As ritualized practices devoted to disaster-averting and peace-pleading, Ong Chun Ceremony widely spreads along the coastal areas both in Minnan, China and Melaka, Malaysia. It is practiced by the communities with both commonness and localities. In Minnan, it mostly takes place every three or four years when the northeast monsoon arrives in autumn; while in Melaka, it is preferentially held in the dry season of the lunar leap year, both starting on an auspicious day meticulously selected and lasting for days or months. The element is rooted in folk belief and customs of worshiping Ong Yah, the deity reverently acknowledged as Tye Tian Soon Siew Ong Yah, among the coastal communities. Local inhabitants believe that, Ong Yah is appointed as commissioner by the Heaven to protect people and their lands from disasters on regular patrols of inspection. Those who lost their lives at sea, respected as “good brothers,” become wandering souls lonely and homeless. Rituals for welcoming and escorting Ong Yah at regular intervals are therefore held for his visit to the land and rescuing “good brothers.”

China,Malaysia 2020

Shadow puppetry is a kind of performing art. It uses music and operatic singing, to accompany silhouette figures made from leather or paper. These figures are manipulated by performers to create the illusion of moving images in front of an illuminated backdrop. The inheritors, props, scripts, and musical instruments decide the survival of shadow play groups. A silhouette figure has from 12 to 24 moveable joints, head, hands and so on, and is controlled by 3 poles or sticks. The music and songs of shadow puppetry have distinctive regional characteristics. There are many unique tunes which have come down from generation to generation. Shadow plays are performed by bigger troupes with 7 to 9 performers and smaller troupes with 2 to 5 performers. And 2-person troupes with one person performing and the other playing the instruments now exist in Shandong, Hubei, and Sichuan provinces. Most performers make a living from shadow plays, which are mainly performed for entertainments or for religious rituals, weddings and funerals and other special occasions. The manufacturing of puppets may require 10 different carving processes, the tools often being home-made. Many shadow puppetry performers can carve the puppets, sing and perform by themselves. And there are two types of scripts, that is, oral-transmitted scripts and written ones. Some shadow puppetry performers are professional, while many play as amateurs during slack farming seasons. The relevant skills are handed down in families, in the troupes, and from master to pupil. Shadow puppetry has been handed down for over one thousand years. With the evolution of history, the plays, puppets, types of lighting and performance, and the related crafts have developed with regular innovation. Shadow puppetry is a traditional folk drama that is created by and for the community and contains a thousand years of cultural deposits, as well as passing on diverse cultural information such as cultural history, social beliefs, folklore, and local customs. It spreads knowledge, improves cultural development, and entertains the community, especially the youth. Chinese Shadow Puppetry has significant historic and cultural importance, and should be protected and set on a footing of sustainable development.

China 2011

Sericulture and Silk Craftsmanship refers to the craftsmanship applied in traditional sericulture, silk dyeing and weaving process, which has been handed down from generation to generation, and relevant folk-customs derived thereby. China’s sericulture and silk craftsmanship boasts a history of 5000 years. The silk fragments, preliminary loom and potteries decorated with silkworm patterns excavated from sites dating 4000 years ago in the Taihu Lake area; demonstrate the time-honoured history of the sericulture and silk production in the region. Alongside the historical process, traditional manufacturing craftsmanship develops, and the main elements include: Mulberry planting: including cultivation of mulberry seedling, mulberry trimming, and various methods of engraftment; Silkworm production: including the selection, hybridization, and breeding of silkworm eggs, incubation, instruments for silkworm rearing, control of the temperature and humidity, and frame mounting methods; Silk reeling: including sorting and stripping of cocoons, ways for preserving the cocoons such as drying and salting, temperature control and process for boiling the cocoons, facilities and techniques for silk reeling, etc; Silk floss making: including techniques of water rinsing and tearing; Weaving tools: including various looms such as treadle looms, multi-shaft and multi-treadle patterning looms, lesser draw looms, greater draw looms, etc, and arrangement of heddle drafts and programming of patterns on draw looms; Design and weaving of fabrics: including the design and weaving of various structures and patterns, such as the Shuanglin silk damask which is calendared by stamp rocks, the Hang gauze with warps crossed, the Shu silk with warp-faced patterns, the Song-style silk in lampas weave, and Kesi woven in tapestry structures.

