On March 17, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the list of the sixth batch of representative inheritors of national intangible cultural heritage (ICH), into which Chi Fuxin, the representative inheritor of Xiaogan Carved Paper Cuttings, was selected.
Chi Fuxin is one of the first batch of provincial-level representative inheritors for the Program “Xiaogan Carved Paper Cuttings”, the Master of Arts and Crafts in Hubei Province, the Vice President of Paper Cuttings Society in Hubei Province, and the Chairman of Xiaogan Carved Paper Cuttings Association. He learnt the carved paper cuttings from his mother since childhood, engaged in it for over 40 years and gained the essentials of this traditional skill. Later, he was bold in innovation, constantly improved traditional tool making and usage methods, created over one thousand large auspicious paper cutting works of all kinds, including landscape, figures, scenery and the like, and carried off prizes in the national and provincial arts competitions for multiple times.
In recent years, Xiaogan Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism has facilitated the inheritance and development of ICH culture by constructing ICH protection system, actively applying for ICH projects, creating “ICH+” mode and other aspects to make the ICH culture rejuvenate new glory in the new era.
The Bureau has established a four-level (national, provincial, municipal and county-level) ICH list system through general activation, general survey, meticulous sorting and step-by-step declaration to specify each ICH project protection organization and build the stereoscopic protection mode. Meanwhile, in combination with “Our Festivals” and other festival activities, it facilitates the incorporation of ICH into the schoolyards, into the communities, into the villages and towns, and into the scenic areas, and realizes the active inherence of ICH through immersive experiences and interaction.
Currently Xiaogan City has 1 project of human ICH list, 6 of national ICH list, 30 of provincial ICH list, and 45 of municipal ICH list, and now has 3 national inheritors, 23 provincial inheritors and 38 municipal inheritors.