Inject youthful strength into cultural inheritance and development (solid foundation and new discussion on culture)

Source: People’s Daily

"Do you want to innovate in the lyrics and plot? Make the audience feel more interesting. " "A play is long, no play is short. Traditional operas have to adapt to the theater, and the plot is compact and simple. " This is a daily discussion among young actors in Zhejiang Wuju Art Research Institute. In this troupe, which accounts for nearly 90% of the post-80s, post-90s, and post-00s, the actors practice hard the Four Merits and Five Methods and improve the literary and martial arts, and are active in more than 500 performances every year, so that the audience can feel the "fashion" of the opera.

The new appearance of Wu Opera is the epitome of contemporary China youth’s active participation in cultural inheritance and development. It has become the cultural consciousness of contemporary China youth to explore the cultural roots and take the initiative to inherit and innovate, from the young archaeologists at Sanxingdui archaeological site, to the young restorers who "rejuvenate" ancient villages, and then to the young creative talents in the national wind and tide.

Young people can use new technologies and new means to skillfully combine Chinese excellent traditional culture with contemporary life and open up innovative space. Taking intangible cultural heritage as an example, in the front line of rural revitalization, young people use innovative ideas to stimulate intangible cultural heritage, which not only inherits intangible cultural heritage, but also promotes rural development. Yang Changqin, the representative of the 14th National People’s Congress and the inheritor of the post-90s generation of Chishui bamboo weaving, a provincial-level non-legacy in Guizhou Province, studied skills and innovatively introduced a series of handicrafts such as bamboo weaving porcelain, which directly led to the increase of income of 177 households and 570 people in the ethnic village of Datong Town, Chishui City, and the bamboo weaving industry led to the employment of nearly 30,000 people in surrounding towns and villages. On the Tik Tok platform, in 2022, nearly seven creators in the field of non-legacy became young people, with over 1,000 live broadcasts every day; Young talents from professional troupes such as Huangmei Opera and Huagu Opera have stepped onto the "Cloud Stage", covering more than 300 kinds of operas. Last year, the number of people watching live broadcasts exceeded 2.5 billion, with an average of 3,200. Thanks to the innovative enthusiasm and creativity of youth groups, Chinese culture, including intangible cultural heritage, continues to glow with the glory of the times.

Inheritance needs innovation, and innovation calls for youth. Generate’s creativity in the cultural inheritance and innovation of the youth group proves the enterprising spirit of the Chinese nation, respecting the past and not retro, and reflects the outstanding innovation of Chinese civilization. Growing up in contemporary China, the stage for young people to display their skills is extremely broad. It is expected that the vast number of young people will inject more youthful strength into the cultural inheritance and development with high spirits.