Ｆｏｌｋ Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ：ｔｈｅ Ｍｏｔｈｅｒ Ｒｉｖｅｒ

We are born into a folk culture. For those who grow up in the countryside， the traditional culture is natural. For those whose lives start in a city， the urbanized lifestyle still embodies the fragrance， warmth and peace of the countryside. No one can cut herself off from her original culture no matter how far she has traveled away.

Mr. Zhong Jingwen defines the folk culture this way: folk culture refers to folk habits and customs， that is， a cultural life created， shared and inherited by the people of a nation or a country. The most essential aspect of a folk culture is its association with life itself. A folk culture is rooted in everyday things such as work， trade， food， clothing， housing， transportation， health care; a folk culture reflects family relations， social communications， behavior codes and rites， seasons and memorial days， faiths and taboos， arts and crafts， ethics， games and sports. A folk culture mirrors， directly or indirectly， lifestyles under different circumstances; it highlights how people understand the world， what they achieve in changing their subjective and objective worlds. Life is made colorful by folk culture， and folk culture， in turn， persists because of its roots in the life of the people.

The core of customs and habits does not change with social moves and shifts. Take some Chinese celebrations for instance. The Chinese people touch the doornails and set off fireworks during the spring festival; they eat dumplings， display lanterns and do Yangge dancing in January; they hang out wormwood and scented amulets and hold dragon boat races at the Duanwu Festival in May. These habits and customs have lasted thousands of years and will last into the future. On the other hand， new elements have been introduced into the Chinese culture as economy develops， society evolves， and cultural exchanges between east and west grow. In recent years， it is realized that folk culture plays an important part in the cultural progress. China is now witnessing a renewed interest in studying and restoring the traditional lifestyle.

Basically， the traditional culture is agricultural and rural. It has existed， evolved and developed in the vast countryside. Zhejiang， a coastal province in east China， boasts a culture that goes back to 7，000 years.The culture is characterized for its varied geographic conditions， profound culture and history， and colorful ways of life. The provincial folk habits and customs mirror the values of the historical and cultural heritage of Zhejiang and some of them are second to none in China.

The Zhejiang people are paying increasing attention to the value of the traditional culture in the process of industrialization， urbanization， and globalization. The provincial government has given priority to the preservation and promotion of the traditional lifestyle， which is playing an irreplaceable role in the developing of the socialist new countryside movement. The traditional culture is by no means an equivalent to something backward， primitive and uncivilized. It is the valuable resources for promoting our Chinese culture and the Chinese image to the world.

Thanks to the fact that the United Nations has been promoting the worldwide preservation of intangible cultural heritage， China has set every second Saturday in June up as the Day of Cultural Heritage， which reflects how our nation values its cultural wealth accumulated over dozens of centuries. Artists， communities and governments at various levels in the province have been the three major forces working in collaboration to carry on the traditional lifestyle.

The 100 representative items in this collection highlight the folk culture of Zhejiang. The concise descriptions and vivid pictures are meant to display four major elements of specific folk habits and customs: how a name came about， how a specific habit or custom has evolved through history， what value it represents and how it looks like today. The collection aims to enable more people to understand， appreciate and concern themselves about the lifestyle， and promote deeper， wider and more extensive studies， participation and support. The book combines theories and practices in an effort to explore and understand how the traditional culture has evolved and how it is evolving and how it will evolve.

Background: this is a preface written by the author， the executive director of the CPC Zhejiang Publicity Department for The Mother River: Carrying on the Culture of Traditional Culture in the Construction of New Countryside in Zhejiang. The Cultural Dialogue will publish highlights of the province's traditional culture in the future.