DYING ARTS?The award winners — all in their 70s and 80s — are concerned about passing on their traditional arts to a new generation in a new legal environment

Taipei Times
Date: May 16, 2015
By: Yang Yuan-ting and Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Six “living national treasures” — people who embody important intangible

Winners of the National Cultural Heritage Conservation Award attend a pre-award press conference on May 7 in Taipei. Photo: Sung Chih-hsiung, Taipei Times

cultural properties — are being honored with the Ministry of Culture’s National Cultural Heritage Conservation Award: architects Hsu Han-jen (許漢珍) and Liao Chih-te (廖枝德), who specialize in traditional Chinese architecture; master carpenter Yeh Ching-yi (葉經義); Luantan (亂彈) Opera actress Pan Yu-chiao (潘玉嬌); Beiguan musician Chiu Huo-jung (邱火榮) and late paper-cutting master Lee Huan-chang (李煥章).

While grateful for the ministry’s recognition, the laureates said at a pre-ceremony press conference earlier this week that modern technology and new legislation have presented challenges to their fields, as a younger generation of artists — which are virtually nonexistent in certain fields — can hardly make a living in the modern world.     [FULL  STORY]