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China Publishes Dictionary of Intangible Cultural Heritage

The Encyclopaedia of China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage was published on April 13, 2007, introducing many national intangible masterpieces including the Spring Festival, Peking Opera, acupuncture and Shaolin kung fu, using more than 3,000 pictures and 600,000 Chinese characters.

“The book provides very rare data for the protection and study of the country's intangible cultural heritage, and will significantly raise awareness of the need to protect China’s heritage,” said Vice-Cultural Minister Zhou Heping.

On June 2, 2006, the State Council cited 518 items in 10 categories, including folk literature, folk music and dance, traditional opera, ballad singing, cross-talk, acrobatics, folk fine arts, traditional handicraft, traditional medicine and folk customs. The items in the book were selected by a jury organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Academy of Arts of China (AAC).

The encyclopaedia, published by the Culture and Arts Publishing House, shows the distribution, history, status and cultural value of each item.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO’s) Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity has listed four items from China since 2001. They are the 500-year-old Kunqu Opera, known for its graceful movements and poetic lyrics; the 3,000-year-old guqin (seven-string zither); the "Twelve Mukams," a 12-part suite of ancient Uygur music; and the "Pastoral Song," sung by ethnic Mongolian performers.