LCSD announces updated Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory and Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hong Kong
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department today (December 6) announced that four Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) items, namely Lantern Lighting Ritual, Tai Po Night Dragon Boat Parade, Yu Lan Festival, and Guangcai (Canton Famille Rose Porcelain) Making Technique, will be included onto the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Representative List) of Hong Kong, raising the total number of items on the list to 24. Meanwhile, 34 new items will be integrated into the relevant main items and sub-items in the first Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory (ICH Inventory), increasing the total number of items from 480 to 507.
Article 12 of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the ICH of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization stipulates that "to ensure identification with a view to safeguarding, each State Party shall draw up, in a manner geared to its own situation, one or more inventories of the intangible cultural heritage present in its territory. These inventories shall be regularly updated." The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) collected public views from August to September this year about the proposed items for inclusion in the two lists. After considering all views received, the ICH Advisory Committee deliberated and reorganised the proposed list. The updated lists were accepted by the Government of the HKSAR and are being promulgated.
The additional items for inclusion in the ICH Inventory include Wai Tau Song; Che Kung (General Che) Festival of Ho Chung, Sai Kung; Tin Tei (Heaven and Earth) Fu Mo (Father and Mother) Festival/Tin Kung (Heaven) Festival/Tin Kung Yuk Wong Tai Tai (Jade Emperor) Festival/Yuk Wong Festival; Lantern Lighting Ritual of Lin Fa Tei Village, Pat Heung; Lantern Lighting Ritual of Shek Kwu Lung Village, Sha Tin; Autumn Ancestral Worship of the Chan Clan in Ma Wan; Cheung Chau Yu Lan Festival; Sham Tseng Chiu Kiu Kaifong Yu Lan Festival; Jiao Festival of the Six Villages in Wang Chau, Ping Shan; Jiao Festival of Tsat Yeuk, Nga Tsin Wai; Jiao Festival of Sheung Shui Heung; Jiao Festival of Lin Fa Tei Village, Pat Heung; Jiao Festival of Shek O Village, Tai Long Wan Village and Hok Tsui Village; On Lung Jiao Festival of Ko Lau Wan Village; Jiao Festival of Lam Tsuen, Tai Po; Traditional Custom of Exhumation (Exhumation of "Gold" (Remains)/Exhumation of Remains/Relocation of Remains); Worship of the Ma Wan Rural Committee at the Free Cemetery; Spring Worship of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Chamber of Commerce at the Free Cemeteries around Ching Ming Festival; Winter Worship of the Cheung Chau Chiu Chow Association; Kwun Yum (Goddess of Mercy) Treasury Opening Festival; Abacus Calculation Technique; Pork Knuckles with Ginger and Vinegar Prepared for Postpartum Confinement; Kam Wo Tea/Hop Chai Tea; Soybean Product Making Technique; Traditional Shrimp Roe Noodle Making Technique; Patterned Band Weaving Technique (Everyday Objects); Cage Trap Fishing Technique; Rice Cookie Making Technique; Rice Cracker Making Technique; the Art of Chiu Chow Kung Fu Tea; Chinese Brush Making Technique; Neon Tube Making and Styling Technique; Traditional Stone Inscription Carving Technique; and Chiu Chow Food Making Technique.
The Representative List provides the Government with a basis for prioritising its resources and safeguarding measures for ICH items, especially those of high cultural value and with an urgent need for preservation. The four new items inscribed on the Representative List have been included in the ICH Inventory of Hong Kong. Among them, three items are under the category of "social practices, rituals and festive events". Lantern Lighting Ritual is an important tradition of a lineage, which is performed during the first lunar month to inform ancestors, deities and family members about the newborn sons in the family. The newborn sons are also officially recognised as new members of the lineage. The ceremony demonstrates the traditional culture of Hong Kong's lineages and villages. Tai Po Night Dragon Boat Parade also serves to solidify the connections within communities. At Dragon Boat Festival, dragon boat races are held in various districts in Hong Kong. Dragon boat water parades are held in traditional fishing areas, such as Tai O, Tai Po and Cheung Chau. The Tai Po Yuen Chau Tsai Shek clan and members of the Wing Chuen Tong of the Chung's of Tai Po hold the night dragon boat parade on the evening of the fourth day and the morning of the fifth day of the fifth lunar month during the Dragon Boat Festival every year. Being held off the shore of Sam Mun Tsai, Tai Po, the parades are carried out to pray for the blessings of the deities and safety of the community on land and at sea.
Yu Lan Festival is an important festive event in various districts and among different ethnic groups in Hong Kong. Rituals are held by religious and community organisations, in which ritual specialists are commissioned to perform Buddhist or Taoist rites. These include paying homage to ancestors, pacifying wandering ghosts with clothing and food, as well as showing gratitude to the deities. Yu Lan Festival is maintained by various communities in different districts in Hong Kong. These are mainly organised as Chiu Chow Tradition, Hoi Luk Fung/Hoklo Tradition, Boat People's Tradition, and Punti Tradition. Apart from being a religious ritual to pray for wishes and purify the community, it also serves to connect different groups of people.
Guangcai Making Technique is under the category of "traditional craftsmanship". Guangcai is the shortened form of "Guangzhou painted porcelain" or "Canton Famille Rose Porcelain". It is a technique of overglaze decoration that involves painting patterns on white porcelain before firing at a low temperature, with the history dating back to the early Qing dynasty. During the 1920s, Guangcai was transmitted from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. Apart from conserving the traditional hand-painting technique and the style of painting auspicious patterns, the techniques of stamping patterns and applying decals were also adopted. Local painting techniques and special patterns were also added to create a fusion style with both Chinese and Western characteristics. As a result, Guangcai produced in Hong Kong (Xianggang in pinyin) is also known as Gangcai (Hong Kong painted porcelain).
For details of the new items included on the two lists, please refer to Annex I and II.
The updated ICH Inventory and Representative List are now available on the website of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office for public inspection.
