On December 6th, the China-Turkey intangible cultural heritage exchange meeting themed “Reborn of Intangible Heritages under the Belt and Road Initiative” took place in Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. During the meeting, the female Turkish and Chinese inheritors of traditional culture gathered to exchange and display each other's intangible cultural heritages.
The intangible cultural heritage exchange meeting was held to resonate with people and further enhance cultural exchanges and mutual learning in both China and Turkey regardless of the barriers of language, nation, culture and location.
Among Chinese items on display were Sichuan embroidery and silk brocade, Chengdu lacquer ware, woven bamboo items with porcelain inside, paper-cuts, Tibetan Buddhist thangka painting and Nanping pipa (traditional lutes). While Turkish artists presented the art of marbling, or ebru, wooden-relief carvings, filigrees, point-lace pieces and paper-cuts. Yang Longmei, an inheritor of bamboo-weaving from Sichuan's Daoming town, was busy making popular bamboo rings for female visitors.
Yin Liping, a master of Chengdu lacquer ware, said she did not expect the Turks to show “such love and curiosity” toward China's traditional culture and intangible cultural heritage. She felt very excited and knew she has been doing a worthwhile job.
Filiz Li, who’s of Chinese origin, is the only non-Turkish inheritor of ebru, an ancient art form usually described as “painting on water”. She has been learning the art for the past 12 years since she moved to Istanbul. She did her apprenticeship in 2014, the year ebru was added to UNESCO’s intangible culture list.
Turkish artist Hatice Adiyaman said that wooden-relief carving is now close to being extinct. She is trying his best to ensure that this branch of art lives and is passed on to future generations.
In his speech, Yusuf Kochan, deputy chairman of the municipal council of Maltepe district, calls culture the most important factor in the development of relations between two countries. He believed that the meeting will further contribute to the good relations between Turkey and China.