UNESCO and the politics of culture

[GeneChing]

Intriguing. Here's someone I'd love to interview someday...

Masters-degree Student Gave up High-paying Jobs for Shaolin Temple
Apr 21, 2014 04:35 AM EDT | Qi Qin



A master's degree student gave up high-paying job offers to work as public relations manager and press spokesman for the Shaolin Temple, reported Zhengzhou Evening News on Thursday.

Zhu Bingfan graduated from Sun Yat-Sen University, one of China's top universities, four years ago, and had received several enviable offers from large state-owned enterprises. However, he rejected the offers and decided to work for the Shaolin Temple even though he is not an ascetic.

Zhu was made in charge of the library of Shaolin Temple where he constantly receives important visitors. He has dealt with scandals involving the Shaolin Temple as well, all in the spirit of maintaining the Shaolin Temple brand.

"Even though there are no entertainments in the temple and I have to eat vegetarian diet with monks, my life is not that hard as monks. I can enter and leave the temple freely every day. I do not have to work from 9 to 5 and can often go down the hill. I talk with monks and know that many of them are highly educated," Zhu said.

At least 50 monks study abroad in the U.S., England, Singapore, and Japan. In recent years, more and more elite minds have been drawn to the Shaolin Temple because they said it cultivates and nurtures their talents.

Zhu was hired by Henan Shaolin Intangible Assets Management Co. Ltd, which protects Shaolin's intangible assets such as trademark and brand.

Four years ago, Zhu was writing a thesis about overseas dissemination of Shaolin Culture, and he applied for surveying at Shaolin three times.

Finally, Qian Daliang, the General Manager of the management company, accepted his application and invited him to work for the company saying Shaolin Temple needs a person like him.

Zhu never thought he would be working in his hometown, but he was attracted by the Shaolin Temple.

His tutor, Professor Gao Xiaokang, touched him by saying, "there are lots of state-owned enterprises, central enterprises, and foreign companies, but there is only one Shaolin Temple. It is unique."

He has been working at Shaolin Temple since he graduated in 2010.

[GeneChing]

In all my Shaolin Trips, I never went into the Observatory. I was near it but I never went in.

China's oldest observatory opens free to public
2017-05-03 07:10:20 GMT2017-05-03 15:10:20(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

ZHENGZHOU, May 3 (Xinhua) -- China's oldest observatory, in Dengfeng city, is now free to the public in a move to attract tourists at home and abroad, local authorities said Tuesday.
The new ticket policy for Dengfeng Observatory took effect April 29, the first day of the International Workers' Day holiday, according to Dengfeng tourism bureau, central China's Henan Province.
Previously, tickets cost 30 yuan (around 4 U.S. dollars) per person.
During the three-day holiday, the scenic spot received 12,230 tourists, more than 66-times greater than the previous year.
"The new policy aims to woo more young tourists especially students. They may be curious about the story of the oldest structure for astronomical observation in the country," said Wang Shaofeng, head of the bureau.
With a history of more than 700 years, Dengfeng Observatory was built by Guo Shoujing, a prestigious ancient Chinese astronomer.
Guo and others observed the regularity of the sun, moon and the stars, and calculated, correctly, that were 365.24 days in a year.
Dengfeng is also famous for its Shaolin Temple, home of Chinese Kung Fu and Zen Buddhism.
Kong Xiaohong, with general aviation operator Reignwood Star, said that the company provided a scenic helicopter tour linking the observatory with the Shaolin Temple
Using a helicopter, travel time can be cut to seven minutes from more than 40 minutes when driving. Each helicopter can carry five tourists who need to pay a total of 8,000 yuan for the trial service.
"Dengfeng will gradually open 12 free tourist attractions to the public in the near future. We aim to turn the city into an international tourist destination," Wang said.
The historical architecture complex in Dengfeng, including the observatory and Shaolin Temple, was added to the World Cultural Heritage List in 2010.

[GeneChing]

This is slightly OT for both our UNESCO and the politics of culture and our Chinese Bridges threads. But it fits there better than elsewhere.

China-funded bridge risks Unesco World Heritage status of San Agustin church, 3 others
Binondo-Intramuros construction to encroach on buffer zone of country’s oldest church, a violation of 1993 Unesco declaration
By: Edgar Allan M. Sembrano Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:07 AM November 19, 2018


San Agustin Church

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has warned that San Agustin Church and three other Baroque churches around the Philippines may be delisted from the prestigious World Heritage List as a result of the construction of the controversial Binondo-Intramuros Bridge across the Pasig River in Manila.

The bridge would encroach on the “buffer zone” required by the Unesco for San Augustin Church as a World Heritage Site, according to Unesco National Commission (Unacom).

