Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

Ministry of Culture building.

When Zhuang Huai'an arrived, the conference room was already quite full.

At the head of the long conference table sat Zhou Minghe, the director of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Department of the Ministry of Culture. He was in his fifties, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and looked gentle and refined.

Sitting next to the director were several deputy directors and section chiefs, and below them were a dozen or so simply dressed middle-aged and elderly people.

"President Zhuang is here, please have a seat." Zhou Minghe smiled and stood up to wave when he saw Zhuang Huai'an. "We were just talking about you."

"Director Zhou, you're too kind. Just call me Huai'an." Zhuang Huai'an walked over, shook hands with Zhou Minghe, and nodded to each of the veteran craftsmen present. "Teacher Bai, Teacher Dao, Teacher Yang, it's been a long time."

I had met these people before.

Bai Jingyi smiled and nodded: "President Zhuang, your crown is very well made. We old guys watched it on TV and all praised the craftsmanship of the person you found."

Zhuang Huai'an smiled modestly and sat down in the reserved seat.

Zhou Minghe cleared his throat and got straight to the point: "The main reason I invited everyone here today is to talk about the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage. In May of this year, the State Council announced the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists, totaling 518 items, which is a milestone."

But publishing the list is only the first step. How to protect, how to pass on, and how to ensure the survival of these traditional crafts are the core issues we need to address next.

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the veteran craftsmen present, and his tone became somewhat heavy: "The current situation is not optimistic. Many traditional crafts are facing problems such as an aging of inheritors, young people's unwillingness to learn, shrinking markets, and shortages of raw materials."

For example, the art of kingfisher feather inlay is extremely rare. Because kingfishers are protected animals, the raw materials are almost extinct. There are now fewer than ten artisans nationwide who can perform kingfisher feather inlay, and most of them are quite old. Another example is filigree inlay. Although there are slightly more people engaged in this craft, it faces the same problems: learning the craft is difficult, the pay is low, and the training period is long, so young people are unwilling to enter the industry.

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

Yang Guangbin sighed: "Director Zhou is right. In Leishan, most of the young people have gone out to work. Fewer and fewer people are learning silver jewelry making. Even my son doesn't want to learn. He says that you can't make money making silver jewelry, so it's better to go to Guangdong to work in a factory."

Dao An nodded in agreement: "It's the same with Chengdu silver filigree. I have five apprentices, the youngest of whom is over thirty years old. There are no more apprentices after that. This craft takes at least ten or eight years to master, and young people can't afford to wait that long."

After listening to everyone's remarks, Zhou Minghe nodded and then looked at Zhuang Huai'an.

"Huai'an, you have invested in several intangible cultural heritage craft projects this year, and the crown worn by Liu Yifei at the Golden Eagle Awards was very effective. After the media reports, many people learned about the crafts of filigree inlay and kingfisher feather inlay for the first time."

I'd like to hear your opinion. Do you think the commercialization of intangible cultural heritage crafts is a viable path?

All eyes were on Zhuang Huai'an.

Zhuang Huai'an thought for a moment and then said, "Leaders, teachers, I think that the commercialization of intangible cultural heritage crafts is not a question of whether it is feasible, but a question of whether it is necessary and whether it should be done well."

Why do I say this? Because intangible cultural heritage cannot survive if it relies solely on government funding and charitable donations.

For a craft to survive, it must be able to generate its own revenue. In layman's terms, it must be able to make money, provide artisans with a decent life, and attract young people to join the industry.

If you learn a skill for eight or ten years and still can't make a living after graduation, then no matter how many people shout slogans, it will eventually die out.

But commercialization has a prerequisite: it cannot be downgraded.

Zhuang Huai'an's tone became serious. "What is the core value of intangible cultural heritage crafts? It is the craft itself, the skills passed down for hundreds or even thousands of years."

