If material folk art can be preserved in museums, the protection of intangible cultural heritage passed down from mouth to mouth for generations deserve more meditation. Modern medium technology should be the means of promotion and innovation for traditional folk art. In the era of diversified entertainment everyone has the right to choose. If traditional folk culture uses television and internet - the popular and favorite media of young people for promotion and innovation, the effect may be quite good. Xiangsheng and Errenzhuan share the successful experience of oral folk art spread through television.
However, there has always been an odd phenomenon in the protection and development of folk art: "Foreigners value more than Chinese and aliens value more than locals." Government should step up protection, but what is more important to really protect these folk arts is to truly make folk art the art for people, to give it a wide range of promotion, and to let it become a part of people's lives. Embroidery, a folk handicraft, has not only been applied to clothes, but also scattered in various types of decorations. Following the development of technology, embroidery emerges in new forms, for example, the cross-stitch creates new vitality for embroidery.
A woman in Shunde, Guangdong, sells vegetable in local market. Although her occupation is common, she sells in a totally different way- with the unique dialect in Guangzhou called "salt water song". While singing, she wears a happy and contented expression on her face. The woman is not aware what her song will do in promoting the folk art, but this song reminds us that folk art should belong to the public. It should be spread in an easy and pleasant way in vegetable market, under big banyan tree, and in courtyard of ordinary people. More people should contact, know and understand folk art to protect and remember it. Folk art comes from people, roots in people, and also has its life among people. Protection and inheritance of these arts can only rely on people's affection.
Innovation makes development.
Folklore experts believe that for renascence, traditional folk art needs to stick to the market-operation, and the key also lies on the synchronization with current fashion elements and audience's aesthetics and innovation.
Zhao Qixin, a folklore expert, considers that deviation from current time and market is the most important reason for the cold welcome faced by traditional folk art.
"The performance forms and contents of traditional folk art are old-fashioned and short of innovation and fashion element. Vast majority of contents are about myths in the past and performers wear ancient costumes in dramas. Kids are not familiar with the fairy tales and do not like the ancient-costume dramas either. If Mickey Mouse, Gray Wolf and Xi Yang Yang are played in puppet show, it would be certainly different. "Zhao Qixin emphasizes that if there isn’t innovation for traditional folk art, there would be no vitality.
For example, the traditional Nanshi (Southern Lion) transforms from the show on ground in the past to the show on high pile at present and becomes the world's unified Southern Lion contest. It successfully links with the market economy and sports and opens up a path for innovation and development. Ladapian and shadow play may combine with the animation industry and the great achievements of reform and opening-up in China in the past 3 decades to create brand new contents to meet the current needs.
Therefore, it is a long way for the inheritance of traditional folk art. Just a couple of exhibitions held by governments are far from enough. Folk art needs more methods and more channels to evoke the attention of ordinary people on their own national root and spirit to inspire people's affection for their outstanding traditional culture.
Editor: Feng Hui
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