Informe periódico
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
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
Qiang New Year festival
Inscribed in
2009
Submitting State(s)
A.4.
Reporting period covered by this report
Please indicate the period covered by this report.
Reporting period covered by this report
01-01-2017 - 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
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
Qiang New Year festival is a traditional annual event of the Qiang ethnic group in China. It is called “rrmea jea” in the Qiang language, meaning an auspicious and joyous festival. It is mainly transmitted and practiced by the Qiang people in Wenchuan, Li, Mao, Songpan and Heishui counties of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County and Pingwu County of Mianyang City, and Nanbaoshan Town of Qionglai District of Chengdu City in Sichuan Province. It takes place on the first day of the tenth lunar month and usually lasts three to five days, during which the Qiang people reunite with families, hold sacrificial rituals to worship ancestors and gods of heaven, pray for happiness and drive away the evil and dirty, and celebrate harvest. Passed down from generation to generation, the element has fully demonstrated the harmonious coexistence between man and nature, man and environment, and man and society. It not only embodies the Qiang people’s notions of time, world view and development concept transmitted from generation to generation, but also witnesses cultural diversity and human creativity.
Since the inscription of the element, the Chinese governments and cultural authorities at all levels have supported the communities and other actors to respond actively to the challenges arising from reconstruction after 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, globalization and modernization, and take localized actions to ensure the viability of the element. During the current reporting cycle, the following objectives proposed for the previous reporting cycle have been achieved:
Firstly, inter-generational transmission capacity has been enhanced. The traditional mode of transmission, particularly represented by “Shbi” taking apprentices, has been consolidated and contributed to enhancing the overall foundation of inter-generational transmission. Through the educational courses of Qiang culture offered at primary and secondary schools in relevant communities, more teenagers of the Qiang group have engaged more actively in the transmission and practice activities of the element.
Secondly, the cultural space and social environment necessary for the practice of the element has been maintained in a sustainable approach. The construction of the experimental zones for the safeguarding of Qiang cultural ecology has been further advanced and the cultural ecology of the festival has been brought under holistic safeguarding, which has promoted the inclusive social and economic development and strengthened the young generation’s awareness of the safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and its significance, as well as their sense of responsibility.
Thirdly, a community-centered cooperative network of diverse actors, including governments at all levels, academic institutions, media and NGOs, has been consolidated. In general, the element has gradually restored its vitality through sustained and effective implementation of the safeguarding measures.
The expected goals of the safeguarding plan for the next four years are as follows:
—to consolidate the traditional mode of transmission and successive talents for bearers, and improve the sustainability of the inter-generational transmission of the element;
—to proceed with the establishment of national Qiang cultural and ecological reserves to incorporate the festival and related ICH elements, as well as their surrounding natural, cultural and ecological environment and traditional villages into overall safeguarding, with a view to improving resilience of the element and its cultural space, and enhancing the visibility; and
—to strengthen the community-centered cooperative network of multiple actors and promote synergy among them.
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.)
Ms
Family name
Xiang
Given name
Kui
Institution/position
Sichuan Academy of Arts, China / Research Fellow
Address
No. 11, Ximianqiao St., Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China, 610041
Telephone number
0086-13628005298??
E-mail address
xkyws@126.com
Other relevant information
https://www.ichsichuan.cn/
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
Qiang New Year festival is not only comprehensive cultural practice for demonstrating folk beliefs, oral traditions, performing arts and traditional handicrafts, but also a cultural space bearing with social practices, life experience, traditional knowledge and ethical norms of the Qiang people. Through festive activities, the Qiang people express their respect and worship towards nature and all creatures, maintain the historical memories and emotional belonging of themselves with their ancestors and the motherland, embody their aspiration for harmony between man and nature, regulate community actions and personal behavior, and promote inter-generational communication and family and social harmony. The traditional consultation mechanism for community management is well preserved in A’er Village, Bazhou Township of Wenchuan County. In the intervals of rituals, feastings and performances, Shbi and the elderly gather for discussion and consultation on village business, underscore village rules and declare the enrollment of male newborns on the clan’s pedigree that year. Qiang New Year festival is a legal holiday in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, with all counties there having seven days off for the festival. The element has become an open holiday for multi-ethnic groups such as Qiang, Han, Tibetan and Hui peoples, and thus has greatly promoted social inclusion.