Aside from San Agustin Church in Intramuros, the three other churches that may be removed from the Unesco list are San Agustin in Paoay, Ilocos Norte; Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria, Ilcoos Sur; and Santo Tomas de Villanueva in Miag-ao, Iloilo.

All of them were originally built by Augustinian friars and are called “Baroque Churches of the Philippines” and collectively declared as a “Unesco World Heritage Site” in 1993. If San Agustin Church is delisted, the three others will follow.

Unesco has expressed its concerns in a letter, which has been forwarded by the Unacom to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Len Barrientos, deputy executive director of Unacom, said .

Funded by the Chinese government, the construction is announced in giant billboards along the Pasig by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) even without consultation with stakeholders, especially the cultural sector, considering it would affect Intramuros and old walled city’s cultural treasures and historic landmarks.

Ironically no cultural agency and neither NCCA nor Intramuros Administration (IA), both agencies holding office in Intramuros, has formally notified DPWH that the bridge would affect the historical, cultural and engineering integrity of Intramuros and San Agustin Church, the oldest church in the Philippines.

In fact, only after the Order of St. Augustine (OSA) formally raised the concern in a letter did cultural agencies start taking notice.

Earlier, Fr. Peter Casino, OSA vicar for the Orient, sent a letter dated Oct. 30 to the ecclesiastical heads and city, municipal and provincial heads of the affected Unesco heritage churches, urging collective action on the matter.

NCCA, IA and other cultural agencies will join the OSA friars and local government unit (LGU) and ecclesiastical representatives in a meeting with the DPWH on Nov. 21.

‘Outstanding’

In its 1993 declaration, Unesco noted that the Spanish colonial religious edifices “are outstanding examples of the Philippine interpretation of the Baroque style, and represent the fusion of European church design and construction with local materials and decorative motifs to form a new church-building tradition.”

It is for that reason that if one is affected by “unwanted development” and faces possible delisting, all other churches will be dropped as well, said former Unacom commissioner Eric Zerrudo.


Miag-ao Church –PHOTOS BY EDGAR ALLANM. SEMBRANO

The controversial project will stretch from Binondo to Plaza Mexico in Intramuros near the Bureau of Immigration building.

Zerrudo said the bridge would affect the buffer zone of San Agustin Church, which includes the walls of Intramuros and immediate areas outside.

Conservation strategy

According to Unesco, the protection not only of the core zone but of the buffer zone is important since the surroundings of a World Heritage (WH) property are “essential component[s] of the conservation strategy.”

Zerrudo explained that the buffer zone should be protected since any negative effects of a major construction project would threaten the outstanding universal value (OUV) of a WH property. This will affect its status in general, he added.

“The bridge is more than just an encroachment,” he said. “It impacts negatively on the site’s OUV which includes the core and buffer zones.”

He pointed to Operation Guidelines 172 to 174 of the World Heritage Center (WHC), which states that any negative impact on a WH site should be reported immediately, so that the WHC could assess the situation and recommend remedies.

“The key there is that you go through a very long process of consultation, conferences, collaboration, compromises [with the WHC] and eventually you come up with the right solution still to uphold and maintain its OUV,” he said.

Zerrudo said there have been cases in which a compromise was agreed by the state party and WHC. Turkey reduced the size of a planned bridge whose original size would affect the “Historic Areas of Istanbul.” The modification, Zerrudo said, was made so that the OUV of the inscribed property would not be affected.—CONTRIBUTED

[GeneChing]

I'm posting this on the Silat thread even though it's a passing reference, and hijacking the Shang wu farms, Taoist health and longevity / Thai massage workshop thread because it's the only one that we have that mentions Thai Massage and the workshop that was trying to promote was nearly a decade and a half ago.

Also copying this to our UNESCO thread.

Unesco heritage: Traditional Thai massage added to 'cultural heritage' list
13 December 2019

GETTY IMAGES
The massages involve a lot of movement and typically see people assuming a series of different positions

The back-cracking traditional Thai massage has been added to a prestigious Unesco heritage list.

Nuad Thai is now part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which features traditions and practices passed across the generations.

By being part of the list, Thai massage has been recognised as something to be preserved for future generations.

Unesco is the United Nations' agency for education, culture, and science.

The intangible cultural heritage list is separate from the world heritage list, which recognises buildings and sites of prominence.

There are 550 items on the cultural heritage list - split into three categories - from 127 countries.

Items are added every year, with this year's committee meeting in Bogota, Colombia.

GETTY IMAGES
People in Moscow receiving a Thai massage

Unlike conventional massages, Thai massages involve a lot of movement and typically sees people assuming a series of different positions.

