"I didn't expect that I would learn about Chinese folk culture through two-dimensional games!" Netizens expressed their admiration in the comments section of an intangible cultural heritage documentary themed on woodblock New Year paintings.
This documentary, which has received more than 4 million views on the Internet in just 3 days after its release, is the "Journey to Find Lost Things" launched by the popular game "Yuan Shen".
The documentary is directed by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Division of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, supported by the special funds for cultural development in Xuhui District, and shows the charm of Chinese intangible cultural heritage to global players through continuous visits to intangible cultural heritage inheritors.
It has been distributed in more than 200 countries and regions, and subtitled versions in 15 languages have been produced.
Intangible cultural heritage enters young people
The first issue of "The Journey of Collecting Relics" focuses on woodblock New Year pictures.
Posting woodblock New Year pictures is a traditional custom during Chinese New Year.
In the documentary, Yang Naidong, the inheritor of Yangjiabu woodblock New Year paintings, a representative project of national intangible cultural heritage, carved a total of 22 wooden boards, and engraved the picture of the Liyue area in "Original God" into a colorful, elegant and dynamic woodblock New Year painting work.
Generally speaking, New Year paintings only have 3 to 6 colors, but the New Year painting engraved by Yang Naidong this time uses a total of 22 colors. Each color requires a separate engraving color plate, and a total of 22 printings are required to complete.
"Making woodblock New Year pictures is a lifetime job. I want to do my job well and pass it on from generation to generation," Yang Naidong said.
"The sun and the moon are visible within a square inch, and people are pitiful on the palm of the hand." The inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage interviewed in the second issue of "The Journey of Purchasing Relics" is Wang Ziyong, a representative figure of "Hengshui Neihua".
In "Original God", there are not only fairy caves hidden between strange peaks and cliffs, but also a world of fireworks composed of bustling markets and leisurely countryside.
These fantasy scenes full of oriental charm are reproduced one by one in the snuff bottle through the artist's skillful hands.
"Most of the interior painting techniques are inherited from traditional Chinese painting, and the combination of the original god scene inspired by Chinese landscape and interior painting complements each other," said Wang Ziyong.
He believes that in order to carry forward the art of interior painting, it must be combined with contemporary life and constantly innovated.
According to Chen Anying, an art theorist and an expert on intangible cultural heritage protection, the protection of intangible cultural heritage should see people and things to see life, explore diversified ways of inheritance and dissemination, and integrate intangible cultural heritage into modern life, especially into the lives of young people.
Creative expression of traditional culture
Posting woodblock New Year pictures is a traditional custom during the Chinese New Year.
And in the fantasy world constructed by "Original God", there is also a grand festival in full swing.
The "Sea Lantern Festival" with reference to the Lantern Festival is the first full moon night every year.
During the "Sea Lantern Festival" last year, users could "smelt fireworks", solve the riddle "Wonderful Shadow in the Lantern", and explore the origin behind it.
At that time, the new opera character Yun Jin, and the opera song "Goddess Splitting View" brought by Yun Jin remained very popular.
"Goddess Splitting the View" was performed by Yang Yang, an actor from the Shanghai Peking Opera Theater. It not only caused widespread dissemination and heated discussions on the Internet at home and abroad, but also performed spontaneously by artists performing dozens of operas such as Cantonese opera, Kunqu opera, and Huangmei opera.
This year's "Sea Lantern Festival", the puzzle-solving game "Paper Shadow Play" inspired by traditional Chinese shadow puppetry is popular again.
This puzzle game is full of fun and contains innovative expressions of traditional Chinese culture.
From "Sea Lantern Festival", "Goddess Splitting View", "Paper Screening Opera" to the documentary "Journey to Collect Relics", relying on "Yuan Shen", the producer Fang Mihayou has continued to practice and make continuous efforts in exporting Chinese culture.
In October 2022, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the "Top Ten Cases of Cultural and Tourism Digital Innovation Practices", and MiHoYo ranked among them for its "exploration of cultural communication and tourism promotion models using games as carriers".
Today, meeting the "Sea Lantern Festival" and experiencing the charm of traditional culture here has gradually become the annual expectation and habit of "Yuan Shen" user groups.
Liu Wei, founder and president of MiHoYo, said: "In the future, we will continue to explore more ways to display Chinese culture ingeniously, making games an important carrier of cultural inheritance and cultural confidence, and at the same time allowing more people to understand Chinese culture. , love Chinese culture."
"People's Daily Overseas Edition" (Version 07, February 06, 2023)