On November 15th, students from the Sino-Danish College (SDC) went to the Xibaolu Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Promotion and Exhibition Base to carry out an ICH experience activity, starting an immersive journey that is "viewable, playable and portable".
Upon arriving at the base, everyone enjoyed an opera performance by ICH inheritors. The gentle singing and classic movements instantly brought everyone into the charming world of ICH, setting an elegant prelude to this cultural journey.
Sitting in front of the clay kneading machine, feel the clay rotating and shaping in the palm of your hand. From a loose mass of soil to an initial cup or bowl, every press and every lift tests patience and hand feel. Although the process is difficult, the sense of accomplishment of completing the work with your own hands is full, and you can also experience the ingenuity of traditional ceramic art.
Following the ancient procedures of soaking soybeans, grinding into pulp, filtering residues, boiling the pulp, and curdling with bittern, everyone witnesses the process of soybeans turning into tofu. In the hands-on practice, we not only taste the fresh flavor of the original ecological tofu but also gain an insight into the life wisdom of "turning the ordinary into the extraordinary" embodied in traditional delicacies.
Through steps such as folding, winding, tying knots and dipping, the white blank scarf gradually dyed unique patterns in the dye vat. Everyone's technique is different, and the final finished products also have their own charm. There are no two identical tie-dye scarves, which is the "magic" of ancient tie-dyeing.
Grinding, blending, shaping and drying, everyone integrated rosemary into the fragrance tablets to create exclusive pendants. These pendants not only carry the wisdom of ancient fragrance blending, but also have both practical and commemorative significance, allowing people to take the fragrance of ICH home.
This ICH journey allowed the students to get close to traditional culture. In the hands-on practice, everyone learned about ICH techniques, realized the ingenuity, and deeply felt the vitality of traditional culture.
Author: MA Wenzhan
Photo: MA Wenzhan, GUO Yunhan
Editor: GAO Yuan
