List the key activities that were carried out during this reporting period in order to achieve these expected results. Please describe the activities in detail and note their effectiveness or any problems encountered in implementing them.
—Safeguarding Bearers and Increasing the Frequency of Practice
(1) On the basis of the recommendation of communities, representative bearers have been identified. In order to improve their income and raise their enthusiasm for carrying out practice and transmission activities, governments at different levels have provided funds for bearers to support their practice and transmission activities and daily life and preferential policies for them in terms of use of venues, reduction or exemption of tax, financial loans, and administrative examination and approval.
(2) General investigation for saving the element has been organized and archives have been established with modern multimedia technology. The viability of movable-type printing technique has been fully investigated by more than 20 professional and part-time workers. Relevant archives in the form of audio, video, and image, and so on, have been established.
(3) Movable-type printing technique training sessions have been organized at the educational base for the transmission every two years to promote the practice and transmission as well as the training of new generation of craftspeople with the focus on bearers. Rui'an Dongyuan Movable-type Printing Culture Exhibition Hall and Wang Chuanqiao Wooden Movable-type Printing Handicraft Workshop have organized a diversity of transmission activities. Meanwhile, they have taken the development of Dongyuan movable-type printing culture tourism as an opportunity to develop souvenirs with elements related to wooden movable-type printing technique. In this way, the apprentices have got more chances to practice, the bearers and practitioners have increased their income, and more job vacancies have been created for the local communities.
(4) Ancient books have been reprinted in cooperation with local governments to give full play to the social service function of the element. 15 important ancient books, including The Art of War, have been reprinted since 2011, which not only provided an opportunity for the transmission practice but also further expanded the impact of the element.
—Social Publicity and Popularization
(1) Bearers have been organized to participate in activities of Rui'an Culture Heritage Day to demonstrate the whole process of movable-type printing technique on the site from June to July every year. Besides, they have also been organized to participate in the intangible cultural heritage exhibition and exchange activities in other places, such as "Grand Exhibition of the Achievements in Productivity-oriented Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage in China" (Beijing and Chengdu), and "Root and Soul—Grand Exhibition of Intangible Cultural Skills in China" (Taiwan), which expand the impact of the element and attract more attention from the public.
(2) Various kinds of activities to promote movable-type printing technique into communities and campuses have been organized and teaching bases for the transmission of movable-type printing technique have been established. Two popular textbooks, namely Movable-type Printing Technique in Dongyuan of Rui'an and Movable-type Printing Technique in Rui'am, have been compiled for the implementation of teaching and publicity of wooden movable-type printing technique in middle and primary schools to improve the awareness of the importance of the safeguarding efforts among young people and students. On-site demonstrations by bearers and projects for visitors to experience the technique have been added to exhibitions to promote movable-type printing technique in the society.
(3) More than 300 pieces of news have been published on such news media as People's Daily, Guangming Daily, and China Ethnic News, and 10 thematic TV documentaries have been broadcast on CCTV and other media to give extensive introduction and presentation of the element, which have achieved good social impact.
(4) The UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and relevant national laws and regulations have been learned and promoted on Culture Heritage Day and in other forms to improve the awareness of the importance of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage among all walks of life and attract more people to participate in the safeguarding of the element.
(5) Relevant communities have cooperated with colleges and universities such as Wenzhou University and folk literature and art associations at city and province levels to found the China Movable-type Printing Technique Expert Committee. Intellectual support has been provided for the safeguarding activities through academic research and discussion to explore the sustainable development of the element.
—Problems to be Solved
(1) Since the funds for safeguarding mainly come from government investment, diversified funds raising channels are to be explored. Apart from government investment, the contributions of communities, groups, and individuals are mainly in the form of providing physical assets and human power. At present, only a few provincial level bearers like Wang Chuanqiao have the capability to raise funds on their own for developing and selling handicrafts or promotional items related to the movable-type printing technique. In addition, diversified social resources for safeguarding the element could not be effectively utilized under the structure of single source of funds.
(2) The routine safeguarding methods fail to fully arouse the enthusiasm of bearers and reserve talents to participate in the safeguarding efforts. The existing safeguarding measures still follow the routine of exhibition, taking apprentices, and providing financial support, and so on. For the next stage of the safeguarding work, new methods should be explored. For example, museums could provide funds to collect representative works of bearers and organize thematic exhibitions to improve the income of bearers; government could make the system and measures to encourage social groups to invest in safeguarding activities; and apprentices of superb skills could be employed as professional workers.
(3) Diversified multi-level safeguarding measures should be explored to ensure the sustainable development of the element. Take the new method adopted by a few bearers like Wang Chuanqiao for example, they tried to develop movable-type printing culture tourism and related souvenirs, yet the local authorities and communities didn't pay much attention to it or provide support for it. For young bearers (most of them are apprentices of identified bearers), they could hardly be identified as bearers for their limited time in practicing the technique and age. Therefore, it is difficult to make the standard and procedure for providing financial aids for those spending their work time learning the technique to stabilize the team of reserve talents and attract more young people, especially young females, to participate in the transmission of the element. In addition, there is still no corresponding incentive mechanism to mobilize the non-governmental organizations (mainly the Clan Genealogy Compiling Committee) which actively use traditional movable-type printing technique for compiling and printing clan genealogies to participate in the safeguarding efforts.