Hunan’s Key Research and Development Project “Research and Application Demonstration on Digital Preservation and Inheritance of Guqin Art” Successfully Passes Final Acceptance Review
Recently, the project of the Key Research and Development Plan of Hunan Province, titled “Research and Application Demonstration on Digital Preservation and Inheritance of Guqin Art”, has successfully passed the final acceptance review after undergoing the acceptance procedures organized by the Department of Science and Technology of Hunan Province, including formal examination, expert evaluation, etc. This project primarily targets the key issues existing in the current process of salvage conservation and transmission of Guqin art. It employs digital technologies to rescue, organize and preserve the precious audio-visual resources of Guqin and constructs a digital system covering the preservation of Guqin cultural relics and the inheritance of Guqin art, achieving the digital transformation in preserving and inheriting this ancient art form. In this way, it ensures the continuation of the internal vitality of Guqin art and, moreover, conducts an application demonstration of the digital preservation and inheritance of Guqin art with the Guqin collections at Hunan Museum as an example.
As a gem of Chinese traditional culture, the art of Guqin faces numerous challenges in its inheritance and preservation. Since the project was launched, the Hunan Museum, as the core unit, has assembled a team composed of professionals and technicians from multiple disciplines including cultural relics conservation, materials science, cultural heritage and museology, intangible cultural heritage conservation, art design, etc. By employing advanced digital technologies, it has carried out comprehensive and systematic research on the preservation and inheritance of Guqin art. Through technologies such as high-fidelity sound signal recording and processing, as well as 4K multi-camera video data collection, a large amount of precious audio-visual materials of Guqin performances have been recorded. Among these, renowned Guqin masters such as Mr. Ding Chengyun, a national representative inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, have also actively participated in the recording of the project’s core resources.
In addition, the project has explored the digital restoration techniques of Guqin cultural relics. By employing techniques such as CT scanning, 3D modeling, and virtual reality, it has enhanced the restoration accuracy and effectively preserved the integrity of Guqin artifacts. Moreover, a comprehensive digital platform integrating resource integration, display, teaching, and inheritance has been established, enabling the art of Guqin to reach the public in a more vivid and lively form.
At the project acceptance meeting, the expert panel carefully listened to the report presented by the project team, reviewed the relevant materials, and observed the demonstration of the project achievements. After questioning and discussion, the expert panel unanimously concluded that the project had successfully fulfilled all the indicators specified in the task book. It had achieved remarkable results in aspects such as the digital preservation techniques of Guqin art, the innovation of inheritance models, as well as application and promotion. The project also exhibited strong exemplary effects and application value, and the expert panel therefore agreed to approve the project's acceptance.
The successful acceptance of this project has not only forged a new path for the inheritance and development of Guqin art, but also provided valuable references for the digital preservation of other intangible cultural heritages. It is of great significance for promoting the cultural heritage protection cause and the development of the cultural industry in Hunan Province. In the future, the project team will continue to optimize and improve the relevant achievements, and further expand their application in fields such as cultural education and the integration of culture and tourism, so as to rejuvenate the ancient art of Guqin with resplendent new vigor in the new era and contribute to the creative transformation and innovative development of China's excellent traditional culture.
