6 | Wednesday, August 11, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | DAILY POLICY REVIEW

Policy Digest

Scientific achievement Art of Shaanxi storytelling honored evaluations face reform Cutting-edge technologies like big data and artificial intelligence Province’s have been chosen by policymakers to help the country better define version of kuaiban the significance of the latest put on list of achievements made by scientific researchers. intangible The move is part of a guideline issued by the General Office of the cultural heritage State Council, China’s Cabinet, on Aug 2. By CHEN NAN The document aims to [email protected] “improve the evaluation system for scientific and technological his is a typical day for Yang achievements” and spur the trans- Jinlong. formation of such achievements At 9 am, he drives to pri- “into real productive forces” and mary schools and middle stipulates that technical tools Tschools in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, including big data and artificial to teach students about Shaanxi intelligence should be adopted to kuaiban, a form of Chinese tradi- “advance methodology studies” tional form of storytelling in the and “develop information-based Shaanxi dialect to the rhythm of tools” for evaluation purposes. bamboo clappers, after which the In addition, the guideline called art form is named. Sometimes, the for expanding the use of standard- classes involve rehearsals for per- ized evaluations for recent formances and competitions. achievements and adopting Usually, his classes run until review methods such as innova- about 6 pm, and then he returns tion competition and intellectual home to prepare classes for the property evaluations. next day. It also sought the development On the weekends, he teaches for of “a cross-industry, cross-depart- six hours each day at art education ment, cross-regional database” institutions in Xi’an. As a veteran that will compile scientific and Shaanxi kuaiban performer, he also technological results, demands, spends time writing and rehearsing cases and evaluation tools and new pieces. methods. On June 10, the Ministry of Cul- China will issue a catalog that lays ture and Tourism identified 325 out scenarios for applying the latest national intangible cultural heritage technologies, the guideline added. items in Beijing, increasing the list It will also advance signature established in 2006 to 1,557 items. projects that may lead to signifi- Shaanxi kuaiban, which emerged cant achievements in mass indus- during the late Qing Dynasty (1644- trial production and will facilitate 1911), has been included. further evaluation of those “Kuaiban has a large fan base in achievements. Shaanxi. There are many profession- At the center of evaluations al artists and amateur performers,” should be the quality of scientific said Yang, 45. and technological innovations, Yang has been teaching young how the achievements can be used people the art form since 2003 after in applied technology and their graduating from the National Acad- contributions to socioeconomic emy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Bei- development. jing, where he majored in performance. Quyi is a general term New buildings to better for Chinese folk art forms, including withstand earthquakes ballad singing, storytelling, cross- Engineering countermeasures talk and clapper talk. against earthquakes are at the “Art education is important for heart of a regulation signed by Pre- students in China. Just as many stu- mier Li Keqiang that aims to pro- dents learn to play Western musical tect the nation’s new buildings instruments like the piano and vio- from potentially deadly temblors. lin, there are many people learning In particular, projects for new traditional Chinese folk arts, includ- schools, kindergartens, hospitals, ing Shaanxi kuaiban. They are com- nursing facilities and child wel- mitted and passionate,” he said. fare institutions should “align Born and raised in Xi’an, Yang was with seismic fortification meas- introduced to the art form by his ures” that meet standards set by father, an amateur performer, when authorities. he was 6. Since his younger brother The standards also apply to the also practiced Shaanxi kuaiban, the construction of new emergency two usually performed at schools operation centers, emergency together. shelters and broadcast facilities Yang was trained by Li Shaojie, and are aimed at improving the whose father, Li Runjie, was a veter- earthquake resistance of projects an performer and is credited with under construction, reducing the reviving the art form. risk of disasters and safeguarding Kuaiban is popular in northern lives and property. China, including Beijing and Tian- The regulation was passed at a jin. According to Yang, Shaanxi State Council executive meeting in kuaiban was influenced by the art- May and will go into effect on Sept istry of different regions. 1, according to a State Council The art form can be performed by WEI XUEMING / for china daily decree dated Aug 4. a group of performers or solo. With Design documents for future one or two pairs of kuaiban of differ- construction projects should ent sizes in hand, the performers kuaiban inheritors like Yang funds The new national intangible cul- vey lifestyles. include the maximum quake mag- speak in the local dialect while tell- 8.79 every year to give performances and tural heritage items released by the So far, the central government has nitude structure could endure, as ing stories, which are usually about billion yuan hold public events such as work- Ministry of Culture and Tourism recognized 3,068 national intangi- well as measures taken to ensure martyrs. Amount the central govern- shops and competitions to popular- were selected from 943 nominations ble cultural heritage inheritors. At seismic fortification. “As