The festival consists of three parts: the sacrifice to the holy mountain, the communal rejoicing and the sacrifices held in the families. The transmission and practice of the element feature wide participation of the communities, involvement of diverse actors and widespreadness. All the community members are the practitioners of the festival. Shbi, the priest, directs the sacrifice to the holy mountain. He is proficient in scripture chanting and sacrificial rituals. He’s not only an ordinary laborer, but also the creator, bearer and teacher of Qiang traditional culture and folk arts, who therefore shoulders a special responsibility for the festival and plays a key role in coordinating social relations and promoting community harmony. The elders of each clan in the village take turns to organize the festivities by drawing lots. The heads of families preside over family worship during which sacrifices are made to the family gods, offerings in sign of gratitude are presented to the god of fire and a feast is held for family reunion. All villagers, men or women, young or old, dance Salang dance and sing songs collectively and entertain a dinner party to express happiness over an abundant harvest and their sincere piety towards the gods. In addition, as the festival is featured with diversified expressions of the Qiang people’s folk culture, folk dancers, singers, musicians, craftsmen, traditional sports lovers and others all take their own responsibilities for the transmission of the element. Women are responsible for making traditional Qiang costumes that are worn for the celebrations and for brewing the “sipped” wine (zajiu) used for the festivities.
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
During this reporting period, the scope of the practice has been expanded to two more Qiang villages relocated to Nanbaoshan Township in Qionglai City, Chengdu due to changes in their living environment after the earthquake. Every year on the first day of the tenth lunar month, the festival is held as scheduled voluntarily by the Qiang people in their villages, and 19 villages hold the complete activities in the traditional way. The number of the Qiang people voluntarily participating in the festival remains at around 200,000, and the number of the Han, Tibetan, Hui and other local ethnic groups involved in the festival has grew by about 20% compared with the previous reporting period. More teenagers and children, as well as those who have returned to their hometown for employment have engaged in the transmission and practice of the festival. At the same time, the element has attracted the attention of outsiders whose participation in the festival celebrations has boosted the community members’ awareness of the element and their sense of identity. As an important occasion of interaction and exchange for the communities, the annual festival has drawn wide attention from the community members, forming a social basis for extensive participation and resulting in the sustained viability of the element.
However, subject to the process of globalization and modernization, especially the lifestyle changes and migration due to urbanization, the viability of the element is still confronted with multiple challenges:
Firstly, the sustainability of inter-generational transmission has not been fundamentally addressed. Take Shibi for example. During this reporting period, 2 Shbi has passed away; 19 were 71 years old on average and 9 of them were already 67 years old on average who are proficient in epic chanting and capable of presiding over the sacrificial rituals. Besides, it is hard to learn the classical epics and the sacrificial rituals. The epics are always lengthy and mostly in ancient Qiang language. It usually takes an apprentice at least three years or as long as ten years to complete the apprenticeship with pitiable pay. Therefore, The sustainability of inter-generational transmission remains a challenge. Secondly, it the young generation’s awareness of the importance of Qiang culture and its transmission needs to be further enhanced, and the holistic safeguarding of Qiang cultural ecology be further consolidated.
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 objectives have been achieved:
The inter-generational transmission capacity has been boosted. In this reporting period, representative bearers have taken 70 apprentices, 20 of which have finished their apprenticeship, representing an increase compared with the previous reporting period. In Wenchuan and Mao counties where the customary rule that Shbis are restricted to internal transmission has been broken. 40 apprentices have been taken from outside the clan. More Qiang teenagers were actively involved in the transmission and practice of the element through education programs offered at primary and secondary schools in relevant communities.
