Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural
Heritage in Hong Kong
CHAU Hing-wah
Curator (Intangible Cultural Heritage)
Hong Kong Heritage Museum
PNC2010 Annual Conference
2 December 2010
Convention for the Safeguarding of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage
保護非物質文化遺產公約
 Adopted
by UNESCO in 2003
 People’s Republic of China decided to
ratify the Convention in August 2004
 Government of Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region (HKSAR) agreed
that the Convention should apply to the
HKSAR with effect from 7 December 2004
Institutional Establishment
保護機構
 Home
Affairs Bureau is the policy bureau
responsible for the preservation of the ICH
 Leisure and Cultural Services Department
(LCSD) is the executive department
Institutional Establishment
March 2006, a new
ICH Unit was set up
under the Hong
Kong Heritage
Museum
 July 2008, the
Secretary for Home
Affairs appointed an
ICH Advisory
Committee(非物質文
化遺產諮詢委員會)

Inventory-making 清單
Article 12 – Inventories
1. To ensure identification with a view to
safeguarding, each State Party shall draw up, in a
manner geared to its own situation, one or more
inventories of the intangible cultural heritage
present in its territory. These inventories shall be
regularly updated.
 ICH Unit was tasked to conduct a territory-wide
survey on the ICH in Hong Kong since 2006.
 The South China Research Center, Hong Kong
University of Science and Technology was
awarded in August 2009 the tender of conducting
survey which should be completed in early 2012.

Inventory-making 清單

Article 2 – Definitions
The “intangible cultural heritage” is manifested
inter alia in the following domains:
(a) oral traditions and expressions, including
language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural
heritage;
(b) performing arts;
(c) social practices, rituals and festive events;
(d) knowledge and practices concerning nature
and the universe;
(e) traditional craftsmanship.
Long and Diversified Hong Kong Culture
Hong Kong’s history
can be traced back to
the late Palaeolithic of
some 30,000 years
ago
 Since Song and Ming
dynasties, clan
lineages gradually
established in Hong
Kong
 During the colonial
period, Western
cultures have strong
influence in Hong
Kong

Palaeolithic Period
 The
stone artefacts from the Wong Tei Tung
(黃地峒) site, Sai Kung are dated to some
30,000 years ago
Neolithic Period
(5000 – 1500 BC)
Tung Wan Tsai, Ma Wan 馬灣東
灣仔北遺址
Bronze Period 青銅時代
Qin and Han (221BC - 220AD)
Lei Cheng Uk Han tomb
李鄭屋漢墓
Song and Ming dynasties (960 – 1644)
people moved from the north to the south
Cantonese
廣府話
 Hakka客家話
 Wai Tau 圍頭話
 Tanka 疍家話
 Hoklo 福佬話

Ancestral halls of clan lineages
Clan traditions
Dim-tang ritual 點燈儀式
Ma Tin Village 馬田村點燈 2010
Spring ancestral offerings
Spring ancestral offerings in Sheung Shui
上水廖族春祭
Spring ancestral of Tang clan in Fanling
After lifting of coastal evacuation order in early Qing, Hakka and
Hoklo people were encouraged to move to Hong Kong
清初康熙遷海之後，客家人、鶴佬人
遷移沿海地區
Tin Hau
Festival
元朗大樹下
天后誕
(三月廿三日)
Tin Hau Festival in Tsing Yi 青衣天后誕
Sai Kung 糧船灣天后誕
Hung Shing Festival 滘西洲洪聖誕 (二月十三日)
滘西洲洪聖誕
Dragon boat parade, Tai O 大澳端午遊涌
Receiving the deities 請神
Deities boat 神艇
Water parade 遊涌
Yu Lan Ghost
Festival of Chiu
Chow Community
銅鑼灣 摩頓台
潮人盂蘭勝會
Yu Lan Ghost Festival of
Guangdong community in Central
Yu Lan Ghost
Festival of Hoklo
community on
Ping Chau
坪洲 鶴佬盂蘭
勝會
Fire Dragon Dance, Hakka Community in Tai Hang 大
坑 中秋 舞火龍
Jiao-festival, Cheung Chau
長洲太平清醮
長洲北帝廟
Pak Tai Temple, Cheung Chau
1999年太平清醮期
間長洲北帝廟前舞獅
Lion dance in front
of Pak Tai Temple
during the Bun
Festival, 1999
請北帝神像巡遊及看戲
Bringing the Pak Tai to parade and watch Cantonese opera
2009年長洲太平清醮醮場 The ceremonial area of Bun Festival, 2009
建造包山
Constructing bun mountains
Toaist rituals 喃嘸法事
粵劇神功戲 Cantonese opera performance
飄色，1950年代 Parade of Floats, the 1950s
1970
1980
2007
太平清醮儀式結束後，工作人員從包山除下平安包，分給島上居民
Removing buns from the bun towers for distribution to the villagers after the ceremony
Jiao-festival of
Man Clan, Tai
Po
大埔泰亨文氏
太平清醮，五
年一屆
打武
祭大幽
Burning of the ghost
king
祭大幽
Jiao-festival, Kat O 吉澳太平清醮 十年一屆
Jiao-festival, Aberdeen
香港仔水面醮 每年舉行
Colonial Rule 英人統治
In 1841, Charles
Elliot ordered that
all the Chinese
traditions, rituals
and practices would
be respected and
allowed.
 義律 (Charles Elliot)
即於1841年初向居港華
人發出文告，表明「所
有禮儀所關、鄉約律例、
率准仍舊」

傳統承傳
Man Mo Temple, Autumn offering by the Tung Wah Group
Western culture and tradition
西方傳統文化傳承
St. John Cathedral
聖約翰座堂
Catholic tradition
基督教傳統
聖瑪加利大堂
Catholic tradition on Yim Tin Tsai
鹽田仔天主教傳統
Jewish tradition
猶太教傳統
Muslim tradition
回教傳統
Hindu tradition 印度教傳統
Hindu festival 印度十勝節
印度十勝節
Territory-wide Survey and ICH Database
非物質文化遺產普查和數據庫
Desk-top researches
 Field survey:
1. discussion with local informants to establish the
locality, timing, event programme and bearers of
the ICH;
2. oral history survey with the identified ICH bearers;
3. photographic and video recording; and
4. collection of instruments, objects, artifacts and
documents associated with the ICH items.

Access to ICH Database: Copyright and Data
Privacy
非物質文化遺產數據庫：版權和私隱
Article 13
Each State Party shall endeavour to…
(ii) ensuring access to the intangible cultural
heritage while respecting customary practices
governing access to specific aspects of such
heritage;
(iii) establishing documentation institutions for the
intangible cultural heritage and facilitating
access to them.
 Access to the ICH database is, however, governed
by the Copyright Ordinance and Personal Data
(Privacy) Ordinance in the Hong Kong.

Intellectual Property Rights in ICH
Potential intellectual rights include patents,
registered designs and trade secrets.
 Patents: formula of a Chinese medicine.
 Trade secrets: formulae, methods, technologies,
designs that have commercial value such as
herbal tea drinks.
 ICH may lose protection under the existing IPR
system as a result of disclosure.
 Surveyors must obtain from those communities
the prior and informed consent before their ICH is
inventoried.
 Authorization form.

Safeguarding Measures
保護措施
Identification, documentation, research,
preservation, protection, promotion,
enhancement, transmission, particularly
through formal and non-formal
education, as well as revitalization
確認、立檔、研究、保存、保護、宣
傳、弘揚、承傳(主要通過正規和非
正規教育)、振興
Thank you
謝謝