Distiller sets up fund to preserve cultural heritage
Sichuan-based Shuijingfang Liquor Industry Co Ltd, one of the country’s major rice wine distillers, last month set up the first fund in the industry for intangible cultural heritage protection in Chengdu.
Together with China Foundation for Cultural Heritage Conversation, Shuijingfang Museum — the baijiu museum founded by Shuijingfang — has set up the fund to coordinate work to promote awareness of intangible cultural heritage.
A traditional Chinese drink typically containing 40 to 60 percent alcohol by volume, baijiu is usually distilled from fermented sorghum, and has been made for about 5,000 years in China. It is statistically the world’s most-consumed alcohol, although it is little known beyond China’s borders.
Shu Yang, Shuijingfang’s marketing director, said as China has many different kinds of baijiu, made from ingredients such as rice, sorghum and sweet potato, the future work of the fund will focus on three steps to improve people’s awareness in better preserving intangible cultural heritage.
“We will hold a number of designed workshops so people can experience the intangible heritage like craftsmanship,” she said. “We will also hold public intangible art exhibitions so that the public can participate in the art. And the third step is to invite the established masters and experts to get involved.”
Apart from the heritage of the oldest distillery, Shu said the company will work to start looking for intangible heritage such as craftsmanship in Chengdu.
“The first question to ask is whether this craft has the potential to become part of the consumers’ life,” she said. “If it can’t, then it will be very hard to preserve. The core is to have products consumers like.”
Shu said the company is prepared for the long-term investment in the fund to better preserve traditional Chinese culture.
“Many aspects of national cultural heritage are intangible,” Shu said. “We need to bring this into the lives of more consumers, because only when we can see it and use it, can it be
Many aspects of national cultural heritage are intangible.” Shu Yang,