(Jinan) Setting off from the Capital Museum on the morning of Oct.14, the 2008 "BMW China Culture Journey 2008", comprising 22 BMW cars, headed south down the Tonghui River section of the China Grand Canal, passing by Tianjin, and finally made its way to Shandong province – known as the concentration center of Canal cultural heritage. A donation ceremony in the second leg of the 2008 "BMW China Culture Journey" was held today at Shandong Provincial Library BMW contributed a 200,000 RMB donation to the protection and inherintance of intangible cultural heritage projects -- paper-cutting, clay sculpture and Puhui prints. Dr. Zheng Changling, Researcher of Chinesee Academy of Arts, Deputy-Director of the Protection Center of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China, Mr. Li Zongwei, Deputy-Director of Department of Culture of Shandong, Ms. Sharon Li, Head of Public Communications, BMW Group Region China, intangible cultural heritage experts and media representitives attended the ceremony.
The province of Shandong is an important cradle of the Chinese culture. During the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, the famous countries of Qi and Lu were the largest within the Western Zhou Dynasty's Shandong Region. Therefore, Shandong was known as the "Land of Qi-Lu". With breath-taking scenary, Shandong province is a treasure vault of cultural heritage. This is the place where the earliest traces of Chinese literature,"Da Wen Kou Portary Inscriptions" and "Dragon Mountain Portary Inscription" in Ding Gong Village, as well as the earliest municipal, "the Anciengt Dragon Mountain City", and the most ancient section of the Great Wall, the "Qi Great Wall", were found. Well-known World Natural and Cultural Heritages,"Tai Mountains", World Cultural Heritage,"Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu ", "Legend of Liangzhu", Southwest Lu Pipe Instrument,"Acoustic Drama", Shandong Drums, and Yang Jia Bu Wooden Canvas, are all among 120 intangible cultural heritage items found in Shandong. Shandong is also well-known for "The World Capital of Kites"-Weifang, ancient capital of the Qi region-Linzi, "Utopia on Earth"-Penglai, and the "Holy Land of Taoism" –Lao Mountain, etc..
The well-known Lu Canal, also known as the Huitong River, constitutes the section of the China Grand Canal in Shandong and lies at the highest altitude throughout the entirety of the canal. The section in Shandong, the last to be opened, in July 1289 during the Yuan Dynasty, served as a waterway connecting other parts of the Canal and marked the formal formation of the China Grand Canal.
Diverse cultures converged, exchanged and boomed here as a result of the Canal being joined together. The contribution from 2008 "BMW China Culture Journey" for Shandong, including paper-cutting, clay sculpture and Puhui prints, marveled as three masterpieces of China folk art, is an important form of intangible cultural heritage created through the fusion of different cultures. "Thanks to its cultural profoundness and important geographic location, Shandong has become a rare example among the provinces the canal runs through that boasts extensive canal cultural heritage. We sincerely hope our contribution to Shandong can help boost the exploration of local intangible cultural heritage and can arouse public concern to the task of preserving the intangible cultural heritage of the Grand Canal," said Ms. Sharon Li, Head of Corporate Affairs of BMW Group Region China.
As the donation recepient representitive, Mr. Li Zongwei, Deputy-Director of Department of Culture of Shandong said, "Over the past few years, the province of Shandong has been sticking to the policy of 'Prioritizing Protection and Savaging', collaborating resources to most efficiently develop and enhance our methods of cultural protection. By doing so, we have successfully saved over 50 fading cultural heritage items and established positive strategies for long-term protection of non-material cultural heritage items."
Dr. Zheng Changling, Researcher of Chinesee Academy of Arts, Deputy-Director of the Protection Center of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China, also shared his insight. He said, "Shandong Province has long been one of China's political, economical and cultural hub. The history of the Qi-Lu region is based on a strong foundation. Over the centuries, many different minority groups have established and inherited a myriad of innovative and unique non-material cultural traditions. The BMW Culture Journey will generate much needed awareness regarding Chinese cultural protection, and re-ignite the passion of all who take interest in Chinese non-material cultural heritage."
After the donation ceremony, the fleet members and guests, joined by the media and audience, were invited to watch an exhibition of local intangible culture heritage including He-ze Flour Scupture, Jinan Latern Shadow Drama, Jijnan Flour Scupture, Guzi Dance, Licheng Compass, together with an on-site show of the three Gaomi folk art forms: namely paper-cutting, clay sculpture and Puhui prints. With its long history, Gaomi paper-cutting draws on a wide range of imaginations and mixes both cutting delicacy and freeform style of the south and north; the clay sculpture of Nie Jia Zhuang puts up a spin akin to that of paper-cutting art with bold expression and focus on elegance and simplicity, and is also an important art form; Puhui prints, also called the folk freehand brushwork, are a unique type of new year paintings that offers a snapshot of the social culture and outlook of the times and preserves the traditional skills of Chinese folk drawing. The exquisite skills of seasoned folk artists brought down the house.
As an important component of the BMW Corporate Social Contribution Activiteis, "BMW China Culture Journey" was successfully launched in June last year. In 2008, BMW China, BMW Brilliance Automotive and the Protection Center of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China, the highest ranking authorititive institution in this respect, established a partership. As an important item of the cooperation, the 2008 "BMW China Culture Journey" was listed as one of main event of China's "Cultural Heritage Day" and has received great support and professional instruction from the Protection Center of Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center of China.
The fleet, joined by experts, scholars, reporters, BMW customers, employees and dealers, would pay a visit to the Confucius temple and mansion in Qufu. After closing the Shandong leg, the fleet, with its responsibilities and care for the cultural heritage, will move on to the next destination in Nanjing via Pizhou, Yangzhou and Zhenjiang in three days.
One of the most important cradles for Chinese Civilization: Shandong
The province of Shandong is one of Chinese civilization's most important places of origins. During the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, the famous countries of Qi and Lu were the largest within the Western Zhou Dynasty's Shandong Region. Therefore, Shandong was known as the "The Land of Qi-Lu". The province of Shandong has produced an abundant number of important people and scholars. This prestigious list includes: Philosophers, Confucious, Mengzi, Mozi and Guanzi; Scientists, Gan De, Jia Sixie, Si Shengzhi; Military leaders, Sunwu, Sunbin, and Zhuge Liang; Writers, Liu Xie, Xin Qiji, Li Qingzhao and Pu Songling; Calligrapher Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing, Zhang Zeduan among many others. These cultural pionners have all provided large contributions to the development of Chinese Culture. Even today, their influence on world civilization is evident, the most notable example being Confucious and his enlightening school of thought, which has become a common denominator across the traditional Eastern culture.
About 2008 "BMW China Culture Journey"
The BMW's Cultural Journey Car Fleet, made up of 22 BMW vehicles, set off from the square in front of the Capital Museum in Beijing for the 10-day journey, which will cover approximately 2,600 kilometers. The fleet will travel through Tianjin, Shandong, Jiangsu, and reach the starting point of the Canal in Zhejiang. Then the fleet members will continue to examine "Ancient Huizhou" (Currently knowns as Huangshan city), China's second Cultually Ecological Reserve Area – piont of origin for the "Four Scholarly Treasures" that contain the essence of Chinese civilization, and explore the Canal's prosperity and trace the inheritance of Chinese civilization. The main objectives of this journey include:
- Provide donations and monetary support towards intangible cultural heritage projects with significant historical value along the Grand Canal.
- Visit, observe and collect information on all material and non-material cultural heritage items along the journey.
- Disseminate information and messages regarding the protection of China's material and non-material cultural heritage. Generate public awareness towards cultural protection and the promotion of the country's cultural "soft power".
