The safeguarding of Chinese traditional martial arts in the past three decades (1990-2020): a perspective of intangible cultural heritage

摘要

Traditional martial art is a pivotal part of Chinese folk culture. However, due to the impact of modern culture, theinheritance of various martial arts is threatened. Therefore, many efforts have been made by the Chinese government toprotect this unique culture in the late 20th century. To provide practical indications for the safeguard of intangiblecultural heritage, we conducted a literature review for the Chinese strategies concerning the safeguard of traditionalmartial arts (TMA) in the past 30 years, also tried to identify the advantages and shortcomings of current safeguard ofTMA. Existing evidence indicates that the legislative safeguarding of Chinese TMA has gradually evolved into a systemfor preservation. Modern devices are important to maintain the current form of the intangible cultural heritage. Invitinginheritors of the TMA to teach relevant skills and knowledge in university campuses may play an important role in thedynamic safeguard of inheritance. On the other hand, shortcomings are also noticed. For instance, younger generationsare not fully aware of the importance of TMA, thus specific education is needed. The means of transmission of TMA isstill insufficient in the current information era.