The sustainability of the transmission and practice of the element has been maintained. The comprehensive construction of the experimental zones for the safeguarding of Qiang culture ecology has been continuously advanced. Both intangible and tangible cultural heritage, and their cultural space and ecological environment in the zones have been brought under safeguarding in a holistic approach. The improved local settlements and perfected infrastructure have sustained the cultural space and natural environment necessary for the practice of the element. The overall safeguarding of the festival and other relevant ICH elements of the Qiang people, such as sheepskin-drum dance, Salang dance and Qiang embroidery, has boosted local employment and generated income for the local communities, promoted the inclusive social and economic development, and enhanced the awareness of safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and its significance, and sense of responsibility among the younger generation.
A community-centered cooperative network of diverse actors, including governments at all levels, academic institutions, media and NGOs, has been strengthened. A rotation mechanism has been set up among relevant communities in Wenchuan, Mao, Li counties and Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County (hereinafter referred to as the four counties of Qiang-inhabited area). The four counties have taken turns to host the festival and invite people from other Qiang communities to celebrate the Qiang New Year together. Digital documentation has been fostered by research institutes and governments at all levels. Interdisciplinary research, methodology study in particular, has been steadily advanced and publication of monographic research findings published successively.
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 cycle, communities, groups and individuals concerned collaborated with diverse actors such as NGOs and governments at all levels to carry out the following safeguarding activities:
1. The traditional mode of transmission and succession mechanism of bearers were further consolidated. Based on the previous reporting period, four new representative bearers were recognized, bringing the total number of the representative bearers at all levels to 48. They were continuously assisted to take apprentices and impart skills, and the supportive funds for transmission, training, promotion and dissemination were increased. Three Shbi training workshops and 14 Qiang language transmission workshops were held in the four counties, benefiting a total of 1,200 participants. In this reporting period, representative bearers took 70 apprentices, 20 of whom had finished their apprenticeship, representing an increase compared with the previous reporting period.
2. Practices and related educational programs were further promoted through formal education. More than 10 primary and secondary schools in the four counties, including July 1 Middle School, Longxi Primary School, Taoping Central Primary School and July 1 Vocational Middle School, incorporated the practice of the element, traditional singing and dancing, and embroidery into their school curriculum. About 3,270 teenagers were involved in the various forms of transmission and practice on campus. Mao County produced anime tutorials based on Qiang folktales. Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County incorporated Qiang embroidery into school textbooks. The Second Primary School in Wenchuan County complied teaching materials about Qiang paper-cutting art.
3.Overall construction of the experimental zones for the safeguarding of Qiang cultural ecology was further advanced. Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture & Tourism took the initiative to set up a joint meeting mechanism involving related communities, experts and governments. According to the Overall Plan for Establishing Experimental Zones for the Safeguarding of Qiang Cultural Ecology (Sichuan), the festival, other relevant ICH elements, and the surrounding natural and cultural ecology and traditional villages were brought under safeguarding in a holistic approach. First, a number of traditional villages such as Taoping Qiang Village in Li County, Heihu Qiang Village in Mao County, Jina Qiang Village in Beichuan County and Ancient Qiang City in Mao County were restored. Zhitai Village and Muti Village in Nanbaoshan Township of Qionglai City were established, and residential settlements and folk customs were under systematic protection. Second, the infrastructure was repaired, renovated and upgraded for Shibi cultural training centers, Wenchuan County A’er Qiang New Year Festival Transmission and Practice Center, Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County Wetland Park ICH Transmission and Practice Center and Yongchang Kindergarten ICH Learning Base in Sanlong, Qugu, Baixi, Yadu, Yonghe, Taiping and Heihu towns of Mao County. More than 30 relevant ICH elements, such as sheepskin-drum dance, Salang dance, Qiang embroidery and Qiang flute, were incorporated into the training of Taoping Transmission and Practice Center in Li County. Activities and training programs on the Qiang New Year festival and its related ICH elements including sheep-skin dance, Salang dance, Qiang embroidery were carried out all year around in the transmission and training centers. Third, a variety of measures were taken to promote inclusive social and economic development with full respect for the rights of communities, groups and individuals concerned and with their prior and informed consent. For example, people returning to their hometown for the transmission and practice of traditional skills related to the element were assisted to channel entrepreneurship guarantee loans, got vocational training and had their products promoted. Cooperatives and enterprises were encouraged to offer traditional skills training in order to boost local employment and generate income for the local Qiang people. The festival and other Qiang cultural elements were integrated into cultural and ecological tourism and featured rural tours, and bearers of Qiang singing and dancing and handicrafts were encouraged to demonstrate their performance and sell handicrafts to generate income during the Mountain Festival and the Qiang Women’s Festival.
