As the living part of cultural heritage, intangible cultural heritage condenses, preserves and transmits the historical memory of a nation. Hainan's intangible cultural heritage resources are highly characteristic of the island, but also present the characteristics of the land and sea interface and multiple symbiosis, and have extremely rich cultural connotations. There are many heritage cultures in Hainan, and today we will take you through a few of them that are very characteristic of Hainan.

Traditional Spinning, Dyeing, Weaving and Embroidery Techniques of the Li People in Hainan

Copyright: Hainan Mass Art Museum

Li traditional spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidery techniques are traditional handicrafts used by Li women to make clothes and other daily necessities from natural fibers such as cotton and hemp. In their long practice of understanding and using plant fibers and dyes, Li women have formed a complete technical system consisting of four major types of crafts: spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidery, and presenting exquisite skills and ethnic characteristics in tie-dyeing, double-sided embroidery and single-sided jacquard.

Li girls begin to learn weaving at the age of thirteen under the guidance of their elders, and the exquisite weaving techniques have thus been passed down from generation to generation. The free imagination of the Li women creates the artistic patterns of Li brocade weaving and embroidery. There are more than 120 kinds of patterns on Li brocade, such as water waves, vine stripes, rainbow patterns, as well as the more common sun, moon, stars, dragons, phoenixes, snakes, and other animals, plants, and objects of nature. These patterns are formed through artistic abstraction according to the natural images of the living environment and geographical conditions of the Li people.

Copyright: Hainan Mass Art Museum

The traditional spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidery techniques are passed down orally from generation to generation among the Li women. In 2009, the traditional spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidery techniques of the Li people were inscribed on the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage as a list of intangible cultural heritage in urgent need of safeguarding.

Coconut carving

Coconut carving is the coconut shell, coconut palm, coconut wood as raw materials, carved by hand into a variety of practical products and modeling artwork, is one of the specialties of Hainan Island. Coconut carving handicraft style is novel, simple, elegant picture, light texture, ornamental and practical in one, with a strong Hainan style. On June 7, 2008, coconut carving was approved by the State Council to be included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list; in 2014, it was successfully selected for the world "Outstanding Handicraft Badge Certification".

The emergence and development of coconut carving craft in Hainan, is derived from the coconut countryside of the people of the coconut practicality and aesthetics of the continuous transcendence and exploration, exquisite coconut carving works reflect the extraordinary imagination and artistic creation of the people of Hainan. After generations of coconut carving artisans carefully managed, Hainan coconut carving skills to perfection, on the basis of practicality into the ornamental, and finally make coconut carving become a unique national style and local characteristics of crafts.

Hainan Opera

Hainan Opera, the most representative local drama genre in Hainan Province, is sung in Hainan dialect. It originated in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties in the area of today's Haikou. In many towns and villages in Hainan, the troupe is invited to the village to sing Hainan Opera during traditional folk festivals such as public holidays and military festivals, as well as on festive days such as students' successes, elderly people's birthday, and overseas Chinese returning to their hometowns.

In June 2008, the State Council of the People's Republic of China approved the inclusion of Hainan Opera in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. Hainan Opera, not only is a treasure house of theatrical art, containing the historical memories and realistic thinking of the people of Hainan, but also the performance and release of the spirit and mind of Hainan people in production and life practice, is the most typical symbol and the most concentrated expression of Hainan culture.

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Source(s): Baidu Encyclopedia