Preservation and Development of Ethnic Minority Cultures in China

　　Li Jianhui （China）

　　I. Basic Information about Ethnic Minorities in China

　　Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, 56 ethnic groups have been identified and confirmed by the Central Government. Among them, the Han ethnic group has the largest population, while the other 55 ethnic groups, with smaller populations, are customarily called “ethnic minorities”. According to data from the sixth nationwide population census conducted in 2010, the ethnic minority groups had 114 million people, making up 8.49% of the national total. Of them, four ethnic minority groups have more than 10 million people: the Zhuang, the Hui, the Man and the Uyghur. Previously, only two ethnic minority groups had populations above 10 million.

　　Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, according to the actual situations of ethnic issues, China has adopted regional autonomy for ethnic minorities as a basic policy and a basic political system addressing ethnic issues. Regional autonomy for ethnic minorities means that, under the unified leadership of the state, regional autonomy is practiced in areas where people of ethnic minorities live in concentrated communities; in these areas organs of self-government are established for the exercise of autonomy. Regional autonomy for ethnic minorities has guaranteed the rights of ethnic minorities in terms of politics, economy, culture, education and other areas, and the ethnic relationships characterized by equality, unity, mutual assistance and harmony between ethnic groups have been increasingly consolidated. The minority autonomous areas have made splendid achievements in all respects.

　　II. Overview of Ethnic Minority Cultures in China

　　The ethnic minorities in China boast of rich and colorful cultural resources. Among the 55 ethnic minorities in our country, except for the Hui and the Man where the Han spoken and written language is commonly used, more than 100 languages are used in 53 ethnic minorities, and 28 written languages are used by 22 ethnic minorities.

　　The main religious beliefs of ethnic minorities include Tibetan Buddhism, Hinayana, Taoism, Islamism, Shamanism, Bimo and Dongbaism. Religious beliefs have had important and profound impacts on the living habits, morality and customs of ethnic minority societies. With their own wisdoms and talents, the generations of ethnic people have created a multitude of myths, legends, heroic epics, narrative poems, folktales, folk songs, novels, poems, dramas and other literary works. The three major heroic epics of ethnic minorities- Gesar, Jangar and Manas- are comparable to Homeric Hymns. The ethnic minorities have rich traditional operas, and 20 of them have their own opera dramas. The ethnic minorities enjoy very rich music forms, including ethnic and folk music, religious music, opera music, dance music and folk art music. The dances of the ethnic minorities have distinctive characteristics, and nearly every ethnic group has its unique dance vocabulary. The paintings, costumes, diet and architecture of the ethnic minorities all have distinct characteristics. In a word, the colorful ethnic minority culture is a dazzling pearl in the treasure house of the Chinese culture, and the ethnic minorities have made tremendous contributions to enrich the Chinese civilization and the human civilization. 

　　III. Measures and Achievements of the Chinese Government in the Protection and Development of Ethnic Minority Cultures

　　In the 65 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Government has all along attached significant importance to the protection and development of the traditional cultures of the ethnic minorities. In particular, like most of other countries in the world, China is also facing such major problems as the acceleration of the loss of traditional ethnic minority cultural resources, and the lack of successors for traditional skills and folk arts under the background of global economic integration. In order to solve this worldwide problem, the Chinese Government has invested a great deal of manpower, financial and material resources and has attained remarkable achievements and accumulated valuable experience.

　　A. China has established a set of institutional and policy systems favorable for the protection and development of ethnic minority cultures.

　　China’s Constitution, the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy, the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics and the Several Provisions of the State Council on Implementing the Law of People’s Republic of China on Regional Ethnic Autonomy all contain explicit provisions on the inheritance, protection and development of the traditional cultures of ethnic minorities and helping ethnic areas to speed up economic and cultural development. Upon entering the 21st Century, the Chinese Government has promulgated a group of important regulations and documents such as the Cultural Development Plan during the National “11th Five-year Plan” Period, the Cultural Reform and Development Plan during the National “12th Five-year Plan” Period, the 11th Five-year Plan for Development of Undertakings Related to Ethnic Minority Groups, the 12th Five-year Plan for Development of Undertakings Related to Ethnic Minority Groups and the Several Opinions of the State Council on Further Boosting Ethnic Cultural Undertakings. These regulations and policies have intensified the support for the development of undertakings related to ethnic minority cultures by covering areas such as spoken and written languages of ethnic minorities, education, radio, film and television, news and publication and cultural relics protection.

　　B. The vigorous support from state financial authority has accelerated the development of undertakings related to ethnic minority cultures.