4.Digital documentation and interdisciplinary research activities were strengthened. The working experience, transmission and practice and skills training of 7 Shbis such as Wang Zhisheng and Xiao Yongqing were recorded in audio-visual format or in photography and text forms. The public cultural service platform of “Travel in Sichuan” (http://www.tsichuan.com/) was set up to provide cultural resources services and information of the festival and related activities in Sichuan Province. Sichuan Academy of Arts, together with Sichuan University, Southwest Minzu University, Sichuan Institute of Ethnic Studies and Sichuan Association for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, carried out the Study on the Overall Layout and Development Strategy of Featured Cultures in Various Regions of Sichuan along the Tibetan, Qiang and Yi Cultural Corridor. The 13-volume collection of Qiang History and Culture was edited and published. Qiang New Year festival was included into the ICH volume and Folk Customs volume. In addition, a number of monographic research findings were published, such as Qiang New Year Festival Customs, Qiang New Year Festival Survey, Cultural Changes & Psychological Adjustment of Qiang Immigrants after 5.12 Earthquake and Research on the Protection and Development of Qiang Featured Villages Culture in the Process of Rural Revitalization.
5.The viability status of the element was constantly monitored and evaluated. Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, Wenchuan County and Li County took turns to hold exhibitions during the festival to showcase the achievements made in developing experimental zones for the safeguarding of Qiang cultural ecology. Stakeholders ranging from community representatives, cultural departments at all levels in Sichuan Province, institutions for the safeguarding of ICH, to experts and scholars, gathered to carry out dialogues and discussions around the viability of the festival, threats and risks faced, and the effectiveness of the safeguarding activities. An observatory point was set up in Wenchuan County to track the viability status and changes of ICH elements including the festival and provide a reference for drafting safeguarding measures.
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
Communities, groups and individuals and NGOs concerned played a key role in the implementation of the safeguarding measures.
Bearers played crucial roles in the transmission, practice and safeguarding of the element. Shbis presided over the sacrificial rituals on the first day of the tenth lunar month, took apprentices, imparted skills, provided training, and cooperated on the recording and translation of Shibi classics. The bearers of Qiang singing and dancing presented performances during the festival, transmitted their skills to their disciples and got involved in skills training and promotional activities as well. The bearers of Qiang handicrafts, mostly women, practiced and transmitted related skills in their daily lives. They made festival costumes and sacrificial objects and promoted articles of daily use with Qiang characteristics through various channels. Under their guidance, the Qiang people have become more conscious and active to participate in the practice of the element.
Related associations, community organizations and cooperatives constitute major force for the safeguarding and transmission of the festival. For example, Wenchuan County set up an association for ICH safeguarding focusing on collecting Qiang oral folk literature. Beichuan County set up community-based organizations such as the Salang Team of Yongchang Primary School, the Sheepskin-drum Dance Team of Yuli Primary School, and the Qiang Embroidery Club of Leigu Primary School for the purpose of transmission, promotion and demonstration of Qiang culture among the young generation. These associations and civil organizations involved 3,886 people, including 1,938 women or nearly 50% of the total and 628 teenagers or 16% of the total. In Li County, cooperatives such as Hua’er Naji Qiang Embroidery Professional Cooperative and Yuanmeng Qiang Embroidery Cooperative were set up by bearers to provide skills training, create jobs and generate income for local women and people with disabilities.