China 2009

The Dong’s grand song is a folk multipart singing a cappella that includes women’s choirs, men’s choirs and mixed choirs. Its repertory comprises genres such as ‘drum-tower’ songs, ‘imitative’ songs (in which by imitating sounds from nature performers display their vocal virtuosity), ballads, children songs, songs for the ‘dance around the drum-towers’ and ‘welcoming’ songs. The drum-tower – a landmark building of Dong villages – is the venue where rituals, entertainment and meetings are held. As such, the drum-towers are the formal locale for performances. However, at times improvised performances may take place also in cottages, on the roofed bridges, at the village gates or squares. The grand songs usually have two vocal parts producing consonant intervals of fourth and fifth; occasionally intervals of second and major and minor thirds may also occur. Singers take turns in breathing in order to sustain the long bass part. The upper part is led by one or two singers alternatively, thus resulting in chords of three or even four parts. The voices’ timbre and intonation are extremely well amalgamated, showing the excellent creativity and skill of the singers. The Dong people live mainly in the mountainous areas of Guizhou. They used to have no writing system and passed down their culture and knowledge through singing. As a popular Dong saying goes, “rice nourishes the body, songs nourish the soul”. The expression “nourish the soul” summarizes the effort to educate people’s sentiments and virtues. This proverb alludes to the aims and characteristics of the grand song, that is the dissemination of culture and the edification of people through recreation. The grand song is the Dong people’s “encyclopedia”. It narrates their history, extols the belief in the “unity between humanity and nature”, disseminates scientific knowledge, sings the honest love between men and women, and advocates social virtues like respecting the elders and taking good care of one’s neighbor. As such, the Dong people have no interest in seizing lost belongings, nor do they need to care about the safety of their home when the door is left open. The performance shows also the Dong’s search for the ideal of a “unity between humanity and nature”. The music is passed down by a skilled master who teaches a group of disciples – the choir. This process gives shape to the Dong peculiar cultural milieu where everyone is put in the condition to participate in singing. At present, in all Dong villages there are various singing teams divided according to the members’ age. In addition, Dong grand song ensembles, associations for the promotions of Dong culture, and Dong song research institutes have been established in Liping, Congjiang and Rongjiang Counties. Under the guidance of these folk organizations a number of singing contests have been held, and a campaign has been launched to bring the Dong’s grand song into the classrooms. Some Dong singing masters such as Wu Pinxian (aged 62), Wu Jiaxing (aged 65) and Wu Yuzhu (aged 45) have played a key role in the teaching of this art. As a result, performance, research and transmission have been stimulated and further developed. The grand song is a cultural form created, performed and developed by the Dong people themselves. It acts as a sign of ethnic identity, as an ‘intangible’ cultural heritage that complements the drum-towers, i.e. their ‘tangible’ cultural heritage. The Dong people are deeply aware of the historical importance and responsibilities associated with inheriting and passing down this oral tradition.

China 2009

Chinese paper-cut, a traditional handiwork created by cutting patterns on paper via scissors or graver, has been a time-honoured folk art piece for decorating purpose on festivals or coordinating with various folk custom activities. As a folk art form adored and practiced by Chinese folks, Chinese paper-cut has been developed for more than 1,500 years with its fabrication skills and sculpts being preserved to these days. Chinese paper-cut comprises two classifications including “paper-cutting” and “paper-engraving”. The former relies on manual cutting and often produces one art piece in one process; the latter relies on engraving with graver and often produces multiple art pieces in one process. The Chinese paper-cut art pieces have unified color or multiple colors. Besides, mosaic or setting-off skills are adopted to enrich the color effect of Chinese paper-cut art pieces. For many centuries, Chinese paper-cut art pieces have been extensively applied to people’s daily life and on various folk custom activities such as fete, festivals and etiquettes. They have diverse patterns including: the paper-cut art pieces on window, lintel, bed and ceiling for the purpose of interior decoration; the paper-cut art pieces on occasions of wedding ceremony, birthday party, lantern festival and dragon boat festival; the paper-cut art pieces that are taken as the sample for embroidering pillow, shoe and bellyband; the paper-cut art pieces for the purpose of praying for rain, dispelling the evil and ushering in the auspice. Among numerous patterns of Chinese paper-cut, each one symbolizes certain conventionalized meanings, i.e. pomegranate symbolizes multiplied offspring while dragon and phoenix signifies love. Usually, Chinese paper-cut artists create paper-cut works off the cuff and the themes of paper-cut art pieces relate to a wide range of scope including folk belief, myths, historical stories, daily labor activities, universe and nature. The bold and vivid sculpt in Chinese paper-cut sufficiently signifies the romantic thinking and wild imagination of Chinese people. Due to the vast territory and great difference of folk customs in the northern and southern regions of China, there are diversified styles in Chinese paper-cut. Comparatively speaking, the paper-cut art pieces in North China are characterized with bold and crude artistic styles while those in South China are fine and delicate.