a young boy, I was intrigued by ment has spent to preserve ize the art form. from around the country. The items the provincial level, inheritors num- In rural areas, renovations of the art form because many of the intangible cultural heritage In July last year, an intangible cul- fall into 11 categories, including folk- ber over 16,000. dilapidated houses, migrant relo- stories are about heroes. The per- items since 2006 tural heritage preservation base for lore, traditional music, dance, Since 2006, the central govern- cation projects and post-disaster former tells stories while playing Shaanxi kuaiban was launched in sports, arts, medicine and diet, ment has spent 8.79 billion yuan reconstruction should also meet kuaiban, and it’s easy for the audi- by Shaanxi. With the support of Xi’an, with Yang as its head. The base which is a new category. ($1.35 billion) on efforts to preserve seismic fortification require- ence to remember the stories since the government, the art form has has organized a series of programs According to Wang Chenyang, intangible cultural heritage items. ments, the regulation stipulated. all the lines rhyme,” Yang said. been promoted and introduced to to promote the art form, including director of the ministry’s Intangible The yearly subsidy for inheritors at In 2011, Shaanxi kuaiban was local schools as part of their art commissioning Shaanxi kuaiban Cultural Heritage Department, the national level has increased Cultural heritage sites recognized as an intangible cultur- education. artists to write original pieces that those categories are important from 10,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan limit traffic due to virus al heritage at the provincial level The government offers Shaanxi tell stories about the province. aspects of Chinese society and con- this year. The country’s cultural heritage sites, including museums, will put a cap on the daily numbers of visi- tors in an effort to step up COVID- 19 prevention and control. Opera actors instill appreciation of ancient form in children According to a circular issued by the National Cultural Heritage By CHEN NAN Born in the regions south of the Kunqu Opera, teaching the chil- ed me of myself when I first started know Kunqu Opera, which is a Administration on Aug 5, venues Yangtze River, which included dren about its history, costumes, learning as a child.” brilliant ancient art form,” Wang across the country should imple- The annual Gateway to Arts today’s city in prov- makeup and style. After graduating, Wang joined said. “It’s old, but it’s still vibrant ment disease prevention and con- Summer Festival in Beijing is ince, Kunqu Opera is performed in The next day, Wang taught stu- the Northern Kunqu Opera Thea- and making progress. Maybe some trol measures “on a regular basis”. known for its live performances the melodic Suzhou dialect. dents to move, dance and sing like ter, studying under Zhang Yuwen, of them will become loyal fans in The facilities are asked to take and mini-summer camps for chil- Combining singing, dancing a Kunqu Opera actor, having them a national inheritor of the intangi- the future.” measures to reduce the number of dren, who come to learn about art and acting, the art form was listed learn different styles based on the ble cultural heritage. Xu Jian, general manager of the people gathering and make better forms like classical music, tradi- as an Intangible Heritage of roles they would later perform. On July 27, together with other Forbidden City Concert Hall and use of tools like online reserva- tional Chinese folk music and tra- Humanity by UNESCO in 2001. The camp ended up with a show actors from the theater, Wang per- organizer of the annual festival, tions, visitor-number limits and ditional . Kunqu was among the first to be featuring a joint performance by formed the classic Kunqu Opera said: digital tour guides. This year, the festival introduced a included on the National List of students and teachers, including piece, Romance of the West Cham- “We were concerned about The circular requests indoor new mini-summer camp program Intangible Cultural Heritage of Wang. ber, one of the most famous Chi- feedback from audiences before areas at cultural venues to be ven- focused on Kunqu Opera. More than China, which was released by the “It was the first time I’d given nese dramas written by playwright we launched the summer camp. tilated and disinfected on a daily 100 children aged 6 and over partici- Ministry of Culture (now the Min- classes to children,” said the Wang Shifu during the Yuan Since Kunqu is a very old art form basis and also requires that visi- pated in a two-day training course, istry of Culture and Tourism) on 34-year-old actress who graduated Dynasty (1271-1368). known for its elegance and beau- tors undergo temperature screen- held on July 26 and 27, that featured May 20, 2006. from the National Academy of Chi- It tells the story of young lovers ty, we were not sure whether the ings, show their health QR codes Kunqu Opera actors from the North- One of the teachers giving class- nese Theatre Arts in 2013 with a Zhang Sheng and Cui Yingying, children would have the patience upon arrival, wear masks and ern Kunqu Opera Theater — the only es was actress Wang Liyuan, who master’s degree in Kunqu Opera. the latter played by Wang, who to concentrate on it. But many maintain social distancing during professional theater in northern Chi- is known for playing graceful “Most had never seen a Kunqu consummate their love without people applied to participate, and visits. na dedicated to the Chinese opera female roles, or dan. Opera performance before and parental approval. the camp was full. We were very style that dates back some 600 years. On the first day, she introduced didn’t know about it. They remind- “We want children to get to excited.” ZHANG YUNBI