The Expert Committee of Sichuan Association for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Sichuan Society of Ethnic Studies, Sichuan Society of Qiang Studies, Institute of Minority Culture and Art of Aba Normal University and Beichuan Research Center of Qiang Culture continued studies and surveys of the element in local communities to get deeper insight into the status quo of the safeguarding and transmission of Qiang culture, and worked out a number of monographic, comprehensive and interdisciplinary research findings to provide intellectual support for updating the safeguarding measures.
B.3.d.
Timetable
Indicate in a timetable when each activity was implemented.
Timetable
During this reporting period, regular safeguarding activities were carried out including recognizing and assisting representative bearers at different levels, incorporating practice programs related to the festival into formal education, and safeguarding Qiang cultural ecology in experimental zones. In terms of transmission and practice, over the past four years, the four counties of Qiang-inhabited area held three Shbi training workshops and 14 Qiang language transmission workshops with the audience of 1,200 participants, and 45 skills training workshops with an audience of 9,900. Regarding the folk customs, the Qiang communities carried out various festival activities in the traditional way in their villages. In addition, the four counties took turns to host the festival and invited people from other communities to celebrate the Qiang New Year together. Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County hosted the event in 2018, Wenchuan County in 2019, and Li County in 2020. They held the annual exhibition during the festival to showcase the achievements made in building experimental zones for the safeguarding of Qiang cultural ecology. The four counties also organized 98 folk events on the occasions such as the Mountain Festival, Budha’s Birthday Festival and Qiang Women’s Festival with 96,000 participants, 46 Qiang ICH exhibitions with 130,000 visitors, as well as 328 ICH performances with 240,000 viewers.
Other safeguarding activities:
The records of the national level representative bearer Wang Zhisheng was validated and included into the database in June 2018. National representative bearer Xiao Yongqing and provincial representative bearers Zhu Guangliang, Zhao Banglan and Mu Guangyuan were recorded in the same year. Provincial representative bearers Wang Wanlun and Yu Youcheng were recorded in 2019 and 2020 respectively. The public cultural service platform of “Travel in Sichuan” was launched in September 2020.
The Collection of Qiang History and Culture was published in June 2021. Research on the Overall Layout and Development Strategy of Featured Cultures in Various Regions of Sichuan along the Tibetan, Qiang and Yi Cultural Corridor was initiated in 2017 and was expected to be completed by the end of 2021.
Mao County produced the anime tutorials based on Qiang folktales and conducted promotional activities for the use of the tutorials in 2019.
Beichuan County held training workshops on the oral epics of the Qiang people, sheep-skin dance, Salang dance, and Qiang embroidery for the four counties in November 2018, and held a seminar on the safeguarding of Qiang culture at the same time. In July 2019, Biman Folk Song Festival was held in Pingwu County along with a seminar on Qiang Culture. In November 2019 and November 2020, Wenchuan County held the Shbi apprenticeship graduation ceremony in Yueli Village, Weizhou Town twice with an audience of 200 participants in total. In April 2021, Li County organized an ICH lecture with the theme of “Transmitting National Culture for Rural Revitalization”.