China 2009

Talchum is a performing art that encompasses dance, music, and theatre. An ensemble of six to ten musicians accompanies masked performers who sing and dance and exchange verbal interactions through theatrical movements. The primary themes satirized by traditional mask dance dramas include the hypocrisy of Buddhist monks, the arrogance of the yangban nobility, and people's suffering under the male-dominated patriarchal system. Diverse social issues are humorously explored through dramatic combinations of songs, dances, movements, and words. Masks with exaggerated archetypical representations of everyday personages are an indispensable element in the presentation of talchum. A Korean mask dance drama does not require a formal stage: Any empty space can become a venue for talchum. The audience for a masked-dance drama are not passive spectators, but important participants. They complete the production with their cheers and jeers as the drama unfolds. Talchum is a dynamic theatrical flow of action and sound created through the combined efforts of both the players and spectators. This flexibility provided to talchum by the audience's active participation and its thematic orientation toward social criticism gave birth to the unique phenomenon of large-scale transmission of talchum among young people, particularly university students, during the 1970-80s. This generation continues to play a critical role in the transmission of talchum. In talchum, physical and emotional conflict among the characters always ends in a dance of reconciliation. While criticizing that which needs to be criticized, talchum always aims toward a greater unity.

South Korea 2022

National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea Badi is part of a loom that weaves hemp cloth. Badijang refers to a skill of making badi, or to an artisan with such a skill. A threaded spindle found at a site dating from the Neolithic Period tells us that fabric weaving started as early as that period. Badi is made of bamboo bark. Three to four-year old bamboo is appropriate for making badi due to its solidness and thickness. The types of badi vary, depending on whether the cloth to be woven is hemp cloth, silk fabric, ramie cloth or cotton fabric. Badi made in Andong and Hansan are known for their good quality. Hansan ramie cloth is known all over the world. Badi production has been in decline amid the development of synthetic fibers, but the tradition is stil maintained in Hansan.

Kulapheach is a daily used item such as pots, clay pots, made of baked clay. Archaeological excavations in Cambodia have uncovered many Kulapheach kilns and Kulapheach at some archeological sites such as Angkor Mean Tani kiln, Anlong Thom kiln, Torb Chey kiln, Sorsey kiln, Bangkong kiln. In Phnom Penh, there is Choeung Ek station. According to the research evidence, the oldest Pheach is found at La Ang Spean (the cave bridge) station dating to 4,000 BC. Today, despite modern technology for the production of consumer goods, traditional Kulapheach production is still available in some provinces, such as Kampong Chhnang (Andong Russey village), Kandal province (Russey Chuk village, Kaom village or Chroy Metre), Kampot province, Takeo, Prey Veng and Kampong Speu province. There are three main stages in the production of traditional Kulapheach: preparation of soil and firing; Clay soil used for Kulapheach production is from silt, or soil from a hill. First, they dry the soil and finely grind and sift only the mines. Then mix the soil with water so that it can be used to make a Pheach. There are five stages in molding Pheach and those are Pen, Reas, Bamporng, Berk, and Veay Bat. ‘Pen’ is the process of kneading the wet soil then piling it up and continuing kneading on a flat board until it has no air left in the soil. Sprinkling dried clay soil to make the kneaded soil not sticky. Next, knead the clay into long rounded pieces and continue to knead each one to form a desired shape. The second step is called ‘Reas’ or to shine which means taking the kneaded soil in Pheach shape to shine and smooth with a tool made of palm branch called ‘Tro Naes’ some called ‘Lakor’ by placing one hand claps around the Pheach and the other hand holds the inside. This method is to make the Pheach melt together, no longer see the link and no air on the surface. After that, the Pheach is ready to make a neck and mouth. The Pheach makers use their two fingers, pushing from the outside and holding the thumb from the inside, pulling it one and a half around round. In order to make the neck and mouth of the pot look more beautiful, they can use "Chea leaf” or some areas called" Chroy leaf "or" Guava leaf ", to drag the neck and mouth around. The third stage is called ‘Bamporng or inflated’ people use a tool called “Tro Naes” and “Khleong” to inflat the Pheach by hitting it gently until it gets bigger and more rounded except the edge of the Pheach mouth, the neck remains the same size. The fourth stage is called "Bourk or Opening", that is, people use “Cher Bet ka eng” if the or called "Cher Dek Khnot") drag on the shape of the Pheach to get it pleated then use a tattoo stick to draw various decoration. The final step is to ‘close the bottom.’ To center the bottom of Pheach, hold it from the inside and use Tro Naes ot hit gently from the outside around the bottom of the Pheach until the bottom stick together. To make Pheach smoother, a damp cloth is used to wipe it, except where there are pleaded spots or decorations. After the Pheach is ready, it is dried (in the shade) so that the pot hardens and it does not explode or crack during cooking. After drying, the Pheach will be baked and there are two ways to bake it: "bake on the field" and " bake in the kiln". The Pheach used to bake in the kiln are usually small Pheach, while the Pheach baked in the open air are usually large pots such as pots, pans, stoves and so on. To bake in the kiln, you need to sort the Pheach in order and it takes only half a day to bake, because the oven is closed, the heat is good, making the Pheach perfectly hard. For baking on the field, first, use firewood to lay the ground. Then arrange the Pheach on top of the firewood, cover the Pheach with straw and sprinkle a little water on the straw to make the fire last longer. In order for the fire to burn around them, small pieces of wood and straw were added between the Pheach. When baking Pheach, keep the fire burning by adding firewood and straw until the Pheach is completely baked. Baking in the open air takes a whole day. However, whether baking in the kiln or on the field, people don’t remove the Pheach immediately after it is done, they let it cool first. Nowadays, the traditional Pheach production in some areas is facing actual loss, as in the village of Kam, there are only a few families who still make Kulapheach, compared to before, when almost all the villagers earn a living through it. Nowadays, the subject of Kulapheach making is also included in the curriculum of the School of Fine Arts.

