四种正在消逝的传统技艺
Four Vanishing Crafts

当知识通过材料、双手与实践传递
When Knowledge Is Carried Through Materials, Hands, and Practice

English

A traditional craft is more than a method for producing an object. It can include knowledge of materials, tools, proportion, timing, local conditions and techniques that are learned through repeated practice.

When a craft declines, the visible products may remain available through museums, collections or commercial reproduction. The more difficult question is whether the knowledge and transmission system behind those products can continue.

The four traditions below come from very different environments. They are presented not as examples of a superior past, but as forms of specialized knowledge whose continuity has become difficult.

中文

一种传统技艺并不只是制造某件器物的方法。它可能包含对材料、工具、比例、时间、地方环境以及操作方法的认识，而其中相当一部分知识是在长期实践中获得的。

当一种技艺逐渐衰落时，它的器物可能仍然可以通过博物馆、收藏或商业复制继续存在。更难的问题是：制造这些器物背后的知识，以及传递这些知识的社会关系，是否还能继续。

下面四种传统技艺来自完全不同的环境。这里并不是为了说明某种过去优于现代，而是观察一些高度专业化的人类知识为什么越来越难以延续。

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1. Zafimaniy Woodcraft — Madagascar

1. Zafimaniy 木工技艺 – 马达加斯加

English
The Zafimaniy of south-eastern Madagascar have developed extensive knowledge of woodworking, including the selection and use of local tree species, house construction, tombs, tools and everyday objects. UNESCO notes knowledge of around twenty endemic tree species used for different construction or decorative purposes.

Traditional structures can use mortise-and-tenon techniques without nails or metal hardware. Geometric designs carved into wood also carry meanings associated with family and community life.

The continuity of this knowledge is affected by pressure on forest resources and by changes in the markets in which Zafimaniy woodwork is sold. The issue is therefore not simply whether wooden objects continue to be made, but whether the broader body of knowledge remains connected to the people who practice it.

中文
马达加斯加东南部的 Zafimaniy 人形成了丰富的木工知识，包括当地树种的选择与使用、房屋建造、墓葬、工具和日常器物制作。UNESCO 资料指出，他们掌握约二十种当地特有树种的不同建筑或装饰用途。

传统建筑可以使用榫卯式连接而不依赖钉子或金属连接件。木材上的几何图案也与家庭和社区生活中的象征意义有关。

这种知识的延续受到森林资源压力以及市场变化的影响。因此，问题并不只是木制品是否还会继续生产，而是更完整的知识体系是否仍然与实践者保持联系。

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2. Art of Pottery Making of the Chăm People — Viet Nam

2. 占族陶艺 – 越南

English
In Ninh Thuân, Viet Nam, Chăm pottery is traditionally made without a conventional pottery wheel. The potter works around the clay form, shaping it gradually by hand. Local materials and outdoor firing using traditional fuels are part of the process.

The practice includes household vessels, ritual objects and other forms of pottery. Knowledge is traditionally transmitted through direct practice within families and communities.

UNESCO inscribed the art of pottery making of the Chăm people on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2022. Urbanization, access to raw materials, market changes and reduced participation among younger generations have all affected continuity.

The craft therefore remains living, but its conditions of transmission are changing.

中文
在越南宁顺地区，占族传统陶艺不使用通常意义上的陶轮。制作者围绕陶坯移动，通过双手逐渐塑造器物。当地材料以及露天传统烧制方式也是这一过程的一部分。

这种技艺包括日常器皿、仪式用品以及其他陶制品。相关知识传统上通过家庭和社区中的直接实践传递。

UNESCO 于 2022 年将占族陶艺列入急需保护的非物质文化遗产名录。城市化、原材料获取、市场变化以及年轻一代参与程度下降，都对技艺延续产生了影响。

因此，这仍然是一种活态传统，但它赖以传承的条件正在发生变化。

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3. Watertight-Bulkhead Technology of Chinese Junks — China

3. 中国传统木帆船水密隔舱技术 – 中国

English
Traditional Chinese junk construction includes the use of watertight bulkheads to divide the hull into separate compartments. This helped contain water when part of a vessel was damaged and required specialized knowledge of timber, joints, caulking and construction sequence.

The knowledge was transmitted through practical training and apprenticeship. It was closely connected to the coastal communities and working conditions in which wooden vessels were built and used.

UNESCO inscribed the watertight-bulkhead technology of Chinese junks on the Urgent Safeguarding List in 2010. The replacement of wooden vessels by steel-hulled ships, difficulties in obtaining suitable timber and declining participation by younger generations have all affected the continuity of the tradition.

This example also shows that traditional craft and engineering should not be treated as opposites. A traditional wooden vessel can embody systematic knowledge of structure, materials, water and risk.

中文
中国传统木帆船建造中包含水密隔舱技术，即通过隔舱将船体划分为相对独立的空间。当船体某一部分受损时，这种结构可以帮助限制进水范围。其建造涉及木材、连接方式、水密处理以及施工顺序等专业知识。

这些知识主要通过实践和师徒传承获得，并与沿海地区的生产环境和船舶使用条件密切相关。

UNESCO 于 2010 年将中国水密隔舱福船制造技艺列入急需保护的非物质文化遗产名录。木船逐渐被钢制船舶替代、适宜木材的获取更加困难，以及年轻一代参与减少，都影响了这一传统的延续。

这一例子也说明，传统技艺与工程并不是彼此对立的概念。一艘传统木船同样可以体现对于结构、材料、水和风险的系统认识。

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4. Carolinian Wayfinding and Canoe Making — Micronesia

4. 加罗林群岛传统航海与独木舟制作 – 密克罗尼西亚

English
In the outer islands of Yap State in Micronesia, traditional canoe making is closely connected with navigation. The construction of a canoe involves knowledge of timber, proportions, tools and local measurement systems, while navigation depends on detailed observation of environmental conditions.