　　Upon entering the 21st Century, except for the establishment of the ethnic minority development fund, the Chinese Government has spent more money in ethnic areas in the construction of libraries and museums, the protection of key cultural relics and historic sites, the protection of intangible cultural heritages, news, publication, radio, film and television using spoken and written languages of ethnic minorities, literary and artistic creation of ethnic minorities, and the training of various cultural talents in ethnic minorities. Recently, the state has also established publishing bases of ethnic languages in Beijing, Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Yunnan and Yanbian to provide key support for the publishing cause in ethnic minority languages; besides, the state will also establish a special “financial aid for the development of ethnic cultural undertakings” by integrating several special funds to support the development of cultural undertakings in ethnic areas.

　　C. Paying attention to the protection of ethnic minority cultures and building a common spiritual homeland.

　　1. Impressive achievements in the protection of cultural relics and historic sites of ethnic minorities.

　　The state began to implement major cultural relics protection projects from the 10th Five-year Plan period and a large part of them were ethnic minority cultural relics protection projects. Cultural relics and historic sites have been effectively preserved in the Tibet Autonomous Region, which has issued the Notice of the Tibet Autonomous Region People’s Government on Strengthening the Protection of Cultural Relics, and Regulations of the Tibet Autonomous Region on the Protection of Cultural Relics, and some other laws and regulations to ensure that cultural relics are protected in accordance with the law and due procedures. Currently, Tibet has 4,277 cultural relics sites (including 55 state-level ones and 210 regional ones), and 2.32 million items of cultural relics are in their collection. The Potala Palace, the Norbulingka and Jokhang Temple are on the World Heritage List. Lhasa, Shigatse and Gyangtse are honored as State-level Historical and Cultural Cities. Tibet Museum is a state-level museum. Since 2000 the Central Government has invested 2.04 billion yuan in key projects for the preservation and maintenance of cultural relics in Tibet, among which more than 380 million yuan has been used in the three key projects of the Potala Palace, Norbulingka and Sakya Monastery.The project began on June 26 2002 and was completed in August 2009. It is a project with the most investment, the largest scale, the highest technological content and the most rigorous technical requirement in Tibet’s cultural relics protection history. During the 12th Five-year Plan, the Chinese Government will spend RMB 1.7 billion in the protection of cultural relics in Tibet.

　　2. The intangible cultural heritages of ethnic minorities have received timely rescue and protection

　　Since the founding of New China more than 60 years ago, the protection of intangible heritages of ethnic minorities have all long been highly valued by the Chinese Government and local governments at various levels. In 2003, in particular, the Chinese Government initiated the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Project which has offered timely rescue and protection for many dying intangible cultural heritages of ethnic minorities and effectively maintained the diversity of the Chinese culture. From 2002 to 2009, the national financial authority spent an accumulative total of RMB 386 million in intangible cultural heritage protection, and about one fourth of the funds were used to protect intangible cultural heritages in ethnic minority areas. In 2011, the national financial authority spent RMB 415 million in intangible cultural heritage protection, a 400-fold rise over nine years ago.

　　Annals of Chinese Folk and Ethnic Culture and Arts Collections (《中国民族民间文艺集成志书》) is a monumental work comprehensively reflecting the 10 areas of different regions and different ethnic groups in our country such as traditional operas, music, dance, folk literature and folk arts. With its compilation and publication taking 30 years, the Collections are called “the Great Wall of China’s folk literature and art”.

　　Summary of Catalogue of Ancient Books of Chinese Ethnic Minorities (《中国少数民族古籍总目提要》) is the first set of books on the title catalogues of ancient books of Chinese ethnic minorities. Composed of 66 volumes and nearly 100 books, it is a collection accomplished in a flourishing age which includes the titles of all ancient books, documents and oral works of various ethnic minorities in China.

　　Great achievements have been made in the gathering, compilation, translation, publishing and study of the three major heroic epics of ethnic minorities: Gesar, Jangar and Manas. Currently, more than 100 volumes of Gesar have been put into official publication in Tibetan language, and the total impression has reached 4 million. Calculated according to the total population of the Tibetan, each adult Tibetan now owns a copy of Gesar. 10 versions of the Mongolian epic Jangar have been successively published. Manas of the Kirgiz sung in Kirgiz has been published in 18 books of 8 volumes. China now has formed a dedicated team composed of cultural workers, experts and scholars from various ethnic groups and its research findings have drawn great attention in the international academic circle.

　　Traditional ethnic minority operas have enjoyed good protection and development. Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, there were about six traditional ethnic minority operas: the Tibetan Opera, the Bai Opera, the Dai Opera, the Dong Opera, the Buyi Opera and the Zhuang Opera. These operas largely ran their own courses and could not receive any support. When New China was founded, under the vigorous support of the government, traditional ethnic minority operas have entered a favorable stage characterized by diversified opera types, rich repertoires and wealth of talents.

　　By 2010, 28 Chinese items have been proclaimed by UNESCO as Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and 10 of them are items of ethnic minorities.

