In December 2024, the ‘Spring Festival – the social practice of the Chinese people in celebrating the traditional New Year’ was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). China now has 44 items on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List, the largest number in the world.
What is the historical and cultural significance of the Chinese New Year’s successful application? Why is this success a starting point rather than an endpoint? Wang Jie, Professor of the Department of Philosophy of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (National School of Administration) and President of the Chinese Society for the Study of Realism, was interviewed by East Meets West.
Wang Jie, Doctor of Philosophy, Postdoctoral Fellow in History, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (National School of Administration), concurrently serves as the President of the China Society for the Study of Realism, Director of the Leading Cadres Learning Chinese Studies Organising Committee, and the Secretary General of the Joint Meeting of the National Confucianism Societies, among others.
What is the significance of China’s successful UNESCO Spring Festival heritage application for China and Chinese people worldwide?
The success of the Spring Festival’s application for inscription is of special significance to Chinese people in China and around the world. It is not only a high recognition of the cultural value of the Spring Festival as a traditional festival, but also a powerful impetus for the spread and enhancement of the influence of Chinese culture on a global scale.
First of all, it is an affirmation and protection of traditional Chinese culture. As the most important traditional festival in China, the Spring Festival carries rich historical and cultural connotations, including values such as reunion and praying for good fortune. By applying for the inscription, the cultural value of the Spring Festival can be further developed and related folk traditions such as paper-cutting, lion dance and lantern festival can be more comprehensively protected and passed on, preserving a valuable cultural heritage for future generations.
Secondly, the success of the Chinese New Year’s inscription has further strengthened the sense of cultural identity and pride of Chinese people all over the world. For Chinese living abroad, the Spring Festival is not only a festival but also an important bond that maintains family emotions and transmits the spirit of the nation. The success has significantly increased the international influence and recognition of the Spring Festival, provided broader support for the Chinese community to organise Spring Festival celebrations, and enabled more people around the world to understand and respect Chinese culture.
The successful application for the inscription of the Spring Festival will also help to promote cultural diversity and global cultural exchanges. As a festival shared by all people and open and inclusive, the cultural value of the Spring Festival transcends national boundaries and has a global dimension, building a bridge for cross-fertilisation and mutual understanding among cultures.
It can be said that the success of the Chinese New Year Heritage application is not only a great promotion of Chinese culture, but also brings the power of cultural identity and cohesion to Chinese people all over the world, and at the same time promotes the prosperity of the world’s multi-cultural development.
What impact does the successful UNESCO Spring Festival heritage application have on the spread of Chinese culture?
The success of the Spring Festival’s application highlights the deep heritage of Chinese culture and also becomes a new opportunity to strengthen cultural soft power and international discourse.
The Spring Festival is an important symbol of Chinese culture. By applying for the inscription, the cultural value and unique charm of the Spring Festival have gained international recognition, providing a higher platform for the dissemination of Chinese culture on a global scale. At the same time, the inscription also serves as a good model for the promotion of other Chinese intangible cultural heritage, which helps deepen the world’s understanding and recognition of Chinese culture.
In the context of globalisation, cultural identity is an important part of a country’s comprehensive strength. The inscription of the Spring Festival on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage means that China’s contribution to the promotion of cultural diversity and the preservation of the common cultural heritage of mankind has been acknowledged by the international community. This not only demonstrates the soft power of Chinese culture, but also strengthens China’s right to speak on the international stage and injects cultural momentum into building a community of human destiny.
In addition, the success of the Spring Festival’s application for inscription also provides a new opportunity for China’s public diplomacy. Through the Spring Festival, a platform for globalised communication, China can better demonstrate its cultural charms and values to the world, promote understanding and friendship among peoples, and facilitate international exchanges and cooperation.
It can be said that this success not only promotes the global dissemination of Chinese culture, but also highlights China’s rightful position in the international cultural arena, and enhances the country’s image and international influence.
At present, China has a total of 44 projects included in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage lists, ranking first in the world. In your opinion, what does this mean?
This is a high degree of recognition by the international community of the richness and uniqueness of Chinese culture. China’s intangible cultural heritage covers a wide range of areas, including language, skills, performances and festivals, and demonstrates the long history and diverse cultural traditions of the Chinese nation. This achievement shows that China has made great efforts to protect and pass on its intangible cultural heritage and has achieved remarkable results, highlighting the strong vitality of Chinese civilisation.
At the same time, inscribed intangible cultural heritage receives the attention and importance of the international community and is able to obtain more resources for support and protection, giving impetus to the safeguarding and transmission of intangible heritage. This not only contributes to the passing on of the ICH items themselves, but also inspires governments at all levels, academics and civil society organisations to further strengthen the research, safeguarding and promotion of other ICH.
In addition, it is of great significance in enhancing China’s cultural soft power and international influence. Intangible cultural heritage is an important part of cultural soft power, and its inclusion in the list means that China has played an important role in the protection of global cultural diversity. Through these ICH items, the world can have a more comprehensive understanding of China’s cultural characteristics and spiritual core, enhance China’s cultural discourse and improve its national image.
Lastly, by sharing its own intangible cultural heritage and working with other countries to promote the development of the cultural diversity of humankind, China has embodied the role of a responsible big country and contributed to global cultural diversity and international exchanges and cooperation.
In conclusion, the fact that China’s intangible cultural heritage ranks first in the world in terms of the number of entries is not only an honour for Chinese culture, but also a wealth for world culture, which is of far-reaching significance for China’s cultural inheritance, the shaping of its national image, and cultural exchanges around the world.
The success of the Chinese UNESCO Spring Festival’s application for heritage is significant, but it also faces challenges in terms of cultural inheritance, innovation and development, as well as cultural preservation in the context of globalisation.
First, the balance between tradition and modernity is a long-term challenge. As society develops and lifestyles change, many of the traditional practices of the Spring Festival, such as paper-cutting, lion dances and New Year’s rituals, are gradually being diluted or simplified. At the same time, the Spring Festival has become increasingly commercialised, and traditional cultural connotations may be diluted by consumerism. The question of how to maintain the attractiveness of the Spring Festival among the younger generation by combining innovation with the needs of modern society while passing on core cultural values is an urgent one.
Secondly, it has become more difficult to preserve intangible cultural heritage. The Spring Festival, as a comprehensive cultural system, involves intangible cultural heritage items in a number of fields. The transmission of these items often relies on specific regions and populations, but with the acceleration of urbanisation and population mobility, the transmission environment and population are at risk of loss. It is a long-term challenge to build effective protection mechanisms to ensure the continuation of this cultural heritage in new environments.
Third, the risk of cultural misinterpretation and assimilation in international communication. The international promotion of the Spring Festival has provided opportunities for the global dissemination of Chinese culture, but the problem of misinterpretation of cultural symbols may also arise in cross-cultural exchanges. In addition, when interacting with the festive cultures of other countries, the phenomenon of excessive ‘localisation’ may occur, weakening the identity of Chinese culture.
Fourthly, how to make use of the successful effect of the Chinese New Year’s inscription to promote the preservation of other intangible cultural heritage is also a topic that deserves attention and study. The success of the inscription is only the starting point, and how to apply the Spring Festival preservation experience to the inheritance and promotion of other intangible cultural heritage needs to be further explored.
After its successful inscription, the Spring Festival faces multiple challenges between heritage and innovation, conservation and dissemination. Through multi-party collaboration and the development of a long-term protection and development mechanism, the Spring Festival, a cultural treasure, will surely take on a new lease of life.
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