Highlights: Session I of "Quality Lecture Series on Artistic Aesthetics and Cultivation of ICH Inheritors" of Tsinghua BMW Innovation Center for ICH Safeguarding

The Tsinghua BMW Innovation Center for ICH Safeguarding, which is jointly established by the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. and Tsinghua (Qingdao) Academy of Arts and Science Innovation Research, will be based on the intangible cultural heritages (ICHs) and their inheritors selected from the "BMW China Culture Journey" visit in 2022, and form a project team composed of experts and supervisors from Tsinghua University and ICH inheritors for five ICH projects in Yunnan Province, namely the black copper silver art, Heqing silverware, Jianshui purple pottery, Bai tie-dye, and Yi embroidery, to explore innovative paths and extended models for ICH preservation, protection and development. 

The Innovation Base for ICH Safeguarding organized a series of quality lectures from December 18 to December 29, 2021, with the participation of the supervisors who take part in this year's collaborative projects and special guest lecturers who support the innovative development of ICH skills to discuss on improving the artistic aesthetics and cultivation of ICH inheritors. Highlights of the lecture series will be available for interested readers, who are here reminded to keep their attention in tune.

On December 18, 2021, WANG Jianzhong, professor and doctoral supervisor of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, and CHEN Hanwen, Ph.D. student of the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University and school-level assistant professor of Tsinghua University, gave a wonderful online lecture themed on Inheritance and Innovation.

WANG Jianzhong

Professor of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University

Doctoral Supervisor

CHEN Hanwen

Ph.D. student of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University

School-level assistant professor of Tsinghua University

Bronze chariot horse, bronze galloping horse, Changxin palace lantern, gold and silver incrustation, grape-flower-bird pattern silver scented satchel, mother-of-pearl inlay five-string Pipa, Jizhou kiln paper-cutting hollowed-out pattern, Wu Jing girder pot ... Professor WANG Jianzhong opened the exhibition by leading the audience to feel the cultural pulse of history beating, touching the ancient people's daily necessities and utensils through time and space, and revisiting the glory of Chinese traditional crafts.

Professor WANG Jianzhong emphasized that "Craft Classics" is a very good proposition and an issue that needs to be seriously pondered over nowadays and is related to how to push Chinese arts and crafts to new heights. When discussing the classics, it is necessary to review the classics that have been created by our ancestors throughout the history of Chinese craftsmanship. Professor WANG Jianzhong encouraged the audience to "have your own characteristics but follow the rules of our ancestors. Traditional culture should not only be inherited but also be created, which is the source of life in Chinese culture.

After the lecture, the ICH inheritors said they had learned a lot and were more committed to creating the craftmanship aesthetics suitable for the new era, on the basis of the deep learning of Chinese traditional culture. HUANG Qian, a county-level inheritor of Jianshui purple pottery, said that it is the mission and responsibility of the new generation of inheritors to integrate the design concept into modern life and make the design work quantifiable and popular. DING Dawei, a municipal-level inheritor of black copper silver art, believes that black copper silver art is not an accidental occurrence, but that its development trajectory is in line with the ups and downs of the Chinese civilization through the five thousand years of history.

Professor WANG Jianzhong concluded that we should not stick to the old ways but push the boundaries further and further to achieve the dynamic inheritance of ICHs. Integrating the historical veins into the design concept is a major way for ICH to move from the niche to the masses. He also expressed the hope that young people should "aspire for the stars and aim for the higher, farther and more beautiful" and become not only creators but also promoters of ICHs.

On December 19, 2021, LIU Ya, Assistant Professor of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, gave a wonderful online lecture themed on The Artistic Conception and Artistic Expression of Chinese Patterns.

LIU Ya

Assistant Professor of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University

Mr. LIU Ya first shared his process of creation and pursuit of beauty, and discussed the artistic conception, an intriguing, enduring and national artistic charm, of Chinese patterns from the origin, first exploration, exploration, thinking and teaching.

With a unique view on the beauty of Chinese patterns, Mr. LIU Ya believes that the beauty of Chinese patterns is not only a decorative beauty for visual enjoyment, but also a broad and lofty spiritual realm, a profound spiritual beauty and a spiritual beauty that resonates. The beauty of Chinese patterns is reflected in the coexistence of virtuality and reality, expressing the designer's thoughts, representing the author's artistic accomplishment, and conveying information to millions of people through patterns. Starting from ancient painted pottery, the creation of Chinese patterns does not only satisfy the enjoyment of beauty visually, but also evokes people's general feelings of life hidden in the depths of people's hearts from concrete to abstract, and from abstract to concrete.

The personal works presented by Mr. LIU Ya are extremely beautiful. In the pattern design, all the combination of elements, the matching of colors and the control of rhythm interpret a hazy artistic conception. The inheritors uniformly agree that the expression of artistic conception in Mr. LIU Ya's works provides a good idea for the creation of intangible cultural heritage works. Different artistic conceptions can create more possibilities for the viewers, which is profound and thought-provoking. This is the way we need to go for intangible cultural heritage inheritance.

2022 Cooperation Project of Tsinghua BMW Innovation Center for ICH Safeguarding

Project Leader Team of Tsinghua (Qingdao) Academy of Arts and Science Innovation Research

Chief Project Consultant | LU Xiaobo

Chief Project Manager | ZHAO Chao

Chief Project Planner | WANG Jiansong

Project Coordinator | LIU Weidong, WANG Qidi, LUO Xin

Project Cooperator | SONG Xinwei

Project Executor | CHEN Jie, FU Hang, ZHANG Yazheng

Promoter | YE Sheng, YANG Jingqiang, CUI Yawen, CHEN Siying