　　By 2011, among the three batches of 1219 National Intangible Cultural Heritage items, 425 or 34.9% are items of ethnic minorities. Among the three batches of 1488 representative successors of National Intangible Cultural Heritage items, 393 or 26% are ethnic minority successors. From 2008 on, each of them has enjoyed RMB 8000 of inheritance aid each year from the national financial authority. Currently, 15 cultural ecological protection experimental areas have been established in China, 6 of which have been built in ethnic areas.

　　The Regional People’s Government and local prefectural (city) governments have setup special organizations to salvage, collate and study the Tibetan cultural heritage, making ageneral survey of the cultural and artistic heritage of the Tibetan group. These organizationshave edited and published Chronicles of Chinese Dramas: Tibet; Collection of Folk Dances:Tibet; Collection of National Instrumental Folk Music: Tibet, and seven other collections,including over 10,000 pieces of folk music, songs and other art forms and over 30 millioncharacters of literary data. Currently, Tibet has nearly 800 intangible cultural heritageprojects, over 80 performance troupes of traditional dramas and 1,177 inheritors of suchintangible cultural heritage. Tibetan opera and the Gesar epic have been included in UNESCO’sMasterpiece of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Tibetan Thangka, Tibetan papermakingtechnique and 73other cultural items have been included in China’s Masterpiece of theIntangible Heritage, and 68 inheritors of such cultural items have been affirmed asrepresentative inheritors of China’s Intangible Heritage projects;323 projects and 227inheritors have been put on the Tibet Regional List of Intangible Heritage; and 158 books havebeen put on the State List of Valuable Ancient Books. The Ministry of Culture and TibetAutonomous Region have named five places as national homes of folk art,19 as regional homesof folk art, and two as homes of special art.

　　3. Ethnic minority languages have been well protected when in use.

　　Ethnic minority languages have been widely applied in bilingual teaching, administration, legislation and justice, press and publishing, literature and arts, radio, film and television and informatization, and ethnic minority people’s right to use and develop their own spoken and written languages have been protected. The National People’s Congress, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and their party congresses all provide ethnic minority delegates with translated documents and simultaneous interpretations in the languages of seven ethnic minorities of the Mongolian, the Tibetan, the Uyghur, the Kazak, the Korean, the Yi and the Zhuang, and Chinese characters and the characters of the seven ethnic groups are simultaneously used in tickets for elections and votes. The people’s congresses and political consultative conferences of relevant provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions and prefectures (leagues), banners (counties) also provide delegates and members with translated versions and simultaneous interpretation in relevant local ethnic minorities. China National Radio and local radios broadcast in 21 ethnic minority languages every day. During the 11th Five-year Plan period, the Chinese Government invested a total of RMB 11.04 billion to purchase equipment for ethnic areas which are used to dub radio and television programs in more than 20 ethnic minority languages. The state broadcasts 43 radio programs and 48 television programs in ethnic minority languages through the direct broadcast satellite platform so that ethnic minority people may hear or watch radio and television programs of their own languages. China has established 10 dubbing centers for films and television programs in ethnic minority languages in 10 provinces (autonomous regions).

　　The Tibet Autonomous Region enacted the SeveralProvisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region on the Study, Use and Development of the TibetanLanguage (For Trial Implementation), Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Provisions,and the formal version, finally making this work solidly law-based.Tibetan is widely used in political life. Resolutions, laws and regulations adopted at people’scongresses at all levels, and formal documents and declarations published by people’sgovernments at different levels and their subsidiary departments in Tibet are written in bothTibetan and Chinese.There are 14Tibetan-language magazines and ten Tibetan-language newspapers in Tibet. Tibet People’sRadio has 42 programs and columns in Tibetan (including Khampa); its Tibetan-language newschannel broadcasts 21 hours a day, and its Khampa channel broadcasts 18 hours a day. TibetTV Station has a Tibetan-language channel broadcasting 24 hours a day. In 2012 some 780titles of books in the Tibetan language were published in the Tibet Autonomous Region, with atotal of 4.31 million copies.

　　IV. Carrying out cultural activities in diverse forms, inheriting and carrying forward traditional ethnic minority cultures.

　　Organizing cultural activities is an important carrier which may inherit and carry forward traditional ethnic minority cultures. Large-scale cultural activities sponsored by relevant ministries of the Chinese Government mainly include: the National Ethnic Minority Theatrical Festival (once every five years), National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities (once every four years), National Literature Award for Ethnic Minorities (once every three years), the National Ethnic Minority Folk Arts Festival, and China Ethnic Minority Drama Festival. The local governments will organize various celebrations each year, such as the Nanning International Folk Song Arts Festival held in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the China Xinjiang International Folk Dance Festival held in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the Zhaojun Culture Festival held in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. These cultural activities are of very important significance in showcasing the unique charms of ethnic minority cultures, strengthening the cultural exchanges between various ethnic groups and vigorously carrying forward traditional ethnic minority cultures.

　　（Li Jianhui, Inspector, Department of Culture and Publicity of SEAC）