If, for the sake of commercialization, filigree inlay is replaced by machine stamping, kingfisher feather inlay by printed stickers, and handmade silver jewelry by assembly line casting, then what's being sold is no longer intangible cultural heritage, but industrial products masquerading as such. In the short term, it might be profitable, but in the long run, it will uproot the very essence of this craft.

Everyone listened intently, nodding in agreement. Zhou Minghe showed approval and said gently, "Huai'an, you've already invested in some intangible cultural heritage crafts. I'm sure you have a plan in mind. If it's convenient, why don't you share it with us?"

"sure."

Zhuang Huai'an nodded. This was precisely the purpose of his visit today. After gathering his thoughts briefly, he began:

"My idea is that intangible cultural heritage crafts should take a high-end route, a luxury goods route."

Those items that can be included in intangible cultural heritage projects were originally for the imperial court and were top-tier luxury goods in ancient times. Why can't they continue to be top-tier luxury goods now?

China has no shortage of wealthy people, and people willing to pay for good things.

The question is, have we made something that justifies the price?

Zhuang Huai'an paused slightly, then pointed to Bai Jingyi: "For example, Ms. Bai, the filigree inlay work you do would not be inferior to anything in the display cases of any top international jewelry brand."

But because they lack brands, distribution channels, and marketing, good products can't fetch good prices. A craftsman might dedicate his entire life to his craft and earn less than a middleman selling OEM goods—that's unreasonable!

"So what I do actually consists of three things."

Zhuang Huai'an held up three fingers and spoke eloquently, "First, we will ensure the quality of craftsmanship by investing in artisan studios so that they don't have to take on rough and unskilled jobs to make a living and can focus on creating high-quality products."

The second step is to build a brand, packaging these crafts into high-end brands with stories, culture, and quality, rather than old antiques or local specialties.

Third, find channels to ensure these items appear where they should be seen and by the right people through celebrity endorsements, museum exhibitions, and high-end customization.

The crown awarded at the Golden Eagle Awards is a practical application of this idea.

Zhuang Huai'an smiled and said, "The effect is even better than I expected. After the media reports, many people in the entertainment industry called me to ask if I could order custom-made ones or buy them."

What does this show? It shows that the market exists, the demand exists, it's just that no one has put good products in the right place before!

After he finished speaking, a round of enthusiastic applause broke out.

Zhou Minghe clapped his hands, his eyes filled with admiration: "Huai'an, your words are more useful than ten of our meetings. Preserving craftsmanship, building a brand, and finding distribution channels—these nine words hit the nail on the head!"

Zhuang Huai'an smiled modestly and nodded. In truth, his lengthy explanation boiled down to one word:

First, you need to be able to make money!

Money can motivate people to pursue a passion for a particular industry!

Let alone high-quality items like intangible cultural heritage that require a lot of time and effort, even if you're a writer of a flop novel, looking at the fragmented data, the scattered requests for updates and comments, the almost non-existent gifts, and the pitifully small income.

You'll also feel down and lack motivation, right?

*cough*...the hint's here... (doge)

To be realistic, Zhuang Huai'an's investment in intangible cultural heritage projects was only 0.01% motivated by a desire to protect traditional culture.

Half of it is for making money, the other half...

Of course, it's a birthday gift for my little wife!

"Huai'an, the reason I invited you here today is not only to hear your advice, but also for this reason."

Zhou Minghe took out a document and pushed it in front of Zhuang Huai'an.

"This is a project we are currently preparing: the Revitalization Plan for Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Crafts."

We want to select a few representative traditional crafts and collaborate with capable and passionate enterprises to conduct pilot projects for branding and marketization.

Originally, I was thinking of collaborating with several well-known jewelry brands, but your appearance changed my mind. The craftsmen's skills are excellent, but I think what we need more is your philosophy.

So, would you like to accept our invitation?

"Okay, boss, let's make a plan."

Zhuang Huai'an smiled happily, knowing that another layer of armor could be added to his wife's golden statue.