Research on the Inheritance, Innovation and Development of Wenzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage in Colleges and Universities

Taking Ou Kiln as an Example

Abstract

Wenzhou, formerly known as Ou or Dong'ou, has been prosperous in handicraft industry since ancient times with various types, exquisite techniques and numerous practitioners. It has long been renowned as the "Hometown of Hundred Craftsmen". Wenzhou has 4 items included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List of Humanity, 35 national-level intangible cultural heritage items, 159 provincial-level items, and 779 municipal-level items, ranking among the top prefecture-level cities in China. With the development of society, more and more intangible cultural heritage inheritance projects have gradually disappeared from people's daily lives, and many projects are even facing the embarrassing situation of lacking successors. Taking the inheritance and development of Ou Kiln in colleges and universities as an example, this paper aims to retrieve the lost Ou Kiln techniques through a series of studies, inject new vitality into the rekindled kiln fire, and enable the ancient Ou Kiln to bloom new flowers in the contemporary cultural soil.