In 2017, Tibet will launch the savable records work for ten national level representative intangible cultural heritage inheritors so as to avoid the situation that traditional artistry shall die when artists leave the world. So far, there are a total of 89 intangible cultural heritage programs and  68 state-level successors. However, more than ten successors have passed away in succession, and the other successors who are living and well are advance in years as well and are losing their inheriting abilities gradually. Therefore, the savable records work for intangible cultural heritage inheritors is extremely urgent.

 

The general survey and filing as well as digital protection work aimed at national level and region level intangible cultural heritage inheritors have been completed in the main. Large quantities of photos, articles, audiovisual media materials shall be managed in a unified database successively.

 

According to Ngawang Dainzin, the database includes 114 Tibetan operas, information on 89 intangible cultural heritage programs and details on 68 state-level successors, as well as information on more than half of the regional-level programs and successors up to now. Among a total of 323 intangible cultural heritage projects, 242 have been filed. 196 of the 350 state-level successors have been documented.

 

Researchers in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region are racing against the clock to record intangible cultural heritage as the region's Tibetan folk masters are reaching old age.

 

The masters and successors are a “living dictionary” of intangible cultural heritage. The digital  safe-deposit work will better contribute to the continuation of the classic cultural heritage of the Tibetan ethnic group. In 2015, Tibet firstly started the savable records work for intangible cultural heritage inheritors. Up to now, the savable records work for the first batch of ten inheritors has been completed. In 2017, Tibet shall start and complete the savable records work for another ten inheritors in the fields of dances, Tibetan incense, mathematical astronomy, tranditonal Tibetan medicine and so on.

 

In recent years, multiple national-level masters have passed away without passing on their special knowledge or were too ill to train the next generation. Thus, rescuing conservation and digital safe-deposit for intangible cultural heritage, especially for senile or aged successors, have been put in the first place.

By:Megan