Intangible cultural heritage in Changde
2024-04-11
Changed string music is one of the ten kinds of quyi art forms in China. It integrates storytelling, singing, and acting, with elegant lyrics, beautiful melodies, rich repertoire, a complete structure, and diverse tunes. In 2006, it was listed as a national representative intangible cultural heritage project.
Changde high-pitched tune is one of the three major vocal styles of Changde Han Opera. It has a high-pitched and clear melody and emphasizes expressive action. It has some special performance movements coming from daily life. Actors may simulate the behavior and gestures of birds, animals, and other dynamic and static objects. In 2006, it was rated as a national representative intangible cultural heritage project.
Lixian County of Changde City was an important commercial port during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Due to the busy water transportation on the Lishui River, there appeared generations of Lishui boatmen and their sonorous and powerful chant. The Lishui boatmen’s chant doesn’t have fixed lyrics, and is mostly improvised based on time, place, and people. With rich tones, it is passed down orally and is highly dynamic and rhythmic. In 2006, it was selected as a national representative intangible cultural heritage project.
Lei Cha is made from tender tea leaves, ginger, and uncooked rice which are ground to powder with a pestle. Then the powder is placed in a bowl and mixed with sesame, peanuts, and soybeans. Boiling water is added to the dry Lei Cha, with a fragrant aroma filling the room. In 2009, it was listed as a provincial-level representative intangible cultural heritage project.
Taoyuan woodcarving is known for its unique artistic style, with exaggerated shapes and concise lines. It is rich and colorful in content, including landscapes, flowers and birds, characters, and stories. Hundreds of carving techniques such as round carving, relief carving, openwork carving, and hollow carving are used. In 2016, it was included in the list of representative intangible cultural heritage projects in Hunan Province.
Taoyuan embroidery has a long history, which can date back to the Xia and Shang dynasties. Its stitching skills mainly include plain embroidery and elaborate embroidery. The embroidery works are full of vitality with full and bright colors as well as exaggerated and romantic shapes. In 2021, it was included in the list of representative intangible cultural heritage projects in Hunan Province.
The Changde flax linen painting art is developed on the basis of ancient ramie fabric printing techniques. Artists draw various exquisite pictures on finely woven ramie fabric with modern concepts and techniques. It has the ethereal charm of traditional Chinese paintings, the brightness of oil paintings, and the three-dimensional sense of relievos. In 2020, it was included in the list of representative intangible cultural heritage projects in Wuling District, Changde City.
