Leisurely Traveler with Check-in System

Chapter 357 - 166: This Is Culture

The decision to learn about intangible cultural heritage was initially just a whim.

In a sense, it’s also about not letting down my existing abilities.

After all, possessing such extraordinary craftsmanship like his, not using it for something is somewhat of a waste.

After returning to Chengdu, Li Younan visited several local inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, like paper-cutting and Shu embroidery.

In comparison, these intangible cultural heritages have a pretty good market in today’s age, unlike the fading smiling doll he previously encountered.

The two inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, one was an elderly lady and the other was a bit younger.

Both of them were equally enthusiastic about Li Younan’s visit.

In the process of learning these crafts, Li Younan naturally learned some of the core knowledge about intangible cultural heritage, and his previous views and perspectives on it changed somewhat.

Later, two days passed, and Liu Yu called him, planning to find a place to practice fishing again.

This time he didn’t intend to go far, but just to find a paid fish pond around Chengdu to practice.

It was supposed to be practice, but Li Younan felt that Liu Yu was more driven by a simple desire to have fun.

One morning, Li Younan drove to pick up Liu Yu, who could drive himself but seemed to greatly enjoy riding in Li Younan’s car.

In the car, Liu Yu discussed Li Younan’s recent visits to various inheritors of intangible cultural heritage. "In my view, to say something politically incorrect, protecting intangible cultural heritage somewhat goes against the tide of history, some things should be naturally eliminated over time."

He glanced at Li Younan, "It’s pointless, you can’t protect intangible cultural heritage that’s bound to disappear."

Li Younan held the steering wheel, pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Actually, in the past few days I somewhat agreed with your thoughts, that intangible cultural heritage mainly existed because it was useful at some historical period. But after visiting those inheritors in Chengdu, my thoughts changed somewhat."

Liu Yu raised his eyebrows, did not speak, and continued waiting for Li Younan to speak.

Li Younan slightly organized his thoughts, then slowly asked a question, "What do you think is the significance of traveling to different places?"

Liu Yu hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, "This question is too broad, what are you trying to say?"

Li Younan looked ahead; at this point, they had already driven out of Chengdu. Li Younan pointed to the Chengdu city sign and asked, "What do you think of when you see the word ’Chengdu’?"

Liu Yu looked over, showing a thoughtful expression.

Li Younan smiled, his expression gradually becoming serious, "Chengdu’s city scale now rivals that of a real first-tier city, from the angle of city comparison, what differences does it have from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen? These places are all made of steel, cement, concrete; they all have parks, subways, people from different places speaking Mandarin, and even the street snacks are similar, in any residential area you seem to be able to find Shandong’s pancakes with fruit, Hunan’s stinky tofu, or Hainan’s coconut fruit salad."

"So what is the real difference between Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Shanghai?"

"Maybe it’s culture," Liu Yu thought and replied.

"Culture? The word is too abstract, let’s continue talking about urban development."

Li Younan paused, seriously asked, "If every city develops this way, what’s the point of moving from one city to another?"

These words instantly made Liu Yu ponder deeply.

Li Younan’s words suddenly made Liu Yu realize, indeed, if what you see in Chengdu is exactly the same as what you see in Beijing, why move from Chengdu to Beijing?

Li Younan continued.

He laughed, "So you’ve realized this too, right? The reason we choose to move from Chengdu to Beijing is because Beijing has things Chengdu doesn’t have. As the era develops, technology progresses, convenient things can spread nationwide instantly and dominate. So every city’s architectural layout is the same, with similar steel and concrete structures. But there are always some different things; what we see are these different things. What are these different things?"

Li Younan glanced at Liu Yu and said, "Continuing with the example of Beijing, these different things are Peking opera, the alleyways, candied hawthorn, etc., things not found in Chengdu, or maybe not authentic enough, and this is the significance of intangible cultural heritage."

Liu Yu’s expression turned slightly odd, his eyes showing a hint of realization, he said, "What you’re saying seems to make some sense."

Li Younan earnestly said, "It’s difficult for ordinary people to see things from a higher perspective, but since the nation is keen on promoting and protecting these things, there must be a greater significance ordinary people find hard to see. I recall a documentary I watched, have you heard of the hanging coffins?"

Liu Yu nodded and said, "You’re referring to those coffins hanging on cliffs in Guizhou, right?"

Li Younan nodded and said, "Scientists explored various possibilities without figuring out how people in the past managed to hang those coffins. It wasn’t until they interviewed a centenarian that they found out why."

At this point, there was a highway exit ahead, Li Younan slowed down, drove the car onto the ramp, and continued saying, "Then you’ll realize humans have a fascinating trait, it almost becomes a driving force for human development, and that is curiosity. But curiosity is not only about the future but also the past."

"The era indeed progresses, many things are indeed phased out. But they shouldn’t disappear."

"If we look at it from a higher perspective, what distinguishes us Chinese from other ethnicities? It’s actually those intangible cultural heritages continuously inherited."

"These intangible cultural heritages, in a minor sense, are what distinguish one village from another, one city from another, even one province from another as their unique genetic identity, and these unique genes collectively form our Chinese national identity. This is the fundamental reason why we differ from other ethnicities."

"Imagine if Australia and America were distinct from each other, what differences would there be? Or to put it directly, if Canada and the United States suddenly became one country, you wouldn’t feel there’s a problem, right? However, if Spain and Italy became one country, you’d find it odd; they’re basically not the same ethnicity because when you think of Spain, you think of bullfighting, something Italy doesn’t have."

These words made Liu Yu ponder deeply, after a moment, he slowly raised his head. "You’ve rambled quite a bit. Let’s say you have a valid point. At least you’ve found a legitimate reason for what you’re doing."

Li Younan laughed heartily, "At the beginning, I didn’t think that much, but as I did it, I suddenly realized this. If one day I visit the capital, yet can’t find any, despite hearing it’s hard to drink, or Beijing roast duck, which I’ve heard isn’t tasty either, or can’t see Peking opera, hmm, Peking opera seems less interesting too, I’d still feel regret. Traveling to the capital and Shanghai would be no different."

Liu Yu seriously nodded, "This is culture."

The car slowly exited the ramp, and Liu Yu suddenly looked at the road ahead and randomly asked, "By the way, do you want to see what my sister looks like?"

Li Younan blanked for a moment, looking at Liu Yu with some confusion, whose expression seemed quite serious.