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 this reporting period are indicated as follows:
Government resources: a total of 553,000 RMB of subsidies from both central & local governments for representative bearers at all levels in conducting the transmission and practice activities; 960,000 RMB from the central finance for the safeguarding of the festival as a representative ICH element in the national inventory; 8.5 million RMB in 2018, 9.1 million RMB in 2019, 7.3 million RMB in 2010 and 8.9 million RMB in 2021 from the central finance for the construction of the experimental zones for the safeguarding of the Qiang cultural ecology, with complementary 7.8 million RMB from the local finance; 400,000 RMB from the central finance for the recording of the bearer Xiao Yongqing; one million RMB for the recording of five representative bearers including Zhu Guangliang, and 10 million RMB for the construction and operation of “Travel in Sichuan” -- the public cultural service platform; 2.324 million RMB for introducing the festival to the formal education courses financed by the local governments; 4.3 million RMB from the local finance for the compilation and publication of the Collection of Qiang History and Culture; local financial support for various training and demonstration activities as 6 million RMB in 2018, 7 million RMB in 2019, 4.5 million RMB in 2020 and 8 million RMB in 2021; 300,000 RMB from the central finance for the Research on the Overall Layout and Development Strategy of Featured Cultures in Various Regions of Sichuan along the Tibetan, Qiang and Yi Cultural Corridor; 500,000 RMB for the Forum on the Safeguarding of Qiang Culture, and 240,000 RMB for field visits, research and analysis on the Report of Qiang New Year Festival Survey.
Inputs from communities, groups and individuals concerned: festive activities voluntarily organized in villages were mainly funded by villagers themselves. Associations, societies and civil organizations made in-kind or capital contribution to the transmission and practice of the element, as well as seminars and academic research.
Other inputs: Mao County Association for the Transmission & Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage and Qiang Culture, Wenchuan County Association for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Qiang Culture associations of Taoping and Puxi towns of Li County and Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County contributed 130,000 RMB, 45,000 RMB, 420,000 RMB and 98,000 RMB respectively to the festive activities organized by the Qiang people in the villages.
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 report period, all the safeguarding activities were carried out in an orderly manner. They were reasonably funded and well managed with high efficiency. The main results were achieved as follows:
Efforts were made to strengthen the support for bearers and encourage various forms of transmission and practice, especially transmission through Shibi apprenticeship, so as to create more favorable conditions and atmosphere to consolidate inter-generational transmission, ensure full respect for the bearers and enhance their sense of responsibility for the transmission and promotion of Qiang culture. Regular ICH-related activities on campus enabled Qiang teenagers to participate more actively in the festival and other folk practices, and raised their awareness of ICH safeguarding as well.
The construction of the experimental zones for the safeguarding of Qiang cultural ecology was constantly advanced and the viability of the element was further enhanced through overall restoration and safeguarding of the cultural and ecological environment of the festival. The renovation of traditional villages, the construction and upgrading of sacrificial sites, folk museums, and transmission and practice centers sustained the necessary spaces of the festival and other Qiang ICH elements, as well as their cultural ecological context. Festival practices were fully integrated into the overall ICH safeguarding of the Qiang people, and the oral traditions, performing arts, traditional handicrafts, and other folk activities related to the element were constantly enhanced. This not only strengthened the festival as an important occasion for showcasing Qiang culture, but also brought the public attention to other ICH elements, thus enhancing the awareness of and sense of responsibility for ICH safeguarding among the local people, especially the younger generation. While ensuring relevant communities and groups as the main beneficiaries, the creative potential of festival practices made active contributions to the development of sustainable tourism and festival economy, poverty alleviation and income increase for the local people. In December 2020, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism officially announced the experimental zones for the safeguarding of Qiang cultural ecology as national cultural ecological reserves.
In terms of the efficiency of use of funds, the budget was prepared in advance for each safeguarding activity, and the management and use of funds were strictly implemented in accordance with relevant national laws, regulations and financial rules. The principles of unified management, hierarchical responsibility, reasonable arrangement and use of funds as earmarked were respected and the whole process for fund use was supervised. The competent cultural departments and ICH safeguarding agencies of each county collaborated with the local transmission and practice centers, villagers’ committees and community-based associations in implementing the safeguarding measures. This not only ensured the expected safeguarding results, but also saved money and enhanced communities’ sense of responsibility for and awareness of ICH safeguarding.
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:
- a. What primary objective(s) will be addressed and what concrete results will be expected?
- 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.
- c. How will the State(s) Party(ies) concerned support the implementation of the updated safeguarding plan?