Therapists use not only their hands but sometimes their forearms and knees to apply pressure. There is also no oil involved in Nuad Thai massage.

According to Unesco, the practice has its "roots in self-care in Thai peasant society of the past, [where] every village had massage healers whom villagers would turn to when they had muscle aches from working the field".

Other practices added to this year's list include:

Irish harping

Celestinian forgiveness in Italy

The Carnival of Podence in Portugal

Silat self-defence in Malaysia

According to Unesco, the intangible culture heritage list seeks to recognise things that are "important to preserve for future generations... [like] songs sung and stories told".

It adds that these things "form part of a heritage and this requires active effort to safeguard it".

[GeneChing]

'Tears of happiness': Pencak silat communities celebrate UNESCO recognition
JESSICHA VALENTINA
THE JAKARTA POST
Jakarta / Sat, December 14, 2019 / 10:32 am


Pencak Silat Betawi warriors enliven the performance of 1,000 Warriors at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Jakarta on June 14, 2015. (Shutterstock/dani daniar)

Traditional Indonesian martial art pencak silat was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Bogota, Colombia, on Thursday local time.

The announcement made pencak silat communities shed tears of happiness, as they had been working toward such recognition since 2017, Pencak Silat Indonesia Community founding board member Wahdat MY said in a press conference in Jakarta on Friday.

Indonesian pencak silat practitioner-turned-actor Yayan Ruhian also welcomed the news, telling The Jakarta Post via telephone that he felt happy upon hearing it and hoping that pencak silat could be accepted by a wider audience, not just martial arts lovers.

According to The Fighting Art of Pencak Silat and its Music: From Southeast Asian Village to Global Movement, edited by Uwe U. Paetzold and Paul H. Mason, the term pencak silat is a composite of recent origin (late 1940s), deriving from the Sundanese/Javanese word penca(k) and the Malay and Sumatran word silat. The term was made official by the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) in 1973 during a congress in Tugu near Bogor, West Java, as the conceptual basis for a competition for the native self-defense art, enabling it to be included in the National Games as a regulated sport. Both words have their own etymologies.

Though the government-backed IPSI focuses on pencak silat as a sport, Wahdat said that pencak silat consisted of other aspects, such as spirituality and the arts.

There are more than 40 different pencak silat aliran (teachings). Some of the most popular ones include Cimande from West Java and Silek from West Sumatra. “There are more unexposed teachings, such as those from Sulawesi,” Wahdat said.

In recent years, pencak silat has caught the attention of international filmmakers. Indonesian actors and martial artists Yayan, Iko Uwais and Cecep Arif Rahman have been involved in various action film franchises, such as The Raid and John Wick, showcasing the Indonesian martial art to the world.

LifeLike Pictures film producer Sheila Timothy singled out The Raid as the one film that catapulted pencak silat into global film industry fame.

She said the martial art was one of the strengths of Wiro Sableng: Pendekar Kapak Maut Naga Geni 212, which was produced by LifeLike Pictures in collaboration with Fox International Productions, a division of 20th Century Fox.

“When we approached Fox International Productions, they were interested in our ideas as we shared that we wanted to include original Indonesian martial arts in pencak silat,” Sheila said.

“Pencak silat is really interesting as it also contains philosophies. It can be explored further.”

The Education and Culture Ministry’s director general of culture, Hilmar Farid, said UNESCO considered pencak silat a tradition and contribution to humanity and human civilization.

“Unlike Borobudur temple, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, pencak silat is owned by the people, not the country,” Hilmar said.

Hilmar explained following the announcement recognizing pencak silat as a piece of intangible world heritage that silat from Malaysia had also been recognized by UNESCO.

Speaking about the differences, Hilmar stressed that silat was highlighted as martial arts. “Meanwhile, martial arts is among the components of pencak silat. It contains a larger cultural heritage, featuring movement and music."

Hilmar said based on ancient inscriptions, pencak silat also involved self-control and character-building lessons that had been passed down from generation to generation, adding that the recognition opened the door to more opportunities to preserve pencak silat.

Speaking about the future of pencak silat, Wahdat said there was a lot of work to do to continue to support the traditional art, which was largely only taught in small communities – pencak silat practitioners and teachers frequently have to dig into their own pockets to fund their activities.

“The organizational system is weak. Hopefully, after being recognized by UNESCO, it can help to motivate [pencak silat practitioners],” Wahdat said. “I’m afraid about us stopping here." (kes)

I feel so justified in doing a Silat-based cover story now for our FALL 2019 issue. I had a feeling that Silat's time had come. Read Meet the Martial Star of Netflix’s Wu Assassins, Iko Uwais




THREADS
Silat UNESCO.