In recent years, Zhongzhai Village of Morong Town in Guzhang County has made efforts to explore and protect intangible cultural heritage, improve cultural infrastructure, cultivate civilized rural customs, and strengthen cultural services to boost rural revitalization.
Zhongzhai Village has invested a total of 5.202 million yuan of project funds to improve cultural infrastructure and enhance the level of public cultural services. It has built such cultural venues as a mass cultural activity center, a rural stage, children’s home, women’s home, and a rural library, supported the construction of intangible cultural heritage service teams, and launched more cultural exhibitions and performances, including the art performances in rural areas to celebrate the 20th National Congress, the Miao bonfire party, and the poetry and couplets writing activity.
Shi Zhuanyu, leader of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Volunteer Service Team, said, “Nowadays, Miao culture is valued by the village government. We couldn’t even afford one drum before, while each of us has one drum now. With the help of the resident working team, we have got hundreds of sets of Miao costumes for performances.”
There are 10 representative inheritors of county-level intangible cultural heritage projects in Zhongzhai Village. A volunteer service team for intangible cultural heritage inheritance and protection has been established to provide public welfare intangible cultural heritage performances, exhibitions, experiences, teaching and other services in the fields of Miao embroidery, Miao drum, and Miao boxing.
Miao drum inheritors will teach Miao drums to children in the village for free in their spare time. The working team has built cultural exhibition venues such as Badai Culture Room and Miao Embroidery Workshop by integrating advantageous resources to protect and inherit local excellent traditional culture and humanistic spirit.
“Miao embroidery is a part of traditional culture of the Miao ethnic group, and there are fewer and fewer people learning Miao embroidery nowadays. In order to better inherit Miao embroidery, I took the initiative to learn Miao embroidery from the elderly,” said Shi Yuanlan, an inheritor of Miao embroidery.
In spare time, women embroiderers often study and exchange Miao embroidery skills in the Miao Embroidery Workshop. The Miao embroidery products of senior embroiderers are rich in patterns, delicate in texture, and diverse in forms, with strong artistic appeal. A piece of Miao embroidery can even be sold at over 2,000 yuan.
Nasa, the first secretary of the village, said, “Next, the resident working team will continue to tap into cultural resources, build a strong cultural team, and consolidate cultural positions to enrich the spiritual life of the masses and bring culture to life in the village.”
Chinese source: hunantoday
