Traveling Cultural Relics and Arts (Second Edition)

Author: An Cong Gong An Xu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-09-20
Features: The splendid culture created by the Chinese nation is a tourism resource that we should fully recognize and continuously develop. To effectively utilize our abundant tourism resources in the ever-developing tourism industry and to enhance the aesthetic enjoyment of tourists in artistic appreciation, the personnel in the tourism industry should strive to improve their artistic appreciation skills. Comrades engaged in the tourism industry (business management cadres, interpreters, tour guides, service staff) all hope to acquire extensive knowledge of cultural relics and art. For those responsible for formulating tourism resource development plans, if they possess rich knowledge of cultural relics and art, it will lead to better development of humanistic tourism resources. For those responsible for planning tourism products and souvenirs, with their knowledge of cultural relics and art, they can broaden their channels, allowing more tourism products to enter the circulation market. For those in reception work, if they have a wealth of knowledge of cultural relics and art, they can formulate meticulous reception plans and arrange the best tourism routes for tourists. For tour guides, the richness of their knowledge of cultural relics and art and their level of artistic appreciation directly affect the quality of their guiding work. To cultivate tourism workers with high artistic appreciation skills, countries around the world not only offer courses related to cultural relics and art in the education of tourism personnel but also stipulate the methods and content of cultural relics and art exams upon admission and graduation. The teaching syllabus for training tour guides in London's Tourism Bureau in the UK stipulates cultural relics and art courses such as "Architectural Art" and "Museums and Art Galleries." They also set cultural relics and art exam requirements in their examination system, requiring two museums and one art gallery, and assessing whether the guides' knowledge is comprehensive, i.e., whether it balances historical, artistic, architectural, and religious aspects. Japanese tour guide expert Masako Daido discussed the mission of tour guides, stating that tour guides are both protectors of cultural heritage and its introducers and promoters. France has a National Tour Guide Committee responsible for conducting strict exams for professional translation tour guides, with exam content including: a written exam within two hours, writing an essay on art tour topics without the aid of a dictionary in a foreign language; and an oral exam of explaining a cultural relic within 30 minutes. For assistant tour guides, the exam content includes: a written exam on French art history and local history within 45 minutes; and an oral exam of explaining a cultural relic in a foreign language. Some countries' tourism management departments have not explicitly stipulated cultural relics and art exam subjects but emphasize in the selection and training requirements for translation tour guides that they should have a broad knowledge, including historical culture, famous scenic spots, art museums, and folk art knowledge, which are indispensable. Listing these international tourism cases of emphasizing cultural relics and art education aims to illustrate the significance of cultural relics and art education for the tourism industry. In today's booming tourism industry, scholars, tourists, businesspeople, and others from around the world are increasingly coming to China. Although they each have different research questions and tourism goals, they all share a strong interest in China's inherited cultural relics and art. Many tourists travel long distances to China for thematic research, not only being enchanted by China's cultural and artistic treasures but also by folk handicrafts. In 1988, the International Tourism Day proposed a powerful slogan: "Learn from Tourism." How can one gain from tourism? While there are various ways and contents of learning, perhaps the most common, intuitive, and vivid way is through visiting cultural relics and art. The purpose of compiling this book is to introduce cultural relics and art from the perspective of tourism professionals and tourists. Some chapters may touch on certain folk customs and historical issues, but that is only to explain the necessary conditions for the emergence and development of certain arts. The art discussed in this book is not limited to art with cultural relic value; it also includes non-cultural relic artworks, contemporary art trends, artists, and handicrafts, etc. In short, this book introduces cultural relics and art from the perspective of tourism. Additionally, this book does not narrate according to regions or tourist spots like general "tour guide manuals" or "tourist scenic spots" but introduces them in a systematic manner based on knowledge. This is to avoid being bound by specific regions and specific cultural relics and art, making the book relatively general while also allowing readers to have broader applications in practice during travel and appreciation. Since its publication in 1990, "Tourism, Cultural Relics, and Art" has been reprinted nine times. Unexpectedly, with the development of China's tourism industry, this book, which emerged in response to it, has been so well-received by readers. While the authors are delighted, they also feel a bit uneasy. Over the past decade and a half, China's cultural relic research, archaeological excavations, and new cultural tourism have all been developing at a rapid pace. Some historical periodization issues that seemed settled have been challenged by new archaeological discoveries. Therefore, it is imperative to revise the original book. This revision involves minor adjustments: some chapters have been partially revised, and certain viewpoints and wording in the original book have been carefully considered and adjusted, with some new content added. During the revision process, we have tried to incorporate new insights to make the book fresh and relevant. However, due to our limitations, there may still be errors and omissions. We sincerely hope that experts and readers will kindly point them out for correction.