China has begun collecting handwritten letters sent between family members both at home and abroad, which experts describe as a valuable cultural heritage, given the advent of modern forms of correspondence.

"These letters are a package of various cultures in literature, aesthetics and calligraphy. They also reflect the development of China's traditional rites, paper making industry, post and parcel services," said Bai Gengsheng, deputy director of the China Folk Literature and Art Society, who is in charge of the collection project.

"They have not only helped maintain the emotional attachment between family members, but also record the changing society in the past hundreds, or even thousands of years," said Bai.

The next generation, he fears, may know little about handwritten letters as an increasing number of people use e-mails, cellphones and other modern channels to communicate.

All kinds of handwritten letters between family members, including envelopes, are being sought. There are no restrictions on their length, the time when they were written or where from and to.

China's National Museum will select the 100 most valuable letters for its permanent collection according to an evaluation by experts, said Bai.

The project, jointly launched by the National Museum, China Folk Literature and Art Society and a Chinese nation culture research institute, began on April 11. The first phase will last two or three months.

(China Daily April 20, 2005)