Traditional navigators use knowledge of wind, waves, weather and other environmental cues. Canoe building and navigation are transmitted through apprenticeships involving experienced builders and navigators.

UNESCO placed Carolinian wayfinding and canoe making on the Urgent Safeguarding List in 2021. Migration, changing patterns of family life, modern transportation and environmental pressures have affected the transmission of the knowledge.

The canoe is the visible product, but its construction and use depend on a much larger body of knowledge that is difficult to preserve through objects alone.

中文
在密克罗尼西亚雅浦州外岛，加罗林群岛传统独木舟制作与航海知识密切相关。造船涉及木材、比例、工具以及本土测量方法；航海则依赖对环境条件的长期观察。

传统航海者利用风、海浪、天气以及其他自然线索进行判断。造船与航海知识通过经验丰富的造船师和航海者，以师徒方式传承。

UNESCO 于 2021 年将加罗林群岛传统航海与独木舟制作列入急需保护的非物质文化遗产名录。人口迁移、家庭生活方式变化、现代交通以及环境压力，都影响了相关知识的传承。

独木舟是可以看见的器物，但它的制作和使用依赖一个远比器物本身庞大的知识体系。仅仅保存一艘船，并不能完整保存制造和使用它的方法。

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Four Crafts, Four Forms of Knowledge

四种技艺，四种知识

English
These traditions differ in material, geography and function. Yet each depends on knowledge that is learned through practice.

Materials have to be judged by hand. Tools have to be used correctly. Proportions have to be learned through repetition. Timing and adjustment often depend on experience rather than on written instructions.

Documentation can preserve important parts of a tradition. Photographs, films, manuals and museum collections can record objects and procedures. They cannot always preserve the practical judgment that develops through years of participation.

中文
这些传统在材料、地理环境和用途上各不相同，但都依赖通过实践获得的知识。

材料需要用手判断；工具需要通过使用掌握；比例需要通过反复练习形成感觉；操作中的时机和调整，也往往依赖经验，而不是一份书面说明。

记录当然能够保存传统的重要部分。照片、影像、手册和博物馆收藏可以记录器物和操作过程，但并不一定能够保存多年实践形成的判断能力。

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When Continuity Becomes Difficult

当延续变得困难

English
Modernization does not automatically make a traditional craft meaningless, and preservation does not necessarily require freezing it in its historical form. Traditions have always changed in response to materials, markets, technology and social conditions.

The more useful question is therefore not whether a craft can be kept exactly as it was, but whether the knowledge within it can remain active while the surrounding conditions change.

This leaves room for adaptation and new uses, while recognizing that some parts of a tradition may depend on forms of practice that are difficult to reproduce.

中文
现代化并不会自动使传统技艺失去意义，而保护传统也不一定意味着把它冻结在过去的形式中。传统本来就会随着材料、市场、技术和社会环境而变化。

因此，更值得讨论的问题并不是一门技艺能否完全保持原样，而是其中的知识能否在周围环境变化之后继续保持活跃。

这既允许传统发生变化、寻找新的用途，也承认其中某些部分可能依赖难以重新建立的实践条件。

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The Object Is Not the Whole Craft

器物并不是技艺的全部

English
A museum can preserve an object. A collection can preserve a tool. A photograph can preserve the appearance of a finished piece. None of these alone preserves the complete craft.

A craft connects material, hand, tool, time, knowledge and community. When enough links in that chain are weakened, the object may survive while the practical tradition becomes increasingly difficult to continue.

For this reason, safeguarding a craft is not simply a matter of preserving products. It also involves people, practice and the conditions that allow knowledge to be transmitted.

中文
博物馆可以保存一件器物，收藏可以保存一件工具，照片可以保存成品的外观，但这些都不足以单独保存一门完整的技艺。

一门技艺连接着材料、双手、工具、时间、知识和社区。当这条链条中的足够多环节逐渐削弱时，器物也许仍然存在，而实际的技艺却越来越难以延续。

因此，保护一门技艺并不只是保存产品，也涉及实践者、实践过程以及能够让知识继续传递的社会条件。

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What Remains?

还剩下什么？

English
Disappearance is rarely instantaneous. Some traditions continue through apprentices, workshops, community programmes, archives, researchers or younger practitioners who choose to learn them.

A tradition may become smaller, change its materials, or find new uses without becoming meaningless. At the same time, not every element can necessarily be carried forward.

The question is therefore not only whether a craft will survive. It is also which parts of its knowledge can remain useful, meaningful and transmissible under new conditions.

中文
消失很少是一瞬间发生的。有些传统仍然通过学徒、工作坊、社区项目、档案、研究者以及愿意重新学习的年轻人继续存在。

一种传统可以缩小规模、改变材料，或者找到新的用途，而不因此失去全部意义。同时，也并非每一个传统元素都一定能够被完整带入未来。

因此，问题不只是这门技艺能否继续存在，也包括：其中哪些知识能够在新的条件下继续具有价值、意义，并能够被下一代传递。

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Sources & Further Reading / 资料与延伸阅读

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编者按：本文为「消逝中的传统」板块的框架页面，四个案例分别代表了技艺消逝的四种形态：材料压力、城市化冲击、技术替代、传承链条断裂。内容将持续丰富与修订。
Editor’s Note: This is a framework page for the Vanishing Traditions section. The four cases represent four distinct modes of craft disappearance: pressure on materials, urbanization, technological replacement, and the breaking of transmission chains. Content will be expanded and revised over time.