Updated safeguarding plan
In the upcoming four years, community-centered actors will continue their efforts in the transmission and development of the element with a view to achieving the following results:
The inter-generational transmission of the festival and the practice of rituals in particular will be consolidated. Efforts will be made to support the representative bearers in carrying out transmission and training activities, optimize the succession mechanism of Shibi apprenticeship, identify more young and middle-aged people with their informed consent proficient in sacrificial rituals as representative bearers, carry out regular transmission and training activities, and improve the curriculum design and textbook compilation of special courses about festival practices, oral epics, sheepskin-drum dance, Salang dance and Qiang embroidery at primary and secondary schools.
The construction of national reserves for the safeguarding of Qiang cultural ecology will be further advanced. Efforts will be made to strengthen the overall safeguarding of the festival, related ICH elements and their natural and cultural ecology and relevant traditional villages, set up or upgrade a number of transmission and practice centers, ICH museums and exhibition halls, build experiential facilities such as ritual sites, transmission centers and educational bases within the reserves, consolidate and expand the transmission and practice of sheepskin-drum dance, Salang dance and Qiang embroidery, develop festival economy on the premise of fully respecting the rights of related communities, groups and individuals, and create conditions for the sustainable livelihood of local communities.
The community-centered cooperative network of multiple actors will be strengthened. The four counties will continue the rotation mechanism in hosting the festival event and inviting people from other counties to celebrate the New Year together. Digital documentation will be promoted and the rescuing recording efforts will be taken for more representative bearers. The viability of the element and the threats and risks faced will be assessed on a regular basis and the joint research on safeguarding methods and countermeasures, and the transformation and utilization of research results will be facilitated.
The Chinese government will continuously support the overall implementation of the updated safeguarding measures while fully respecting the wishes of communities, groups and individuals concerned. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance and relevant local governments will formulate supportive policies and provide financial and intelligent support to maximize the participation of relevant communities, groups and individuals in the whole safeguarding process so as to ensure the viability of the element through current practices by community members.
C.2.
Timetable for future actitivies
Provide a timetable for the updated safeguarding plan (within a time-frame of approximately four years).
00302,00303,00304,00321,00322,00530
Timetable
The four counties will incorporate the special fund for positive & reverse incentives for bearers into their fiscal plans in 2022; they will study and formulate detailed rules for the implementation of these incentives and launch them starting from 2023.
From 2022 to 2025:
To provide annual funds to the representative bearers for their transmission and training activities; identify a group of young and middle-aged people proficient in sacrificial rituals of the festival as representative bearers; carry out ritual transmission activities, Qiang language transmission workshops, oral epic training workshops and training of other related skills such as sheepskin-drum dance, Salang dance, Qiang embroidery on a regular basis, and encourage the bearers of the festival and related Qiang ICH elements to participate in local folk activities and external cultural exchanges.
To improve the curriculum development and textbook compilation of special courses about festival practices, oral epics, sheepskin-drum dance, Salang dance and Qiang embroidery at primary and secondary schools in the four counties and produce albums of traditional songs, folktale readers, films and TV programs about oral epics, Salang dance, sheepskin Drum dance and Qiang embroidery.
To proceed with the construction of national reserves for the safeguarding of Qiang cultural ecology and formulate and issue the Opinions on Strengthened Implementation of Building National Qiang Cultural Ecological Reserves in 2022.
To maintain the rotation mechanism for the four counties to host the annual festival and invite people from other counties to celebrate the New Year together. The annual exhibition of the achievements made in building Qiang cultural ecological reserves will be held at the same time to promote dialogues and discussions on the viability status, threats and risks of the element and the effectiveness of the safeguarding measures.
To advance systematic documentation and scientific research. To record four representative bearers of the festival; manage and update thematic database to improve the service for the public; conduct academic research on the safeguarding methods and ethical guidelines for developing sustainable tourism and festival economy through traditional practices.
