Young inheritor of Shaanxi puppetry has plans to revitalize the ancient cultural tradition, and many others with it, Li Yingxue reports.

Have you ever experienced one of the earliest precursors (前身) of movies? Only relying     1     hands, the ancient Chinese art of shadow play (皮影戏) is a tradition with a history     2     dates back 2, 000 years,       3     it’s also a representative (代表) of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity     4     (recognize) by UNESCO.

Chinese shadow puppetry has its roots in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), and     5     (know) for its good craftsmanship.

The challenge of     6     (master) this technique within such a short time seemed like mission impossible.     7     (fortunate), Nanxiang Buaichifan and Jiuyue were lucky enough     8     (learn) from the best —Dang Feihua,     9     23-year-old inheritor (继承人) of the shadow puppetry tradition. Dang is the fifth-generation inheritor of Wang’s Shadow. One of Dang’s     10     (plan) is to redecorate their shadow puppet themed hotel in Beijing at the end of the year.

3 . Qinghuaci ware is one of the most well-known cultural products in China, with items made in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, considered the best in quality.

Cai Wenjuan’s parents and grandparents made qinghuaci here. Cai’s childhood memories are connected to ceramics, which led her to find her passion in painting as a girl. Even after graduating from Jingdezhen Ceramic University in 2006, she didn’t think about inheriting the family craft and became a saleswoman at a ceramic studio in Beijing back then.

After two years of selling ceramics, Cai was captivated by the blue-and-white ware. She quit her job and returned to her hometown in late 2008, starting a two-year learning experience of painting blue-and-white porcelain items. In 2012, Cai established her own ceramics-making company and two years later, she built the ceramics-themed brand China Story.

Pushing the boundaries of the age-old practice, Cai puts blue-and-white patterns, inspired by Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) porcelain, on daily objects such as phone cases, umbrellas, pillows and so on. So far, more than 1,000 kinds of cultural products have been sold by her company. “The charm and story behind the blue-and-white china can be told through the way the young generation feels connected,” Cai says, adding that china can be stylish.

As a provincial-level inheritor of the blue-and-white china-painting, she devotes herself to passing on the craft by combining the ancient charm with modern aesthetics. On video-sharing platform Douyin, Cai has posted more than 60 clips to popularize the craft and the culture behind it. “One day, I hope there are traditional Chinese elements everywhere in daily life,” Cai says. Like Cai, more young artists are considering a career in china-related businesses in Jingdezhen, with the local government rolling out supportive measures for a variety of startups in the field.

The pingfeng screen(屏风) is a piece of traditional Chinese furniture.     1     (original), pingfeng were vertical objects that could offer protection     2     the wind. Later, they were used to divide a room, offer     3     (private), or even show off the owner’s power and wealth with their detailed designs.

At that time, screens were closely associated with imperial power. According to Rites of the Zhou Dynasty《周礼》, only the emperor could place a screen     4     (face) the front door. Confucius supposedly once criticized Guan Zhong,     5     powerful politician of the Qi State, for violating the norms of etiquette (礼仪规范), because Guan had once set a screen     6     faced his door.

At that time, nobles also used screens in their homes to divide rooms into individual spaces for different     7     (class) of people. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, when Lord Mengchang met guests at home, he     8     (have) his servants sit behind his screen and write down their conversation.     9     they were from a lower class, the servants could not be present with the nobility. Sitting behind the screen was the only way they could stay in the nobleman’s living room.

By the Han dynasty,     10     (wealth) people also used screens to decorate their homes. In short, screens played an important role in ancient Chinese people's political, cultural,and daily lives.

Tang Sancai (唐三彩) is a type of beautiful Chinese pottery (陶器). It mainly has three colors, yellow, green,     1     white. As the treasure of ancient Chinese pottery arts, it is said that Tang Sancai was first discovered in the last century,     2     a railway was being built in Luoyang, Henan Province.

Tang Sancai was made     3     adding metallic oxides (金属氧化物) and firing the object     4     (create) different colors.     5     great variety of colors appeared in the mixture of different metals. The materials in it     6     (gradual) took on different colors when heated, producing an     7     (impress) effect with an artistic attraction.

With unique shapes, Tang Sancai pieces cover almost every field of life, from     8     (model) of buildings to articles of everyday use, from horses, plants to toys. Figures on Sancai pieces are mostly women in the palace,     9     (show) the colorful life and the splendid culture of the Tang Dynasty. Tang Sancai     10     (sell) to foreign countries in the early Tang dynasty and won great favor. It has always been famous for its bright colors and pleasing shapes.

Siheyuan is a special type of building found in China that represents the country’s rich traditions. These buildings     1     (exist) around for a very long time and are mainly located in the northern parts of China. Exploring a Siheyuan allows you     2     (step) back in time and experience the peace and history of ancient China.

Siheyuan has     3     unique layout with a square courtyard in the middle,     4     (surround) by buildings on all four sides. This design provides privacy for the people living there and shows a balance     5     human-made structures and nature.

The main entrance of a Siheyuan     6     (usual) faces south, and the most important rooms are positioned in the north. The courtyards are often decorated with beautiful gardens, plants, and fancy stone carvings,     7     show how much the Chinese appreciate nature and beauty.

Beyond its physical form, Siheyuan represents the Chinese     8     (tradition) way of life and family values. In these buildings, extended families live together,     9     the courtyard becomes a gathering place for family members. This helps to strengthen family bonds and maintain connections between different     10     (generation).

9 . In the long river of inheriting and preserving intangible cultural heritages, people have encountered numerous challenges, especially in this rapidly developing era. Fortunately, there are still many individuals who persistently make efforts to safeguard it.

Chang Yangyang is such a person. As an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, he once worked at a factory. Although he had learned the craft paper-cutting from his grandmother since childhood, in the eyes of Chang’s parents, a hobby was far less precious than a stable job. They didn’t change their minds until he won third prize in a national paper-cutting competition in 2010. This opened a new door for him in paper-cutting, which strengthened his determination to continue his career in the craft.

In addition to practicing skills diligently, Chang thought more about how to promote the Mengjin paper-cutting culture and let more people know about this intangible cultural heritage.

In his early years, Chang conducted local training and salons. Later, He tried Douyin live-streaming. At first, Chang was shy. But gradually, he became more familiar with it and learned to interact with viewers. In this way, he expanded his audience and followers from dozens of people to hundreds of thousands.

The young paper-cutting artist and instructor hopes there are more young people learning the art. It is for this reason that he currently teaches the art of paper-cutting at several local primary schools, Chang says his life dream is to establish a paper-cutting museum one day so people can learn more about the art form and grow to love it as much as he does.

With more young craftsmen like Chang injecting fresh energy, the intangible cultural heritage will be able to continue sharing the same clear wind with mountains and forests, and the same bright moon with rivers in the future years, moving towards eternity.