training on the instructions for completing ICH-11 Form was implemented under the support of the Division of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Department of Culture, Radio, Television, Publication and Sports of Hainan Province.
Next, the 9 centers for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage cities and counties like Wuzhishan and Baisha, together with the village committees of the villages for transmission, carried out detailed investigation and statistics work on the implementation of safeguarding measures and the current situation of the transmission of the element. They also collected the suggestions of related communities, groups, and individuals to the safeguarding work through field survey, interview on representative bearers, and group discussion of community practitioners. All these provided detailed information of the safeguarding practice in different villages since 2010 for the drafting of the report. During the investigation activities, special attention was paid to the participation of representative bearers at different levels and the active practitioners of the element to learn about their personal experience and feeling during the transmission and safeguarding work to get the voice from inside the communities.
Finally, the cultural authorities in the gathering areas of the Li ethnic group assigned a specialized team to compile Chronology of Major Events in Safeguarding Traditional Li Textile Techniques of Spinning, Dyeing, Weaving and Embroidering from 2009 to 2015 on the basis of the detailed information provided by communities, groups, and individuals. A timely feedback mechanism between scholars and practitioners was adopted in the process of compilation so as to effectively correct and improve related information. 

C. Signature on behalf of the state party

The report should conclude with the original signature of the official empowered to sign it on behalf of the State, together with his or her name, title and the date of submission.

Name

XIE Jinying

Title

Director General, Bureau for External Cultural Relations, Ministry of Culture, People's Republic of China

Date

27-05-2016

Signature

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