Contents of Mencius' Declaration on Protecting China's Traditional Folk Culture.

In order to build a better life and a harmonious society, we, the folklorists, folk artists and people from all walks of life who participated in the New Year Festival in Mengmen Town, Liulin County, Shanxi Province, deeply feel that the traditional Spring Festival culture needs to be protected, and hereby declare as follows:

The folk culture of China traditional folk festival is the common creation of the broad masses of people for thousands of years. It is a vivid embodiment of China's ancient civilization and has profound cultural connotations. It embodies the scientific concept of "harmony between man and nature" and the national spirit of "harmony and unity", and concentrates the people's beautiful yearning and wisdom creation. For thousands of years, in the social life dominated by agricultural production, the folk culture of the New Year Festival has been enriched, innovated and developed continuously, which is deeply loved by the people and has become a symbol of the Chinese nation. Chinese people all over the world hold grand celebrations in traditional festivals to spend this wonderful day-the climax of life beauty.

Traditional festival folk customs are extremely rich and colorful, and all ethnic groups and regions have their own unique material folk customs, spiritual folk customs and community folk customs. Various kinds of folk flowers, such as food, clothing, housing, transportation, folk literature and art, cultural and sports entertainment, ceremonial celebrations, holiday beliefs, etc., are colorful and have become brilliant spiritual wealth in people's lives. This is an extremely valuable intangible cultural heritage of the Chinese nation and the basis for building a harmonious society and developing national culture. Its importance is not under the material culture such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.

Due to the rapid changes in social development and the strong invasion of foreign cultures, the traditional festival culture has been greatly impacted. In many places, traditional festivals have gradually faded, almost replaced by foreign festivals, and the precious heritage of the nation is on the verge of extinction. This situation has also attracted the attention of many people of insight. From 5 June to138 October 2003, UNESCO adopted the Convention for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage. In March 2005, the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Strengthening the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage in China, clearly pointing out that intangible cultural heritage is a variety of traditional cultural expressions and cultural spaces that people of all ethnic groups have passed down from generation to generation and are closely related to people's lives. It is the crystallization of the wisdom and civilization of the Chinese nation, the bond linking national feelings, the foundation of maintaining national unity, and a cultural resource with important value, which must be protected and utilized. This is of great significance to the implementation of Scientific Outlook on Development and the realization of comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable economic and social development. We firmly support this important document and are determined to make every effort to implement its spirit.

Mengmen Ancient Town in Liulin County, Shanxi Province is located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River between Shanxi and Shaanxi valleys, in the abdomen of the Loess Plateau, and is one of the birthplaces of the Chinese nation. This is the first gate of Dayu's flood control on the Mother River of the Yellow River, the ancestral home of Lin Xiangru, and the seat of Nanshan Temple, the first of the eight official temples in Yongning County in the Tang Dynasty. It was appointed by Taizong and guarded by Weichi Gong. County has been established for more than 700 years, and its folk culture is rich and colorful. Since the reform and opening up, Liulin County People's Government, Mengmen Town People's Government, Liulin County Cultural Relics Tourism Department and Liulin Culture Research Association have done a lot of work in protecting, inheriting and promoting folk culture and folk culture, which set an example for us and won the recognition and attention of the participants.

As an important part of intangible cultural heritage, the folk culture of the New Year Festival should be effectively and properly protected and utilized, so we call for:

1. Vigorously strengthen the protection of traditional folk cultural concepts and representative inheritors, so as to fully protect and inherit traditional expressions such as Shehuo, Umbrella Yangko, Jiuqu Yellow River Array, Flower Show, Paper-cutting, Mianhua, Rap, Competition and Handicraft, deepen the cultural consciousness of national traditions, and safeguard the cultural stability and national cohesion of the Chinese nation.

2. Vigorously strengthen the investigation, research, publicity and education of traditional festivals and folk customs. Widely mobilize cultural workers from all over the country to investigate, study, develop and utilize local traditional festivals and folk customs. Educators from all over the country are widely mobilized to carry out the popularization of traditional folk culture in universities, primary and secondary schools and amateur education. Mobilize the national film, television, newspapers and publishing departments extensively, and vigorously strengthen the publicity and education of folk culture of the New Year Festival, so that the broad masses, especially teenagers, can realize the rich connotation and important value of the traditional New Year Festival culture, improve the cultural consciousness of the whole people, and make the excellent traditional New Year Festival customs get a good inheritance and healthy development.

3. Vigorously strengthen the legislative work of traditional festivals, adjust public holidays, and make the inheritance activities of traditional festivals have a reasonable festival cultural space. Government departments organize and lead large-scale traditional folk activities all over the country, so that thousands of years of traditional festival culture can be further carried forward in our time, and more dazzling and beautiful flowers can be created for building a harmonious society and a better life. Through the activities of Chinese compatriots around the world, let the beauty and fragrance of this flower of Chinese culture spread all over the world.