The Chinese government received certificates for two
masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity nominated
by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) on Monday.
The two masterpieces are the Art of Chinese Xinjiang Uyghur
Muqam, and the Pastoral Song of the Mongolian ethnic group.
There are now 90 in the list of masterpieces of Oral and
Intangible Heritage of Humanity that honors oral expressions and
traditions, music and dance, rituals and mythology, knowledge and
practices related to nature and the universe, and traditional
crafts.
Chinese Culture Minister Sun Jiazheng, told reporters at the
awards ceremony on Monday that the Pastoral Song of the Mongolian
ethnic group was jointly submitted to UNESCO for consideration by
China and Mongolia.
It was the first time that China had submitted a joint
entry.
According to Sun, the Art of Chinese Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam is
representative of the various Muqam in northwest China's Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region. The Muqam is a genre of Uyghur music that
combines singing, dancing and instrumentation.
Muqam can be found in 19 countries and regions in central Asia,
south Asia, west Asia and north Africa, and along the ancient Silk
Road that runs across the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
It is not only an artistic creation with a long history, but
also a historical record of communication between the East and the
West.
Sun explained that China and Mongolia have shared Pastoral Songs
ever since the Mongolian ethnic group came to be, and the two
countries jointly made an application for the better and long-term
protection of the song.
UNESCO started listing masterpieces of Oral and Intangible
Heritage of Humanity in 1998, with a view to saving, maintaining
and protecting endangered and declining cultural heritage.
Other Chinese masterpieces on the list include the
Kunqu Opera, and the guqin or zither.
(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2005)
