Chapter 13: Chuan and Cheng are two different things
Chapter 13: Transmission and inheritance are two different things
"Xiao Xu, you really don't need to have so many concerns when you are working on this subject. 'Game' is also the best medium I have chosen after careful investigation and is most likely to achieve my so-called purpose and needs."
Yang Yan'an was walking around the room with his hands behind his back, and he looked very stable mentally.
"I know you may still feel a little dizzy after I said this, but actually I never considered the issues you were worried about from the beginning - the idea is not profound enough, the style is not outstanding enough, the audience is not wide enough - I just want to 'pass it on', and it would be best if it could be passed on to young people who have a certain interest in this kind of thing, who are willing to use it as a source and turn around to learn more about it."
"But……"
"Because the word 'inheritance' has never been just about the word 'inherit'."
Xu Yichi almost instinctively wanted to open her mouth to ask a question, but Yang Yan'an took the lead and spoke up, shutting up the second half of her sentence.
"'Transmission' and 'inheritance' are two different things. 'Inheritance' has always been about 'transmission' first and then 'inheritance' - in other words, if a culture or a skill wants to be passed on peacefully, it must first have a certain degree of public recognition and acceptance."
"——No matter if it is a niche or a mainstream thing, no matter if it is good or bad, difficult or easy to learn, if it is not spread at all and is not familiar and accepted by people, it will not be passed on at all. Nothing is an exception."
“A culture can only be developed, created and passed on if it is widely disseminated and has sufficient grassroots vitality, including practitioners and enthusiasts, so that it can continue to develop, create and pass on.”
The little girl raised her head and looked at Xu Yichi deeply. "Let me put it this way, Xiao Xu. I'll give you the simplest example and ask you a question that's easiest for you to understand."
"Okay, go ahead and ask." Xu Yichi subconsciously straightened his back again.
"Without looking up information in advance," Yang Yan'an said without blinking, "when you mention intangible cultural heritage, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?"
"Music, chess, calligraphy and painting." Xu Yichi thought without hesitation, "There are also embroidery, paper cutting, ceramics... and some folk musical instruments, but I'm not sure which ones are and which ones are not, and whether there are any differences in schools."
"Okay." The little girl nodded slightly and continued to ask calmly, "Then have you found any commonalities between the intangible cultural heritages you mentioned?"
"Uh...they..." Xu Yichi rubbed his chin and hesitated for a moment, "They are all very common."
"We have grown up hearing people regard them as 'representative Chinese culture' and talking about them all the time."
"Yes." Yang Yan'an nodded and added patiently, "And most of what you know are the most famous categories of these cultures - such as Suzhou embroidery, Hunan embroidery, Sichuan embroidery, etc. - you usually don't know much about the lesser-known embroidery categories of various ethnic minorities in the early years."
"Indeed." The little girl stretched out her hand to scratch her hair embarrassedly. "Like the Miao tin embroidery and Tibetan embroidery, these are the local departments concerned that have gradually paid attention to and worked hard to promote the local culture in recent years. I have only heard a little about them."
"I had never heard of this before. I thought all embroidery in the world was the same, like Suzhou embroidery or Sichuan embroidery."
"Yes, that's right." Yang Yan'an walked over and raised his hand to pat the top of Xu Yichi's head. It seemed that this girl scratched her head very hard and even tore her own hair into pieces.
"So, have you discovered, Xiao Xu?" "Among the intangible cultural heritages we talked about today, the more well-known they are, the better they are preserved and passed down. Many of them even have new techniques or skills that are improved and created by later generations from time to time."
——For example, combining porcelain and embroidery, and embroidering on porcelain.
When this thing first came out, it really scared even an old woman like her - what kind of good person has nothing better to do than to secretly research such an outrageous technology!
"Correspondingly, the more obscure the intangible cultural heritage is, the more likely it is to face the risk of being lost."
"Yeah, that's right." Xu Yichi nodded his head heavily, "We also discovered this when we were looking up information and making strategies before we came here."
"The less people know about something, the more it looks like it will never be passed on. On the contrary, those things that are often mentioned and that we once thought were quite niche seem to be quite vibrant..."
"Ah... no wonder you said that 'inheritance' means 'transmission' first and 'inheritance' later, and that you just want to spread the legend of 'Yang Family Generals'!" The little girl who had said a lot of words in a daze realized this belatedly, and a dazzling fire suddenly ignited in her eyes, "So it's because of this."
"Senior Yang, don't worry, I understand now. Now I can definitely..."
"Okay, okay, okay, okay, I know you're anxious now - but don't rush to understand." Yang Yan'an raised his head mercilessly and interrupted Xu Yichi's words, "Anyway, I've said this much today, so just listen to me finish what I have to say."
"Okay, senior, please continue." Upon hearing the voice, Xu Yichi sat down obediently, looking like a student who had just been called by the teacher in class.
Seeing this, the little girl slowly raised her eyebrows and twitched her eyebrows: "Speaking of this lost issue——"
"Xiao Xu, do you know why so many kinds of intangible cultural heritage are in danger of being lost?"
"Well... the most superficial problem," Xu Yichi rubbed his hands, "is definitely because no one is willing to continue learning and pass it on."
"If you think about it a little more deeply...no one is willing to pass it on because intangible cultural heritage skills are often difficult to learn and the learning cycle is relatively long. It takes three to five years to master them."
"In addition, these skills require a lot of time, energy and even money to learn, and the return period after learning is quite slow. The finished products of many skills are priced high in the market, but the demand is not high. This means that the inheritors of the skills may not be able to support their families even after learning."
"On the whole, it's difficult to learn, the investment is high, the market is small, and the demand is low. If you don't make money, people have to make a living, and you can't just eat dew and drink northwest wind to eat." Xu Yichi smacked his lips and said, "Northwest wind can't fill you up."
"——There aren't many people in this world who can live their lives completely according to their own interests and will. So, from this perspective, the loss of these skills seems... seems to be quite, natural?"
Indeed, many things are disappearing because they are not profitable.
(End of this chapter)