ICH of ethnic minorities in China

　　──International Cooperation on Preservation of the Intangible Heritage of China's Ethnic Minorities

　　Under UNESCO Provision, Ethnic Minority Intangible Heritage is the Focal Point of International Cooperation in China

　　The traditional folk songs of China's diverse ethnic minority groups spurred international cooperation between the government of Japan and the government of China as the incentive for the project, "Preserving the Intangible Cultural Heritage of China's Ethnic Minority Groups." As the authorizing agency, UNESCO guaranteed funding from the Japanese Funds-In-Trust for Preservation and Promotion of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in support of the three year project executed by the Chinese Folk Artists Association.

　　"Preserving the Intangible Cultural Heritage of China's Ethnic Minority Groups" was first launched in December, 2000 to research and protect a dying heritage and cultural tradition. The initiative was adopted under UNESCO's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity program, created in 1998 in response to an urgent need to raise public awareness of the value of this heritage and encourage governments to take legal and administrative steps to safeguard it. In 2003, the International Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was adopted overwhelmingly by the 32nd General Conference of UNESCO as a legal measure honoring the cultural identity of peoples.

　　The Japanese Funds-in-Trust program was established by the government of Japan in 1993 to protect and promote all forms of intangible cultural heritage. The fund has since contributed more than $7.6 million USD to safeguard the ensemble of cultural and social expressions that characterize communities and are based on tradition. Moreover, the yearly financial contribution provided the means for the "Project Implementation Plan Agreement" preserving China's ethnic minority folk songs that were first created in 1994.

　　Based on scholarly research and advanced methods of audio-visual documentation, "Preserving the Intangible Cultural Heritage of China's Ethnic Minority Groups" sought to record the lyrics and expressions of ethnic folk songs in three stages: investigation, recording and transcription. Led by Liu Chunxiang, vice chairman and deputy secretary of the Chinese Folk Artists Association, the researchers traveled to isolated, rural areas in Guangxi, Gansu and Qinghai provinces in southern and western China. They recorded 235 traditional folk singers from 10 different ethnic minority groups, including the Zhuang, Yao, Dong, Yugur, Baoan, Dongxiang, Hui, Tu, Tibetan, and Salar.

　　The project was hailed as a preliminary yet significant success in safeguarding but one of the myriad of Chinese ethnic minority folk traditions. A total of 385 folk songs were recorded and transliterated, in addition to the publication of an activity report with comprehensive lyrics to all of the songs, a full-color brochure aimed at young Chinese readers interested in China's cultural heritage, a 45-minute CD-ROM overview, as well as increased international cooperation, and heightened awareness in the media and among the public.

　　A press conference marking the official closing of the project was held in Beijing on March 16, 2004. In his speech, Y. Aoshima, Director and Representative of the UNESCO Office Beijing, said the project "has succeeded in presenting living musical traditions as a social act between performers and audience."