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 planned for the safeguarding activities for the period 2022-2025 are as follows:
Government resources: the central and local governments will continue to provide annual subsidies to the representative bearers at different levels for their transmission and practice activities, in particular 20,000 RMB for each national representative bearer, 5,000 RMB for each provincial representative bearer, 3,000 RMB (updated) for each municipal or prefecture-level representative bearer and 2,000 RMB (updated) for each bearer recognized at the county level. From 2022 to 2025, the central government will provide financial support of no less than 25 million RMB in total for the construction of national Qiang cultural ecological reserves, with complementary 10 million RMB from local finance. From 2023 to 2025, the four counties will invest 50,000 RMB each on a yearly bases for the positive & reverse incentives mechanism for bearers. Local governments will invest 800,000 RMB for the recording of four representative bearers and 2 million RMB for academic research on safeguarding methods and ethical guidelines for developing sustainable tourism and festival economy through traditional practices of the festival. 2 million RMB will be provided for incorporation of the element in formal education and 20 million RMB will be provided for local training and exhibitions by relevant local communities.
Inputs from relevant communities, groups and individuals: 500,000 RMB for the production publication of traditional Qiang songs, folktale readers, films and television programs by associations and civil organizations; voluntary contribution of human resource, material and financial resources to festival activities and safeguarding measures by the communities, groups and individuals concerned.
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 was set up by Sichuan Academy of Arts under the coordination of Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism to update the safeguarding plan and write this report with participation of various actors.
In November 2020, representatives of related communities, associations and civil organizations and experts gathered in Li County for the annual exhibition showcasing the achievements made in building Qiang cultural ecological reserves. They analyzed the viability, risks and threats of the element and the effectiveness of the safeguarding measures over the previous three reporting cycles, discussed the updating of the safeguarding plan and drafted the plan for the next cycle. In 2021, the working group visited Qiangfeng Village of Mianfu Town, Baishui Village of Weizhou Town, and A’er Village of Bazhou Town to solicit villagers’ views on the updated safeguarding plan. Communities, groups and individuals concerned shared the information about their participation in the safeguarding activities with the working group and put forward specific recommendations on the updated plan. For example, representative bearers Wang Zhisheng and Xiao Yongqing proposed that more efforts should be taken to cultivate young bearers and optimize the succession mechanism as most of the Shbis were advanced in years and in poor health. Sichuan Society of Qiang Studies, Research Institute of Minority Culture & Arts of Aba Normal College and Beichuan Research Center of Qiang Culture suggested that more attention should be given to the transmission of sacrificial rituals and epic & scripture chanting. The working group revised the draft of the updated plan based on these comments and suggestions, and finalized the plan for the next cycle after several rounds of consultation with multiple actors.
To implement the updated plan, related communities, groups and individuals will work together under the coordination of Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism to take community-oriented actions, carry out safeguarding and transmission practices, and promote communication and dialogues. Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism will provide regular feedback on the monitoring and safeguarding results. The communities, groups and individuals concerned will participate in the discussions and jointly determine 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:
- a. the competent body(ies) involved in its management and/or safeguarding;
- 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:
Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture & Tourism
b. the organizations of the community or group related to the element and its safeguarding
Related transmission and practice centers, cooperatives, associations, community organizations, research institutes, as well as institutions for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage
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
From June to November 2021, the working group conducted a questionnaire survey of the Qiang New Year festival through instant messenger (IM) WeChat and QQ, and field visits to collect information about the transmission and development of the element and solicit opinions and suggestions on the updating of the safeguarding measures from communities, groups and individuals concerned. The working group also got information from local volunteers about the safeguarding activities of the element carried out by relevant associations and civil organizations. Smooth communication was ensured through personal interviews, various forums and on-line exchanges. The working group drafted the report based on the analysis of the collected information, data and suggestions in cooperation with universities and research institutes actively involved in the safeguarding programs of the element, solicited opinions from the communities, groups and individuals concerned as well as other actors through rounds of consultation and adjustment of the draft report within the framework of the information sharing mechanism. The working group 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
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