National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea Fibers from the stalks of the Cannabis sativa plant are woven into hemp fabric. Hemp fabric is quick to absorb sweat and dries easily. It is permeable, good for shedding body heat, and durable. For these qualities, Koreans have woven hemp fabric for clothing since at least the Three Han period. The Andong area, where the recognized holder group for this element is based, has long been famous for hemp weaving. Hemp fabric was one of the area's local specialties paid as tribute to the royal court during the Joseon Dynasty. * As hemp fabric weaving is a craft that has been practiced and transmitted through collective effort, only a holder group has been recognized for this element.

National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea Byeolsingut refers to a ritual held to pray to the village guardian for the peace of the village and good crop every three or five or ten years. In Hahoe Village in Andong, the villagers have performed this ritual for about 500 years, once (December 15) every 10 years or on special occasions. The rite is composed of eight acts, i.e. Gaksiui Mudong Madang (Boy Dancer Act), Juji Madang (Head Monk Act), Baekjeong Madang (Butcher Act), Halmi Madang (Old Woman Act), Pagyeseung Madang (Depraved Monk Act), Yangban Seonbi Madang (Act of Nobleman and Scholar), Hollye Madang (Wedding) Act, and Sinbang Madang (The First Night Act). The play includes ridicule of depraved monks, satires about nobles, and other humorous content. It is believed that the mask for a newly-wed woman symbolizes the village guardian. Thus, the mask is shown to people only during Byeolsingut. A total of eleven masks in ten types made of alder wood are used for the play. The original masks were designated as National Treasure No. 121 in 1964. The play is performed to the accompaniment of pungmulkkun (a farmer’s music band composed of kkwaenggwari (small gong), taepyeongso (conical wooden oboe), sogo (small drums), buk (drums), janggo (hourglass-shaped drum), and jing (large gong). This play performed in Hahoe ends without the post-event rite of burning the masks used as in mask play events that are held elsewhere. It is regarded as a valuable source of material in relation to how mask plays were performed in the country.

National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea As a folk play performed in Andong around the full moon period of January 15 on the lunar calendar, it is said to have stemmed from the battles between Gyeon Hwon of Later Baekje and King Taejo (Wang Geon) of Goryeo. Villagers select good trees to be used for the play in nearby mountains toward the end of the preceding year, hold a sacrificial rite for mountain deities, fell them, and carry them to the village. Since the thickness and solidity of the trees are decisive factors of the battle, they work on the trees under tight security to prevent opponents from getting information on the trees. The village is divided into two sides according to their place of birth. On the event day, farmers’ music is played to arouse people’s interest. People stand on their side of the battle and try to discourage the other side by raising the wooden structure they made. The leaders of the two sides stand at the top of the raised structure set up against that of the opponent team. They balance their body by holding the string tied to the top of the structure and give commands to their team. The team that makes the opponent’s wooden structure fall to the ground wins the battle. The beauty of the play lies in the spirit of fair play. If any participant in the play is in danger, both sides immediately back off and get him out of danger before engaging in the battle again. As a mock battle among males, Andong Chajeon Nori displays the martial spirit kept by the people in Andong. It is also a rite of praying for a good year for crops. The winning side will reportedly enjoy better harvest in the year.