Nicole Zhang

    nicolezyyy@163.com

    LIU MEISONG wants to preserve traditional Chinese culture, starting with printing presses. He founded a movable type printing company after discovering the printing presses in his hometown in Hubei Province had been destroyed.

    “All those character-presses were melted into little bullets to shoot birds, and culture became a sort of bad thing,” he said.

    Now the Futian government is working with Liu to help maintain traditional Chinese culture. The opening ceremony of Inheritance of Futian was held at the Shenzhen College of International Education on April 18 to promote Chinese intangible culture in schools, with the first on-campus event featuring Liu’s movable-type printing.

    It’s the second year that the Futian District Government and the district’s education bureau have promoted intangible culture. This year cultural events will be hosted at schools in Futian District.

    Liu’s Shenzhen Zizai Cultural Communication Co. Ltd., a cultural brand specializing in movable-type printing, was the co-organizer of the event. According to Liu, he borrowed 5.6 million yuan (US$864,640) from banks to buy over 30 movable-type printing factories nationwide for his new company. The company has seven workshops in China, with four in Shenzhen.

    Neil Mobsby, the college’s academic deputy principal, had his Chinese name printed on a card with presses showcased during the event. Mobsby said the event offered an opportunity for students to experience their own culture. “The best thing is that people can actually do it, print it themselves, and that really makes it mean something,” he said.

    Mobsby believes it’s important for students to be exposed to traditional Chinese culture.