Topic:

Protecting the Intangible Cultural Heritages

Like tangible cultural heritages such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, intangible cultural heritages like Peking Opera and Confucius-commemorating rituals are equally crucial. We should make our utmost efforts to preserve intangible heritages because, without their physical form of existence, they are in greater risk of extinction.

According to UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003), all forms of social customs and habits, folklore, performing arts, rituals, oral traditions, festivals, traditional crafts and various knowledge and practices about nature and universe can be classified as intangible cultural heritages. As a country consisting of a great diversity of ethnic groups and with time-honored history and civilization, China abounds in intangible cultural heritages. Cultural heritages connect modern people with the historical past, allowing them to acquire a cultural and historical identity. Without cultural heritages, we would be rendered absolutely rootless and we would find it hard to cope with challenges at present and in the future.

However, the modernization process poses mounting threats to intangible heritages. Many people have a blind faith in the latest electronic devices. It is also pathetic to see elderly people in possession of such legacies pass away without transmitting them to the younger generation. Faced with those challenges, we should both preserve and renovate our ancestral heritages so that we can help contribute to the cultural diversity of the world and return to our spiritual homeland in this age of impersonal science and technology.

题目:

保护非物质文化遗产

        如同长城、故宫之类的物质文化遗产一样，像京剧和祭孔仪式这类非物质文化遗产，也同样至关重要。我们应不遗余力地去保护非物质遗产，因为它们在不具备物质存在的条件下，失传的可能性更加岌岌可危。

        按照联合国教科文组织2003年通过的《保护非物质文化遗产公约》的界定，各种社会习俗、民俗、表演艺术、仪式、口头传统、节庆、传统手工艺、以及有关自然界与宇宙的知识与实践，全都可被纳入到非物质文化遗产的范畴。作为一个由众多族群构成的国家，并拥有悠久的历史与文明，中国有着极为丰富的非物质文化遗产。文化遗产将现代人与遥远的历史连接起来，使人们拥有某种文化和历史的认同感。如果没有文化遗产，我们的“根”便荡然无存。我们也无法去应对当下及未来的挑战。

        然则，现代化进程正在对非物质文化遗产构成日甚一日的威胁。许多人盲目崇拜最新的电子产品。另外，看着掌握非物质遗产的老者不断逝去，而无法将其留传给年轻的一代，实在令人痛心。面对这些挑战，我们对祖辈的遗产既要继承，又要创新，这样，我们才能促进世界的文化多样性，并在一个缺少人情味的科学与技术的时代，重返我们的精神家园。